Fri. Pa. boys’ roundup: PW surges into semifinals

Plymouth Whitemarsh jump-started its offense in the second quarter and downed visiting West Chester Rustin, 63-47, in a District 1 Class AAAA basketball quarterfinal playoff game Friday.

With the win, the Colonials (21-4) earned a spot in the district semifinals against Council Rock North at Villanova University on March 1 and will be one of the top four seeds from District 1 in the PIAA Class AAAA state tournament on March 12.

Sam Pygatt got PW going with 26 points, including 11 points in the second quarter when the Colonials turned a 12-11 lead into a 32-21 halftime advantage. Jaylen Bond chipped in with 14 points, 12 rebounds, and 7 steals.

The Golden Knights (22-4) got 17 points from Zach Butcher.

Maurice Nelson accounted for five three-pointers and 23 points to lead top seed Chester to a 67-39 win over visiting No. 9 seed Bensalem.

The Clippers will meet No. 5 seed Neshaminy in a semifinal game at Villanova University on March 1.

In a battle for the ninth and final state playoff berth, No. 4 seed Upper Darby avenged a regular-season loss to Glen Mills and beat the visiting Battling Bulls, 52-34.

Glen Mills, seeded 12th, beat the Royals on Feb. 12, 49-46, to cost Upper Darby an undefeated regular season and break a 21-game unbeaten streak.

Brandon Hashim, a shooting guard, paced the Royals with 21 points. Defensively, Daron Harris, a 6-foot-3 center, did a good job against 6-8 Rahem Harvey. In the regular-season game, Harvey grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked 10 shots, but managed just two points against Harris.

No. 11 seed Penn Wood eliminated visiting No. 14 seed Pennridge, 56-32.

Darian Barnes collected 18 points, including 10 points in the final quarter, and pulled down 10 rebounds. Shawn Oakman added nine points and 10 rebounds for the Patriots, who built a 27-9 lead by halftime.

No. 15 seed Wissahickon closed out the game with a 24-15 scoring run and beat host and No. 10 seed Coatesville, 77-61.

The Trojans trailed at the end of the first quarter, 19-18, but used a 23-14 scoring effort in the second quarter to take a 41-33 halftime lead.

Jordan Reed came through with 35 points and 16 rebounds while teammate Tanoh Kpassagnoncq blocked five shots.

Wes Brooks dropped in 16 points and lifted No. 8 seed North Penn to a 60-41 win over visiting No. 17 seed Springfield (Delaware County).

District 1 Class A. Top seed Church Farm shut out visiting No. 8 seed Morrisville in the first quarter and eased past the Bulldogs, 53-25, in a quarterfinal playoff game.

Cordell Long led a balanced Griffins scoring attack with 13 points, including nine points in the first half when they were taking a 28-11 lead.

No. 2 seed Phil-Mont Christian got 18 points from Godfrey Baldez and beat visiting No. 10 seed Calvary Baptist, 60-39.

Godfrey and Micah Baldez combined for 14 points in the third quarter.

Greg Boyd scored 25 points and Dondre Perry added 24 points for No. 3 seed Faith Christian in a 71-55 win over visiting No. 6 seed Delco Christian.

Perry and Boyd each scored eight points in the first quarter, and Perry blocked 10 shots.

Marquan Scott notched 13 points and helped No. 4 seed Girard College bat visiting No. 5 seed Plumstead Christian, 40-33.

Germantown Academy placed three wrestlers in the semifinals and was in third place after the first three rounds of the National Prep Wrestling championships at Lehigh University.

Winning their first three bouts for the Patriots were Chris Dinnien (125 pounds), Chris Yankowich (135 pounds), and Keith Corliss (189 pounds). Germantown Academy had 85 points, 88 points behind Blair Academy.

Also reaching the semifinals were Chad Saunders of Hill School (103 pounds), along with Rick Durso (130 pounds) and James Stowell (135 pounds) of Malvern Prep.

A pair of unseeded wrestlers won their first two bouts. Jeremiah Sullivan of Hill School won twice at 135 pounds and Viktor Pedchenko did the same at 285 pounds for Academy of the New Church. Both lost in the quarterfinals. Sullivan won his first consolation-round bout, 3-1 in overtime, but Pedchenko was pinned in his first consolation bout in 2:46.