According to Williamsport coach Allen Taylor, Monday’s disappointing home loss to Harrisburg was a missed opportunity for a signature win for the Millionaires. On Saturday, the Millionaires made sure to not let a similar opportunity slip away.

Williamsport excelled in all facets, getting contributions up and down the lineup from players young and old as they beat a quality Pottsville team, 64-45 at the Magic Dome.

“We’ve played some teams that just out-physicaled us, and we knew Pottsville was going to come in and play like that because their identity is beating you to death with screens. It’s either threes or backdoor cuts,” Taylor said. “They beat you to death defensively, denying and making sure they bump you when you cut. They’re physical in the pain,”

“We had been prepared for this game from the competition we’ve played on our schedule. It was just a matter of going out there and finally proving to ourselves that we can play for 32 minutes,” Taylor continued. “We’ve done it once. Dallas was a similar team, but we haven’t been able to answer that call since then. I was proud of the guys’ response today, fighting through screens and rebounding. But more importantly, we got up and down, we ran, and we put some pressure on them.”

Williamsport excelled in transition all day, sharing the basketball for easy looks on the break. Senior point guard Naazir Lowe led the break with precision, and the Millionaires finished well at the rim, something that has been an issue at times.

“It all starts with Naazir. He’s the team captain. He holds everybody accountable and leads the way,” Chilson said.

Chilson, another senior, was key in the Millionaire win. He scored eight points in the first eleven minutes, knocking down two crucial early threes. That opened up driving lanes for his teammates as Williamsport dominated the interior throughout.

“I feel like once one went in, then it definitely gave me more confidence for the next one,” Chilson said.

Chilson’s first 3 came with less than a minute to play in the first quarter after both teams had gotten off to a slow start offensively to put Williamsport up 11-6 early in the quarter.

Back-to-back mid-range jumpers by Mekhi Gaston and Tevin Williams put Williamsport up nine late in the second quarter as they looked to put some separation between themselves and Pottsville. But a corner three from the buzzer cut the lead to 28-22 at halftime.

That didn’t phase the Millionaires one bit. A quick seven-point burst in 24 seconds featuring a Mekhi Gaston three-point-play the old-fashioned way, two technical foul shots by Chilson, and two more by Naazir Lower to go up 39-26. And a few possessions later, Gaston and fellow freshman Saleem Overton combined for five straight points on back-to-back possessions in transition to put Williamsport up 47-28.

“(Transition scoring) was one of the things we worked on. We’ve had so many things we needed to work on, and we haven’t been able to just focus on that,” Taylor said. “We needed to focus specifically on how to run, how to run the lanes, the passes we’re looking for, and the areas we’re trying to attack. That’s what we did these last four days, and I think it paid off. We still didn’t do it to perfection, but it’s a start. Now we can look at some film and try to clean things up, and hopefully the next time we get out on the court, things will be a little better.”

Pottsville would make a run in the early parts of the fourth quarter, and another Bowers trey cut the Milionaire lead to 11 with seven minutes remaining. But Williamsport responded, scoring the next eight points to go up 55-37, highlighted by a ferocious two-hand slam by Gaston on a backdoor cut off of a perfect pass from Lowe. Gaston and fellow freshman Saleem Overton combined for 17 points on Saturday and are coming into their own late in the season. Gaston is getting over some early-season nerves and has settled in to his role.

“All my friends, we all play basketball. When we go outside, we’ll all play together. And it’s just like, if I’m good enough to compete with them, I’m good enough to compete with anybody on the court with me, because we’re both playing varsity basketball. We’re on the same level.”

Gaston has been taking on added defensive responsibility as well, and Taylor trusted him enough to give him a matchup with Pottsville leading scorer Christian Alvarez. Gaston excelled, and held Alvarez to just 12 points, well under his season average.

“We actually put him on their best player. And it’s not too often you come across a 6-5 freshman who can guard somebody on the perimeter,” Taylor said. “I think he’s handling the coaching, at least he did this week. He’s starting to trust the coaching staff more than he has in the past, which is a good thing.”

Williamsport will return back to action on Tuesday at home against Wilkes-Barre in a crucial District 2-4 subregional contest as both teams battle for the number-one seed.

Williamsport 64, Pottsville 45

POTTSVILLE (45)

Hobbs 1 0-0 2, McGinley 2 0-0 5, Allen 1 0-0 2, Bainbridge 1 0-0 2, Alvarez 4 3-4 12, Bowe 4 0-0 11, Kunstek 2 2-2 6, Kimber 3 0-0 6, Viars 1 0-0 2 Totals: 17 5-6 45

WILLIAMSPORT (64)

Naazir Lowe 2 3-7 7, Saleem Overton 4 0-0 8, Quincy Williams 1 0-0 2, Tevin Williams 6 3-4 16, Dion Young 1 1-2 1, Josh Sweeting 1 1-2 1, Mekhi Gaston 4 1-2 9, Ethan Chilson 4 2-2 13, Kaison Ulmer 3 2-5 8, Jensen Spencer 0-0 0, Aden Edwards 0 0-0 0, 24 13-25 65

Pottsville 10 12 9 14 -45

Williamsport 11 17 19 18 -64

3-point goals: Pottsville 6 (Bower 3, Alvarez 1, Kimber 1, Mcginley 1), Williamsport 4 (Chilson 3, Williams 1).