Public League State Playoff Recaps, 2006-07

CLASS A
Play-In Game
At Northern York
Camp Hill 64, Robeson 55: The Lions claimed a 34-30 lead by sinking four straight techs and maintained it the rest of the way. Dom Owens (14) and Dom Medlock (10) reached double figures for Robeson. Daniel Mack (11) and Owens (10) led in rebounds. Four of the Huskies' 10 players were freshmen.
First Round
At Southern
Freire 61, Pottsville Nativity 31: Thanks to seven steals, the Dragons roared to a 16-2 start and completed the rout by pitching a fourth quarter shutout (11-0). Jarrod Denard totaled 20 points, four assists and seven steals. Frosh Octavious Booker added 15 points and 12 rebounds and Antoine "Blueberry" Singleton hustled for seven assists, five steals. Freire racked up 19 steals in all.
Second Round
At Norristown
Reading Central Catholic 54, Freire 45: One RCC player sank four early threes and later, against a box-and-one, three others combined for five. The overall field goal total was 10 treys, eight regulars. For Freire, which was able to look confidently ahead thanks to a nine-man roster featuring all underclassmen, Jarrod Denard scored 17 points and Octavious Booker grabbed 13 rebounds.

CLASS AAA
First Round
At Southern
Greencastle-Antrim 68, Franklin LC 59: The District 12 champ suffered the indignity of falling to the No. 5 seed from District 3. Malcolm Eleby finished his career with 23 points (1,556), nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. Kyle Sawyer and Denzel Yard scored 11 points apiece. A six-point play -- two treys by the same player, surrounding an off-the-ball foul that enabled G-A to retain possession -- dropped FLC into a 50-39 hole with 6:19 left. The Bobcats moved within 61-59 at 1:41 before fading.
At Chambersburg
Mercersburg James Buchanan 60, Communications Tech 58: The Phoenix was victimized by a buzzer-beating layup after forging a tie on its own layup (by Najee Edwards) with seven seconds left. Edwards (17) and junior Andrew "Scootie" Randall (13, 1,057 career) scored in double figures for CT.

CLASS AAAA
First Round
At Northeast
Gratz 82, Upper Darby 73: The Pub's proudest program finally broke through in a state playoff. The Bulldogs beat the quite small visitors at their own game, swooshing to a 26-10 lead after one quarter. Josh "Scrap" Martin shot 7-for-10 and 11-for-12 for 25 points, collected five apiece of assists and steals and even claimed seven rebounds. Four of his five assists came while Gratz was setting the first quarter tone. Ishmawiyl McFadden posted six rebounds and four blocks and scored 18 points while shooting 8-for-11 from the floor. Tommie "T.J." Sykes totaled 14 points (6-for-9) and nine boards. Charles White collected 11 points and eight assists (five in the third quarter).
At Central Dauphin East
Southern 72, Cumberland Valley 53: Before a turnaway crowd, Temple-bound Ramone Moore shot 13-for-19 en route to 30 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Anthony "Crip" Reese mixed five assists, six steals and even eight rebounds. His twin, Antoine (13), and Robert "Jay" McKee (10) also scored in double figures.
At Northeast
Pennsbury 56, Frankford 50: In a wickedly hot and overcrowded gym (there was no concession stand) filled mostly with Pennsbury loyalists, only a late burst by Frankford made this one seem close. Senior swingman Kenny Spotwood used an 18-point effort to finalize his career total at 1,005; he added eight rebounds. The basket that raised the number to 1,001 drew Frankford within 35-29. The Falcons scored the next nine points. Antwaine Brown grabbed seven boards. J.C. Montgomery and Malik Tinsley notched three blocks apiece.
At William Tennent
Plymouth-Whitemarsh 56, Edison 44: George Baker (16) and Daniel Johnson (14) reached double figures for Edison. Baker, a junior guard and the city's leading career scorer among current underclassmen (1,101), added five steals. Johnson had seven rebounds, three steals.
Second Round
At Coatesville
Gratz 67, Penn Manor 46: Ishmawiyl McFadden scored eight of his 23 points in a 19-10 second quarter to help the Bulldogs establish command and become the first PL AAAA team to advance to a quarterfinal. Tommie "T.J." Sykes (14) and Alibaba Odd (13) also scored in double figures while Josh "Scrap" Martin dished four assists.
At Norristown
Chester 70, Southern 55: The Rams were sabotaged by a 20-6 third quarter, during which they committed 12 turnovers. Also, for the game Chester claimed triple their number of rebounds (51-17). Ramone Moore, honored earlier in the day by the Markward Club as the PL's top senior, scored 23 of his 34 points in the first half.
Third Round
At Norristown
Gratz 61, Lower Merion 58: After entering halftime scoreless, in part due to foul trouble, Tommie "T.J." Sykes roared to 18 points and tallied six in a row to leave behind a 55-55 tie. His final two came on a dunk; he added eight rebounds. Charles White, also shaking off foul trouble, scored 10 of his 13 points after intermission. Josh "Scrap" Martin added 11 points, three assists.
Semifinal
At Norristown
Chester 67, Gratz 60: The Bulldogs claimed 10 more rebounds, 44 to 34, but mostly were done in by Karon Burton, who shot 5-for-11 on treys en route to 35 points. Gratz received balanced scoring from Ishmawiyl McFadden (16), Josh "Scrap" Martin and Charles White (15 apiece). Martin finished eight points short of 1,000 for his three-school career (also Dougherty, Prep Charter); he added nine assists and four steals.

