Standing in a cramped office next to William Penn's gym Tuesday evening, Troy Sowers tried to hold back tears when discussing his Bearcats' senior class.

That group of five has played a vital role in so many wins the last few seasons, many during last season's run to the PIAA state finals. Its latest victory materialized Tuesday, in the form of a 73-45, senior-night romp against rival Red Lion.

But for Sowers, the Bearcats' fourth-year head coach, the satisfaction of this win came packaged with the realization that his time with these seniors is running out.

"We had our little talk before the game, and I got a little teary-eyed," Sowers said.

He paused for a moment, tears welling up again.

"These guys are like family," he added.

For all the emotion Sowers and his players displayed at various points Tuesday, none of it showed during a ruthlessly efficient second half that ultimately doomed visiting Red Lion. The Bearcats (19-3, 14-1 in YAIAA Division I) used a 21-4 third quarter to turn a close game into a laugher and extracted some revenge for an early-season loss to the Lions (15-6, 11-4).

A pair of William Penn seniors did most of the damage. Guard Jevaughn Murphy started in place of the injured Chemin Lambert (knee) and dropped a season-high 25 points. Meanwhile, guard Ryan Matthews scored 17 and pulled down eight rebounds.

"All day in school, in class and everything, I was just thinking 'This is it.'" Matthews said. "It hurts at times. I hope I don't cry tonight just thinking about it."

Tuesday's game meant little from a standings perspective. William Penn sewed up its second straight Division I title with Monday's win against Spring Grove, while Red Lion is locked into a No. 3 seed in the upcoming league tournament.

Still, the Bearcats had no shortage of motivation. Besides senior night, they had stored away the sting from a 62-47 loss to Red Lion on Jan. 11.

"It meant everything to us," Matthews said

William Penn's Zachary Newby reaches in for a rebound against Red Lion's Matt Bray during the Bearcats' 73-45 victory Tuesday night. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Bil Bowden)
of Tuesday's game. "The talk in practice was how we were going to get them back."

William Penn has been a different team since that defeat, winning eight in a row by an average of 25.3 points.

Like many of those eight wins, this one started with defense. William Penn forced 20 turnovers and hounded Red Lion senior sharpshooter Spencer McCreary. He finished with 16 points, while junior guard Evan Ehrhart added 15.

"That's the first thing we did was play hard defense," Murphy said. "The offense will come."

It did come -- in a game-sealing deluge -- at the start of the second half.

After taking a 34-27 lead into halftime, William Penn scored on its first seven possessions of the third quarter to rip open a 21-point edge. Tyvon Efferson and Kelvin Parker incited the barrage with back-to-back 3-point plays to start the half.

Meanwhile, Red Lion shot 2-of-13 from the field in the third quarter, and 18-of-54 (33.3 percent) for the game.

The Lions have lost three of their last five league games heading into the start of the league tournament Saturday. William Penn -- with its senior corps -- has no such crisis of confidence.

"I don't know if York High fans appreciate what they've been able to see the last two or three seasons with these seniors," Sowers said. "We have a long way to go, but it was a little emotional knowing this will be the last time we have these guys here."

jclayton@ydr.com; 771-2045