PAC Boys Basketball semifinal preview: Pottstown-Phoenixville, Spring-Ford-Perkiomen Valley, matchups and predictions

Friday’s Pioneer Athletic Conference boys’ basketball semifinals are in the bonus.

Not in the traditional sense you hear the term thrown around a basketball court, but in terms of the intriguing matchups that will only enhance the natural excitement a conference semifinal brings.

With both semifinals featuring in-division battles between rivals that have been on each other’s minds all seasons, you couldn’t ask for a better setup.

Frontier Division champion and No. 2 seed Phoenixville takes on No. 3 seed Pottstown in the 6 p.m. semifinal, followed by No. 1 seed and reigning champion Spring-Ford battling No. 5 seed and host Perkiomen Valley at 7:45 p.m.

The winners earn a place in the championship, to be played on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 7 p.m. at Perkiomen Valley.

A look at the matchups:

No. 3 Pottstown vs. No. 2 Phoenixville (6 p.m.)

Records: Pottstown: 8-2 PAC Frontier, 10-3 PAC, 17-5 overall, No. 5 in District 1-5A rankings … Phoenixville: 9-1 PAC Frontier, 10-3 PAC, 16-6 overall, No. 4 in District 1-5A rankings.

Head-to-head: Phoenixville took both regular-season meetings with Pottstown, 64-55 on Jan. 5 and 55-40 on Jan. 30.

PAC playoff history: Pottstown has won the PAC crown on 10 occasions, but not since the 2007-08 season. The Trojans last season were semifinalists, taking eventual champion Spring-Ford to double overtime … Phoenixville has won 2 PAC championships (2005, 2007). It has not reached the final since 2007.

Path to the semifinals: Phoenixville earned a bye into the Final Four as Frontier Division regular season champion (9-1) … Pottstown put the hammer down in the second half of its 77-57 quarterfinal win over Norristown, getting a career-high 34 points from senior Sadeeq Jackson.

Pottstown at a glance: The Trojans have themselves back in the PAC semifinals for a second straight year and will be pushing for a different outcome than the double overtime defeat to Spring-Ford of a year ago. Pottstown, under coach Ken Ivory, boasts something no other team can claim: three players scoring in the top 10 of the PAC. Senior guard Abdul Jackson is third in the league at 18.3 points per game and has elevated his play this winter. He’s joined in the top 10 by twin brother Sadeeq Jackson (16.6) and fellow senior Jurrell Young (15.3). They’re the clear leading trio for a Pottstown team that also looks to senior Dillon Mayes. DiMark Lyons and Nazhier Booker for key minutes. Pottstown got a boost from the return of junior Jahmir Jackson, who had not played since Jan. 13, in the quarterfinal win.

Phoenixville at a glance: Phoenixville enters on a five-game winning streak after dropping its lone Frontier game of the year to PJP on Jan. 23. Frontier first-place finisher for the first time since 2016, the Phantoms’ average margin of victory is 20.4 points in that stretch, including a 15-point victory over semifinal opponent Pottstown. Max Lebisky, a 6-5 senior forward who is bound for West Chester, leads the only PAC squad with four players averaging double figures. Lebisky averages 17.9 ppg (4th in PAC) and junior Dawson Brown, son of Pottstown great Howard Brown, is second at 13.5 ppg. Senior guard Christian Cervino (11.3 ppg) and junior Deacon Baratta (10.7) are the Phantoms’ other consistent scoring factors. Eric Burnett’s rotation also includes Keron Booth, Brady O’Donnell and Aidan McClintock.

Matchup and prediction: Taking the season in totality, there’s little that separates Pottstown and Phoenixville: side-by-side in the PAC Frontier as the top 2 finishers, side-by-side in the District 1 rankings as Nos. 4 and 5 in Class 5A. Yet, when the Trojans and Phantoms have matched up there’s no denying the separation. On both occasions, Phoenixville has been markedly better in the big moments. In the first meeting, Phoenixville came from 11 down in the first half to win by nine, 64-55, with help from a career-high 27 from Christian Cervino. On Jan. 30, at Pottstown’s Strom Gymnasium, it was a 39-38 game with 6:30 to play, only to see Phoenixville close on a 16-2 run and cause seven turnovers in the fourth quarter. With the two teams likely to meet in the second round of the District 1-5A tournament with a spot in states on the line, Friday’s semifinal feels like a must-win for Pottstown to not go 0-for-3 against their chief rival. But the evidence suggests Phoenixville is built to make the right moves in the money moments and it’s why the Phantoms will still be chasing PAC hardware at night’s end … Phoenixville 63, Pottstown 55

No. 1 seed Spring-Ford vs. No. 5 seed Perkiomen Valley (7:45 p.m.)

