Boys’ Basketball: Myon Kirlew, Norristown overtake Owen J. Roberts 65-59 on Fryer’s milestone night

WEST NORRITON >> After leading the entire game – by as many as 16 points in the third quarter – Norristown found itself trailing Owen J. Roberts midway through the fourth Thursday night.

Down by two points, Norristown veteran Myon Kirlew took over. The senior tied the game with an acrobatic layup through traffic and put the Eagles ahead for good with a pair of technical free throws with 2:55 remaining.

The Eagles scored 11 straight points after facing their only deficit of the game and closed out a 65-59 Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division win over senior Luke Fryer and Owen J. Roberts at Norristown Area High School.

“We were in foul trouble so we couldn’t play as aggressive as we usually do,” Kirlew said, “but then we got it together at the end.

“We started playing as a team again (down 52-50). Our point guard (Jayden Byrd) was out for a little bit. He really facilitates.”

Norristown’s strong finish foiled the Wildcats on a milestone night for OJR senior Fryer, who reached 1,000 career points with his first basket, a pullup jumper in the lane in the middle of the first quarter. The PAC’s leading scorer averaging 24.8 points per game, Fryer went on to score 20.

“The trust that my team’s had in me for four years,” Fryer said, “they’ve had trust in me to have the green light and they trust me to lead them in games.

Fryer became the sixth player in program history to score 1,000.

“I was working towards (1,000 points) in the summer. It was my goal to win games and get 1,000 points. The work is showing. I got it earlier in the year than I thought I was going to get it.”

While Fryer was the story early, Kirlew took the position late. His four straight points gave the Eagles (6-6, 3-3 PAC, 2-3 PAC Liberty) a 54-52 lead with 2:55 to go. They maintained possession due to the technical foul and Byrd found Miles Daniels for a layup and 56-52 advantage.

Kirlew forced a jump ball on the ensuing possession and the arrow was in Norristown’s favor. He found Rashon Giddens for a layup and six-point lead. Giddens, who finished with a team-high 18 points and game-high 15 rebounds, scored off a Byrd assist to make it 10 straight Eagles points and a 60-52 lead with 1:19 to go. Kirlew completed the 11-0 run when he split a pair of free throws with 1:16 remaining.

“I played the same the whole game,” Kirlew said. “I just had to get to my spots in the fourth.”

The Wildcats (0-5 PAC Liberty, 1-5 PAC, 5-8 overall) weren’t going to roll over. Fryer scored five straight points on a pair of foul shots and a three-pointer to make it 61-57 with just under a minute to play.

Norristown’s Daniels and OJR’s Danny Walker traded baskets before Kirlew went 2-for-2 at the free-throw line with 25.3 second left. The Eagles defense got a stop on the ensuing possession and OJR decided not to foul, letting the final seconds tick away on a 65-59 Norristown win.

It was the Eagles’ first division win of the season (1-3 Liberty, 2-3 PAC, 5-6 overall).

Norristown opened the game with a 10-0 run and led for all but 90 seconds when they trailed 52-50. It was 16-11 at the end of the first quarter and 35-26 at the half.

The Eagles opened the second half with a 9-2 run to build their largest lead of the game, 44-28. Byrd scored the first seven points and Giddens added a basket during the hot start to the half.

It was a joint effort for the Wildcats to get their deficit to six, 49-43, by the end of the third. Fryer, Elijah Cline, Ryan Holmburg, Jack Cashman and Gavin Winnick scored between two and five points apiece in the third to make it a two-possession game with eight minutes left.

Fryer scored OJR’s first 11 points of the fourth quarter. His first nine points completed a 24-6 run and his first three-pointer of the game gave the Wildcats a 52-50 lead with 4:30 to go. He finished with 14 points in the fourth.

“Get stops, get rebounds,” Fryer said was different during the 24-6 run. “Early, they were getting offensive rebounds and it was killing us. Our big guys got offensive rebounds and we were able to get out on the break and get easy points.

“My shot wasn’t falling early, but I know it’s going to hit at some point. I work on my shot every day. Just keep shooting the ball.”

Kirlew and Byrd joined Giddens in double figures for Norristown, scoring 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Fryer led OJR with a game-high 20 points. Colin King added 16.

Norristown 65, Owen J. Roberts 59

Owen J. Roberts 11 15 17 16 – 59

Norristown 16 19 14 16 – 65

OJR: Danny Walker 1 0 0-0 2, Luke Fryer 5 2 4-5 20, Elijah Cline 3 0 0-0 6, Ryan Holmburg 1 1 0-0 5, Jack Cashman 2 0 0-0 4, Gavin Winnick 2 0 0-0 4, Colin King 6 0 4-7 16, Mekhi Graham 1 0 0-0 2. Total 21 3 8-12 59.

N: Jayden Byrd 3 2 0-2 12, Miles Daniels 2 0 2-2 6, Clint John 1 0 0-0 2, Rashon Giddens 8 0 2-5 18, Kevin Bonds 1 1 0-0 5, Myon Kirlew 2 1 8-10 15, Tyson Tuggle 1 1 0-0 5, Peter Van Duyne 1 0 0-0 2. Total 19 5 12-19 65.