The CR North/CR South contest was an SOL Featured Game sponsored by the CR North Booster Club. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
What a thriller.
And what a thrill for the Council Rock South boys’ basketball team.
The Golden Hawks rode a 21-point fourth quarter to defeat host Council Rock North, 52-48, in Friday’s Suburban One League National Conference game, the nightcap of a quadrupleheader that included the boys and girls junior varsity games and the girls varsity game.
For the Golden Hawks, the loss avenged a 56-39 loss at the hands of the Indians on Jan. 14.
“The North-South game is always a big game so it’s disappointing to lose,” Rock North senior Chris Rowland said. “The free throw shooting late in the game hurt us, and they didn’t miss down the stretch.
“In this game it doesn’t matter what anyone’s record is. You’ve got to come out with your best game and they did that.”
CR South put up the first two points of the game when Mike Stock got a bucket off the
tip-off. But the Indians answered with a three-point goal from Matt Margolis.
The Golden Hawks bounced back with a field goal from Dan Kockott to go up, 4-3, but CR North answered again with a second three pointer, this time from Rowland, to take a 6-4 lead.
CR South tied it, 6-6, with a basket from Stock. That was the last time the Golden Hawks would be ahead or tied until the final minutes of the game.
While the Indians held the lead for most of the game, the Golden Hawks were always within striking distance. The largest margin CR North held was 11 points early in the second quarter. After ending the first period with a17-9 lead, Rowland hit a three to start the second frame for CR North.
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Tom Townsend’s basket for CR South brought North’s lead back down to nine and after that the Golden Hawks continued to erode the margin, finally tying it again, 41-41, in the fourth quarter.
Rowland and McWilliams each went 1-for-2 at the line to give CR North a 43-41 edge, and at that point, it was clearly a race to the finish.
Jake Gross hit a three-pointer to put the Golden Hawks up 44-43, and once again the Indians answered with a field goal by Margolis to take a 45-44 lead.
It was the last time the Indians would be ahead.
Kockott went 2-for-2 at the line to take CR South to 46-45, and the Golden Hawks took over the lead for good.
Kockott was a fourth quarter hero for the Golden Hawks, going 6-for-6 at the line when it counted and contributing a field goal earlier in the period en route to an 18-point performance.
Just as Kockott was deadly at the line in the fourth quarter, the Indians’ free throw shooting hurt them in that frame. CR North went 5-for-10 at the free throw line in the final quarter.
The last time CR South defeated the Indians was a 47-44 triumph on Jan. 13, 2009, so the win snapped a nine-game losing streak for the Golden Hawks against their district rivals.
With a record of 5-9, 7-15 overall, the game was the season finale for CR South. While the Golden Hawks won’t be moving on to the playoffs, they certainly ended the 2013-14 campaign with their biggest win of the season.
The Indians have very little time to regroup. They have a make-up conference game at Pennsbury on Saturday at 1:30 p.m., which will do much to decide their fate.
“A win against Pennsbury will definitely help us,” said McWilliams, a senior who led the Indians with 17 points. “We didn’t see this coming, losing to South. We had so much more at stake than they, but they rose to the occasion. Our free throws weren’t dropping, and theirs were and that really hurt.”
“This was a great game. Everyone wants to play their best in this game and it was a battle, but in the end, they came out on top. As a senior, it’s a very disappointing loss.”
Pennsbury won the earlier meeting this year, 55-38, on Jan.28.
“It’s going to be tough but we have tough-minded players, and I think we can do it,” McWilliams said. “If we win, that then things will fall into place for us, but right now our minds are on Pennsbury.
“But whatever happens I think we had a great season. We had a lot of new players and we pulled it together. We faced adversity and we fought through it.”
Whether or not the Indians get selected for the District One Tournament, they can look back on the 2013-14 season with pride. After a 3-6 start, they are now 11-10, 7-6 in conference play.
“We expected South’s best game and they stepped up and played a little harder and a little tougher than we did so you have to give them credit,” said CR North coach Derek Wright. “We have to win against Pennsbury, and that’s part of the learning experience of playing sports. When things don’t go your way you have to buck up and take advantage of every opportunity.
“The fact that we’re in the position we’re in to fight for a playoff spot is really a great achievement for these guys. I hope they can be rewarded with the spot.”
Council Rock South 9 12 10 21 – 52
Council Rock North 17 713 11 –48
Council Rock South (52): Jake Gross 2 0-0 6; Dean Blank 2 1-1 5; Will Faccenda 0 3-4 3; Tom Townsend 4 0-0 9;Mike Stock 3 1-2 7; Dan Kockott 4 10-10 18; Eric Gallo 2 0-0 4; Matt Stewart 00-0 0. Totals: 17 15-17 52.
Council Rock North (61): Josh McWilliams 6 4-6 17; Tyler Nowmos 0 0-0 0; Drew Glenn 0 1-2 1; Chris Rowland 52-4 15; Matt Margolis 3 0-0 7; Riley Thompson 0 0-0 0; Steve Nowmos 1 0-0 2;James Kosyla 1 2-2 4; Will Desautelle 1 0-2 2. Totals: 17 9-16 48.
Three-point goals: Townsend, McWilliams, Margolis, Rowland 3.
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