Friday night, Penn Wood put the finishing touches on its first District One Class AAAA championship in 18 years ... and the Daily Times was all over it. (Game story and column can be found here.)

The Times was on the baseline, too, with staff photographer Bob Gurecki nabbing some shots of the action:
Penn Wood reserve forward Jeff Kyem pulls down a rebound in front of Plymouth-Whitemarsh's C.J. Aiken in the first half.

Shawn Oakman (center) embraces Aaron Brown (left) and Will Brown (right) in the moments following the Patriots' upset of the Colonials.

Reserve guard Jerry Price (No. 1) rushes to the court after the buzzer to meet Will Brown and Aaron Brown (back) following the Patriots' first district championship victory since 1992.

AROUND THE STATE
In a major upset, Reading dispatched Hempfield, 54-46, Saturday in the District Three Class AAAA title game. Hempfield, the top seed, had gone 27-0 en route to the title game.

What that does is make Penn Wood's road to a repeat as state champion a little more bumpy, with Reading winning and going to the West side of the PIAA bracket. The weekend is long, so let's see how the rest of the bracket shakes out before we reach any conclusions.

AROUND THE COUNTY
In the District One Class AAAA seventh-place game. Penncrest toppled Chester, 56-53, at West Chester East High School. The Lions' Rodney Duncan went off for 31 points, a career high. The Clippers trailed by 10 with two minutes to go before closing the gap. According to Penncrest coach Mike Doyle, Duncan's point tally is the best for any Lion in more than eight years.

Sometimes, I write posts for this blog thinking nobody is reading this thing. (Only half the time I'm right. ... Maybe.) This time, the blog was read and Penncrest responded.

Before the Lions' 55-36 win over Strath Haven Friday, I was told by members of the Lions coaching staff that the Penncrest band took offense to my listing the school as the third-best place to see a game this season (behind Chester and Glen Mills.) In an attempt to prove me wrong, the marching band pieced together a 22-member ensemble to play pre-game, during timeouts and at halftime.

A band at a basketball game is practically unheard of. It's more a football thing. According to Penncrest senior Richard Forbes, Penncrest's musicians had played at basketball games as recently as four years ago.

"But it fell off, for whatever reason," said Forbes, the band leader for Friday's game who also plays clarinet. "People don't want to do it because they're not sure how they'll get their homework done, too. But we figured it would create a good atmosphere for a game.

"And, really, who doesn't want to be here? The team is playing great. Everyone wants to come out to their games."

Forbes, junior co-conductor Matt Pesce and the band's faculty moderator Craig Snyder helped get Friday's effort off the ground. They posted a sign-up sheet in the music room and the volunteers piled up. The band played the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army" and Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride" among other songs.

It had an affect on the Lions (17-2, 11-2).

"It was like a college atmosphere with them," said Rodney Duncan, who had a team-leading 22 points. "It just made for a crazy atmosphere."

Added coach Mike Doyle: "What they were able to bring was a nice addition."

There were only three games Wednesday. Allow me to take you beyond the box score for each of them:

CHESTER 69, CHICHESTER 47
In the Del Val League opener for both teams, this was always Chester's game - even if Chi led, 15-13, after one quarter. Four Clippers hit for double figures - Kareem and Laquan Robinson, Erikk Wright and Darius Collins. And Wright, though I'll need to check on this, fell one rebound shy of a double-double in his seventh straight game. The Eagles are good, and better than they have been in recent years, but the Clippers are still the Clippers.

ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 74, LANSDALE CATHOLIC 44
Eight games in, we're finally starting to see how balanced Carroll's team is. Matt Donaldson, who has very limited hoops experience, bullied LC for 11 boards. I have yet to see him in person but Yosef Yacob (10 points, four steals) is looking solid. And Ben Mingledough had 22 points, a career-best. LC never stood a chance. And that's before you count All-Delco D.J. Irving and Juan'ya Green, who had 12 and 16 points, respectively.

EPISCOPAL ACADEMY 48, GERMANTOWN FRIENDS 33
Even with star center Isaiah Baker feeling ill and missing the game, the Churchmen rolled. Taylor Wright is beginning to prove that he's a threat you can't leave open on the perimeter, with his three 3-pointers. And three others scored in double figures.

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One thing I forgot to bring up didn't happen Wednesday. It was part of Tuesday's action.

Penncrest barely snuck past Marple Newtown, 58-57, using a pair of free throws by Matt Atkinson with 7.5 seconds remaining. The thing about Atkinson, the First-Team All-Central League quarterback pick in 2009, was that he hadn't scored all game prior to stepping to the line.

Also, the senior limited Marple stud two guard Soutiri Sapnas to a rather pedestrian 23 points, which almost has become an off night for the senior.

"Soutiri got two looks in the last six-and-a-half seconds and he missed on both," said Penncrest coach Mike Doyle. "Matty did a great job. He didn't worry about scoring - he had zero - and he hit those shots. The gym was rocking. It was close to standing-room only here and it was a great high school experience."

Part of what I love about high school hoops is the atmosphere. Sounds like it was a good one at Kaufman Gymnasium.