Abington advanced to Friday’s District One 6A title game with a 56-54 double overtime win over Central Bucks East. Photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Class 6A
#14 ABINGTON 56, #7 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 54 (2 OTs)
It was a moment begging for a big play, and Rob Bell was happy to deliver.
For nearly four minutes in the second overtime of Tuesday’s District One 6A semifinal game, neither team could buy a basket, and with the final seconds ticking off the clock and the score deadlocked 54-54, Abington’s senior point guard knew exactly what he had to do, and he delivered, scoring on a drive as time expired to give the Ghosts the electrifying win.
“Coach drew up a good play for me,” Bell said. “I feel as though I had a nice matchup on the big man because he switched off. Once he switched off, I felt I could get past him easier and take it in for a nice layup. It gave me a layup, it just worked in my favor.”
Bell was mobbed by jubilant teammates. The Ghosts – winners in their last five district semifinal appearances – had pulled off another upset, and this one vaulted Abington into Friday’s title game at Lower Merion.
“Aww man, it was a lot of emotions,” Bell said of the storybook ending. “I’m still mesmerized by that right now. It’s crazy.
“This means a lot, but we’re still going to have practice tomorrow. The job’s still not finished. It starts at practice, and we’re going to have a strong practice tomorrow for Friday.”
Tuesday’s dramatic win was the 14th-seeded Ghosts’ third straight road upset in the tournament. They’ve sent home the tournament’s third seed (Plymouth Whitemarsh), sixth seed (West Chester East) and on Tuesday, the seventh seed.
“Everybody thought after Eric (Dixon) and Lucas (Monroe) left that Abington wouldn’t have anything,” senior Oreck Frazier said. “I’ve been playing with this group of guys since seventh grade. We won the eighth grade championship. We said, ‘We’re doing this again,’ and here we are – seniors, and we’re going back to the championship It’s a great feeling. Fourteenth seed – who would have thought the 14th seed?”
While Bell was the hero in the second overtime, Frazier – bound for Harvard University to play football – saved the day in the first, thanks to his own play call during a timeout with 8.6 seconds remaining and the Ghosts trailing by three.
“I drew up a play at that timeout – it was originally going to go to (Antoine) Ellis,” Grasty said. “We were going to set an elevator screen for Ellis, and then Oreck – as smart as he is – said, ‘Coach, if we run one of our other plays – (I won’t tell you the name), I can pop and catch it, and maybe they’ll switch and I can get a good look.’
“So he called the play. Oreck Frazier was the one who called the play. Our guys are smart enough. I don’t have this game mastered. If you see something, let’s go with it.”
Frazier – at the top of the circle – corralled Caleb Baker’s inbounds pass from under the Ghosts’ basket, made a move on his defender and banked home a three that knotted the score with 2.8 seconds remaining in the first OT.
“We were in the huddle, and coach spent three-quarters of the time drawing up a play, but I remember at practice one time – we ran a play, and I ended up open at the 3-point line, and we needed three points,” Frazier said. “I’m shooting over 50 percent from the 3-point line, and coach put his trust in me, and I really appreciated that.
“I called that play at the end, and he said, ‘Scratch that, run Oreck’s play,’ I appreciated him having faith in me.”
Although he didn’t call ‘bank,’ Oreck knew it was money when it left his hand
“I knew it was right in line with the square – I did that crossover, I knew I had him, open shot, cash,” Frazier said “It was great. I’m a football player and all, but I love basketball. I’ve been playing basketball all my life. For me to hit a buzzer beater like that that leads to a win, it’s amazing.”
The win was Abington’s eighth in nine games since falling to 5-4 after a loss to Quakertown.
“We were coming off two losses back to back,” Grasty said. “We lost to PW by 29, and we lost to Quakertown. We had a meeting, we talked – just like any other coach would do. We sat them down, went through a few scenarios with them, told them that we weren’t out of it.
“They believed, and we started having really good practices. We started to up our practices a little bit defensively, and our defense has been incredible the last couple of games. They have their own saying when they get together – lock in, and they have been.”
The game didn’t start off on a promising note for the Ghosts, who found themselves staring at an early 8-1 hole.
“In the beginning, we were a little anxious on our shots, missing our shots,” Bell said. “Coach told us to be patient and let the game come to us. We did that.”
Abington battled back, knotting the score 25-25 only to watch Brendan Harte bury a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the half to send the Patriots into halftime with a 28-25 lead.
“Did you see that first half? I didn’t think they were going to miss,” Grasty said. “They were on fire. I thought we contested very well, but that’s why they were here as well. They’re a very good team, they knocked down shots, and we were fortunate to get the last one.”
