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By Scott Huff
FRANCONIA – Novocain – Please!“This game was like a dental visit,” said Souderton head coach Perry Engard after his Indians defeated visiting Hatboro-Horsham – 43-39 – in an SOL Continental Conference game. “I won’t apologize for a win, but if we play like this in most games, we’re going to get an ‘L’.
“I could tell we were flat during warm-ups,” continued Engard. “And if anyone told me that A.J. (Picard) wouldn’t score, I wouldn’t have believed it.”
Picard – who has been the catalyst for the terrific 12-2 Indian start this season – was not only held scoreless, but fouled out in the final minute of the game. He played most of the second half in foul trouble that limited his minutes.
“I thought we played him tough the first time, and he had 20 points,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Dennis Steinly. “I have really no idea how we kept him from scoring tonight.
“Other coaches around the league are going to be calling me to see what we did to stop him,” added Steinly. “We really didn’t do anything special. He just had an off night.”
“We as a coaching staff have to be more creative in the ways we get A.J. shots,” said Engard as Picard was 0-6 from the field and 0-1 from the free throw line. “And fortunately Anthony Sergio stepped us for us. If he doesn’t, we’re in big trouble.”
Sergio – who bombed home four 3-pointers – iced the game in the final moments with a pair of free throws. He was the game-high scorer with 14 points.“The guys did a great job of running the offense to get me my shots,” said Sergio. “I love the shot from the corner (beyond the arc). It’s my spot.
“We shoot 50 free throws before practice, and I usually shoot at that basket,” continued Sergio. “We work hard on free throws.”
Free throws – though - were an eyesore for both teams for most of the game. Souderton made just 8 of 15, while the Hatters were a painful 11-of-22.
“It was pretty obvious that foul shots were a problem for us tonight,” said Steinly. “We had our chances, though, but we didn’t convert when we had to on the offensive end.
“Defensively, I thought we did a pretty good job,” added Steinly. “We were aggressive on the defensive end.”
Souderton jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the first period, but the Hatters scored seven of the next nine points to slice the lead to 13-9.The second period was littered by poor shooting and poor ball handling by each team. The Indians ‘outscored’ the Hatters 7-3 – ouch – and led 20-12 at the half.
A big part of the Hatboro-Horsham demise was that senior Mike Marvin – who had two fouls in the first three minutes of the game – had three fouls and very limited playing time.
“I think it got into his head a little when he got that third foul,” said Steinly. “He was a little tentative on the boards.”
The teams split 26 points in the third period as the Indians held on to a 33-25 advantage.And then Marvin came to life at the outset of the fourth period – scored six straight Hatter points in a minute and a half – and Souderton was clinging to a 33-31 lead.
The game swung – slowly – back and forth. Hatboro-Horsham was as close as 41-39 with only 3.7 seconds left when Pete Williams hit a floater in the lane.
And then Sergio sealed the deal – 43-39 - with just 2.7 seconds left on the scoreboard clock.
“This was tough,” said Engard as the Indians will play a 3:30 game Saturday against Central (Philadelphia Public League) at Cheltenham. “It was painful.”
Novacain – please!!
SuburbanOneSports.com Hoops Ticker
American Conference ----- Upper Dublin (8-4, 5-3) defeated Cheltenham (6-8, 4-4) by a 62-44 margin. Flying Cardinal senior Jamil Brown scored his 1000th point of his career in the second quarter and finished with 21 points. Malcom Weston led the Panthers with a game-high 27 points. ----- Plymouth Whitmarsh (12-0, 8-0) outscored Upper Merion (5-9, 2-6) by a stunning 24-0 in the first period to remain unbeaten and coasted to an 86-46 win. C.J. Aiken led the Colonials with 20 points, while Jaylen Bond added 18 and Whis Grant scored 17. Francis Rafferty led all scorers with 22 points for the Vikings ----- Norristown (11-3, 6-2) kept pace with PW with a 54-37 win over Upper Moreland (2-13, 1-7). Chris Davis led the Eagles with a game-high 17 points, while Tyreese White added 10 points. Ryan Burnick took scoring honors for the Golden Bears with 12 points. ----- Wissahickon (11-3, 6-2) kept pace with Norristown with a 78-49 victory over Springfield (3-11, 0-8). Jack O’Neill scored a game-high 31 points for the Trojans, while Chris Crudele led the Spartans with 16 markers.
Continental Conference ----- Central Bucks South 10-5, 6-2) remained in first place in the conference, along with Souderton, with a 60-41 victory over Quakertown (7-7, 4-4). The Titans were led in scoring by Sean Kummer with 17, while Mike Pincus added 15. Dalton Nice led the Panthers with 15 points. ----- Central Bucks West (9-5, 5-3) picked up another key conference win as the Bucks toppled Pennridge (3-12, 0-8) – 49-35. West had two players in double digits as Patrick Furst scored 12 and Ryan Fiore tallied 11. Mike Guldin led the Rams with 12 points. ----- Central Bucks East (5-7, 3-5) completed the CB School District trifecta with a come from behind 40-37 win over North Penn (7-6, 4-4). The Patriots were led by Matt Stauffer with 11 points, while David Kiersnowski added 10 points. Sean Brooks led all scorers with 17 points and Matt Possanza scored in twin digits with 12 points.
National Conference ----- Council Rock North (9-4, 5-3) put the conference standings in a knot with a 55-45 win over first place Pennsbury (9-5, 6-2). The Indians had a balanced scoring attack that had three players score 10 points – Andrew Stress, Aaron Morgan, & Tim Filer – and a pair of players score eight points – Charlie Anatasi and John Raymon. Jesse Krana led the Falcons in scoring with 11 points, while Kiernan Bolger and Dante Devine each scored 10 points. ----- Council Rock South (6-7, 3-5) worked overtime to defeat Truman (6-9, 3-5) by a margin of 55-51. The Golden Hawks were led in scoring by Cody Nowlin with 16 points, while Jake Clopton scored five points in the OT. Eddie Valentine led all scorers with 24 points.
Hatboro-Horsham/Souderton Box Score
Hatboro-Horsham 9 3 13 14 - 39
Souderton 13 7 13 10 - 43
Hatboro-Horsham: Mike Marvin 5 1-3 11; Travis Bryan 1 0-0 3; Ryan New 0 2-2 2; Christian Bolling 1 5-6 7; Mike Brown 3 0-0 7; Connor Poston 1 1-5 3; Matt Kane 1 2-6 4; Pete Williams 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 11-22 39.
3-point field goals: Bryan, Brown.
Souderton: Kyle Connolly 3 0-1 7; Mark Wonderling 4 3-5 11; Anthony Sergio 4 2-2 14; Jeffrey Bishop 2 1-2 5; Nathan Moyer 2 1-2 5; Nate Lewis 0 1-2 1; A.J. Picard 0 0-1 0. Totals: 15 8-15 43.
3-point field goals: Sergio (4), Connolly.
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