Norristown Made Game Of It Early, But P-w Made A Rout Of It In End The Eagles Were Able Take An Early 10-4 Lead. But They Wound Up On The Short End Of A 93-64 Final.

Feeding off adrenaline and the inspired play of its seniors, Norristown waged a back-and-forth battle with rival Plymouth-Whitemarsh in the first half of Saturday's state Class AAAA boys' basketball quarterfinal at Coatesville High.

A put-back basket by senior forward Ryan Shockley gave the Eagles a 10-4 lead, forced P-W coach Al Angelos to call for a time-out, and gave the Norristown faithful cause for unbridled optimism.

But when the smoke cleared late in the third quarter, coach Tom McGee's team was staring at a 58-37 deficit and a crushing end to its otherwise successful season. The Colonials spent the fourth quarter putting the finishing touches on a 93-64 rout.

``You saw how tough it was to beat them in a half-court game,'' said McGee. ``Outside of Ed Moore [a 6-foot-8 center], we didn't have the size to contend with them.''

The Eagles (26-6) couldn't overcome P-W's height advantage and inside muscle. Senior forward Joe Green, who transferred from Norristown before the school year, exploded in the third quarter with 12 consecutive points, including a three-pointer.

It didn't help any that the Eagles made only 17 of 57 shots (29.8 percent) from the field after the first quarter.

``Things just started to snowball on us,'' said McGee. ``Against a team as good as that, you have to make your shots to keep the game close, and we didn't hit enough shots.''

Senior point guard Bryan Collins (game-high 24 points) and his fellow Colonials lived at the foul line in the second half.

The defending state champions made 22 of 31 free throws in the final 16 minutes while increasing their lead to 80-52 with 3 minutes, 31 seconds remaining.

Junior guard Maurice Allen paced the Eagles with 18 points. Sophomore point guard Marques Green netted only three points, but had four assists and three assists in the first half to keep his team within five (36-31) at intermission.

The Eagles went 15-1 en route to the Suburban One Colonial Division title and placed fourth in the District 1 playoffs.

``We had a great group of kids, probably as classy a group of kids as Norristown has ever had,'' said McGee. ``They just overachieved this year.''

Welcome return. As it prepares for Wednesday's semifinal against 30-1 Harrisburg, P-W is thankful that it has 6-10, 270-pound Gene Shipley back in the middle.

The senior center, who missed the team's first 28 games with a fractured wrist, has made a major impact since coming back for the District 1 championship win over Hatboro-Horsham.