To view game action photos, visit the photo gallery at http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
By Scott Huff
Central Bucks East held off a furious 36-point fourth quarter rally by host Wissahickon to edge the Trojans 75-72 in a non-league game.Wissahickon didn’t fallen into a hole in the third period – the Trojans (2-2) plummeted into a 53-31 crater.
The unbeaten Patriots (2-0) had stretched a 37-31 half time lead into the 22-point third period bulge with a suffocating defense that kept Wissy off the scoreboard for the first six minutes and 44 seconds of the period.
“Basketball is a game of runs,” said Central Bucks East head coach Chris Huber. “I think what we learned tonight was that we have to remember what we did right during our run.
“Wissahickon is a good team, and we didn’t come in here expecting them to roll over,” continued Huber. “Once we had the lead, we tried to do too many individual things. We got away from the team part of the game.”
The final Patriot box score illustrated the team component of the game. East finished with four players in double figures as Chris Harmon led the Pats with 19 points, while Brandon Boekel added 18. Both Tim McLauglin and Baxter Whittington had 13 markers.
“We have to work harder on closing out games,” said Harmon. “Our coach was screaming at us to move the ball around, and when we did that we got some easy baskets.”
And the Patriots needed every single one of those easy baskets as Wissahickon stormed back in the fourth period.
Alex McClure, Michael Bundy, and 6-foot, 7-inch Tom Sweeney led the Trojan charge. McClure finished with a game-high 20 points, while Sweeney scored 19 points and Bundy tallied 15 points.
“We are 2-2 and have played 16 quarters,” said Wissahickon head coach Kyle Wilson. “And we have played very hard in 14 of those quarters.
“We had a bad quarter against Phoenixville, and it cost us the game,” added Wilson. “And we had the bad third period tonight.”
In the first six-plus minutes of the third period the Trojans had no points and five turnovers against a swarming Patriot defense.
“I had to get in their ear a little,” said Wilson. “And I was proud of the way be came back against a good CB East team.
“We have the potential to be one of the better teams in the area,” continued Wilson. “But we have to play all four quarters.”
As bad as the third period was for the Trojans, the fourth period was just as good.
The 22-point Patriot lead was sliced to just six (62-56) with 3:50 left in the final quarter. And the fans in the Wissahickon Dome began to rock and roll.
But as the Trojans began to make their final charge, Harmon and the Patriots were able to keep them from taking the lead.
Harmon scored eight straight points for East to give the Pats a seemingly comfortable 70-59 advantage, but Wissy made a final rush to close to 75-72 at the final horn.
“Chris is a strong player and we expect good things from him in the clutch,” said Huber. “But I feel that we have a few players that can step up when we need them.
“We have gotten off to a good start by beating both North Penn and Wissahickon,” added Huber. “And now we have to go to Quakertown tomorrow. It doesn’t get any easier.”
Central Bucks East 13 24 18 20 - 75
Wissahickon 14 17 5 36 - 72
Central Bucks East: Whittington 4 5-6 13; Kiernowski 2 0-0 4; McLaughlin 4 4-8 13; Eshleman 3 0-0 6; Boekel 7 3-4 18; Schneider 0 2-3 2; Harmon 6 7-8 19. Totals 26 21-29 75.
3-point goals: McLaughlin, Boekel.
Wissahickon: Watson 2 0-2 4; Atkins 4 0-0 9; Frankenfield 1 3-5 5; McClure 6 5-5 20; Bundy 5 3-4 15; Sweeney 8 3-3 19. Totals 26 14-19 72.
3-point goals: McClure (3), Bundy (2), Atkins.
- Log in to post comments
0