The Patriots led 34-28 midway through the third quarter, but the Ghosts rallied to knot the score 36-36 after three.
Bell scored on a baseline drive to open the fourth quarter, giving the Ghosts their first lead, but baskets by Joe Jackman and Liam Cummiskey put the Patriots on top 40-38. An Antoine Ellis three gave the Ghosts a 45-42 lead midway through the quarter, and they still led by three with a minute remaining after a basket by Bell, but Jackman – who was brilliant all night – buried a three from NBA range to knot the score.
Another Bell drive gave the Ghosts a 51-49 lead with 27 seconds remaining, but Jackman answered at the other end. The Ghosts came up empty, and the two teams were deadlocked at the end of regulation.
In the first OT, the Patriots led 54-51 with 38.6 seconds remaining after Jacob Cummiskey connected on the front end of a one-and-one. The Ghosts missed at the other end, and the Patriots had the rebound but misfired on the front end of a one-and-one, setting the stage for Lucas’ heroics and the heartstopping finish.
Not to be overlooked in the win was the non-stop cheering of Abington’s bench.
“That’s everything,” Frazier said. “Some games our bench wouldn’t be in it, and we’d be struggling. Second round of the playoffs with PW – they’re a great team. Nobody thought we would win, everybody doubted us.
“But our bench – they supported us, they cheered for us, they stood up the whole game, and we ended up with the win, so we’ve been going with that every single game.”
“We’re feeding off the energy,” Bell said. “Our bench is getting us going, the parents are getting us going. I just feel like we play better when everyone is screaming and yelling, it just gives us another boost.”
Bell led the Ghosts with 19 points, including the game-winner
“That’s one of our main plays we go to – we run a high screen and roll for Rob,” Grasty said of the shot that won it. “We like to see Rob go downhill. Once he goes downhill, he is very hard to stop. If people collapse, we kick it out to our shooters.
“We wanted to hold for the last one, and we didn’t want to call a timeout and let them set up their defense, so we ran our bread and butter right there.”
Frazier added a career high 17 points to go along with five rebounds, four steals and one block. Caleb Baker added nine points, four steals and three rebounds. Connor Fields also had five rebounds, two blocks and one steal.
The Ghosts connected on 21-of-47 shots from the floor (44.6 percent). They were 2-of-10 from beyond the arch – 1-of-9 until Frazier’s three that tied it up in the second OT.
Jackman scored 27 points to lead all scorers in a dazzling performance. Harte added eight points.
East coach Erik Henrysen’s message to his team after the game was simple.
“Just don’t focus on the game,” the Patriots coach said. “You focus on the six seniors that we have and the impact they’ve had on our program and the bar they’ve raised. I can’t say enough about them.
“We felt like we put ourselves in a great spot, we battled through. We had our opportunity at the end. I’m proud of our guys.”
Henrysen bids farewell to a standout senior class that includes Jackman, Harte, Jason Markowitz, Anthony Giordano, Jack Hamilton and Shane Kennedy.
Abington (13-5, 6-4 SOL) will travel to #9 Lower Merion for Friday’s District One 6A title game, the first 14 seed to advance to the title game. The Aces sent #4 Garnet Valley home with a 56-41 win.
“I’m excited, I’m more excited for these guys,” Grasty said. “They’ve been hearing it for years now, some of the past teams we’ve had and the stars we’ve had – we won’t be any good without Eric Dixon and Lucas Monroe.
“These guys heard it. A lot of them were sophomores at the time. They wanted to build their own legacy, and I think they’re doing a heck of a job.”
Central Bucks East closed out its successful season with a 14-4 record The Patriots are the SOL Colonial Division champions with an 8-2 record.
Abington 5-20-11-15-3-2 56
Central Bucks East 10-18-8-15-3-0 54
Abington (56) – Rob Bell 7 5-6 19; Oreck Frazier 8 0-0 17; Antoine Ellis 3 0-0 7; Connor Fields 1 0-0 2; Caleb Baker 2 5-7 9; Derrius Lucas 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 21 12-15 56
Central Bucks East (54) – Jacob Cummiskey 2 1-2 5 Liam Cummiskey 1 0-0 2; Jason Markowitz 1 2-2 5; Brendan Harte 3 1-1 8; Brett Young 1 0-0 3; Aidan Weaver 0 0-1 0; Joe Jackman 11 2-2 27; Jack Hamilton 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 20 8-10 54.
3-point goals: Abington – Oreck Frazier, Antoine Ellis, CBE – Joe Jackman 3, Jason Markowitz, Brendan Harte, Brett Young.
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