For a team accustomed to making the state semifinals (or better), Penn Wood's record might be viewed as a letdown.

But the Patriots, their youthful lineup and all, could stand to make some noise in the upcoming District One Class AAAA tournament ... and beyond.

Penn Wood (12-7), which will finish runner-up to Chester in the always competitive Del Val League, won the PIAA crown in 2009, lost the title game in 2010 and suffered an overtime defeat in the state semis in 2011. But these Patriots look far different than their counterparts from recent years. They don't have twin towers like Shawn Oakman and
Darian Barnes. They don't have an All-Delco point guard like Tyree Johnson, or an All-Delco power forward like Aaron Brown.

Instead, Penn Wood has Malcolm Richardson, pictured — one of the county's top scorers — and junior guards Jerry Price and Tyree Bynum. The Patriots' tallest player? Quardiar Sewell and Ali Sesay, who measure up to 6-2.

“District One basketball is unique because teams do their work. Coaches do their work," said Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones. "When you get to the playoffs, you know the other team has seen you at least a couple times. I’m expecting — I mean, we’re still making lineup changes — that we will be ready for districts.

"We’re not sure how far we can go. If we shoot well and defend, we can beat anybody. If we don’t, we’ll lose in the first round."

We'll know beginning Sunday, when the brackets are unveiled.

(Times staff photo / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

Part II had a familiar feel to Part I.

Chester beat Penn Wood handily Thursday night, using an 80-57 victory at the Clip Joint to all-but-officially clinch the Del Val League championship. It would take Penn Wood (11-7, 6-2) winning out and Chester (19-0, 8-0) losing out to force a tie, but that's unlikely to happen.

Here's another glance at what happened Thursday:

OBSERVATIONS
****Penn Wood opened up a number of six-point leads in the first half. The reason? The Patriots shot 9-for-16 in the opening half. In the second half, they shot 11-for-27 -- not nearly as scorching.
****No one seems to pay attention to Tymier Butler (pictured). The Chester senior had nine points, six boards and four steals, on 3-for-8 shooting. "No one was bothering with us, really," Butler said. Fellow second-stringers also had big games Thursday.
****In the first half, Chester used three different players to defend against Malcolm Richardson, who shot 7-for-16 from the field, 7-for-10 from the foul line and finished with 21 points. "He's a matchup problem, isn't he?" Pats coach Clyde Jones said.
****Chester junior Rondae Jefferson didn't knock down a shot until the third quarter.
****Chester senior Erikk Wright got hit in an, umm, unforgiving location in the third quarter, forcing him to exit. He got back into the game in the fourth quarter feeling "a lot better than I did earlier," Wright said.

QUOTABLE
"This was my career-high tonight. Well, at least my career-high since I've been here. I had a lot of fun tonight. A lot of fun."
---Chester senior Shanier Cottman (pictured), who scored 16 points. Cottman, who at times looked unguardable while knocking down teardrop shots in the lane and uncontested layups, said he scored a career-best 22 points last year at New Beginnings Academy.

NEWS + NOTES
Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones told me two Patriots alums playing at Harcum could find their way onto Division I rosters in the near future. Tyree Johnson, the 2009 Daily Times Player of the Year, and Darian Barnes have garnered interest from Cincinnati and Temple, respectively. Johnson, a point guard, is sitting out the year due to transfer rules while Barnes, a big man, is in his freshman year.

FACES IN THE CROWD
The usual Chester alums were there, with Mo Nelson, Laquan Robinson and Rahlir Jefferson all sitting together across the court from the benches. Villanova assistant coach Doug West took in the game from the West corner of the bleachers. And Kareem Robinson watched the game from the bench. The senior point guard missed his second straight game due to a weak back.

(Times staff photos / ROBERT J. GURECKI)

After Tuesday night's big 76-72 win over Penn Wood, you have to think Chester's got something special going on. Here's why:

***The Clippers took a 19-point lead midway through the third quarter against the defending Del Val League champion Patriots, who also happen to be the reigning District One champs and PIAA Class AAAA runners-up.

