Penn Wood storms past William Penn

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - It was early in the fourth quarter, and the Penn Wood players could see the telling signs.

They saw the frustration on the faces of the players from William Penn of York. They watched the Bearcats reserves sulking on the bench.

"I knew we had them," Penn Wood point guard Tyree Johnson said. "I started looking at them, and I knew they didn't want to play anymore."

Midway through the fourth quarter, the William Penn players were looking toward their bench. Those were the signs of a blowout.

Penn Wood rolled to a 72-53 win last night for the PIAA Class AAAA boys' basketball state championship at Penn State's Bryce Jordan Center.

"This feels great, man," said Johnson, whose Patriots are ranked second in Southeastern Pennsylvania by The Inquirer. "I'm just so happy and so proud. I can't even put it in words. I'm just happy."

Penn Wood (28-4), making its first appearance in the state final, was The Inquirer's preseason pick to win it. The Patriots boasted three stellar players in Tyree Johnson, Duane Johnson and Aaron Brown. They were part of the first Penn Wood team to defeat powerhouse Chester since February 2003. They were the team that brought pride back to the Delaware County school.

The Bearcats (31-2) were expected to put up a good fight. Very few expected a blowout.

But Brown, Duane Johnson and Tyree Johnson showed why they are a feared trio.

Brown, a 6-foot-5 swingman, finished with 20 points and four steals. Duane Johnson, a 6-6 guard, added 20 points, 10 rebounds, and four steals. Tyree Johnson, a 5-9 junior, had 14 points, five steals, four rebounds, and five assists.

Early on, the game had the makings of a blowout. A put-back by reserve guard Will Brown gave Penn Wood a 19-4 cushion with 1 minute, 38 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

But William Penn made one of its trademark runs. Outscoring the Patriots by 16-3, the Bearcats closed the gap to 22-20 on Kelvin Parker's layup 6:10 before intermission.

The Patriots ended the half with a 12-6 run to get some breathing room. Will Brown's three-pointer at the end of the third quarter extended Penn Wood's lead to 15 points.

William Penn 9 17 16 11 - 53

Penn Wood 19 15 23 15 - 72

WP: Kelvin Parker 6, Malik Generett 9, Mlachi Leonard 14, Chemin Lambert 2, Ryan Matthews 3, Jevaughn Murphy 17, Andre Callum 2.

PW: Duane Johnson 20, Shawn Oakman 1, Tyree Johnson 14, Aaron Brown 20, Chris White 5, Will Brown 12.