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ROYERSFORD – The expression on Charlie Anastasi’s face as he lay on the floor under his own basket after picking up his fifth foul said it all. It was a combination of disbelief and disappointment, both the result of the realization that Council Rock North’s dream of competing for a state title was about to end.“As soon as I had that fifth foul, a lot of emotions came over me,” the Indians’ senior captain said. “I didn’t want to break down because I knew the game wasn’t over, but for me personally, that was it. It hurt a lot.”
Saturday’s PIAA Class AAAA semifinal game at Spring-Ford High School against Penn Wood wasn’t over, but with the Indians trailing by five and 1:19 remaining, things certainly didn’t look promising as Anastasi headed to the bench where he joined senior John Raymon, who was whistled for his fifth foul 23 seconds earlier.
There would be no miracle comeback for the Indians, who watched one shot after another bounce off the rim down the home stretch. A Rock North team that buried 5-of-9 three-pointers in the first half and led by as many as 12 points connected on just 3-of-20 in the second half and – even more telling – endured a scoring drought of nine minutes and eight seconds that ultimately led to a heartbreaking 51-42 loss.
“You have to give credit to Penn Wood,” coach Derek Wright said of a second half that saw the Patriots outscore the Indians 33-16. “They adjusted better than we did. That’s what makes them a great team.”
Rock North also fit the category of great team this season. The Indians not only captured sole possession of the SOL National Conference title, they also were the runner-up in a district that boasts the state’s top squads and advanced to the Elite Eight in the state.“That’s what I told my seniors – they have left a mark on this school and this program that will be here forever,” Wright said. “They’ve done things no other Council Rock basketball team has ever done, and we’re pretty proud of the program tradition-wise.
“We’ll have time to reflect on that and enjoy it, but it doesn’t help any more right now.”
Wright’s disappointment was not so much that the Indians’ dream of playing for a state title had ended but rather that he would be bidding farewell to an extraordinary senior class that included Anastasi, Raymon, Jordan Chernin, Hunter Stevens, Liam Kane and Kevin Bogucki.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Wright said. “The good thing about high school basketball is that they’ll always still be a part of it. They’ll come back and work with and talk with our guys.
“Hopefully, they’ll have kids in the area, and they’ll grow up, and they’ll help us out when they get older. That’s why you really do this.”
For now, however, that was small consolation for Wright and his players, who watched a win that appeared to be within their grasp slip away.
“I keep replaying that (third) quarter in my mind,” Anastasi said of quarter that saw the Indians score just two points. “You look up, and all of a sudden you’re down. It’s frustrating.”
There was absolutely nothing about the first half that was frustrating for the Indians – except for the fact that Raymon was whistled for his third foul late in the half, but even that didn’t seem like it could slow down an Rock North squad that came out of the gate on fire, getting it done on both ends of the court.
While Penn Wood struggled to find its offensive rhythm, the Indians were connecting from just about everywhere. They went on top 6-2 after Morgan, who led Rock North with 14 points, buried a trey off the dribble. That lead grew to 9-3 after Goodman hit nothing but net on a three-pointer. The Patriots – behind back-to-back baskets from Malcolm Richardson – trimmed that lead to 9-7, but a nifty Raymon dish to Stevens for an easy bucket extended the Indians’ lead to four, and after a Penn Wood miss, Morgan connected on a miraculous shot from well beyond midcourt at the buzzer.
The Indians led 14-7, and everything they touched was turning to gold.
Raymon buried a jumper from the top of the circle to open the second quarter, and after a Patriot miss, Anastasi scored on a drive, putting the Indians on top 18-7. A Will Morton three-pointer made it a 20-12 game and brought the Patriot faithful to life, but Goodman silenced those fans in a hurry when he sank his second three-pointer of the half, this one from baseline to put the Indians on top 23-12.
The Indians led 26-14 after a Morgan trey – the Indians’ fifth three-pointer of the first half, but the Patriots answered with four straight points. Still, the Indians took a 26-18 lead into halftime.
Raymon – who started the second half on the bench saddled with three fouls – went back on the court after the Patriots trimmed the Indians’ lead to five (26-21), and he scored on a putback with 5:50 remaining to put the Indians on top 28-21, but that’s when the points stopped coming. The Patriots closed out the quarter with an 11-0 run.
“They changed defenses, put us in different spots than we were in the first half,” Wright said. “We were pretty comfortable with what we were doing in the first half.
