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Sports

Phantoms Lose Showdown with Trojans

Pottstown defeated the Phantoms Thursday, 68-64.

On Thursday night, Phoenixville coach Randy Reber wasn’t happy with the result as his Phantoms squad was officially eliminated from PAC-10 Final Four contention, following a nail biting 68-64 loss to Pottstown.

Reber was, however, extremely pleased with the effort put forth by his young team, and was impressed by their dogged determination as they battled the Trojans to the bitter end.

“I was upset for my guys,” said Reber. “They played well enough to win, but we just missed a couple of chances to close it out and when you're playing a team with as much size and skill as Pottstown, there is very little room for error.”

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The Phantoms hit the floor running as they rambled out to an 11-0 lead to start the game, but that was short-lived as Pottstown (7-4 in league play) collected themselves and cut the lead to two points by the end of the first at 16-14.

“I knew that start was a mirage of how the game would be,” added Reber. “I have been on both ends of those kind of runs to start a game and against a team like them it always comes down to the end it seems.” 

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The Trojans' big guns Elijah Jackson (12, 5-5 17pts) and Dawon Matthews (12, 2-5 14 pts) made their impact felt on the score sheet, but the Phantoms generally kept the duo in check for most of the night, doing a great job defensively to contain two of the league's most potent offensive threats.

After the Phantoms had settled into a slight lull, a 19-point second quarter by Pottstown took away the momentum that Phoenixville had early in the tilt and forced them to makes some adjustments during the break as they trailed 33-26.

“We talked at halftime about pride and not giving up,” said junior guard Rasheed Lawson. “We came out and fought in the second half and turned up the defensive pressure on them. I have played with these guys for five years now and we know what each other is going to do before we even do it. I love playing with this group of guys and we have really started to come together as a team.”

The Phantoms (5-7 in league play) outscored Pottstown in the second half by a 38-35 margin largely on the effort of Lawson (13, 3-5 16) and Marcus Howell who had a game-high 17 points, including 3-of-5 from the line.

“We are always looking for each other,” added Lawson. “We were able to get their big men up in the air then feed it underneath for some easy points. We need a couple of defensive stops that we just didn’t get.”

With just under two minutes remaining in the third quarter, Howell scored on three consecutive trips down the floor to cut the Trojans' lead to 43-40 before Lawson connected on a bomb from beyond the arc to tie the game, forcing Pottstown head coach Jai T Randall to call timeout.

Sophomore Greg Hughes had the Phantoms' offense running like Swiss watch in the final quarter, collecting five assists in the frame, as he drew defenders to him then dished the ball on three consecutive possessions to Lawson underneath the basket for the easy lay-ups.  

Just as the Phantoms appeared to be poised to grab the lead for the first time since the six-minute mark of the first half, Pottstown senior Brendan King stepped out and knocked down back-to-back three pointers to post the visitors to a 64-60 lead.

After Pottstown’s Charles Mitchell sank a pair from the line, Lawson nailed a three of his own to cut it to 66-64, again forcing Randall to call a timeout.

With time dwindling the Phantoms had no recourse but to foul and after Miles Elliott hit a pair of free throws with six seconds left, the Trojans escaped the PAHS gymnasium with a four-point win.

“We did a good job on Matthews and Jackson,” said sophomore Greg Hughes. “It was 13 [King] hitting the three pointers at the end there that did us in. They were running double screens to prevent me from getting out to him and he hit the shots. I got to him a couple of times but the last two I was totally pinned down.”

“We had our chances down the stretch,” said Reber. “We missed a couple of front ends there on the foul line and that kid hitting those threes, that was what won the game for them. We can’t shoot 10-of-18 from the line and expect to win.”

Next up for Phoenixville, as they still try to qualify for district play, is a non-league game at Church Farm School on Saturday.

Pottstown (68)

Matthews 12 2-5 14, Cottman 3 0-0 3, King 12 0-1 12, Elliott 6 0-0 6, 4 2-2 6, Jackson 12 5-5 17,  Moore 8 2-2 10. Totals  57 11-15 68 

Phoenixville (64)

Howell 14 3-5 17, Riggins 9 0-0 9, Hughes 4 1-2 5, Lawson 13 3-5 16, Kelly 6 1-2 7, Jones 8 2-4 10. Totals  54 10-18 64

Three point goals- (PX) Howell, (PX) Lawson 3, (PX) Riggings 3, (PT) King 4, (PT) Jackson 2 

Pottstown       14  19  14  21 – 68

Phoenixville   16  10  21  17 – 64

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