***All-Delco guard Maurice Nelson brings his A-game whenever the Clippers play an opponent worthy. (And let's be clear: the Patriots - despite a 9-7 record - are worthy. They will be a handful in the playoffs.) Against Penn Wood, Nelson is averaging 20.5 points per game.

***The Clippers' rebounding is superb, behind 6-3 Rondae Jefferson, 6-4 Lamon Church and 6-5 Erikk Wright.

***Their free-throw shooting has improved. Chester went 14-for-37 from the stripe in its first meeting with Penn Wood. Tuesday, the Clippers were a much-more-efficient 21-for-33. That's what it takes late in the season.

Check out Wednesday's Daily Times for more on the game.

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I talked to Penn Wood alumnus Tyree Johnson Tuesday night. The 2008-09 Daily Times Player of the Year, Johnson provided a little clarity as to why he's in Lansdowne ... and not on the West Coast.

Johnson came home, leaving San Jacinto Junior College recently. He said it's something he'll give me more details about at a later date. But he said it was for personal reasons.

Penn Wood hadn't played a game in its home gym since Dec. 15, so it was peculiar that fewer than 200 were on hand for the Patriots' 71-60 win Tuesday over Glen Mills.

But one spectator in particular drew a stir: Tyree Johnson.

The Patriots' point guard for three seasons, Johnson was back in Lansdowne Tuesday night. He left the San Jacinto (Calif.) Junior College team, for which he became a starter as a freshman.

Johnson said it wasn't because he was homesick, but declined to comment any further.

The move is peculiar, much like his decision to de-commit from the University of Hartford last year. Basically, when Hartford's coach, Dan Leibovitz, jumped ship to become an assistant at his alma mater, Penn, Johnson was in limbo. Ultimately, he left a Division I offer for a junior college.

But not just any junior college - San Jacinto, which this week ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA Division I poll ... and for which Johnson was sixth in the nation in steals per game.

So why leave? Nobody had an answer Tuesday. Not Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones. Not Johnson himself, who departed before he could be pressed any further on the decision.

Johnson went from being a highly recruited point guard, who won a pair of Del Val League titles, a PIAA Class AAAA championship in '08, a District One Class AAAA crown in '09 and finished state runnerup in '09 ... to becoming an athlete who walked away from his junior college team in midseason.

Until Johnson offers up an answer, the move will remain a bewildering one.

Penn Wood's magical run ended Saturday night in a 58-51 loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh.

The Patriots, who hadn't lost to a team from Pennsylvania all season, hadn't lost a game in general since Dec. 23. Here's what some of them - and two P-W players had to say about the game:

PENN WOOD GUARD DEQUAN PELZER
On his final game at Penn Wood: “Playing with Aaron Brown, Shawn Oakman, Tyree, Will (Brown) – this is my second family. They're like my family. They all know that. We all know that. We all were working for each other.”
On the offense: “What were we – 7-for-37? We just couldn't shoot. Our offense just wasn't there. It happens.”
On going 93 days without a loss: “I don't even know what to make of that. I can't say what that means to me. Maybe down the road, I can talk about that.”

PENN WOOD POINT GUARD TYREE JOHNSON
On the offense: “Tonight, our offense wasn't there and they pulled out the victory because of it.”
On returning to the state final: “Just making it here was great. If we had won, it would've been better. But we didn't win. And I'm not mad at the loss.”

PENN WOOD CENTER SHAWN OAKMAN
On the game: “We lost, but it doesn't erase the history we made.”
On the offense: “We didn't get into another rhythm. We didn't have any rhythm the whole game.”
On Plymouth Whitemarsh: “They kept their heads when they were up. They didn't yell at each other or nothing. They knew – they believed – they were going to win. They knew they were the better team.”
“I'm ready for next season.

