By Nick DeLorenzo
Just four days removed from one of the most devastating losses in their recent history, the Bensalem Owls couldn’t help but feel the effects of blowing a 10-point lead with two minutes left against Penn Wood Tuesday night.
“That was real hard for us,” Bensalem shooting guard Ivan Flores said. “It was a heart-breaker, and it was brewing throughout the week of practice. But coach said today, about an hour or two before the game, we had to let that go – let that game get tucked away and look at what’s ahead of us.”
Bensalem responded with a comeback of its own, outscoring the Wissahickon Trojans 24-10 in the fourth quarter to catapult the Owls to a 57-47 win.
“It shows a lot of character,” Bensalem head coach John Mullin said regarding the bounce-back win. “They’re kids, they’re resilient – you just got to get them out of their minds and get them thinking about something else.”
Mullin stressed the importance of coming out with emotion and high energy, and there was no shortage of that for these team – two of eight squads playing for the final spot in the state playoff tournament. The home crowd became even more electric when Jordan Reed threw down an alley-oop for the game’s first field goal.
After Wissahickon opened up an 18-12 lead after the first quarter, Bensalem went on a 9-0 run to begin the second, aided by a ferocious full-court press that forced six turnovers in the frame.
However, after a few timeouts, Wissahickon was able to make adjustments to beat the Owls’ press, leading to an 8-0 run of their own – capped by a three-pointer by Jack O’Neil at the buzzer – to go into the half up 28-23.
“We made a couple of bad decisions in the first half,” Mullin said. “We talked about it at halftime and we came out and corrected [the mistakes].”
With Wissahickon up 39-33 early in the fourth quarter, a Trojan player was called for a travel on what was sure to be an easy layup that would have extended Wissahickon’s lead. That seemed to be the turning point Bensalem desperately needed.
Following the turnover, Flores came out with eight straight points for the Owls, almost single handedly bringing them back in the game. Flores hit a free throw with 2:57 remaining to give the Owls their first lead since early in the second quarter.
“[Flores] is a great offensive player, and he stepped up,” Mullin said. “He played really well for us.”
Though the Trojans were able to tie the game one more time, the Owls pulled away thanks to late success at the free-throw line. Wissahickon faced an opposite fate, going just 3-for-13 from the line in the fourth.
“Foul shooting killed us,” Wissahickon head coach Kyle Wilson said. “That’s the short conversation. You’ve got to knock down free throws if you want to win big games.”
Flores finished with a game high 22 points. Liam Kirgen and Alex Agyedu each finished with 10 points.
For Wissahickon, Reed led the way with 12 points while Gio Atkins added nine and Kevin Hammond contributed eight.
Wissahickon –which lost to Neshaminy in the final seconds on Tuesday - finished its season with back-to-back late losses. Despite being bounced from the playoffs, Wilson is proud of the way his team played.
“They fought hard and played with a lot of energy,” the Trojans’ coach said. “[These are] two quality programs – it’s a shame one of them had to lose.”
Wilson was also impressed with the support his team received on Saturday night and throughout the season.
“I give so much credit to the fans,” he said regarding the thumping gymnasium. “I thought it was amazing. You’d be hard pressed to tell that this was a play-back game. It’s very impressive, and it says a lot about our fans and our kids as well as [Bensalem’s] fans and their kids.”
After the Owls enjoy this win for about a half hour, according to Mullin, they will set their sights on Council Rock North, their all-too-familiar foe who has already beaten them twice this season.
Despite their past struggles against North, Flores is confident in his team’s abilities to match-up with their SOL National rival.
“We know how they play,” Flores said. “They’ve beaten us twice in a row but we can compete with them.”
“We’ve got to keep playing team basketball,” he continued. “We’ve got a lot of talent. Anything can happen in basketball – it’s a game of heart, mental ability and discipline. Coach has put us in a position to win and we’ve got to execute. “
BENSALEM 57, WISSAHICKON 47
Wissahickon 18 10 9 10 47
Bensalem 12 11 10 24 57
Wissahickon (47) - Jordan Reed 5 2-6 12; Gio Atkins 3 1-6 9; Tom Sweeney 1 0-0 2; Jack O'Neil 4 1-2 10; Mike Bundy 1 3-4 6; Kevin Hammond -- 4 0-0 . TOTALS 18 7-18 47
Bensalem (57) - Liam Kiagen 3 3-4 10; Ivan Flores 9 3-6 22; Nick Christian 1 0-0 2; Alex Agyedu 4 2-3 10; Chris McMullin 2 2-3 6; Calvin Brown 3 1-2 7. TOTALS 22 11-18 57
Three-pointers: Bensalem – Kiagen, Flores. Wissahickon – O’Neill Bundy.
Bensalem 12 11 10 24 57
Wissahickon (47) - Jordan Reed 5 2-6 12; Gio Atkins 3 1-6 9; Tom Sweeney 1 0-0 2; Jack O'Neil 4 1-2 10; Mike Bundy 1 3-4 6; Kevin Hammond -- 4 0-0 . TOTALS 18 7-18 47
Bensalem (57) - Liam Kiagen 3 3-4 10; Ivan Flores 9 3-6 22; Nick Christian 1 0-0 2; Alex Agyedu 4 2-3 10; Chris McMullin 2 2-3 6; Calvin Brown 3 1-2 7. TOTALS 22 11-18 57
Three-pointers: Bensalem – Kiagen, Flores. Wissahickon – O’Neill Bundy.
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