Wissahickon outlasts C.B. West in double OT

Neither a condensation-caused leaky roof nor an especially dogged opponent could keep Kyle Wilson's Wissahickon squad from punching a ticket to the PIAA District 1 Class AAAA boys' basketball semifinals.

In a thrilling quarterfinal Friday night, with sophomore guard Chase Wilson, the coach's son, coming up big in regulation and in the two overtimes, No. 5 seed Wissahickon outlasted No. 4 Central Bucks West, 60-56, in Doylestown.

At the end of regulation, with the host Bucks nursing a 41-38 lead and primed to clinch their first semifinal berth since 2001, Wilson banked home a three-pointer from up top to keep the Trojans alive.

In the final minute of the first OT, the floor general's steal and layup put the Suburban One League American Conference champions in front, 51-48.

C.B. West's Derek Dyer answered - and brought on another four minutes - by draining a trey.

In the last session, Wilson, who scored 12 of his 16 points in the final nine minutes, calmly went 5 for 6 from the line to clinch the victory.

On Tuesday, in a 7:30 p.m. semifinal at Temple's Liacouras Center, Wissahickon (22-3) will take on top-seeded Chester. The Clippers crushed No. 9 Norristown, 81-31, on Friday.

Also Tuesday at Temple, in a 6 p.m. semifinal, No. 2 seed Lower Merion will face No. 11 Abington. The semifinal victors will play for the District 1 championship on March 2 at Villanova.

Jordan Reed, a 6-foot-4 senior swingman and lower-level Division I recruit, paced Wissahickon with 20 points, 10 rebounds (five on offense), and two assists.

Tanoh Kpassagnon, a 6-7, 245-pound forward who will play football at Villanova, chipped in 16 points, eight boards (five on offense), and a pair of blocked shots.

While he was held to a first-overtime bucket, 6-3 senior forward Kyle Garrett grabbed 10 boards (four on offense) and dished two assists.

Dyer (15 points, five boards) and fellow senior Tyler Schechter (17 points, 11 rebounds) spurred the Bucks.

Boosted by a 12-4 spurt at the end of the second quarter, Wissahickon led, 25-19, at the break. C.B. West rallied in the third period and, helped by a three-pointer from sophomore Jared Kelly, was in front, 33-32, entering the fourth.

In the first half, Reed (11) and Kpassagnon (10) combined for 21 of the visitors' 25 points. Reserve Jesse Hunsicker, sinking a pair of 12-foot jumpers from the left baseline, accounted for the rest.

Next for the Bucks (25-3) is a consolation-round matchup Tuesday against Norristown.

Wissahickon   9 16 7 9 10 9 – 60

C.B. West   5 14 14 8 10 5 – 56

W: Chase Wilson 16, Gordon Bentley 2, Tanoh Kpassagnon 16, Kyle Garrett 2, Jordan Reed 20, Jesse Hunsicker 4.

CBW: Jared Kelly 6, Shane Kellar 7, Jack Rogers 3, Derek Dyer 15, Tyler Schechter 17, Sherrod Higginbothom 8.