Parkland Defeats Archbishop Wood 59 to 51 in PIAA Class 6A State Championship Tournament Semifinal: Kehler on Hoops
Written by: Dell Jackson on March 19, 2024
Parkland Defeats Archbishop Wood 59 to 51 in PIAA Class 6A State Championship Tournament Semifinal: Kehler on Hoops
Article by David Kehler
Parkland controlled the tempo for the entire game and defeated Archbishop Wood 59 to 51 on Tuesday night in Norristown in a PIAA Class 6A state championship tournament semifinal. Parkland will face Central York on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Giant Center in Hershey for the Class 6A state title.
The Parkland-Wood game was close all of the way, but it got off to a slow start, as both teams were sort of tentative for most of the first quarter. With Wood leading 8 to 7, they added to their lead with a 3-pointer by 5’ 11” junior Mike Green. Parkland countered with three free throws by 6’ 2” senior Nick Coval, cutting Wood’s lead to 11 to 10. Wood finished the scoring in the first frame with a drive each by 6’ 1” senior Josh Reed and by 6’ 4” senior Jalil Bethea. Wood led 15 to 10 after eight minutes of play.
However, the main contour of the game was established in the first quarter: Parkland’s control of the tempo. Wood likes to run and favors an up-tempo game. Parkland obviously recognized that slowing the game down a bit would be to their advantage. In a typical Parkland offensive possession on Tuesday night, they made six or so passes before shooting. Working the ball like that often provided Parkland with nice scoring opportunities. Parkland demonstrated, by midway through the second quarter, that they were equally adept at slashing to the hoop as well as shooting from the perimeter. Parkland spread the ball around, and they were unselfish. Five Parkland players scored in the second quarter and six of their guys scored in the third frame.
Early in the second quarter, Wood’s Green hit another 3-pointer, his third of the game, to give his side an 18 to 12 lead, and that would prove to be Wood’s biggest margin of the evening. Parkland responded with a 10 to 0 run on a drive by 6’ 3” senior Jayden Thomas, a drive by 6’ 2” freshman Blake Nassry, another drive by Thomas, yet another drive by Thomas, and a putback by 6’ 2” senior Connor Johns. That make it 22 to 18, Parkland. The teams then battled pretty evenly for the balance of the first half, with Parkland taking a 30 to 29 lead at the break on a buzzer-beating banked 3-pointer by 6’ 3” senior Robbie Ruisch. Ruisch’s score from beyond the arc was the last lead change of the game. Wood never led in the second half.
Parkland had a strong opening to the third quarter on a free throw by Thomas, a 3-pointer by Thomas, and a hoop inside by Johns. That made it 36 to 29, Parkland. Then, 6’ 3” Wood junior Milan Dean hit a very clutch 3-pointer, followed by a putback by his teammate, Reed, and Parkland’s lead was down to 36 to 34. From this point, outstanding and rugged play by Reed kept Wood close. Near the end of the third quarter, a couple of free throws by Nassry gave his squad a 47 to 43 lead.
Wood bombed from outside in the beginning of the final quarter. The opening salvo was a 3-pointer by Dean, cutting Parkland’s lead to 47 to 46. Parkland’s Coval scored on a drive, then Wood’s Bethea hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 49 with 2:40 left in regulation. Shortly thereafter, 6’ 4” Parkland senior Zaire Smaltz scored inside on an inbounds play. Smaltz followed that with a baseline drive, and Parkland was up 53 to 49 with 1:14 left in the game. Wood responded with a putback by Reed, cutting Parkland’s lead to 53 to 51. Following a timeout, Parkland scored on a breakaway fast break by Thomas, the game’s decisive basket, and Wood couldn’t recover.
The view from here is that the most outstanding player of the game was a guy who didn’t score. Parkland’s Luke Spang, a 6’ senior, played sensational defense and was a huge influence on the outcome.
For the game, Parkland out-rebounded Wood 30 to 25. Parkland committed nine turnovers, and Wood had five miscues. Parkland was 12 of 13 from the free throw line, while Wood was five of eight. Parkland scored five times from beyond the arc, and Wood made seven 3-pointers. There were four ties and four lead changes.
Parkland scoring: Jayden Thomas 16, Nick Coval 13, Robbie Ruisch 12, Blake Nassry 6, Connor Johns 6, and Zaire Smaltz 6.
Archbishop Wood scoring: Josh Reed 20, Jalil Bethea 10, Mike Green 9, Deuce Maxey 6, Milan Dean 3, and Tahir Howell 3.
Parkland 10 20 17 12 – 59
Archbishop Wood 15 14 14 8 – 51
Archbishop Wood had a terrific season, and this outstanding team finished 19-9.
On Twitter:@david_kehler
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