Central Bucks West defeated Abington 39-34 to capture the SOL Tournament championship on Monday night at Bensalem High School. Check back to view Keith Clemens’ game action photos…CLICK HERE.
By Scott Huff
Bensalem – On this particular Suburban One League Tournament championship night – the experience and patience of Central Bucks West won out over the youthfulness and exuberance of Abington. The Bucks (20-4) captured the tournament trophy with a hard-fought 39-34 victory over the Ghosts (19-5).
“This is a fantastic group of kids,” said Central Bucks West head coach Adam Sherman. “To be able to win this tournament is quite an accomplishment and to be able to be known as the best team in the 24 team Suburban One League.”
“We all worked very hard in the off season,” said CB West senior Erich Hohlenleitner, who scored a game-high 15 points. “The seniors on this team really wanted to win this tournament.
“We knew that if we played our game and played good ‘D’ we would have a chance,” added Hohlenleitner. “We are not the most athletic team – and we knew that we had to stay composed and work to get good shots.”
“Central Bucks West is very good at what they do – and that is to control the pace of the game,” said Abington head coach Charles Grasty. “We never were able to speed them up – they controlled the tempo.
“Adam (Sherman) does a great job with that match-up zone,” added Grasty. “Give them credit – they beat us.”
CB West showcases a team that features five seniors – Hohlenleitner, Bill Power, Connor Lynch, Luke Irons, and Cal Reichwein. Power (seven points), Lynch (six points), Irons (two points), and Reichwein (two points) might not light up the scoreboard very often with gaudy scoring numbers, but each and every player on the West roster can handle the ball and plays terrific defense.
Abington showcases a team that features one senior – Joe O’Brien; one sophomore – Robbie Heath; and a pair of freshmen – Eric Dixon and Lucas Monroe. O’Brien and Dixon each can be a tremendous force inside – Heath is an outside scoring threat – and Monroe is a lock-down defender.
However, on this night, the game belonged the senior-dominated Bucks.
CB West controlled the pace and led 9-7 after the first period. The Bucks carefully extended the lead to 17-14 by the close of the first half. It was a methodical pace that seemed to make Abington a little bit uncomfortable.
The Ghosts quickened the pace somewhat in the third period to secure a 29-24 lead. Dixon scored eight of his team-high 13 points in the third period to fuel the Abington offense.
The fourth period, though, belonged to the Bucks. Abington scored just five points in the final eight minutes – and West connected on 9-of-10 free throws to secure the win.
“We beat Plymouth Whitemarsh (20-2) after being down eight in the second half,” remembered Sherman. “And we were down five against Abington tonight in the third quarter.
“To be able to come back and win both of those games is going to give us a lot of confidence,” continued Sherman. “We are going into the district tournament winning a couple games against quality teams.”
“We wanted to defend our title,” said Grasty as Abington won the initial SOL tournament championship last season. “We played to win the game – but West had a good game plan and executed that plan.”
The tournament began with three SOL champions who had already earned 2016 championship hardware – Abington (SOL National Conference), Pennridge (SOL Continental Conference), and Plymouth Whitemarsh (SOL American Conference).
However, when the tournament came to a close it was the SOL Continental Conference runner-up Central Bucks West Bucks that collected the coveted 2016 SOL Tournament hardware.
Central Bucks West Bucks 9 8 7 15 * 39
Abington Ghosts 7 7 15 5 * 34
CBW: Erich Hohenleitner 15, Jake Reichwein 7, Bill Power 7, Connor Lynch 6, Luke Irons 2, and Cal Reichwein 2.
A: Eric Dixon 13, Robbie Heath 11, Joe O’Brien 6, Dion Greene 3, and Brian Close 1.
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