PAC Boys’ Basketball Championship Preview: Spring-Ford vs. Phoenixville (history, matchup, prediction)

Phoenixville and Spring-Ford meet for the Pioneer Athletic Conference boys’ basketball championship at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Perkiomen Valley.

Spring-Ford doesn’t have to look far back to find its last coronation: the Rams are reigning champions. Phoenixville, on the other hand, needs to get out the binoculars. Tuesday marks the Phantoms’ first PAC final appearance since 2007.

The past aside, the finalists were the frontrunners in their respective divisions all season, Spring-Ford claiming the Liberty title and Phoenixville finished atop the Frontier Division for the first time since 2016.

Spring-Ford, though always at an elevated standard, was the PAC’s breakout team of a year ago. The Phantoms, a year removed from a 10-12 finish, have made themselves a slam dunk for that distinction this winter.

“It means a lot. Last year, we had mostly the same team and we didn’t make the PAC playoffs,” said Phoenixville junior Deacon Baratta after the semifinals. “We’ve been thinking about this season for a while.”

A closer look at the matchup:

No. 1 seed Spring-Ford vs. No. 2 seed Phoenixville

Records: Spring-Ford: 9-1 PAC Liberty, 12-1 PAC, 18-5 overall, No. 3 in District 1-6A tournament … Phoenixville: 9-1 PAC Frontier, 10-3 PAC, 17-6 overall, No. 4 in District 1-5A tournament.

Path to the semifinals: After a first-round bye as Liberty champion, Spring-Ford rallied past rival and host Perkiomen Valley, 57-50. Junior Jacob Nguyen had it going offensively, scoring 23 points to lead the Rams  … Phoenixville earned a first-round bye as Frontier champion and then dismantled Pottstown in the semifinals, 80-56. The Phantoms owned the first half, running out to a 35-15 halftime lead and got 25 points from Deacon Baratta and 21 from Max Lebisky.

PAC playoff history: Spring-Ford is the reigning PAC champ and has won six total titles (1999, 2000, 2004, 2014, 2016, 2023). Prior to last season, its most recent finals trip was 2018. …  Phoenixville has won 2 PAC championships (2005, 2007). This is its first finals appearance since 2007.

Head-to-head: The teams met on Dec. 21, 2023 in a regular-season PAC crossover with Spring-Ford victorious, 72-65. Jacob Nguyen and EJ Campbell scored 20 apiece for SF while Max Lebisky topped the Phantoms with 26 points.

Rams at a glance: Spring-Ford has plenty of playoff experience after winning the PAC last year and reaching the final eight of the PIAA 6A Championships. Six members of this year’s rotation played in last year’s PAC final. Senior guard EJ Campbell is the leader of the pack while averaging 14.9 points per game as the top ballhandler and defender. He drew the assignment of PV’s Julian Sadler (No. 2 scorer in PAC) in the semifinals and held him to 17 points. Junior sharpshooter Jacob Nguyen, last year’s Mercury All-Area Player of the Year, had a breakout 23-point night in the semis and averages 14.7 ppg. Senior forward Tommy Kelly comes in at 10.9 ppg and provides athleticism in the front court. Coach Joe Dempsey’s rotation also features junior Jordan Marsilio, who had a strong all-around game vs. PV, sophomore forward Oben Mokonchu, senior Jake Dellangelo and sophomore Blake Turner. Junior Matt Zollers provided the Rams with a spark early in the season but the highly-recruited quarterback has not played since Jan. 18 with a foot injury.

Phoenixville at a glance: Phoenixville enters on a six-game winning streak and comes off arguably its best victory of the season, the 80-56 wire-to-wire wiping of Pottstown in the semifinals. Unlike their first two meetings where the Phantoms came through in the fourth quarter, they dominated from the tip, catapulted by the career-high night for Deacon Baratta. Max Lebisky, a 6-5 senior forward headed for West Chester, leads the only PAC squad with four players averaging double figures. Lebisky averages 18.0 ppg (4th in PAC) and junior guard Dawson Brown is second at 13.7 ppg. Senior guard Christian Cervino (10.8 ppg) and junior Baratta (11.4) are the Phantoms’ other consistent scoring factors. Eric Burnett’s rotation also includes Keron Booth, Brady O’Donnell and Aidan McClintock.

Matchup and prediction: There should be no complaints about a finals game matchup between Spring-Ford and Phoenixville, both of whom separated themselves from their division rivals throughout the PAC season. In their December meeting, Spring-Ford stayed in front throughout and Campbell was the closer as the Rams led by double digits most of the fourth quarter before closing out the 72-65 win. Both squads can get it done in different ways, capable of finishing at the rim but also with enough shooters to knock it down from 3-point range. Campbell and Brown matched up in December, while Spring-Ford faces a decision on how to combat the unique Lebisky. Zollers defended the Phantoms standout then, but with the junior out of the lineup it adds a wrinkle to the matchup. A rewatch of the December game shows the Rams’ defensive activity able to trouble Phoenixville more than the other way around. The individual matchups will change some, but the Rams go deep enough to cope. And with a top two the level of Campbell and Nguyen, it’s hard to bet against Spring-Ford’s ability to close out competitive games. It’s a second straight for Spring-Ford … Spring-Ford 64, Phoenixville 58