BOYS BASKETBALL: Booth’s return, Baratta’s game-high 22 fuel Phoenixville’s first round district win over Tennent

PHOENIXVILLE — Last week as his Phoenixville basketball team dropped a six-point heartbreaker to Spring-Ford in the PAC semifinals, Keron Booth watched helplessly from the bench in street clothes.

Last year as a freshman, the 5-foot-7 Booth established himself as a dynamic live wire of a weapon off the bench and helped the program to its first PAC championship in 17 years. This season, he ascended to starting point guard and guided the Phantoms back to the postseason as their primary ball-handler while combining with seniors Deacon Baratta and Trey Lear to form a dangerous offensive triumvirate.

Which made it all the more painful having to sit out the PAC playoffs due to a hip contusion and ligament damage in his right wrist sustained in the penultimate game of the regular season on Jan. 28. Luckily for the Phantoms their floor general returned just in time for the first round of the District 1-6A playoffs on Saturday afternoon, scoring 13 points and dishing out five assists as No. 9 Phoenixville dominated No. 24 William Tennent en route to a 78-56 victory.

Baratta scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, while Lear tallied 17 of his 19 in the first half as Phoenixville built a commanding 45-23 advantage at halftime. The Phantoms (18-7) advanced to Tuesday night’s second round game at No. 8 Central Bucks East, where Booth will again try to utilize his lightning-quick speed and slippery dribbling ability to his team’s advantage.

“I knew I didn’t want to go home today, so I had to pull up for my team,” Booth said. “I felt really bad not being out there with my teammates in the Spring-Ford game. I tried to be a leader and coach them up on the bench, but we came up just short. I knew the team was missing me, so I knew I had to bring the energy today and help us keep the season going.”

A win at CB East on Tuesday would punch Phoenixville’s ticket to the PIAA Tournament for the second straight year, though a loss wouldn’t end the Phantoms’ season either, instead sending them to playbacks and the more circuitous route to states. Either way, Saturday’s drubbing of Tennent guaranteed this group at least two more games and another full week together.

Booth made his presence known right away against the Panthers. Never one to shy away from a drive into the lane, Booth sliced his way to a layup for Phoenixville’s second basket of the game before later assisting on back-to-back Lear triples. The Phantoms led 16-7 through the first eight minutes.

Booth then opened Phoenixville’s second-quarter with a 3-pointer before kicking out to Mike Venezia for an open trey on the team’s next possession. The Phantoms’ next two possessions went the same way: Booth bomb from downtown, then an assist on another triple the next time down the court, this time to Brady O’Donnell. A quick 12-4 burst to open the second period opened up a 28-12 Phantoms lead, with Booth’s fingerprints all over the onslaught.

“With me on the court it gives us a ball-handler as well as a leader,” Booth said. “I’m confident, and I think one of the best things I can do is lead. When I’m out there, I try to give everyone more confidence in themselves. I feel like we play together when I’m out there being the best version of myself.”

Often the shortest player on the floor, Booth can’t see over top of players like Baratta can, but his court vision and quickness allow him to see into gaps and fit into seams that others can’t. On Saturday he took eight shots from inside the arc and seven 3-pointers, always making his next move unpredictable to opposing defenses. Booth’s strength as a passer allows for a plethora of open kickouts, and the Phantoms knocked down eight 3’s on Saturday.

“Him probing and getting into the lane opens the court up for all of us,” said Baratta, who added 10 rebounds. “Having him out there opens up shots for everybody and helps so much as a facilitator and floor general. He’s insanely quick and the best ball-handler on our team, so it’s hard for people to stay in front of him.”

Lear added nine more points in the second quarter and ended up shooting 7-for-9 in the game, a mix of confident shooting from deep and physical slashes to the rim that Tennent was powerless to stop. Defensively, the Phantoms were active and on point, with Baratta sharing that the team logged 22 deflections in the first half alone.

Baratta saved most of his best for late, shooting 4-for-5 for 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Phantoms shook out the offensive cobwebs after a week off from game action.

“We had a week of practice to prepare for them and did a lot of scout team stuff,” Baratta said. “Memorized a lot of their plays and high-post action. We came out knowing they were all shooters, which was a key for us defensively. We didn’t underestimate them and there was nothing they could really do (offensively).”

The Panthers (11-12) did knock down eight 3-pointers but needed 27 attempts to do so. Tennent cut it to 50-37 late in the third quarter, but that was as close as the last team in the 6A bracket would get. Jayden Bright scored 15 points off the bench, with Tony Pople (14 points) and Tre Stracuzzi (10 points) also reaching double figures.

Phoenixville will now look forward to having two strong practices heading into the CB East game on Tuesday. With Booth back in the fold when his team needed him most, the Phantoms like their chances against anybody in 6A that takes the court with them. After all, Phoenixville played Lower Merion — the top-ranked team in 6A — two days after Christmas and competed hard in an eventual five-point loss.

“The next couple days of practice we’re going to be locked in on our scouting reports,” Booth said. “Keep getting shots up, keep recovering and come in with a chip on our shoulder like how we did last year when we won the PAC championship. We’ll keep coming in as underdogs – a lot of people might not believe in us, but we believe in ourselves.”

Phoenixville 78, William Tennent 56

WT: 7 16 14 19  –  56

PHX: 16 29 12 21  –  78

WT: Jayden Bright 4 1 4-4 15; Tony Pople 1 4 0-0 14; Tre Stracuzzi 1 2 2-2 10; Ryan Bula 2 1 0-0 7; Scott Scheller 2 0 0-0 4; Braden Goldberg 2 0 0-0 4; Luke Torok 1 0 0-0 2; Matt Weigner 0 0 0-0 0; Carter Jameson 0 0 0-0 0; Braden Hahn 0 0 0-0 0; Teegan Stanfield 0 0 0-0 0; Joe Hebling 0 0 0-0 0; Mickey Angley 0 0 0-0 0; Evan Eiler 0 0 0-0 0; Totals 13 8 6-6 56.

PHX: Deacon Baratta 9 1 1-2 22; Trey Lear 4 3 2-2 19; Keron Booth 3 2 1-2 13; Brady O’Donnell 2 1 0-0 7; Stephen Yurick 2 0 2-3 6; Jacoby Smith 2 0 0-0 4; Mike Venezia 0 1 0-0 3; Colin Coleman 1 0 0-0 2; Jayden Smith 1 0 0-2 2; Jehoash Leo 0 0 0-0 0; Chase Thorburn 0 0 0-0 0; Pat Carey 0 0 0-0 0; Wiley O’Meachum 0 0 0-0 0; Totals 24 8 6-11 78.