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VILLANOVA – They knew it had to end sooner or later.They were hoping for later.
The dream of playing for a state title died hard for the Pennsbury Falcons, who saw their season come to an end two games shy of the big dance when they fell to District One runner-up Penn Wood 54-50 in a PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal contest on Saturday afternoon at Villanova University’s DuPont Pavilion.
There was no hiding the immense disappointment they felt or the tears as the Falcons emerged from their final post-game meeting.
“Words can’t explain,” Falcon junior Jesse Krasna said. “I have been playing with almost all of them since I was in elementary school.
“I just can’t imagine how it’s going to be without them. They’re not only great guys to be with on the court, but off the court we do so much together. I don’t think you can ever get a better group of guys.”
That ‘group of guys’ had themselves quite a season.
The Falcons rolled through an undefeated SOL season en route to their fourth consecutive National Conference crown. They were one of eight Class AAAA teams in the state still playing on Saturday, and there was nothing to suggest the Falcons’ season would end in a game they led by nine points late in the third quarter.
“It’s real hard,” senior Eddie DiRugeris said. “We were all real emotional in the locker room. We have been together – whether it was in the summer, the fall or the off-season, we were always working hard together. It’s sad that it has to come to an end.”
The Falcons led 40-31 after a Dalton Pepper bucket with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter, and the Patriots – who called a hasty timeout – appeared to be reeling. Immediately after the timeout, Pepper, who scored 15 in his final high school game, forced a jump ball, giving the Falcons possession.
Seconds later, the Falcons were forced to burn a timeout as a player found himself caught in a trap. It marked the beginning of a pattern.
The Falcons came up short on a basket to extend their lead, and the Patriots – thanks to a three-point play by Duane Johnson – cut that lead to six. A Falcon turnover against the trap resulted in another Johnson basket, and the Falcons lead was down to four heading into the final quarter.
“It happened two feet in front of our bench in that period in the third quarter when we had several turnovers,” Pennsbury coach Frank Sciolla said. “It’s very hard to simulate their athleticism and their length.”
The Patriots’ starting lineup includes 5-9 point guard Tyree Johnson, but after that, the Patriot starters measure in at 6-1, 6-5, 6-5 and 6-8. Throw in some serious athleticism, and they posed definite matchup problems for the Falcons.
“That’s why I’m so proud of our kids,” Sciolla said. “Jesse, Dante (Devine) and Eddie are covering 6-5 guys - long and really athletic kids.”
A Falcon turnover early in the fourth quarter set the stage for a Thomas White bucket, and it was a two-point game. After yet another Falcon miscue, Johnson hit nothing but net on a trey to give the Patriots their first lead, 41-40.“They’re a team that runs on energy, and we let them sort of get comfortable,” said Krasna. “They were able to build on that and gain momentum.
“They’re so great on the boards, and they’re tough to match physically.”
Krasna, despite being fouled, connected on a shot from the low post, but Johnson - who scored 10 of his 13 points in the final quarter - connected on another trey, putting the Patriots on top 44-42.
“They got us in some traps in the corner,” Pepper said. “That’s when we’re not at our best.
“Then he (Johnson) came down and hit two three’s.”
DiRugeris answered with a three-point basket for the Falcons, but Johnson buried a pair at the foul line to give Penn Wood a 46-45 lead. Back-to-back Falcon turnovers resulted in three Patriot points and a 49-45 lead with 1:40 remaining.
“I think we outplayed them for three-quarters of the game,” DiRugeris said. “They went on that one run, and it was a little too much. That makes it even harder.
“We should have won today.”
The Falcons misfired on a pair from the foul line, but Pepper came up with a steal and a basket, making it a 49-47. Penn Wood missed on a pair at the charity stripe, but the Falcons returned the favor when they came up short on the front end of a one-and-one.
“It came down to easy plays we should have finished,” Pepper said. “The foul shot I missed, loose balls. It’s not all about the third quarter. It’s (the) little plays.”
Pennsbury would get no closer than three (53-50) the rest of the way as Penn Wood held on for the big win.
“For me, I have bigger and better things to go to, but some guys on our team won’t play in an atmosphere like Villanova in front of that many people,” said Pepper, who will be taking his talents to West Virginia. “I feel for them more than I feel for myself because I played with them since I was a little kid growing up. I just felt really bad for them.”
All but forgotten when it was over was an outstanding first half by the Falcons. They led 7-2 after a trey by DiRugeris (11 points) and still led by five (16-11) after a Marcus Healey trey. A tough three-point play by Pepper, who had 11 first-half points, put the Falcons on top 22-16, and after a Pepper block on the defensive end, the senior star banked home a shot to make it a 28-20 game. Pennsbury took a 30-24 lead into halftime.The Falcons will lose seniors Pepper, Dirugeris, Dulac, Healey, Tom Marcinkowski and John Ryan Wolff.
“We had such a great core of guys, and our goal was to win a state championship,” Krasna said. “Now they’re gone, and we have to almost start from scratch.”
EXTRA SHOTS: An interesting fact was all but lost in the shuffle - when the Falcons began struggling against the Patriots’ pressure defense, Krasna was on the bench with three fouls but really should have only had two. The official scorer gave the junior guard a foul that should have been assessed to Goran Dulac “By the time we were able to get him back out there, our nine-point lead was a two-point lead,” Sciolla said…Pepper closed out a stellar career with 2,207 points – four points shy of the Bucks County scoring mark held by Harry S. Truman’s Tyrone Lewis, who is now playing at Niagara. Pennsbury’s gifted guard is 11th on the Southeastern Pennsylvania scoring list, one point ahead of Philadelphia legend Wilt Chamberlain. “Dalton’s desire to win is so big,” Sciolla said. “Let me be real clear about something, this kid made us way better than we were, way better than we were.”
PENN WOOD 54, PENNSBURY 50
Pennsbury (50) – Jesse Krasna 3 2-2 8, Dante Devine 2 2-2 7, Eddie DiRugeris 4 1-2 11, Dalton Pepper 7 1-2 15, Goran Dulac 2 0-2 4, Marcus Healey 1 0-0 3, Tom Marcinkowski 1 0-0 2, John Ryan Wolff 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 6-10 50.
Penn Wood (54) – Tyree Johnson 3 4-6 13, Dequan Pelzer 0 0-0 0, Duane Johnson 6 3-3 15, Aaron Brown 3 7-11 13, Shawn Oakman 3 2-2 8, Chris White 1 0-0 3, Will Brown 0 0-0 0, Thomas White 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 16-22 54.
Pennsbury 16 14 10 10-50
Penn Wood 14 10 12 18-54
Three-point goals: Pennsbury – Eddie DiRugeris 2, Dante Devine, Marcus Healey. Penn Wood – Tyree Johnson 3, Chris White.
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