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By Scott Huff
HORSHAM – Central Bucks East lost guard Baxter Whittington to a torn ACL in his knee, and for the last five games, Dave Kiersnowski has replaced him in the starting lineup.Kiersnowski – a 5-foot, 10-inch junior – had his very best game Tuesday night as the Patriots (11-6, 7-4) defeated host Hatboro-Horsham (6-12, 2-9), 59-43, in a Suburban One Continental Conference game.
Kiersnowski scored a career-high 20 points to spark East to its fourth straight victory.
“This was the best game I have played,” said Kiersnowski. “My role on the team changed quite a bit when Baxter tore his ACL, and now I have a much bigger role.
“I have played the point, but right now I’m more of a shooting guard,” added Kiersnowski. “I’m very comfortable there.”
“Dave did a great job of finishing in transition and getting to the basket,” said Central Bucks East coach Chris Huber. “He scored on a lot of run outs because of the nice job that our defense did with rebounds and with us beating them down the floor.
“Dave is getting more comfortable on the floor with each game,” added Huber. “I told him at the beginning of the year that at the end of the year he was going to be a much better player – and he is.”
Kiersnowski was at his very best when the game was still contested early in the second period.
Hatboro-Horsham – behind the scoring of Connor Poston – took a 16-14 first period lead. Poston scored nine of his team-high 12 in the initial period.
“Connor did a nice job early in the game,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Dennis Steinly. “But we followed with a very disappointing second quarter.”
The Hatters took an 18-17 lead with 6:03 left in the second period on a basket by Dan Lineberger. It would be the last points of the period by the home team.
East would score the final 11 points of the period – seven by Kiersnowski – and outscored the Hatters 14-2 in the period to take control of the game.
“We had seven turnovers in the first period and were very frustrated,” said Huber. “We would get a steal out of our pressure, and then we would turn it over right back.”
The final stat sheet was interesting in that the Patriot guards – with the exception of Chris Harmon who scored nine points – scored 50 of the 59 points. And those points came mostly on drives to the basket.
“We’re not a great perimeter shooting team,” said Huber. “If you look at our shot chart, almost every game we take shots in the paint.”
“Our defense, at times, was almost non-existent,” said Steinly. “They penetrated to the basket far too easily, and we gave up too many transition baskets.”
CB East senior point guard Tim McLaughlin finished the game with 14 points that included a pair of three-pointers along with eight free throws. Both Brandon Boekel and Craiger Eshelman each added eight points for the winners.
The Patriots continue their roller coaster season – a season that began with seven consecutive wins – followed with six straight losses – and now features a four-game win streak.
“In the losing streak, we had three overtime losses and a game with Pennsbury mixed in,” said Huber. “The game with Pennsbury gave us a good idea of where we are in terms of competing with the best, and that’s a good thing.”
“We hope to build off this game when we go to play at Souderton on Friday,” said Kiersnowski. “We have a lot of tough games coming up.”
The season is winding down for the Hatboro-Horsham. This will be the first time in Dennis Steinly’s tenure that the Hatters will not make the playoffs.
“I would like us to compete hard and be competitive the last few games of the season,” said Steinly. “I don’t want to go with a whimper.”
Central Bucks East 14 14 19 12 - 59
Hatboro-Horsham 16 2 14 11 - 43
Central Bucks East: Dave Kiersnowski 8 2-2 20; Tim McLaughlin 2 8-12 14; Craiger Eshelman 4 0-0 8; Brandon Boekel 4 0-0 8; Chris Harmon 4 1-2 9. Totals 22 11-16 59.
3-point field goals-Kiersnowski (2), McLaughlin (2).
Hatboro-Horsham: Christian Bolling 1 0-0 2; Eric Daley 3 1-1 9; Mickey Mikulski 1 0-0 2; Darrin Oliver 1 2-2 4; Dan Lineberger 2 0-0 4; Mike Marvin 4 2-5 10; Connor Posten 4 3-3 12. Totals 16 8-11 43.
3-point field goals-Daley (2), Posten
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