PIAA Basketball Championship Recaps From Friday

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, March 22, 2013 | 4:39 PM

Friday's action is in the books with Philadelphia Vaux going out in style in the Class A Boys Championship, Imhotep Charter takes home their third straight title, this time in Class AAA Boys and Spring-Ford wins the Quad A Girls title.

Here are recaps of ALL the games from Friday:

CLASS A BOYS:
Philadelphia Vaux Cougars   83 – Johnsonburg Rams   63
Playing their final game in basketball, the Cougars went out on top as District 12 and now PIAA champions with the win over the District 9 champion Rams on Friday.

Division I recruit Rysheed Jordan was the difference in the game, scoring 32 points to lead the Cougars to their first state title. Jordan scored ten of his 32 points in the third quarter, allowing Vaux to pull away for the win.

Vaux led 24-13 after one quarter, Jordan had a monster jam during the first. But the Rams did not go away. Quinn Lohr and Cameron Grumley hit three-pointers and Frank Kocjanic had a put back to give Johnsonburg the lead 37-36 at the half.

It was all Vaux in the second half, the Cougars shot 18 of 27 from the field after the break, the key play was an intentional foul called on Lohr on a Samuel Forman layup, putting Vaux up by six. Khalief Tinley hit a three pointer on the next possession and Johnsonburg got no closer.

Foreman added 22 points and six assists for the winners, now 24-8 overall. Vaux shot 54 percent for the game on 31 of 57, they committed just twelve turnovers and won the battle of the boards 34-23. Vaux had 52 of their 83 points come in the paint. Trayvond Massenburg snagged eight rebounds, Jordan and Butler had six each to send the program out as a winner.

Vaux will close at the end of the school year, one of eight Philadelphia high schools to close. The district is facing a projected 1.35 billion dollar shortfall in it's budget in the next five years.

Johnsonburg Head Coach Bill Shurey said his team hung with Vaux into the third quarter, he added the Rams had nothing to be ashamed off, making the trip to the state finals for the first time for a District 9 team in Class A boys. Shurey said that Jordan was the difference in the game, that Vaux was able to spread the floor in the second half, allowing Jordan to do what he wanted.

The Rams finish 30-3 overall, Cameron Grumley led the way with 17 points, Kocjanic and Cole Peterson each had 11 points. Johnsonburg shot 43 percent from the field for the game on 20 of 46, but were 1 of 11 behind the arc in the second half.

Score By Quarters:
Philadelphia Vaux Cougars 23 – 13 – 25 – 22 = 83
Johnsonburg Rams  14 – 23 – 13-  13 = 63

Quad-A Girls Championship
Spring-Ford Rams   60 –   Cumberland Valley Eagles  45
The Rams used the three pointer and balanced scoring to claim their first PIAA Quad-A girls basketball championship with the victory over the Eagles. Brittany Moore Sammy Stipa and Sammi Haas all had 11 points, the Rams were 8 of 14 from behind the arc for the game. The District 1 champions won their 24th consecutive game and finish at 32-2 overall.

Spring-Ford pulled away late in the third quarter, outscoring the fifth place team from District 3 by an 11-2 margin. Haas hit a three pointer during the stretch to put the Rams up by ten points, the Eagles would get no closer.

Cumberland Valley jumped out to an early three point lead but Spring Ford got the last seven points of the opening quarter with a Sammy Hass three with two seconds left gave the Rams a 14-10 lead.

The Rams took a six point lead in the second quarter but the Eagles rallied to take the lead with a fade-away jumper by Jacqueline Falconer but Maggie Locke beat the buzzer with a three to put Spring-Ford up 27-25 at the break. 

Spring-Ford controlled the glass with a 37-23 advantage. The Rams shot 24-51 for the game at 47 percent. Stipa dished out six assists. Sarah Payonk scored eight points and grabbed six boards.

Coach Jeff Reinhimer, who won his 300th game earlier this season, said Cumberland Valley was a tough match up with their size. Spring Ford averaged 60 points per game and hit that mark, but Reinhimer said the offense comes from work on the defensive end of the floor.

Cumberland Valley was led by Jackie Falconer with 18 points. Kelly Jekot added 12 points and five rebounds, along with five blocked shots. The Rams shot 13 of 43 for the game for just 30 percent. Cumberland Valley stayed in the game with a 15-19 performance from the charity stripe, Spring-Ford was perfect at 4 for 4.

Score By Quarters:
Spring-Ford Rams  14 – 13 – 16 – 17 = 60
Cumberland Valley Eagles  10 – 15 – 6 – 14 = 45

Boys Class AAA Championship:

Imhotep Charter Panthers 54 – Archbishop Carroll Patriots 45
A move up in class for the Panthers, no problem as Imhotep Charter won their third consecutive PIAA championship, the Panthers also claimed gold in 2009.

Imhotep Charter won their first three championships in Class AA, the Panthers moved up to the AAA ranks this season. Senior Brandon Austin was the only player in double figures for the Panthers, the Providence recruit pumped in 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Imhotep Charter pulled away in the second half.

Archbishop Carroll was trying to win their second state title, the Patriots led by as many as seven in the second quarter, fueled by Derrick Jones, who scored 10 of his 13 points in the first half. Imhotep Charter made a 9-0 run to take the lead back, as Austin put the Panthers on his back, with 11 points in the second quarter. Imhotep led by 3 until Armond Sorrentino hit a three at the buzzer to tie the score at 26.

The Patriots shot 43 percent from the field in the first half, they went very cold in the second. Archbishop Carroll was 7 of 33 for just 21 percent, including missing all 13 shots taken behind the arc. Led by Austin, the Panthers slowly pulled away in the fourth quarter and made 8 of 9 free throws as the Patriots were forced to foul.

Imhotep Charter finished 20 of 57 from the field at 35 percent, the Panthers only had two turnovers on the night. They were 13 of 17 from the foul line for the game. Austin dished out three assists and was perfect from the free throw line. Basil Thompson and Dymir Logan grabbed six rebounds each, the Panthers won the glass battle 42-39. Imhotep Charter finishes with a record of 28-5 and on a five game winning streak.

Archbishop Carroll got a double-double from Ernest Aflakpui with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Derrick Jones also scored 13 points, he had 11 rebounds. The Patriots were the fourth place team from District 12, they finish 23-7 overall. 

Score By Quarters:
Imhotep Charter Panthers  8 – 18 – 14- 14 = 54
Archbishop Carroll Patriots 13 – 13- 9 – 10 = 45