Standing in an amped-up huddle with his Plymouth-Whitemarsh teammates, the fourth and final quarter about to begin, Whis Grant totally absorbed coach Jim Donofrio’s fiery message.
“It’s our time. It’s our time,” Grant recalled Donofrio saying. “We’re the better team. We’ve got to stand up and show it. We’ve got to present it.”
Within moments, Grant began presenting.
Scoring the first four points of the decisive fourth quarter, Grant triggered a 7-0 spurt that sparked P-W to a 58-51 victory over District 1 playmate Penn Wood in the title game of the PIAA Class AAAA basketball playoffs Saturday night.
The 6-0 senior finished with 17 points, a team-high 11 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots for the Colonials (30-2), who dropped an overtime decision to Penn Wood three weeks ago in the District 1-AAAA championship game.
“Oh, that hurt,” Grant said. “That hurt.”
P-W also received a monster performance from 6-11 Saint Joseph’s recruit C.J. Aiken, whose 19-point outing featured a banked trey that startled the BryceJordanCenter gathering. Aiken also grabbed seven boards and blocked five shots.
Aaron Brown, Tyree Johnson and Will Brown shared 44 points for Clyde Jones’ Patriots (27-4), who were chasing their second straight state title.
“I just think we had a bad night,” lamented Johnson. “An off night.”
Yet, Penn Wood led until the long-limbed Aiken’s follow flush pulled the Colonials even (34-34) midway through the third. Another Aiken finish gave P-W its first lead a few minutes later, but Will Brown’s lay-in leveled everything.
Temporarily.
Blasting out of the huddle with purpose – and lots of fire -- Grant’s daring drive and finish on the opening possession had the Colonials back in front quickly. Then, after a Johnson miss, Grant was fouled grabbing one of his many rebounds.
Two canned freebies later, a jacked P-W side was wheeling toward the school’s first state title since the 1997 Colonials collared PIAA gold at Hersheypark Arena.
“It feels good, as a senior, to go out and win a state championship,” said Grant, who scored eight points in the fourth quarter. “We showed it out there.
“We definitely showed it.”
“[Whis] played great,” Aiken said. “He’s been playing great this whole playoff, districts and states. He’s been playing good. He’s been aggressive. We needed that.”
After all, it was P-W’s time
From the Associated Press
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