Coatesville awakens to turn back Methacton

By JONATHAN VANDER LUGT

Journal Register News Service

WORCESTER — Coatesville struggled for the first three quarters of Tuesday night’s District 1 Class AAAA boys basketball playoff game.

Methacton’s zone defense kept the Red Raiders at bay forcing them to take uncomfortable shots, and keeping them from penetrating in the lane.

But Coatesville broke through Methacton’s defense in the fourth quarter and came away with a 63-46 blowout.

The Red Raiders, who owned the fourth quarter with a 27-4 run, will play at Upper Darby on Friday in the fifth-place consolation game.

"We knew coming in that they’re a really talented team," said Methacton coach Jeff Derstine. "Our goal coming in was to make it a half-court game. For three quarters, I felt we did that."

No Red Raider had more than seven points heading into the fourth. Andre Boggs, Jaquan Hollingshed, and Chris Jones each had six in the last frame alone.

"They came back," said Derstine. "They took a lead, and everything happened really, really fast."

"There was a stretch of time in the second half where we were getting good looks," he continued. "Shots that most times we make. We didn’t make those shots, and they got easy buckets. It snowballed pretty quickly."

Keeping Methacton’s big man Brendan Casper in check was a primary goal for Coatesville coach Rick Nelms.

"We denied (Casper) and made it hard for him," Nelms said. "We picked up the pressure."

Casper was held scoreless in the fourth on 0-for-4 shooting from the field and was 0-for-1 from the free throw line.

"Chris Jones came in and played well,’’ said Nelms. "We started playing tough defense. We started going inside."

The Raiders took eight trips to the charity stripe in the second half, shooting 14-for-15, compared to Methacton’s five trips and 6-for-9 shooting.

Coatesville’s offensive versatility was on full display, as four Raiders scored in double figures.

Emmett Hunt led the team with 12. Howard Sellars chipped in with 11, while Boggs and Hollingshed scored 10 apiece.

"They started pressuring the ball," Nelms said. "They’re a nice team, and I think we wore them down."

It certainly seemed that way for the Warriors. Methacton shot 39 percent from the field in the first half, to go along with 10-for-11 free throw shooting.

"We had to sub a little bit more than we usually do, but they were in the same boat," Derstine said about the game’s foul situation.

Casper led the Warriors in scoring and on the glass, with 15 points and seven rebounds, despite his rough fourth quarter.

Coatesville 63, Methacton 46

COATESVILLE: Boggs 4 2-3 10, Hollingshed 4 2-3 10, Lewis 2 0-2 5, Hoggard 3 0-1 6, Jones 3 0-0 6, Williams 0 3-4 3, Hunt 3 6-7 12, Sellars 2 7-7 11, Totals 21 14-26 63.

METHACTON: Jenkins 2 0-0 4, Mann 3 0-0 8, Ruhl 0 1-2 1, Forrest 2 4-7 8, O’Brien 0 4-4 4, Casper 5 5-8 15, Ardman 2 2-3 6, Totals 14 16-24 46.

Coatesville 6 17 13 27 - 63

Methacton 13 17 12 4 - 46

3-point goals: Lewis, Mann 2, Ardman 2.