Penn Wood overcomes slow start, ousts C.R. North

With the way things were going, it looked as if a dinner celebrating Malcolm Richardson's 17th birthday, with several teammates joining in, might have to be put on hold.

Saturday, late in the first half of a PIAA Class AAAA state boys' basketball quarterfinal between District 1 rivals, Penn Wood, completely out of sync on offense, trailed Council Rock North by 12 points.

"Had we lost, I probably would have stayed home, turned off my cell phone, and just hung out on my own," said Richardson, a junior combination guard. "I'm pretty competitive. I really want to win."

The birthday festivities went on as planned, thanks to a 15-2 run after intermission that paved the way for the Patriots' 51-42 victory over the Indians at Spring-Ford.

In a Western-bracket semifinal Wednesday, Penn Wood, trying to reach the state final for the third straight year, will play Mt. Lebanon, a 51-42 victor over District 7 rival Butler, at a site and time to be determined.

In the first half, when C.R. North hit five three-pointers, the 5-foot-11, 160-pound Richardson produced 10 of his team's 18 points. Penn Wood's big three - seniors Aaron Brown, Darian Barnes, and Shawn Oakman - had a combined three points.

"Every game, the coaches tell me to be aggressive," Richardson said. "I try to do that and, at the same time, involve the three stars on our team. My points come off the things they do, like rebounding and blocking shots."

In a 14-2 third quarter, a jumper by Barnes gave the Patriots (23-8) a 30-28 advantage, their first lead since the game's fourth minute. The Indians (27-3) shot 1 for 12 from the field and committed eight turnovers in the nightmarish quarter.

"You have to give Penn Wood the credit," North coach Derek Wright said. "They adjusted better than we did. They changed defenses, and put us in different spots than we were in the first half."

Richardson, fellow backcourt starter Jerry Price, and sub Will Morton were jumping out on Aaron Morgan, North's lead guard and catalyst, with a three-man zone (the 6-8 Barnes was in the middle) behind them.

"We wanted to get the ball out of his hands," Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones said. "We wanted someone else to run sets for them."

During the Patriots' decisive second-half spurt, the Indians went scoreless for 9 minutes, 18 seconds. The Suburban One League National Conference titlists shot 5 for 31 from the floor (3 for 20 on treys) in the last two quarters.

Richardson finished with 12 points; Barnes (13 rebounds, with seven on offense) scored all 13 of his points in the second half; and Brown (five boards) and Oakman (six) combined for 17 points.

"The veteran guys, we've been here before," said Brown, a West Virginia recruit. "This is nothing new to us. We know what we've got to do. We're not done yet."

For C.R. North, Morgan (14), fellow junior Arron Goodman (nine), and senior Charlie Anastasi (eight) teamed for 31 points. John Raymon, a 6-6 senior, was slowed in the second half by foul trouble.

Council Rock North   14 12 2 14 – 42

Penn Wood   7 11 14 19 – 51

CRN: Aaron Morgan 14, Arron Goodman 9, John Raymon 7, Charlie Anastasi 8, Hunter Stevens 4.

PW: Malcolm Richardson 12, Darian Barnes 13, Shawn Oakman 7, Aaron Brown 10, Akil Anderson 5, Will Morton 4.