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LANSDOWNE — Justin McFadden was feeling a bit under the weather at halftime Tuesday.
By the time he was done with the third quarter, it was Penn Wood left feeling sick to its stomach.
The Lower Merion senior scored a game-high 24 points, including three 3-pointers early in the third quarter to key an 11-0 run as the No. 9 Aces blew open a tight game in a 58-43 win in the second round of the District One Class AAAA tournament.
The flurry of punches from the Aces out of halftime was enough to stagger Penn Wood, who had cut the deficit to one point when Landen Jenkins hit an open triple to start the second. But McFadden answered by hitting from deep on consecutive possessions, then after the teams traded misses, he canned another triple off one of JaQuan Johnson’s seven assists to put the Aces up 12.
“I was actually feeling a little sick at the halftime break,’ McFadden said. “I kind of got up a couple of shots at the end of the halftime workout, and I was feeling good. I hit them when I needed it.’
With the win, Lower Merion (19-6) booked its eighth trip to the PIAA tournament in the last 10 years and will get a rematch with Central League champion and No. 1 seed Conestoga. No. 8 Penn Wood (15-7) will have to battle through playbacks to make states, which starts with Friday’s visit from No. 17 Methacton.
McFadden’s shooting stroke was the continuation of the main theme of the first half, with Lower Merion getting to the lane at will thanks to Johnson and his backcourt mates. In the second quarter, Corey Sherman was the main culprit, hitting three trifectas from the wing, the first just nine seconds into the frame. Those points helped send Lower Merion into halftime leading by four.
The Aces finished 7-for-16 from the 3-point line, and courtesy of the efforts of McFadden and others in the post, they got to the line 29 times.
Turn those numbers on their heads, and you’ve got Penn Wood’s night. The Patriots were stymied time and again on the offensive end — sometimes by their own doing, other times by the Aces.
McFadden and Jule Brown proved potent deterrents in the lane, recovering from some early struggles on the glass to hold court in the paint and force the Patriots into more jump shots than they would’ve liked. And they were not falling.
Penn Wood shot just under 35 percent from the field (16-for-46) and a wretched 3-for-20 from 3-point land. They weren’t able to force the issue at the rim, getting to the line a mere four times the entire evening and not attempting their first free throws until the waning seconds of the third quarter.
“They were playing good D,’ said Penn Wood guard Malik Jackson, who scored a team-high 15 points. “They just had a guy sitting in the lane ready when we drive. He was just sitting there. We were kicking it out for 3, but we weren’t hitting big shots.’
To read the remainder of the article click here. http://www.gametimepa.com/delaware/ci_25175736/boys-basketball-lower-merion-turns-up-heat-second
Lower Merion's Justin McFadden breaks up Penn Wood's Amadou Kaba's drive to the basket. (Robert J Gurecki)
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