by Alex Schwartz

The second to last game of the day here at the Pavilion on the campus of Villanova University has already begun. The Colonials of Plymouth-Whitemarsh (PA) are squaring off with the Firebirds of Holy Ghost Prep (PA).  Plymouth-Whitemarsh features an imposing interior tandem of 6'9 CJ Aiken '10 and 6'6 Jaylen Bond '11, while 6'4 Damien Williams '12 is a more than capable backup. Holy Ghost Prep is led by Mike Byrne '10, but also has some good size, though the Firebirds aren't quite as big as P-W. We are through about six minutes of action, so I'll get you caught up.

7:08pm- The game started off slow, but the scoring finally got underway, with CJ Aiken '10 dropping the first five points of the affair for Plymouth-Whitemarsh. With 1:40 to go in the first quarter, P-W leads 9-7.

7:11pm- Mike Byrne '10 nailed a trey for Holy Ghost Prep, which now trails 11-10, with under a minute to go in the first period of play.

7:12pm- Aiken threw up a prayer from about 85 feet and it went in and out at the buzzer. With one quarter down, the Colonials lead 11-10.

7:14pm- Sam Pygatt '11 picked up a loose ball near midcourt, drove to the hole, drew contact and finished. The sophomore made his free throw so it's 14-10 P-W.

7:16pm- Aiken blocked a shot, and then Damien Williams '12 turned it over, leading to another blocked shot by the 6'9 Aiken.

7:18pm- With 6:15 to go in the first 16 minutes of action, the Colonials lead 15-10.

7:19pm- After a bucket by CJ Aiken to give P-W a 17-10 lead, Holy Ghost Prep called timeout with the clock reading 5:46.

7:25pm- Exactly halfway through the second quarter, Plymouth-Whitemarsh leads 24-13.

7:27pm- CJ Aiken is dominating inside on defense. He just swatted a shot from Nate Lorence '10 away with ferocity. At the other end, Jaylen Bond '11 scored for the Colonials.

7:28pm- After a Holy Ghost three, CJ Aiken stepped outside and knocked down a trey of his own, making it 29-16 with under 2:30 to go in the half.

7:30pm- Nate Lorence scored down low off an inbounds pass to cut the P-W lead to 11.

7:31pm- Aiken just blocked another shot. He has thrown away at least four shots so far.

7:32pm- Damien Williams is really struggling and was just subbed out with about 40 seconds left in the half.

7:33pm- Duffy Barrett '10 scored and missed his and-one shot, but the rebound went off of P-W so Holy Ghost has the ball under the P-W hoop with 26.1 to go.

7:34pm- Tyler Juchno '11 hit a deuce for the Firebirds, and P-W came up empty handed in its last chance of the half, so it will be 29-22 at the break.

7:46pm- Jaylen Bond missed a pair of free throws early on in the third quarter. At the other end, Phil Pastor '09 opened the scoring in the second half, cutting the P-W lead down to five.

7:47pm- After being fouled going up for an alley-oop, CJ Aiken missed two shots at the line. P-W did get the offensive board, but turned it over.

7:48pm- Jaylen Bond scored on a tip-in. It's 31-24 with under 6:30 to go in the third quarter.

7:49pm- A blocked shot by Bond led to a jumper at the other end by Pygatt. John Glenn '09 then answered with a triple to make it 33-27.

7:50pm- CJ Aiken just blocked yet another shot, leading Holy Ghost to take a timeout.

7:51pm- Duffy Barrett received the inbounds pass while cutting to the hole, scored, and was fouled by Aiken. He made his free throw to cut the Colonials' lead down to four, 34-29, with the clock showing 5:02.

7:52pm- A bucket by Aiken has pushed the Plymouth-Whitemarsh lead out to six.

7:54pm- Bond missed two more from the line. He is having a rough go of it from the stripe.

7:55pm- Aiken, who has controlled the game on both ends of the court, just scored twice more—the second was on a jam—to make it a nine-point affair.

7:56pm- Make it nine straight points for CJ Aiken, who just drained a three from the corner. It's now 42-30, as Holy Ghost is struggling to hit their outside shots, which had kept the Firebirds in it for the first 20 minutes of play.

7:59pm- A deuce from Lorence was answered by a jumper from Bond to make it 44-32.

8:02pm- Sam Pygatt missed a triple at the buzzer, so it will remain 44-32 entering the fourth quarter.

8:05pm- Whis Grant '10 stole the ball near midcourt and converted for two points, making it 46-32.

8:06pm- Grant made a pair from the line to put the Colonials up by 16 with under 6:45 to go.

8:08pm- Barrett drained a couple from the charity stripe for Holy Ghost Prep, and Aiken hit a tough shot at the other end. Plymouth-Whitemarsh leads 50-34 and has not trailed all game.

8:09pm- Bond missed the front end of a one-and-one. The sophomore's free throw woes are continuing.

8:11pm- Bond went to the stripe for another pair, and banked in the first shot and then got a nice roll on the second one to put P-W up by 18.

8:12pm- Barrett had an opportunity for three points the old-fashioned way, but missed his free throw, so it's 52-36.

8:13pm- Barrett is trying to keep the Firebirds in this game, but CJ Aiken is not letting it happen. After a bucket from Duffy, Aiken threw down a a nice behind-the-back dunk.

8:15pm- Bond seems to have found his touch from the line, knocking down a pair of free throws. P-W leads 56-40 with about three minutes to go.

8:16pm- Glenn drained a couple from the charity stripe, making it 56-42. The Colonials were called for traveling at the other end.

8:17pm- Byrne hit a pair from the line to make it 56-44. This is turning to a free throw shooting contest.

8:19pm- Joe Hughes '09 scored a deuce and then fouled Byrne in the backcourt, and the junior knocked down both of his free throws.

8:20pm- Byrne scored two more points from the line, slicing the P-W lead down to 10, 58-48, with less than two minutes left. Both teams are in the double bonus.

8:21pm- Pygatt hit the second of two at the stripe, putting P-W up by 11 with 1:44 to go. He then scored on the break after Holy Ghost came up without any points.

8:22pm- Aiken was called for goaltending on a shot by Barrett. Pygatt scored an easy deuce at the other end to make it 63-50.

8:23pm- Aiken blocked a shot, but Holy Ghost came up with the ball and scored. The Firebirds then took a timeout with 44.6 seconds to go, trailing 63-52.

8:25pm- After turning the ball over on offense, Aiken blocked a shot on D and P-W got the ball back due to the possession arrow.

8:26pm- This one is over, and Plymouth-Whitemarsh has a 63-52 victory. The Colonials went wire-to-wire for the W.

8:27pm- The MVP for Holy Ghost Prep went to Duffy Barrett, as he scored 16 points. For Plymouth-Whitemarsh, CJ Aiken was the honoree, dropping 23 points and blocking—unofficially—eight shots.

8:49pm- I caught up with Jaylen Bond, CJ Aiken, and Duffy Barrett after the game.