Mercury Roundup (Feb. 14): Nguyen becomes Spring-Ford’s career scoring leader in first round district win

Boys Basketball

(10) Spring-Ford 59, (23) Wissahickon 54

Senior Jacob Nguyen became Spring-Ford’s all-time leading scorer, scoring a game-high 27 points and leading the Rams to a hard-earned first-round District 1-6A playoff victory on Friday night. Nguyen broke the school record with a fourth-quarter foul shot in a tight game to extend his team’s season at least two more games, as he now stands at 1,397 points and counting.

“It’s a huge honor,” Nguyen said by phone Saturday morning before the Rams hit the practice court. “I know I earned this and how much work I put in, so it’s a happy thing for me to experience. Last night when it was getting tight, the seniors kind of came together and had a talk about not losing the game. We didn’t want our season to end right there, and our leadership was big.”

Nguyen connected on four 3-pointers and shot 7-for-9 from the foul line, including a couple big makes in the fourth quarter when Wissahickon went on a run and made things a little close for comfort at the end for the Rams. Syaire Barnes (13 points) and Tommy Kelly (11 points) also reached double figures in the win. The Trojans battled even without leading scorer Nico Vacchiano, who missed the game with an illness.

Both Nguyen and Spring-Ford head coach Joe Dempsey said the people played a little tight, perhaps still feeling the disappointment of Monday night’s last-second loss to Pope John Paul II in the PAC title game.

“Wissahickon is a good program, they played very hard last night and I think we came out kind of sluggish,” Nguyen said. “We have to fix that today in practice and we have to be breathing fire by Tuesday and be ready to go. We want to max it out as long as we can.”

The 10th-seeded Rams (18-7) will travel to face No. 7 Souderton at 7 p.m. in Tuesday’s second round matchup. Champions of the SOL Colonial Division, Souderton had a first-round bye and enters the game with an overall record of 17-6. Spring-Ford is guaranteed at least two more games; a loss to Souderton would send the Rams to playbacks to try to earn one of the 10 6A spots to the PIAA tournament, while a win would send Spring-Ford to states.

“We’re just trying to finish out strong with two of the best players who have ever played at this high school,” Rams head coach Joe Dempsey said of Nguyen and Kelly. “They’re battle-tested. We’re going to ride with these kids and hope to spend a few more weeks with them.”

(14) Methacton 83, (19) Council Rock South 72

Wes Robinson’s game-high 29 points punched Methacton’s ticket to the second round of the District 1-6A Tournament as the Warriors used a 32-point second quarter to get by Council Rock South on Friday night. Sal Iemmello added 15 points for Methacton (17-7) and Jack Lineen chipped in 10. Ryan Delp led CR South with 26 points and four 3-pointers.

The 14th-seeded Warriors will now travel to No. 3 Conestoga on Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. game. A win would punch Methacton’s ticket to the state tournament, while a loss would at least guarantee the team an additional playback game.

Girls Basketball

(13) Spring-Ford 57, (20) Lower Merion 29

Spring-Ford shook off the disappointment of Monday’s PAC championship loss by scoring a runaway first-round District 1-6A playoff victory over visiting Lower Merion. Eleven total players scored for the No. 13 Rams (19-7), who were led by senior Kareena Preuss’ 12 points. Miley Maloney added nine points in the victory as the Rams built a 10-point halftime advantage and held a commanding 35-19 lead through three quarters. Carson Kasmer scored a game-high 19 points for the 20th-seeded Aces.

Spring-Ford will hit the road for a second round matchup at No. 4 Central Bucks East on Tuesday at 5:30. A win would send the Rams to states, while a loss would keep them alive via playbacks.

(12) Chester 57, (21) Methacton 47

Seniors Jenna Kaufman (16 points) and Abby Arnold (15 points) each produced strong games for Methacton but their impressive basketball careers came to a close as the Lady Warriors dropped a first round District 1-6A contest at No. 12 Chester. The team led by six after one quarter but was done in by sluggish second and third periods. Freshman Penny Wolf added eight points for 21st-seeded Methacton, who finished its season with an overall record of 14-10.