Records: Spring-Ford: 9-1 PAC Liberty, 12-1 PAC, 17-5 overall, No. 3 in District 1-6A rankings … Perkiomen Valley: 7-3 Liberty, 10-3 PAC, 18-4 overall, No. 10 in District 1-6A power rankings

Head-to-head: Spring-Ford took the regular season series with a 53-52 home win on Jan. 11, then a 50-41 victory at PV on Feb. 1 in their regular season finale that made the Rams’ Liberty title official.

Path to the semifinals: Spring-Ford earned a bye into the Final Four as Liberty Division regular season champion (9-1) … Perkiomen Valley came back from an early deficit to defeat Methacton 47-44 on Wednesday night courtesy 25 points from Julian Sadler and 11 from Kyle Shawaluk.

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. … Perk Valley has won three PAC titles (2001-02, 2012-13, 2016-17). PV’s most recent finals appearance was in 2018-19 when it fell to the Warriors in the second year of a threepeat.

Perkiomen Valley at a glance: The senior-heavy Vikings roster delivered in the clutch to defeat Methacton in the opening round of PACs for the second straight year. Leading the way is senior guard Julian Sadler, the PAC’s second-leading scorer at 22.8 points per game (53 3-pointers). Fellow senior Kyle Shawaluk is PV’s only other double-figure scorer (12.3 ppg) though forward Josh Tagert (8.9 ppg) has shown the ability to put up big games this winter. Also figuring into coach Mike Poysden’s rotation are seniors Sean Wagoner and Ryan Murphy, and juniors Jacob Harken and Anthony Rodriguez.

Rams at a glance: Expectations were sky high for a Spring-Ford team that returned the majority of its lineup from a team that won the PAC last year and reached the final eight of the PIAA 6A Championships. With only one PAC loss and a No. 3 ranking in District 1-6A, the Rams have largely lived up to billing. Senior guard EJ Campbell has become the clear No. 1 option and averages 15.3 points per game. Junior sharpshooter Jacob Nguyen, last year’s Mercury All-Area Player of the Year, has almost quietly averaged 14.3 ppg while senior forward Tommy Kelly comes in at 11.1 ppg and provides athleticism in the front court. Coach Joe Dempsey’s rotation also features junior Jordan Marsilio, senior Jake Dellangelo, sophomore Blake Turner and sophomore forward Oben Mokonchu. Junior Matt Zollers provided the Rams with a spark early in the season but the highly-rated quarterback, who recently narrowed his list to Georgia, Penn State, Pitt and Missouri, has not played since Jan. 18 amid the recruiting process peak.

Matchup and prediction: Although Spring-Ford swept the regular season meetings and separated itself as the PAC’s best entering the postseason, Perk Valley doesn’t feel far off. The first matchup was a one-point game that ultimately swung when Matt Zollers gave the Rams the lead for good on a steal-and-score with 1:46 to play. Last week, on Feb. 1, PV liked its play on defense, but didn’t have it offensively, which isn’t an option against the Rams. “The first time, we had a flat first half and dug ourselves a hole,” Sadler said of the meetings with Spring-Ford after Wednesday’s quarterfinal. “The second game wasn’t our best offensively — we played a good defensive game and just couldn’t get shots to fall. We know they are well-coached and have a lot of good kids, so hopefully we’ll bring it in practice knowing we have another shot at them.” Sadler will appreciate another crack at SF after being held to 15 – his second-lowest outing of the year – last week. But the same could be said from Nguyen, who had a season-low five in that game. While the neutral might love to therefore see a major offensive breakout, the rivals will have an even greater understanding of each other in a third meeting. It’s why Spring-Ford’s more diverse arsenal will give it the edge in a game where the buckets won’t come easily … Spring-Ford 54, Perkiomen Valley 48