Abington defeated Pennridge to advance to Wednesday’s District One AAAA semifinal game at Temple University on Wednesday. To view photos of the Pennridge/Abington game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
East Rockhill – Abington advanced to the PIAA Quad-A District One semifinals next Wednesday (2/25) at Temple University with a 58-49 victory over host Pennridge before a packed house and raucous crowd. And the obvious difference in the game was the confidence the Ghosts (24-3) displayed on the charity stripe draining 20 of 23 (87 percent) attempts – and the lack of that same confidence for the Rams (22-4) who shot a dismal 4 of 16 (25 percent) from the free throw line.
“We are a very confident team when we go to the foul line,” said Abington head coach Charles Grasty, who notched the 100th win of his coaching career Friday. “We don’t work on free throws a whole lot in practice, but every time we take water breaks the players take it upon themselves to shoot some extra free throws. And it has worked out well.”
“Free throw shooting has been a big issue for us all year – not just tonight,” said Pennridge head coach Dean Behrens. “We did so many things right tonight – we gave great effort and attacked the rim – but foul shooting sure wasn’t one of them.”
Abington relied on its senior guard tandem of Amir Hinton and Matt Penecale to lead the Ghosts back to Temple U. for a second straight year. Hinton – who was a perfect 11-for-11 from the line for the game and a clutch 10-for-10 in the fourth period, which sealed the deal – led Abington in scoring with 22 points. Penecale – who was 7-for-8 from the line for the game – got the Ghosts off to an early lead and scored 21 points.
“You just can’t get nervous when you shoot foul shots – you have to be confident,” said Hinton. “You have to prepare yourself mentally for those situations.”
“I put a lot of emphasis on shooting foul shots,” said Penecale. “A lot of basketball is a mental thing – and you have to mentally handle the tough times in a game.
“We got off to the nice lead, but coach told us at halftime that they were a good team and would make a run,” added Penecale. “And he was right.”
Abington got off to a 16-9 first period lead as the Ghosts connected on four 3-point field goals. Abington stretched the lead to 28-13 with 3:20 left in the half – but the Rams rallied in the final moments of the half to close to within 29-20 by intermission.
“Once we got the lead to under 10, I felt that if we continued to attack the rim that we were in the ballgame,” said Behrens. “And we came out and played a great third quarter.”
Pennridge fell behind 32-22 with 6:42 left in the third period – but the Rams went on a scorching 16-5 run in that 6:42 span to close the period with a 38-37 lead. The charge was led by junior Danny Long who scored eight of his team-high 16 points in the third period, while senior Zach Murreda and sophomore Kyle Yoder each scored four points.
“Basketball is a game of runs and they made their run in the third period,” said Penecale. “And we made our run at the right time in the fourth period.”
The Pennridge run continued at the outset of the fourth period as the Rams forged a 44-37 lead with 5:57 left in the game. The seven-point Pennridge lead evaporated quickly as the Ghosts took control of the game and outscored the Rams 21-5 in that final 5:57 to win going away.
Hinton scored 10 of those points on his 10-for-10 free throw shooting – Penecale hit a 3-point field goal and was 4-for-4 from the line – and James Porter tossed home a 3-point bomb that gave Abington a 50-47 lead. All in all – the Ghosts were a clutch 15-for-16 from the free throw line in the final period.
And now the next step for Abington on its trek toward a possible PIAA Quad-A District One championship will come on Wednesday when the Ghosts will meet the winner of the contest between # 2 Methacton or # 7 Pennsbury at Temple University @ 6 pm.
Due to the pending storm – the Methacton vs. Pennsbury game that was scheduled tomorrow will be played Monday at 7 p.m.
Pennridge will play the loser of the Methacton vs. Pennsbury as District One begins its seeding process for teams seeded from five to eight. The Rams will make their first ever-state appearance.
“This has been a great way to end my senior year,” said Penecale. “This was a great environment to play a game in – and all I want to do is live in the moment. I just want to look around an soak it in.”
And what he saw were a great deal of ecstatic Abington fans – teammates – and coaches.
Abington Ghosts 16 13 8 21 – 58
Pennridge Rams 9 11 18 11 – 49
Abington: Amir Hinton 22; Matt Penecale 21; Brendan Gallagher 4; James Porter 3; Brian Close 3; Robbie Heath 3; and Jack Steinman 2. Totals 15 20-23 58.
Pennridge: Dan Long 16; Joey Molettiere 12; Ryan Cuthbert 9; Zach Murreda 8; Kyle Yoder 4; and Joe Unangst 0. Totals 22 4-16 49.
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