By Gorden Blain
UNIVERSITY PARK -- Chester was not going to lose back-to-back PIAA State AAAA championship games.

Playing in their state-record 15^th state championship game against District 1 rival Norristown, the Clippers (33-1) started fast, out to erase the memories of losing the state final in 2007 to Schenley.

The District 1 champion Clippers outscored the Eagles 17-2 to start the game and looked like the No. 3-ranked team in the USA Today national high school basketball rankings.

But Norristown refused to go along with the game plan.

Trailing by 59-39 with 40 seconds left in the third quarter, Norristown (32-2) started a furious rally that almost led to an improbable come-from-behind upset. Led by Khalif Wyatt’s 19 points in the fourth quarter, the Eagles outscored Chester 38-22 to finish the game, trimming the lead to 77-76 with 27.5 seconds to play in the game.

But two free throws each from guards Karon Burton and Kevin Green-Germany in the final 26 seconds gave the Clippers just enough cushion to defeat Norristown 81-77 to accomplish their mission and win their third PIAA State Boys AAAA championship since 2000 at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center Saturday night in front a paid crowd of 5,479.

“I’m just thinking I talk to the crowd a lot,” said Burton. “So when I’m going to the line, they’re telling me ‘You’re choking, you’re choking.’ So I just wanted to silence them. I knew I had to hit these foul shots. So I concentrated a whole lot and I knocked them down.”

After the game, Clippers coach Fred Pickett told the media that, after 13 years as head coach of Chester and three state championships, he was retiring.

Burton led the Clippers with 24 points. Russell Johnson scored 18 and had 12 rebounds for Chester. Nasir Robinson had 14 points and 15 rebounds and Green-Germany had 11 points.

“For three quarters we played together as a team,” said Burton. “In the fourth quarter we started getting a little cocky. Like we had them. Like we knew we had the state championship. I tried to get the crowd into it. Coach calmed me down a little bit. We just got relaxed and they battled back and got back into the game.”

Wyatt led Norristown with 28 points. Maurice Briggs scored 18 points and had 15 rebounds. James Ramsey scored 10 points for the Eagles.

After Wyatt hit his fifth three-point shot of the quarter, it was Ramsey’s three-point play with 27.5 seconds left that cut the Chester lead to 77-76.

“The heart of the guys showed,” said Norristown coach Mike Evans. “I think (the rally) was in them. Just a little late getting to it. I can’t think of the words to describe this group of kids. They’re real special. They’ll go through a wall for this coaching staff. Coming in at halftime, we just asked the kids to play hard and they did that in the second half.”

In the first game of the final of four state championship doubleheaders on Friday and Saturday at Penn State, Mount St. Joseph Academy gave the girls state finalists from eastern Pennsylvania in all four classes a sweep of the state championship games when it defeated Mercyhurst Prep 53-43 to win the PIAA State AAA girls state championship game Saturday night.

The Magic (30-3) joined Class A state champion Marian Catholic, AA state champion York Catholic and AAAA state champion Central Dauphin, all who won state championship games earlier during the weekend.

Mercyhurst Prep (30-3), the third-place team from District 10, led 10-9 after the first quarter but District 1 runnerup Mount St. Joseph outscored the Lakers 18-11 in the second quarter to take a 27-21 halftime lead and held the lead the rest of the game.

Guard Laura Johnson led the Magic with 16 points. Elle Hagedorn and Sarah McGorry each scored 12 points for MSJ. McGorry also had 10 rebounds. Kirsten Olowinski led Mercyhurst Prep with 18 points and 12 rebounds and Lindsay Moore had 12 points.

In the finale of the afternoon state championship doubleheader, WPIAL champion Jeannette outscored Strawberry Mansion 16-12 in overtime and defeated the Philadelphia Public League champion 76-72 to win the PIAA State AA boys championship in front of 6,019.

In the final game of his nationally-prominent high school career in football and basketball, Jeannette’s Terrelle Pryor scored 23 points, grabbed eight rebounds, had five blocks, four steals and four assists.

It also gave Jeannette only the third-ever PIAA state championship daily double-- a state championship in both football and basketball in the same school year-- as the Jayhawks added the AA state basketball championship to the AA state football championship they won in December.

The Jayhawks (25-4) trailed by seven in the third quarter then rallied to take a 57-52 lead with 3:07 left in the fourth quarter. But Mansion (23-6) outscored Jeannette 8-3 over the final 2:54 of regulation time and forced overtime when the Knights’ Darren Lawrence made a jump shot with 22 seconds remaining.

Pryor took the ball and drove to the basket but his last-second shot missed and the game went to overtime.

In overtime, the Jayhawks scored the first six points on two free throws each by Pryor, Jordan Hall and a layup by Moziah Harris as Mansion’s shooting went cold. Hall had six points in overtime.

Shaw Sunder scored 21 points, Hall had 16 and Harris had 10 points for Jeannette. Dwayne Davis led Mansion with 28 points and Eddie Frazier had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

In the first game of the afternoon Girls A-Boys AA state championship doubleheader, Rachel Connely scored 19 points, had 16 rebounds and blocked 11 shots--a triple-double--to lead Marian Catholic to a 40-34 win over WPIAL champion Mount Alvernia to win the PIAA State Girls A championship.

At 6-foot-4 with a scholarship to play for James Madision waiting for her next season, Connely was too much for Mount Alvernia.

The Fillies (32-1) wasted no time gaining control of the game, taking a 10-3 lead after the first quarter and holding the lead the entire game.

The Lions (21-9) tried to rally in the second half and trimmed the Marian lead to 38-34 with 1:32 left in the game but could get no closer.

Libby Shober scored 11 points for Marian, which won its second state championship. Kat Owunna led Mount Alvernia with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Renee Brown had seven points and 12 rebounds for the Lions.