PENN WOOD COACH CLYDE JONES
On the silver lining: “We worked to put this program on the map … so there are a whole lot of positives.”
On P-W's defense: “This one was a blast from the past, if you want to say that. We got back to doing some things that we hadn't done in awhile and I'd like to say Plymouth Whitemarsh had a lot to do with that. They played a great defensive game. Most of our shots were challenged. We didn't get many clean looks at all. We didn't do a good job of running our sets to get those clean looks, either. They worked and challenged us on every shot. They challenged us on passes. They challenged us on catches. And we didn't execute. We were out of character.”

PENN WOOD FORWARD AARON BROWN
On his coach's message: “He told us we had a great year and that not many teams get to the championship two times in a row. That in itself is an accomplishment. We had many accomplishments in these two years. I think we're just thankful for all of these accomplishments. I wouldn't want to play with anybody else.”

P-W GUARD WHIS GRANT
On winning Round 2: “States is so much bigger than districts so I can't imagine how they are feeling. I would be devastated to lose. States is definitely a bigger stage.”
On getting revenge: “It gave us more momentum, more fuel to keep going at them. They took something from us last time.”

P-W CENTER C.J. AIKEN
On getting revenge: “We felt we were the better team. At Villanova, we felt we gave them a gift and we didn't want that feeling again.”

(Photos by Daily Times photographer Eric Hartline. Norristown Times-Herald staff writers Tom Kerrane and Dennis Way contributed to this post.)

C'mon - did you expect anything less?

You knew Penn Wood was this good before the season even began. You knew Penn Wood had the potential to repeat, the Division I prospects to compete, the players to steal a win or two from some of the nation's best programs.

Perhaps the only surprise that came from Wednesday's 70-51 win over Liberty was that leading scorer Aaron Brown, who averages 20 points per game, was limited to eight. Still, the Patriots cruised past the Hurricanes in a PIAA Class AAAA semifinal and into Saturday's championship game against ... Plymouth-Whitemarsh.

Surprised?

Shouldn't be. This was the matchup of fate, one that seemed predestined in the first weeks of the 2009-10 season, with both teams gaining national acclaim and regional hype. But, hey --- we have some days ahead to talk about Plymouth Whitemarsh. How about we stick with the PW from Delaware County?

En route to making consecutive appearances in the PIAA title game, the Patriots did what they do best - run up the score. The Hurricanes made the Pats kick the tires a couple times in the first quarter, leading 8-4 and making the District One champs think otherwise about a repeat.

Then, it happened.

Penn Wood went on a 17-0 burst on the way to a 40-19 halftime lead. The rest is history. Tyree Johnson scored 19 points, Dequan Pelzer tossed in 14 and Shawn Oakman dropped in 12 (and some thunderous dunks) for the Patriots.

See you in State College.

Penn Wood junior Aaron Brown needed only 10 points Thursday to notch a career milestone.

Mission accomplished.

Brown scored 14 to lead the Patriots past Glen Mills, 73-49, in a win that clinched Penn Wood's undefeated season in the Del Val League portion of their schedule. Brown joined the 1,000-point club in the win. Shawn Oakman and Tyree Johnson, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year, joined Brown as the team's leading scorers -- all having scored 14 apiece. A senior, Johnson also eclipsed the 1,000-point mark this year.

For those who don't know about Brown, you need to see the kid play. The 6-5 forward thrives on the wing. His jumpshot works well in his game, but he's at his best when he can get to the rim on his dribble-drive attack. He's even worked on his 3-point shot, too.

Brown emerged as a legitimate threat for the Patriots late last season in their district- and state-playoff runs en route to the PIAA Class AAAA championship. In the state semifinal victory against Mt. Lebanon, his worth really shone through when he shot 10-for-10 from the floor. This season, he has ranked within the county's top-five scorers from the first game of the year.

And scoring his 1,000th career point is only the latest milestone on Brown's resume.

Here's a closer look at Penn Wood's 57-40 win over Chester Thursday:

***LAUGH IT OFF. Clippers forward Ronnell Williams experienced the joy and ire of coach Larry Yarbray in one trip to the free throw line. When the sophomore banked in a foul shot, Yarbray laughed and smiled at his young big man. And when Williams clanked the next one, Yarbray screamed at him to get down the floor and defend.