“It was kind of a run-and-jump on Aaron (Morgan) and zone pressure – they stuck their big guy (6-9 Shawn Oakman) in the middle of the floor and really caused problems for us getting in the scoring areas. Once we got there, I think we were uncomfortable with where guys were coming from defensively. When it’s man-to-man, you have a better idea. I think their length really affected us. They did a nice job.”
By the time the Indians scored at the 4:43 mark of the fourth quarter when Morgan sank both ends of a one-and-one, the Patriots led 37-30.
“I don’t know what happened,” Raymon said. “We came out thinking we would do the same thing as the first half. We knew they would put more pressure on us, and we became hesitant shooting and didn’t look to shoot. We had a couple of turnovers, and the fouls were getting to our heads. The (Penn Wood) crowd was getting into it, and we weren’t getting too many calls. It was tough.”
Despite their offensive woes, the Indians were still very much in the game, and when Goodman buried a three-pointer after a Morgan steal, the Indians trailed by just four, 37-33. A costly turnover resulted in Akil Anderson burying both ends of a one-and-one, but Anastasi answered with a trey to make it a 41-36 game with 2:12 remaining. West Virginia-bound Aaron Brown sank one-of-two from the foul line, and when Darian Barnes, who finished with a game-high 13 boards, pulled down the offensive rebound of Brown’s miss, Raymon was whistled for his fifth foul.“I didn’t want this to be my last game, so it was tough,” Raymon said. “Plus I’m playing football so this is the last real Council Rock North basketball game I’ll ever play.
“I was trying to play my heart out. I really didn’t want it to end.”
Barnes misfired on the front end of the one-and-one, and when Anastasi converted a three-point play at the other end, it was a 42-39 game with 1:38 remaining. Barnes, however, sank both ends of a one-and-one to stretch the Patriots’ lead to 44-39, and when yet another Rock North trey attempt bounced off the rim, Anastasi was whistled for his fifth foul going for the rebound. The Indians would get no closer than five the rest of the way.
“We didn’t handle their pressure as well,” Anastasi said. “We started leaving our feet and making passes that weren’t solid, and they capitalized on those turnovers.”While the loss itself was painful, it paled in comparison to the heartbreak at the realization that a special season had ended.
“This program has meant so much to me,” said Anastasi, biting back tears. “Right now it hurts, but I think in a couple of days, we’ll be able to look back on how great this was. I love all of these guys. We really came together this season – we won a league championship, we played at Villanova, and we got to do so many cool things. Right now it hurts, but I know in a little bit, I know I’ll be really appreciative of what we had this year.”
The Indians closed out their season with a dazzling 27-3 record and a place in the school’s history books.
“I haven’t seen something like this happen at Council Rock North for a long time,” Raymon said. “Our coaches were really great, and to be part of this as a senior – going to districts and states, it was great.”
EXTRA SHOTS: In addition to Morgan, Goodman finished with nine points and six rebounds while Anastasi had eight points and seven boards. Raymon had seven points to go along with seven rebounds, and Stevens added four points and seven rebounds. The Indians connected on just 5-of-31 shots in the second half (16.1 percent) and 15-of-54 for the game (27.8 percent). Barnes led the Patriots with 13 points to go along with 13 boards. Richardson added 12 points and Brown, 10 points. The Patriots connected on just 7-of-21 shots in the first half (33.3 percent) but made 9-of-18 in the second half and 16-of-39 in the game (41 percent). They won the game at the foul line where they buried 18-of-31 shots while the Indians took just eight foul shots and made four.
PENN WOOD 51, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 42
Council Rock North (42) – John Raymon 3 1-5 7; Arron Goodman 3 0-0 9; Charlie Anastasi 3 1-1 8; Jordan Chernin 0 0-0 0; Aaron Morgan 4 2-2 14; Brandon Knotts 0 0-0 0; Alex Jordan 0 0-0 0; Hunter Stevens 2 0-0 4. TOTALS 15 4-8 42.
Penn Wood (51) – Jerry Price 0 0-0 0; Malcolm Richardson 4 4-4 12; Aaron Brown 4 2-5 10; Darian Barnes 4 5-9 13; Shawn Oakman 2 3-7 7; Akil Anderson 1 3-4 5; Will morton 1 1-2 4; Jeff Kyem 0 0-0 0; Dahmere Mincy 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 16 18-31 51.
Council Rock North 14 12 2 14-42
Penn Wood 7 11 14 19-51
3-point goals: CR North – Aaron Morgan 4, Arron Goodman 3, Charlie Anastasi 1. Penn Wood – Will Morton 1.
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