Pocono Mountain West wins first-ever district title, tops Parkland 57-53

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Eric Vick scored 17 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, as Pocono Mountain West exorcised the demons from years of frustration in the District 11 tournament with a 57-53 4A championship win over Parkland on Saturday night at Liberty's Memorial Gym to give the Panthers their first district gold in school history.

Parkland (21-6) had early leads of 3-0 and 5-4, but spent most of the night trying to chase down the quicker Panthers who used tough man-to-man defense to hound the Trojans into a tough shooting night while slashing inside for baskets at the offensive end.

After Parkland battled back from a 17-9 deficit to tie it at 20 and then 22 late in the first half, the Trojans made just 3 of 13 shots in the third quarter and then were for 2-for-11 to start the final period.

Pocono Mountain West (22-4) led 33-30 after three quarters and then opened up breathing room with an 8-0 run that made it 44-34 with three mintues remaining.

Austin Beidelman got hot, extremely hot, late. He made five 3-pointers over the final 1:55 and had 17 of his game-high 26 points in the fourth quarter.

But it was a matter of too little, too late.

"We lost to a really good team and they're very deserving," said Parkland coach Andy Stephens. "It took us awhile to get used to the pace of the game. Some teams give you a little cushion, but West is up on you. I still felt great at halftime to be down only three because we didn't play a great first half. But we could never get into a rhythm or take advantage of some situations."

Brad Pensyl, who has waited 23 years to be a district championship coach, enjoyed the moment he has long waited for.

"The knock against our kids is that we can't execute at the end of the game and that we just have street kids," Pensyl said. "I don't know if this is vindication for these kids, but for them to come out here and execute at the end. I'm real happy for my kids.

"They did everything they had to do in the second half to win the game. They executed on offense, blocked out on the defensive boards and knocked down foul shots."

Both teams go on to the state tournament which starts in 4A boys next Saturday. Parkland will play Roman Catholic and Pocono Mountain West will play Coatesville and while not official, indications are that both teams will be on the same card in a tripleheader at Freedom.

PARKLAND (53)
Charles 0-4 0-0 0, Beidelman 9-22 2-2 26, Zajko 1-9 4-4 6, Dvoracek 4-7 1-2 9, Muhr 2-9 0-1 5, Rindock 3-5 0-0 7, Hahn 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 7-9 53.
POCONO MOUNTAIN WEST (57)
Dixon 3-14 0-1 6, Amoroso 2-7 1-2 5, Brice 5-15 2-3 13, Vick 3-7 10-12 17, Collins 4-6 4-4 13, Wiggins 0-1 0-0 0, Vines 1-1 1-2 3. Totals 18-51 18-24 57.
Officials: Frank D'Angelo, Bob Bennett, Perry Nardella.
3-pointers: Parkland (8-19) Beidelman 6, Muhr, Rindock. Pocono Mountain West (3-9): Brice, Collins, Vick.
Rebounds: Parkland 35 (Dvoracek 17). PM West 29 (Dixon 8).
Assists: Parkland 10 (Muhr 5). PM West 6 (Brice 3).
Turnovers: Parkland 16, PM West 6.

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