Garnet Valley Jack-owskys one up for win in third OT

CONCORD — If you could look beyond the shoddy end-of-game execution, Wednesday night’s Central League meeting between Penncrest and Garnet Valley was just about perfect.

Two coaching staffs that had scouted each other within an inch of their lives. Two squads getting contributions from up and down the roster. Thirty-two minutes of clean, defensive basketball, with an extra 12 tacked on just because everyone was having so much fun.

And a final irony that the only one of the five end-of-game chances to be converted — Aidan Carroll’s second-chance 3-pointer at the buzzer of the third overtime — mattered none to the final outcome.Despite Garnet Valley spurning chances to win at the end of regulation, the first overtime and twice in the second OT, the Jaguars managed to hold on, 64-62, in a loony three-overtime contest between two of the top teams in District 1’s Class 6A and 5A rankings.

Even before tipoff, there was intrigue. Wednesday was the first game back for Neel Beniwal, the Jags’ second-leading scorer last year, who had missed seven games with tendinitis in his knee while dealing with a torn ligament in his left pinkie. Perhaps the basketball gods just wanted to give Beniwal more time on the court, and he obliged with a game-best 20 points, despite just 2-for-7 shooting from 3-point range.

“It was good,” Beniwal said. “They did really good without me the last seven games, but it feels good to be back and scoring 20. And playing with my teammates is really fun.”

Penncrest had a late lineup change to complicate matters, with Justin Potts unable to go, replaced by Ben Stanton. The sophomore scored eight points, including a late 3-pointer in the first overtime.

Garnet Valley (15-1, 10-1) had the final say thanks to not having to script a play for said final say. The Jags led by five with two minutes left, but a 3-pointer from Marquis Tomlin and two missed free throws from Carl Schaller left the door open for Penncrest (13-4, 7-4). Carroll obliged with 53 seconds left, coming off a screen and hoisting Stanton’s feed for a 3-pointer at the top of the key to even the game at 47.

Enter the Garnet Valley late-game adventure. Off a timeout with 18.6 seconds left, the Jags drew up a play that ended with Gannon McKee airballing an unplanned 3-pointer. The teams traded blows in the first extra session, but a Penncrest turnover gave the Jags the final look, which turned into a harried Max Jackowsky air ball from range.

“I was expecting the ball, but I had to rush because there was a little bit of time left,” Jackowsky said. “I wasn’t ready to shoot, I’d say.”

In the second OT, Garnet Valley doubled down, and not in a good way. Denzel Atkinson-Boyer, who had tied the game at 55, blocked a Jackowsky effort with 2.1 seconds left, and Stanton collected the rebound. But after a timeout, the Lions threw the ball the length of the court clear of everyone (one of only 18 total turnovers in a hard-nosed but clean game), giving the Garnet an in-bounds play at the hashmark in its half of the court.

Even still, they couldn’t cash in, Carroll blocking a Beniwal 3-pointer.

“We’re hyped at that point,” Tomlin said. “We knew at the end of regulation, we had to stop them. We had to lock it in and get the last stop regardless of what happened.”

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Garnet Valley’s Max Jackowsky hits a 3-pointer in the third overtime against Penncrest Wednesday. Jackowsky’s 3-pointer put Garnet Valley up for good in a 64-62 win. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)