CLASS AA
First Round
At Southern
Prep Charter 46, Camp Hill Trinity 45: Marcus Morris collected 12 points and 13 rebounds. His twin, Markieff, added 11 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for the defending state champs, and hit a free throw to provide a four-point lead before Trinity drained a last-second trey. Parrish Grant added 11 points.
At Bethlehem Freedom
Imhotep 62, Easton Notre Dame 38: Imhotep got a dunk from Kashief Edwards just 4 seconds into the game and swept to leads of 11-0 and 30-9. Edwards had 15 points, eight rebounds, three blocks. Jermaine Washington (12, five assists) and Tamir Johnson (10) helped the Panthers.
Second Round
At Norristown
Prep Charter 56, Lower Moreland 44: The Huskies started slowly (14-5) deficit, but eventually prevailed thanks to Marcus Morris (16 points, 14 rebounds, four blocks) and his twin, Markieff (12, nine, two).
At Bethlehem Freedom
Imhotep 66, Wilkes-Barre GAR 34: The Panthers stormed out of the gate and maintained that mind-set throughout. Kashief Edwards led the way in points (17), rebounds (12) and blocks (four) while Tamir Johnson added 16 points and seven boards and was especially effective in the tone-setting first quarter rush.
Third Round
At Reading's Geigle Complex
Prep Charter 65, York Catholic 57: PC conquered the challenging task of having to face a team nicknamed Fighting Irish on St. Patrick's Day. Jesse Morgan nailed five consecutive second half shots (two treys included) en route to a 16-point outing while the Morris twins were steady throughout. Marcus totaled 23 points and 11 rebounds while Markieff hustled for 18 points, 13 boards, two assists, five steals and four blocks. Staunch defense by Kevin Radford helped to force YC star Jake Iati into misses on seven of his last nine shots. Radford also went 5-for-6 at the line in the waning moments (for his only points).
At Bethlehem Freedom
Imhotep 70, Wilkes-Barre Bishop Hoban 52: The Argents entered 30-0 and jumped to an 8-0 lead. Imhotep was still reeling from bus problems that kept it from starting warmups until 1 minute after the game was supposed to start. In time, the Panthers rolled. With nine field goals (two dunks), Kashief Edwards scored 18 of his 23 points in the second half while Will Adams (three, 14 points) and Jermaine Washington (two, 16) combined for five post-intermission treys. Hanif Nixon mixed 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Semifinal
At Ben Franklin
Prep Charter 61, Imhotep 48: The Huskies delivered a third-strike blow to their Division C rivals thanks to mostly to the Morris twins. Markieff totaled 21 points, eight rebounds and three steals while Marcus contributed 15 points, six boards and four assists. Parrish Grant added nine points, four assists and solid ballhandling. For Imhotep, conquered by PC in the Division C finale and a Pub quarterfinal, Kashief Edwards mixed 13 points, seven rebounds and two blocks, and Tamir Johnson had nine points and eight rebounds.
Final
At Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center
Prep Charter 68, Aliquippa 66: The Huskies, who committed 33 turnovers and ran out of timeouts with 5:31 left in the third quarter, roared back from a 14-point deficit in the final 3:51 to claim a second consecutive title. The Morris twins went the identical route in points and rebounds -- Markieff had 16 and 16; Marcus had 11 and 11. Marcus hit two free throws with six seconds left to give PC just its third lead of the game, then Aliquippa was called for traveling at 1.4. Kevin Radford sniped 4-for-5 on treys en route to 14 points and Parrish Grant had 13 points, four assists.