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By Scott Huff
Hatboro-Horsham senior point guard Eric Daley conducted his post-game interview with an ice pack placed securely on his leg.“Every time we play these guys it is a hard played game that comes down to the end,” said Daley.
Those guys were the Upper Moreland Golden Bears (3-6), and the end result was a 54-52 Hatboro-Horsham (4-6) victory in overtime.
“I knew that it was going to be a competitive game – it always is between these two teams,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Dennis Steinly. “I thought that a key was that our bench was a little deeper than their bench.”
“I thought we were a little tired at the end,” agreed Upper Moreland head coach Brian Corrado. “We had to play a style of game that was up-tempo, create some turnovers on defense, and it took something out of us on the offensive end.”
The Hatters were harassed into a staggering 22 turnovers by a swarming Bear defense. But it appeared that Hatboro-Horsham would be able to overcome their generosity as the Hatters built 37-25 lead in the third period.
“I told the kids that we could have hung our heads and let them put us away,” said Corrado. “But we kept at it – and we had our chances to win the game.”
Ronye Dennis, Carlos Lewis, and Dmitri Miller fueled a slow burn Upper Moreland rally. And it was a Lewis basket that knotted the score at 42 with three minutes, 48 seconds left in the game.
The two teams exchanged points late in the period with the last Hatter points coming on a basket by Connor Poston with 1:38 left, and the last Bear points coming on a field goal by Nick Giordano at the 1:08 mark.
“We had some good looks at the basket late in the game,” said Corrado. “But we couldn’t get them to fall.”
Upper Moreland forced two Hatter turnovers, and took a 52-49 lead on a three-point bomb by Ryan Burnick with 3:20 left in the overtime. It would be the only points of the period for the exhausted Golden Bears.
Hatboro-Horsham received a free throw by Poston – an ‘old-fashioned’ three-point play by Poston – and a free throw by Mickey Mikulski to seal the win.
“I’m sure that if you would talk to Connor, he would tell you that this wasn’t one of his better games,” said Steinly. “But he made some big points for us in the overtime, and he rebounded well for us the entire game.
“I thought our young guys – like Christian (Bolling), Matt (Kane) and Mike (Marvin) came up big at times,” added Steinly. “And Eric (Daley) made some big threes early to get us the lead.”
“The game got a little sloppy, but when we play them, the game always seems a little sloppy,” said Daley. “We had to hold our breath some there at the end.”
“This is the type of game that could either make or break a season,” said Corrado. “It is a heart breaking loss, but we have to come back and continue to get better.”
Upper Moreland 10 11 11 17 3 - 52
Hatboro-Horsham 14 11 15 9 5 - 54
Upper Moreland (52) – Ronye Dennis 5 1-1 11; Nick Giordano 3 2-2 8; Ryan Burnick 2 0-0 6; Dmitri Miller 5 0-0 10; Carlos Lewis 6 0-0 12; Ben Pflaumer 1 0-0 2; Greg Beyerle 1 1-2 3. Totals 23 4-5 52.
3-point field goals – Worley (2).
Hatboro-Horsham (54) – Mike Marvin 6 3-4 15; Eric Daley 4 1-2 12; Darrin Oliver 1 0-0 2; Dan Lineberger 0 2-2 2; Mickey Mikulski 1 1-2 4; Connor Poston 4 3-10 11; Matt Kane 0 3-5 3; Christian Bolling 2 0-1 5. Totals 18 13-27 54.
3-point field goals – Daley (3); Mikulski; Bolling.
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