***COLLEGE ROLL CALL. Three members of the nationally-ranked Temple Owls' rotation were at the Clip Joint. Chester All-Delco Rahlir Jefferson sat beside former Clippers coach Fred Pickett, while Scootie Randall and Ramone Moore (Jefferson's teammates with the No. 19 Owls) were seated in the row in front of him.

***1,000 POINT CLUB, PART I. Before the game, Chester honored Maurice Nelson, who scored his career 1,000th point Tuesday in a road game at Interboro. But Tyree Johnson got the best of Nelson. Johnson, who scored his 1,000th point in an earlier meeting with Chester, had the better game this time around, too. ...And he did so less than 24 hours after making his college commitment.

***SUPER 7 DISCUSSION. Speaking of Pickett, the longtime Clippers coach asked me why Chester had slipped to No. 4 in the latest Daily Times' Super 7. After giving my explanation, Pickett walked away. He wanted nothing of it. But he's a good sport. He came back a minute later, smiling. (Like any good coach, he knows not to take sports too seriously. That's the key.)

***1,000 POINT CLUB, PART II. One of Darby Township's finest was a referee Thursday. Derick Loury, who scored 1,137 points in his career with the Eagles, worked the game at the Clip Joint.

(Note: PHOTOS BY DAILY TIMES STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER BOB GURECKI. Check delcotimes.com Friday for video from the game.)

Tyree Johnson finally knows where he'll play his college basketball.

Penn Wood's senior point guard gave Hartford coach Dan Leibovitz a verbal commitment by telephone late Wednesday night. How late? Try 10 p.m.

"I wouldn't call it late. I wanted to weigh my options," said Johnson, the 2008-09 Daily Times Player of the Year. "I had to make the right decision and the right decision was to play for him. I had talked to my coach (Clyde Jones) earlier and I told him I was thinking about it. I told him that, most likely, I was going to do it (Wednesday) night."

Johnson had interest from a bevy of Atlantic 10 schools and had offers from Siena and Northeastern before committing to Leibovitz and the Hawks. Johnson plans on being academically eligible next fall. He said he's taking the SAT again just to make sure.

As for his first game after giving his verbal, well, Johnson was just trying to have fun. He did just that in Penn Wood's 57-40, Del Val League-clinching win over Chester. He couldn't help but smile after the Clippers' Maurice Nelson picked Johnson clean on one possession and then Johnson returned the favor on Chester's next trip up the court.

"It's basketball. I love it," Johnson said. "You've got to have fun with it."

Next season, Johnson will be having fun at Hartford.

What's that old parable? It has something to do with a tree falling in the woods... Anyway, a high-school boys basketball game started Saturday and ended Sunday. It didn't go to overtime. And it certainly wasn't televised, so there weren't any television timeouts.

So why did Archbishop Carroll's nonleague game against Mount Lebanon require two calendar days to complete? It's the fault of showcase tournaments, creating glossy games that have more to do with feeding bodies through turnstiles than with maintaining the well-being of the student-athletes involved in the game.

Maybe it's just this reporter's opinion, but it seems absurd that a high school game be started - and finished - so late in the night. Maybe the players actually enjoy a break from the monotony of 3:45 and 7:30 p.m. starts. Maybe the fans enjoy taking in a game that requires a few coffee trips to prevent snoring while watching.

I don't. I'm old school that way. It's a shame Carroll's Juan'ya Green, pictured, one of the county's finest scoring guards, posted 26 points and made 15 of his 17 shots from the free-throw line ... and nobody probably saw it. It's a shame All-Delco D.J. Irving scored 16 points and added five steals and four assists for Archbishop Carroll ... and nobody read about it in the newspaper.

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In games that started (and ended) Sunday:
Penn Wood 86, South Philadelphia 48: The Patriots absolutely pummeled their Public League foes in a game at Villanova's Pavilion. Four scorers hit for double figures, including All-Delco Tyree Johnson and forward Aaron Brown.

