Players, coaches and spectators alike would agree that Williamsport had been a bit lackadaisical through the first 12 minutes of its District 2-4 Class 6A playoff game against lowly Wyoming Valley West on Wednesday night at the Magic Dome. The game was tied at 18, and the Millionaires were mired in a stretch of poor execution on the offensive end.

Williamsport star Tevin Williams knew he needed to make an impact, and he did just that.

Williams slammed home two dunks on back-to-back possessions, two of 12 Millionaire dunks on the evening, and the Millionaires took control in the second half, topping Wyoming Valley West, 68-52, to move on to Monday’s semifinals against Delaware Valley back at the Magic Dome.

“I think that sequence just gave us fuel to the fire. It was like, ‘alright this is how our team plays. We play above the rim.’ Then it was just time to go. The game was too close,” Wsaid Williams, who scored 26 points and had nine of the 12 dunks. “I’m not going to say they’re a bad team, but they’re one of the weaker teams we’ve played, and we were kind of playing with our food. We had to put them away and not make it a close game, because then it lets the refs dictate the game.”
What looked to be an easy matchup on paper against a 1-20 Wyoming Valley West team was complicated by a rash of illness that left the Millionaires completely without two rotation players in Ethan Chilson and Saleem Overton and significantly hampered others.  Williamsport looked like a team battling sickness early on, as they were visibly sluggish and laboring on each possession. Those aforementioned Williams dunked helped Williamsport lead 26-22 at halftime. But with their season on the line, that was far from a comfortable margin.

Williamsport coach Allen Taylor knew an adjustment needed to be made, as the Millionaires were merely applying token man-to-man pressure in the full court and then dropping into a passive zone defense in the first half. 

“We kind of changed things up in the second half and played with a little more energy. We were a little concerned with guys’ fatigue, so we thought about going zone and trying to keep guys in the game. But they were way too comfortable, so we had to switch things up. We went man in the first half, then switched the press in the second half and got guys going,” Taylor said. “You expend a little more energy playing that way, but I’m just glad we were in good enough shape. The guys who weren’t fully healthy were still able to go out there and contribute the way they did.”

That change completely flipped the energy.

Williamsport forced live ball turnovers, got out in transition and made it count. Freshman Mekhi Gaston (14 points) and Williams consistently finished with authority to send the Millionaire faithful into a frenzy. By the time Gaston picked up an errant pass near halfcourt, dished it off to Naazir Lowe, and took a picture-perfect bounce pass back from the point guard and punched one home with some force with the right hand, Williamsport had expanded their lead to 41-27 at exactly the halfway mark of the 3rd quarter.

“When one of our players gets a dunk, it gets the whole team fired up. Once Tevin gets one, it makes me want to get one. Then it makes Kason (Ulmer) want to get a dunk. Then we just feed off that energy,” Gaston said. 

The second-half was not perfect by any means. But every time Wyoming Valley West would threaten to get back in the game, a Millionaire run, typically capped off by a Williams or Gaston slam, would ensue to shut the door once more. 

Williamsport knows it will have to play much better to get to where it wants to go. But this time of the year is all about surviving and advancing. 

“As a coaching staff, we were talking about knowing we were going to be short-handed, with guys not healthy and not being able to practice prior to the game. The conversation was that we just had to survive and advance and hope we could be a little more healthy by Monday, and even more healthy if we’re blessed with the opportunity to move forward,” Taylor said. 

Williamsport 68, Wyoming Valley West 52

WYOMING VALLEY WEST (52)

Zach Mondesir 4 2-2 10 Ajai Hickson 7 4-5 21, Jaquell Smith 4 1-2 9, Carson Carlos 3 0-0 7, Malique Campbell 1 0-0 2, Adriel Sepluveda 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 7-9 52.
WILLIAMSPORT (68)

Naazir Lowe 3 0-0 6, Quincy Williams 2 0-0 4, Tevin Williams 11 4-4 26, Josh Sweeting 2 0-0 4,  Mekhi Gaston 5 4-6 14, Aden Edwards 0 0-0 0, Kason Ulmer 6 2-2 14. Totals 28 12-14 68.

Wyoming Valley West 14 8 13 17 – 52 

Williamsport 16 10 20 22 -68

3-point goals: Wyoming Valley West 5 (Hickson 3, Carlos 1, Sepulveda 1).