Mercury Roundup (Feb. 28): Barnes deposits 34 points in Spring-Ford’s final tune-up before states

Boys Basketball

(10) Spring-Ford 69, (4) Garnet Valley 64 (District 1-6A 5th place game)

Junior guard Syaire Barnes erupted for 34 points as Spring-Ford aced its final tune-up before next weekend’s PIAA Tournament first round, knocking off Garnet Valley on the road in the 6A fifth-place contest. Barnes was red-hot all game, scoring nine in the first quarter, 11 in the second, six in the third and a final eight in the fourth as the No. 10 Rams (21-8) were able to close out the fourth-seeded Jaguars. Jacob Nguyen added 18 points for Spring-Ford in the victory, while Tommy Kelly chipped in nine. As the fifth seed in District 1 in the upcoming state tournament, the Rams will draw Central Dauphin, the second seed out of District 3, in Saturday’s first round.

Jake Sniras led Garnet Valley (19-8) with a game-high 22 points, while the Jaguars also got double-digit points from Grayson Golek (15 points), Brady Krautzel (14 points) and Cole Boruk (13 points). GV will take on District 12’s number two seed in Saturday’s first round of states.

(18) Downingtown West 57, (9) Phoenixville 54 (District 1-6A 9th place game)

Deacon Baratta stayed hot in districts with a game-high 22 points but Phoenixville was nipped by visiting Downingtown West in the 6A ninth-place game. Trey Lear added 11 points for the Phantoms (20-9), who also received nine points from Stephen Yurick in the losing effort. Phoenixville will have its hands full in the first round of states as the Phantoms will take on District 3 champion Central York on March 8.

Donovan Fromhartz’s team-high 17 points paced the Whippets (18-10), who also received 14 points from Jayden Weishaar. Downingtown West will play the District 11 champion in next Saturday’s first round, which will be the winner of the Northampton-Parkland bout to decide the district champ on March 1.

(3) Hill School 61, (2) Penn Charter 59 (PAISAA Tournament semifinals)

Hill School went on the road on Friday night and knocked off second-seeded Penn Charter to reach Sunday afternoon’s PAISAA championship game. Jacob Meachem’s free throws with 2.8 seconds left broke a 59-all tie, and Kai Shinholster’s 3-pointer from the top of the key rimmed out at the buzzer for the Quakers as the Blues survived. No. 3 Hill will meet 12th-seeded Phelps School at Saint Joseph’s University’s Hagan Arena at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Hill is seeking its third PAISAA championship in boys basketball and first since 2018.

(12) Phelps School 82, (1) Perkiomen School (National) 67 (PAISAA Tournament semifinals)

The top-seeded, two-time PAISAA defending champions were stunned at home by 12th-seeded Phelps School on Friday night, putting an end to Perkiomen’s hopes for a three-peat. Gabe Tanner led the Panthers with 18 points, and the team also received 16 points from KJ Cochran and an additional 11 courtesy of Jordan Gabriel. The Panthers finished their season at 19-9 overall; meanwhile Phelps, which fell to Perkiomen in last year’s championship game, will aim to topple Hill School in Sunday’s title game for the program’s first boys basketball PAISAA crown since 2015.

Girls Basketball

(22) Abington 46, (13) Spring-Ford 39 (District 1-6A 11th place game)

Kareena Preuss scored a team-high 18 points in what ended up becoming the final game of her career as the Rams were upended by No. 22 Abington in the 6A 11th-place game, ending Spring-Ford’s hopes of getting back to the PIAA Tournament, where they have become a mainstay in recent years. The Rams finished 20-10 overall this season.

Maya Johnson paced Abington with 22 points and 10 assists, as the Ghosts (15-10) completed their run to states in spite of being the third-to-last team into the 6A bracket. They will take on District 3 champion Dallastown in the first round of the PIAA Tournament.