Parkland 61, Chester 59 (OT): The Clippers lost for the third time in five games and their second straight, in an overtime game at Parkland. Erikk Wright, a sophomore forward who scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, continues to emerge as a formidable player in the paint.

Despite what the subject line reads, this post is going to be about breaking down the box score from Thursday's Del Val League game, which went Penn Wood's way, 73-40.

The Patriots beat down the Bulls in every way imaginable. They shot 45 percent (30-for-66) while holding the Mills to 27 percent (12-for-44). They forced the Mills into 27 turnovers while committing only 11 of their own. They had an assist (15) for every other bucket. They outrebounded the Bulls, 33-26. And they killed the Bulls from long range, hitting 8 of their 20 shots from 3-point land.

"There's a bulls-eye on us, so every time we step on the court, we have to be ready to go get it," said Penn Wood point guard (and reigning Daily Times Player of the Year) Tyree Johnson. "I don't care who it is. i don't care if we're playing against girl scouts. If they step on the floor of this jawn, they have to be ready to play us."

The fact is, the Patriots are. Always have been. They pushed the ball up the floor, determined the pace of the game while killing any blow Glen Mills tried to accrue. They seemed every bit of the defending PIAA Class AAAA champions. And, until someone takes that from them, they will be.

Aaron Brown, pictured, and Will Brown had 17 apiece to lead the Patriots.

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EXTRA BOUNCES
---It was good to see former Glen Mills coach Craig Mellinger out and about at Harrison Athletic Center. I didn't talk to him too much, but he said he's enjoying spending more time with his two high-school-aged children than he used to.

---I don't like putting together 'Best of...' lists, unless it's the end of the season. But if I had to pick the best places in Delco to watch a boys basketball game, I'd put Glen Mills at or near the top. Whether they're ahead or down (by a lot, as was the case Thursday) the crowd is into it, the music is blaring and the place is jumping. Chester's at the top, too. And I'd say a distant third from those two obvious choices is Penncrest. There are so many good vantage points there.

Sunday, Penn Wood point guard Tyree Johnson became the eighth player in school history to score 1,000 points in his career. He did so nonchalantly, too, hitting a fourth-quarter free throw late in Penn Wood's 66-48 rout of Chester.

Johnson, the reigning Daily Times Player of the Year, finished with 10 points in the game. He joins Lamont Ferrell*, Rap Curry, Mike Holmes, Shawn Day, Ed Millard, Duane Johnson and Micah Covert# in Penn Wood's 1,000-point club. (Ferrell started at Yeadon and finished his career at Penn Wood; Covert started with the Pats and capped his career off with Chester).

Johnson's per-game average is down from a year ago. It doesn't have either him or Penn Wood coach Clyde Jones worried.

"Listen, it doesn’t really matter. I’m a point guard," Johnson said. "My job is to get everybody involved anyway. My points are going to come during the flow. I get them the ball, they get it to me. It’s as simple as that."

Added Jones: "The greatest compliment I can give Tyree this year is how, for the most part, he has really decided that he has other people to get the ball to. He sees himself as a distributor. And in this day and age, when it’s tough to get kids to not think I have to shoot, to see him do that is special. The sad part about that is it doesn’t put him in anybody’s rankings for scoring, but it makes him perfect for us and what we do. The other night, I actually had to tell him to shoot the ball."

Johnson is getting interest from Monmouth, Rider, Hartford and Siena.

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Also, here's some more from the boys basketball scene:
---Daily Times photographer Bob Gurecki grabbed some video and assembled highlights from Sunday's Penn Wood-Chester game.
---This week marks the first installment of the boys basketball notebook - the feature focuses on The Haverford School's Andrew Acker, probably the county's most improved player thus far. The notes include Glen Mills' Raheem Harvey, who sustained a car accident during the holidays and remains hospitalized, and Chichester's Brian Parker, who has an outside chance at 1,000 points.