William Penn 'battled to the end' in loss

By JOHN CLAYTON

Daily Record/Sunday News

READING -- Two more minutes. That was all Ryan Matthews wanted.

Give him that, and the William Penn senior guard was certain this outcome would be different. The Bearcats wouldn't be forced to reconcile with their season-ending, 58-54 state playoff loss to Bethlehem Liberty on Wednesday night.

"Two minutes," Matthews said afterward, "and we would have come back."

Of course, those two minutes could never come. And William Penn's gutsy group of seniors -- the co-authors of 56 wins the last two years and a few of the program's proudest moments -- saw their careers end in a second-round, Class AAAA playoff defeat at Reading High's Geigle Complex.

William Penn (24-7) trailed by as much as 11 in the fourth quarter before attempting one more rally. But for every Bearcats run, Liberty had an answer.