The Ghosts defeated the Panthers 55-43 in an SOL Featured Game that was sponsored by the Abington Booster Club. To view action photos of the game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Abington - Abington head coach Charles Grasty doesn’t wear a collar around his neck, but the Ghost mentor has preached all season about making the extra pass. And his congregation of players got the message as Abington captured a 55-43 Suburban One League National Conference victory.
“The players hear about making that extra pass all the time – in practice – and during the game,” said Grasty. “And when we do that, we can be a really fun team to watch. We can put the other team on their heels. When we play like that, we can be dangerous.”
“Abington is a team that can score points quickly, and we had a plan as to what we wanted to do with them,” said William Tennent head coach Robert Mulville. “We felt that we wanted to protect the rim, and we did that, but they got some open shots and made a high percentage of three pointers.”
Junior Anthony Durham was not the lone marksman from the perimeter, and the slashing guard created numerous scoring opportunities for the Ghosts with his remarkable drives to the hoop. Durham finished with a game-high 20 points, but it was his seven assists and zero turnovers that fueled the Abington offense.
“My dad always told me to play the game with confidence, and that is what I try to do,” said Durham who was a perfect three-for-three shooting from beyond the arc. “Tonight the coach wanted me to run ‘open’ and when I penetrated I kicked the ball out to the open shooter.”
William Tennent was ‘in’ the game early in the second half. Freshman Horace Spencer – who led the Panthers with 12 points – slammed home a dunk that closed the Abington lead to 26-24 with 6:36 left in the third period. However, the Ghosts went on a 17-5 run to close out the period and Tennent was ‘out’ of the game as the Panthers trailed 43-29.
Included in that run were a pair of 3-point bombs by Ghost guard Mike Griffin. Both shots came after Durham twisted toward the rim only to kick the ball out to a wide-open Griffin on the perimeter.
“I have told people all year that Griffin might be the best outside shooter we have on this team,” said Grasty. “We wanted to speed up the game, and in that stretch Anthony did a great job of getting that done for us. There isn’t a player that he plays against that he doesn’t feel that he can get by. He wants to shoot the ball, but he knows that we need him to pass the ball. He made some good decisions.”
It was still another night of experience and development for the Panthers’ 6-foot, 9-inch Spencer.
“Horace works hard and has become much more active on defense,” said Mulville. “The talent is there and he is starting to do some of the little things.”
“You can tell that he is little raw, but he is going to be one nice player,” said Grasty. “He is going to grow into his body and get even better.”
The youth of Spencer is obvious – not as obvious is the relative youth of Abington. With the exception of senior Chris Ruhl, the impact players for the Ghosts are all underclassmen. That list includes junior Jiere Morrisey, junior Jordon Simmons, and freshman Matt Penecale – along with juniors Durham and Griffin.
“Sometimes we as a coaching staff have to take a breath and remember how young this team really is,” said Grasty. “But the players don’t really think about it. They play hard, and they feel like they deserve to win every game.”
“Our goal for the second half of the season is to win a championship,” said Durham. “We owe both Bensalem and Pennsbury for losses, and we have to be able to beat Council Rock North again. We need to finish the season strong.”
Abington will take its show on the road with a game at Truman on Tuesday that will close the first half of the conference schedule.
“Truman plays our style of basketball,” said Grasty. “It should be a fun game to watch.”
William Tennent will compete in a Coaches for Cancer game on Martin Luther King Day in Concord, Delaware, on Monday.
“We are looking forward to the game and the experience,” said Mulville. “It would be nice to win a game and get back on the right track.”
William Tennent Panthers 9 11 9 14 - 43
Abington Ghosts 13 13 17 12 - 55
William Tennent: Horace Spencer 12; Matt Alden 9; Ryan Smith 8; Jack Rauchut 6; Vinnie Case 5; Mike Wasserleben 2; and Donny Halbruner 1. Total – 43.
Abington: Anthony Durham 20; Mike Griffin 9; Jiere Morrisey 7; Chris Ruhl 6; Matt Penecale 5; Anthony Lee 5; and Jordan Simmons 3. Total – 55.
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