Justin Minder, left, and Allen Ringgold, right, work together as they try to grab a rebound from an Upper Merion player.

                Nobody seemed to know that this year’s boys’ basketball team accomplished something that apparently hasn’t been done in nearly three decades by winning a district playoff game.  But it didn’t make the long walk to the locker room any easier last Saturday after falling to the Falcons 54-40 in round two of the District 1 basketball tournament.

                The Tribe came into the tournament as the number five seed which earned them a home game in the tournament’s opening round and a rematch with Upper Merion, a team that had beaten the Tribe earlier in the year 52-48.

                After the opening round 49-34 win, head coach Mike Fergus was asked what his biggest concern was entering the game.

                “Not getting off to a slow start,” said Fergus. “We wanted to hit some shots and get into the flow of the game. We didn’t want to fall behind early and face an uphill battle.”

                Unfortunately for the Indians, that was exactly what happened in game two.

                Pottsgrove opened the game with an 11-2 run and, when the first quarter came to a close, the Falcons held a 16-7 lead.

                Things didn’t go any better for the Tribe in the second quarter as they were outscored 17-11. Failing to connect on even one three-point shot in the first half, the Indians went to the locker room trailing by 15, a deficit that would prove too big to recover from.

                When senior Jarrett Tornetta drained a three at the start of the fourth quarter, the Indians had made it a ten-point game at 40-30. It would be as close as the Tribe would come.

                 J.D. Ricapito scored the Indians’ last bucket of the season in the game’s closing seconds.  The basket gave him a game-high 17 points, but when the horn sounded, the Tribe had been eliminated 54-40.

                “It just wasn’t our day today,” said Fergus. “It wasn’t a lack of effort things just didn’t go our way. We got good looks the shots just wouldn’t fall and the loose balls seemed to bounce their way. I had great kids. We had an excellent year.”

                Senior Matt Keeny agreed. 

                “Not counting today we had great year,” said Keeny.  “We’re proud of the way we played and what we accomplished especially a win in districts. We had some ups and downs but it was a good year. I just wish we could have gone a little further.”

                The Indians’ chance to go further were hampered by the fact that one of their best players, senior Tim Mayza, was recovering from illness and couldn’t go in the team’s first two games. Though none of his teammates or coaches wanted to use Mayza’s absence from the lineup as an excuse, the fact remains that the Tribe had beaten the Falcons both times during the regular season with Mayza on the floor.

                In the Tribe’s opening round win over Upper Merion, Charles Robinson led the Indians with a 21-point performance.

                Robinson drained three straight shots from beyond the three-point line to get things started for the Tribe then sealed the deal with clutch free throw shooting down the stretch.

                The Indians closed out the season 12-12 (8-5 PAC-10) and will say goodbye to seniors Matt Keeny, Tim Mayza, Allen Ringold and JarrettTornetta, who, for now, can proudly lay claim as the last graduating class to win a District One boys’ basketball playoff game.