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-InGame 365-
Eagles beat Colonials in Dogfight
Norristown surges in fourth quarter to pick up win
by Marcus Wright
1/7/09
Plymouth Meeting, PA -
Fast Break: It was a tight contest from beginning to end as Norristown defeated host Plymouth Whitemarsh 45-41. The Eagles were led by Khalif Wyatt, who scored 19 points. Plymouth Whitemarsh did all they could to prevent him from having a bigger game, double teaming him often. Wyatt and company were helped out by Lorenzo Christmas, who scored 4 crucial points late in the fourth quarter to help seal the tight victory. With the win, Norristown improved to 8-2, while Plymouth Whitemarsh dropped to 8-3.
Three Points:
1. Plymouth Whitemarsh played excellent defense in the game that consisted mainly of a 2-3 zone. Norristown had problems getting the ball around and attacking the gaps of the zone. The Colonials shifted very well to close the gaps of the zone, and collapsed the middle well whenever the Eagles were able to actually drive inside.
2. PW's undoing were their turnovers. Norristown switched up their defense between man and zone (mostly man) and their arms were all in the passing lanes. PW tried to get the ball down low to their big men CJ Aiken (led team with 14 points) and Jaylen Bond (9 points), who seemed to dunk any time they were near the basket. Their teammates were not able to get the ball to them as much as the gameplan may have called for.
3. Norristown went into the fourth quarter down 31-26 (only scoring 4 points in the 3rd quarter). They woke up in the fourth quarter and went on a 13-4 run. This set up Christmas, who would get a layup on a Norristown fast break and then a dunk with 15 seconds left to ice the game.
Free Throw: A solid high school basketball game, with defense being the name of the game. The fourth quarter was wild, as everyone from the crowd to the players seemed desperate for the win.
Quotes:
"We had to go out with a bang. I tried to do whatever I could do to get the crowd off their feet and secure the victory."
- Norristown's Lorenzo Christmas on his game-securing layup and dunk in the 4th quarter
"We didn't want to lose. It was go hard or go home. And we went hard."
- Norristown's Khalif Wyatt on how the team was able to surge in the 4th quarter.
Beyond the Arc: St. Joseph's head coach Phil Martelli was in attendance... Feels good to get back in the swing of things with basketball. After all the football coverage, I forgot how quick basketball games are...On to Chester tomorrow!
Image - Mike Young
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