Oley Valley pulls away in final quarter to snap long district playoff drought
Sophomore Ben DeBalko hit a pair of big 3-pointers and junior Johnny Turchi filled in at point guard down the stretch as Oley Valley pulled away from division rival Brandywine Heights 67-53 in a District 3 Class 3A quarterfinal Monday at Oley.
The win was the first in the postseason for Oley Valley since 2007, when it won both a league and district playoff game.
“It meant a lot to them,” said Matt Barrell, in his 10th season as Lynx head coach. “It was one of our goals, so I’m happy for them. Proud of them.”
The sixth-seeded Bullets (11-12) were within three points heading into the fourth quarter before the third-seeded Lynx (19-4) outscored them 29-18 in the final quarter. DeBalko and Turchi combined for 15 of those points.
DeBalko, who finished with 14 points, knocked down both 3’s in the early minutes to give the Lynx some breathing room. He had four 3’s in the game and has a Berks-leading 61 for the season. That’s also a program record; Doug Krouse had the previous mark, with 54 3’s in 2010-11.
“Ben making those shots was important,” Barrell said. “In a tight game, where we have a couple guys banged up, we have foul trouble, it let them breathe a little bit.”
David Turchi also finished with 14 points for the Lynx. Johnny Turchi, who took over the point when all-division guard Jaden Kelly fouled out with 2:33 left and Oley leading 54-48, scored nine points. Chase Rubendall had 12.
“Johnny Turchi did a heckuva job handling the ball,” Barrell said. “He took care of it and we kept it at six, eight the last few minutes.
“We finished the game well, and that’s been a little bit of an issue for us this year: Taking care of pressure, taking good shots late in the game and making free throws. We were 11-of-13 (at the line), that’s absolutely our best performance of the season in a single game.”
Sophomore Jayden Kantner, an all-division pick, scored 14 points to lead the Bullets, who were eliminated with the loss. Freshman Nate Winkler had nine.
The win was the third of the season for Oley over Brandywine; the last time they met the Bullets took them to overtime before falling 70-66.
“Those kids from Brandywine are tough,” said Barrell of a team that starts as many as four freshmen. “They’re gonna be good. They’re a tough (team to) guard.”
Oley Valley lost its district opener at Boiling Springs last season, 52-42 in overtime. Monday’s win snapped a four-game district losing streak and a 10-game postseason losing streak. The Lynx played in Class 4A last season.
“They were really close last year,” Barrell said. “We lost a heartbreaker.”
Oley Valley advances to the Class 3A semifinals Thursday at Trinity; the top-seeded Shamrocks earned an opening-round bye. The winner clinches a berth in the PIAA Tournament. The loser will play a state seeding game for District 3’s third and final state berth
