Tomlin’s defense locks up Haven’s Edwards, states berth for Penncrest

NETHER PROVIDENCE — On any given night, Marquis Tomlin can occupy any number of roles in the Penncrest backcourt. Some nights, it’s as the shutdown defender. Others, he’s directing the offense at the point. Sometimes, he’s playing off the ball, ready to knock down shots.

Saturday night, with point guard Saahir Lee out injured and Aidan Carroll sitting with early foul trouble, it wasn’t an either/or situation. Tomlin would have to do all three.

And did he ever.

Tomlin led all scorers with 16 points, but his lock-down defense on Strath Haven’s Luke Edwards made the difference in a 43-34 win for the third-seeded Lions in the District 1 Class 5A quarterfinals.

The victory sends Penncrest (21-6) to its fourth straight state tournament and fifth in six seasons. The Lions take on No. 10 Penn Wood, which upended No. 2 Holy Ghost Prep, 69-59, in Wednesday’s semifinal, at 6 p.m. at Norristown High School.

Sixth-seeded Strath Haven (16-9) will make states if it wins at Holy Ghost Wednesday in playbacks.

Tomlin and Penncrest didn’t need a primer on what Edwards could do. Last time the teams met in Kauffman Gymnasium, Edwards nailed a game-winning 35-footer at the buzzer. That he hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter Saturday only reinforced the necessity of stopping him in the fourth meeting between the Media Bowl rivals.

The was the assignment for Tomlin, one of the Central League’s best on-ball defenders.

“There’s never really ever a breather for me,” Tomlin said. “I knew (Edwards) had three fouls and I knew I had to guard him and I knew he was their best player, so I had to take him out of the game. I took him out of the game, and that’s why we won.”

Haven made five of its first six attempts from 3-point range to accrue an 18-11 lead at half despite not making a two-point basket. But with Tomlin as Edwards’ omnipresent shadow, the Panthers were held to two points in the third, Penncrest taking the lead for good on a whirling Jordan Bochanski drive.

The torrid shooting start also lulled Penncrest into thinking it could match jumper for jumper, which accounts for the paltry 11 first-half points. But Penncrest adjusted, going to the basket more, placing its faith in Haven not making five of every six 3-point attempts hoisted and closing Haven’s path to easy offense thanks to Denzel Atkinson-Boyer’s shot-altering in the lane.

“It helps us out a lot because we know that if we get beat at any point, he’s right there to help us out any time,” Tomlin said of Boyer, who had eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks.

The result was Haven making only one of its next 15 looks from 3-point land. The Panthers didn’t get their first two until the 4:38 mark of the third, and Edwards attempted just one shot in the middle two quarters. He had five field-goal attempts all night.

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Penncrest guard Marquis Tomlin, splitting a pair of Lower Merion defenders in their Central League playoff game two weeks ago, scored 16 points and put the clamps on Strath Haven’s Luke Edwards defensively in a 43-34 win in the District 1 Class 5A quarterfinals Saturday night. (Pete Bannan/MediaNews Group)