Thompson and Wright come up big in first playoff starts as Neumann captures another Mid-Penn championship

By CHRIS MASSE

cmasse@sungazette.com

MILLVILLE--All season long, St. John Neumann freshman Daiton Thompson and sophomore Chase Wright have made it apparent they have bright basketball futures.

Turns out the future is now.

Making their first playoff starts memorable ones Friday night, Thompson and Wright flourished while helping Neumann repeat as Mid-Penn Conference champions.

Thompson scored 10 points, Wright five and both played strong defense as Neumann defeated East Division champion Northwest, 64-49 in front of a standing room only crowd at Millville. The Knights (19-4) led from start to finish, held off a furious Northwest comeback and shined late, breaking things open in the fourth quarter to win for the 13th consecutive game. The Knights also have won both Mid-Penn title games since the league split into two divisions last year.

"It was my first playoff came and it was nice to step up and come through,’ Thompson said. "Coach is always talking about how different players have to step up, and I was glad that I could come out and do that."

"I was super excited just to be out there for the first time," Wright said. "Now, I know what it’s like for the future, especially being out there with some of my best friends since I won’t get to play with some of them after this year, since they’re graduating. It was super fun to play together with them."

Davion Hill scored a game-high 31 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and made five steals. Messiah Baldwin produced 11 points and five assists, while Joe Savage pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds. Neumann opened a 14-point first quarter lead, but Northwest (19-4) took control in the middle quarters, pulled as close as two in the third and trailed by just four entering the fourth.

Neumann finished strong, however, turning up the defense and using a 16-1 run to go up 19 with 1 minute, 38 seconds remaining and land the knockout blow. The box score might not reflect it, but one better believe Thompson and Wright had their fingerprints all over that success.

Starters Tyrick Moy and Kane Wright were out injured as was sixth man Corey Agnew. All our expected back for the playoffs which start Wednesday when top-seeded Neumann hosts Northeast Bradford. That means Neumann turned what looked like a negative entering Friday’s title game into a big positive moving forward.

That goes double considering the caliber of opponent Neumann was facing Friday and the boisterous environment this game featured.

"This is great for districts. This helps us get ready for everything," Wright said. "We definitely needed this with some guys out with injuries. It gets everyone prepared, so that when they do come back, we have more guys off the bench to help us.

"They did awesome. We had to kind of weather the storm and they did," Neumann coach Louis Roskowski said. "It’s a big confidence boost for everybody. That was huge, knowing that rather than going six-deep we can go eight-deep now. It’s a good thing for us."

Thompson signaled good things were coming when he opened the game with a jumper and the second half with a 3-pointer. The freshman has flashed his upside in spurts throughout the season and put it all together against Northwest, making all four shots from the field, grabbing seven rebounds, making good decisions and adding two steals.

Thompson frequently made key plays at important times. That included after Roskowski called a timeout in the third quarter with Northwest having a chance to tie on the ensuing possession. Instead, Thompson made a steal and went coast-to-coast to put Neumann up, 38-33.

"This gives me a lot more confidence," Thompson said. "I just knew I had to step up for my team. That’s what I had to do."

Wright did as well. Neither play tried to do too much, simply staying within themselves and mastering their roles. Wright made two of his three shot attempts and his 3-pointer gave Neumann a 26-13 lead less than six minutes before halftime. He added a vital basket to help slow Northwest’s momentum in the third quarter, played good defense and did all the little things which do not reveal themselves in the stats, but which are critical to producing big wins.

"I didn’t want to be nervous. I just wanted to come in like it was any other game, whether it’s JV or varsity," Wright said. "I just wanted to give it my best effort. Hard work pays off every time."

Ultimately, that is what helped Neumann capture another championship. Northwest worked its way back into the game and drained seven 3-pointers in the middle quarters when it outscored Neumann, 35-27. The Rangers are a well-rounded team which set each other up well and they can all shoot.

What bothered Roskowski was his players not contesting some of those shot attempts. Seemingly every time Neumann did not, Northwest made it pay. After Northwest put Neumann on the ropes, however, the Knights came swinging back.

The Knights did not allow a field goal until the final two minutes of the fourth quarter and also did not surrender another 3-pointer. A Savage to Hill connection helped ignite a game-breaking 13-0 run which put Neumann up 17 with less than three minutes remaining. Hill scored seven straight points during that burst, adding a 3-point play and a steal and layup after Savage found him inside.

"Coach said we had to step on defense. That was our main issue," said Thompson, who added that Hill gave both he and Wright a lot of confidence with a rousing pregame speech. "We just had to step up and communicate better and I feel like we did that."

"We stressed to them eight more minutes. Give it all you have for eight more minutes, and you win a league championship," Roskowski said. "We did a better job contesting. We adjusted well under the circumstances."

Savage set the tone during Neumann’s blistering start. The junior forward scored seven of Neumann’s first 11 points, helping it storm out to an 11-2 advantage. Hill’s steal and layup gave the Knights their biggest first half lead, 19-5 before Northwest started chipping away and closing within 31-25 at halftime.

A second straight conference championship secured, coming against the district’s No. 2 seed, Neumann now turns its attention toward districts. The Knights reached last year’s Class A state championship, but are competing in Class AA for the first time, so a new challenge awaits.

"We have a lot of guys ready to come up," Wright said. "We have people coming back this week, too, so we just can’t wait."

NEUMANN (64)

Davion Hill 11 8-9 31, Joe Savage 2 2-2 7, Messiah Baldwin 3 5-9 11, Chase Wright 2 0-0 5, Daiton Thompson 4 1-2 10, Malachi Coleman 0 0-0 0, Andrew Walter 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 16-22 64.

NORTHWEST (49)

Taylor Yaple 5 4-6 15, Josh Miner 5 0-2 13, Ryan Miner 4 0-0 11, Landon Hufford 4 2-3 10, Zac O’Day 0 0-0 0, Derek Pierontoni 0 0-1 0. Totals 18 6-12 49.

Neumann 19 12 15 18--64

Northwest 7 18 17 7--49

3-pointers: Neumann 4 (Hill, Savage, Wright, Thompson); Northwest 7 (J. Miner 3, R. Miner 3, Yaple).

Records: Neumann 19-4. Northwest 19-4.