The CR North boys’ team saw its season end in Tuesday’s preliminary round while the Upper Dublin girls’ squad earned a big win to advance to Friday’s opening round.
By Scott Huff
Newtown - Council Rock North (21-8) held the ball for the final minute-plus of its home game with Delaware Valley (19-8) to get the last shot in a PIAA Quad-A state ‘play-in’ match with the Warriors and the score knotted at 46-46. The Indians got off the shot – however it missed the mark – and Rock North failed to score in the entire overtime period as CRN was jettisoned from the playoffs with a 53-46 loss to the District 2 runner-up.
“We held it out for the last shot, and we got some good looks in the overtime, but we couldn’t get anything to fall,” said a disheartened Council Rock North head coach Derek Wright. “They did a nice job defensively, but we really didn’t play this game with a lot of energy. We didn’t execute when we had to, and we struggled for most of the game.”
The game was tied at intermission, and Rock North took a four-point lead into the final period. Delaware Valley knotted the score in the final period, and as things turned out, Rock North had its best chance to win the game with the final shot in regulation.
“It was a tough way to end our season, we had high expectations,” said Wright. “But when we look back at what the senior class has done, it was a historic. The seniors had three straight 20 win seasons, three straight (Suburban One League National) conference championships, and three straight trips to the state tournament.”
The trio of talented senior starters played their final game for the Indians – Arron Goodman, Aaron Morgan, and Matt McCloskey. Alex Corry, Owen Rice, and Jason Cavell also played their final game for CR North.
“It was a great run for them,” said Wright. “We were hoping that run was going to last longer.”
Morgan led the Indians in scoring with a 16-point performance, while sophomore Rip Engel scored in double figures for Rock North with 14 points. Brandon Angradi scored a game-high 24 points for Delaware Valley.
Delaware Valley Warriors 15 9 8 14 7 - 53
Council Rock North Indians 13 11 12 10 0 - 46
Delaware Valley: Brandon Angradi 24; Brent Fragola 10; Bryan Schor 10; Connor Decker 9. = Total 53.
Council Rock North: Aaron Morgan 16; Rip Engel 14; Arron Goodman 6; Kyle McCloskey 6; Matt McCloskey 2; Brandon Knotts 2. Total - 46
To view photos of Upper Dublin’s big win, please visit the Photo Gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/g/030612_upper_dublin_vs_wallenpaupack_dl
UPPER DUBLIN 57, WALLENPAUPACK 35
Point guard Curtrena Goff had just found senior Erica Blum for an easy bucket that gave the Flying Cardinals a 55-33 lead when the chants of ‘I believe that we have won, I believe that we have won’ began rocking the gym.
In truth, the Flying Cardinals had won Tuesday night’s preliminary round PIAA Class AAAA Tournament game long before the closing moments of the contest. Upper Dublin – sparked by six points from senior Jen Myers – led 16-2 at the end of one quarter and never looked back.
By halftime, Myers had scored 10 of her game-high 14 points while senior Taylor Bryant had connected for all 11 of her points. Brianna Spector had all seven of her points and Goff, six of her eight points, as the Flying Cardinals opened up a commanding 27-12 lead.
“We passed the ball really well,” Bryant said. “We shared the ball. Everyone got a chance. It wasn’t a one-person effort. We all worked together.”
A berth in states was at stake, and if the Flying Cardinals needed any additional motivation, they certainly got it from their fans, who – led by a large and wildly enthusiastic student section – gave Upper Dublin the kind of home court advantage most teams only dream about.
“Never in my four years have we had this many people come and support us,” Bryant said. “We have been trying to get people to come out to our regular season games, and we really didn’t get much interest.
“The fact that we got this many people to come to our game was really important to us.”
Senior reserve Carly Strauss put the finishing touches on the big win when she scored the game’s final bucket for Upper Dublin, and for all the seniors, this game was memorable indeed.
“It just reminds you of how much you love the game and why you play it,” Myers said. “It was a great time tonight. Not just the fact that we won but the fact that we all worked together and were able to pull it out.
“Everybody got in the game, which was nice.”
Tuesday’s win was the fourth in a row for the Flying Cardinals since their second-half meltdown in their district quarterfinal loss to Haverford that saw Upper Dublin score just six second-half points as they watched a double digit lead disappear.
“That was our lowest low of the season, but we all got together as a team and really hashed out what we needed to do and talked about everything,” Myers said. “Our main focus was working the ball around on offense more because our defense is pretty solid. We just wanted to focus on making sure everyone touches the ball on every trip, and that led to our success.
“We lost the Haverford game because we just completely collapsed on offense, and it was all one-on-one stuff. Working the ball around and finding the seams in a zone is really how you beat it, and we were able to do that tonight.”
Coach Vince Catanzaro also pointed to his team’s change in philosophy after the Haverford loss as the key to the turnaround.
“We had a long talk, and we made a decision at the (Central Bucks) South game at halftime that we’re running one play – we have constantly run the same play,” the Flying Cardinals’ coach said. “The whole deal is that everybody touches the ball.
“They don’t worry about it now – they just do it, and if we see them getting stagnant, all we have to do is remind them - remember Haverford, and very quickly we get back in the right gear out there because we don’t want to go back to that game.”
Bryant acknowledged that the Haverford loss was a wake-up call of sorts.
“It really pumped us up to do well in the next few games,” the senior captain said. “That feeling we had of losing that game – we never wanted to feel that again.
“We say it before every game, ‘We don’t want this to be like the Haverford game.’ Everyone knows that feeling, and you don’t want to have it, so we’re really ready to keep going and try to make a run.”
In Friday night’s state opener, the Flying Cardinals face the daunting task of taking on a Red Lion squad that wears the crown of District 3 champion and boasts a 28-1 record.
But for one night, the Flying Cardinals were soaring as they had the rare opportunity to play a preliminary round state playoff game on their home court, and everyone on their roster saw playing time.
“It doesn’t happen,” Catanzaro said. “Getting everyone into a state play-in game never happens, ever.
“The kids are tickled. They will never forget that. I was shocked when I found out we had a home game. This is great. What a great atmosphere.”
For the team’s four seniors – Bryant, Myers, Strauss and Blum – it was a most memorable farewell to their home court.
“To really have the support of all our peers and everyone in our school for this last game – it really made it special,” Bryant said. “This is the last time I’ll ever be playing in this gym, and it feels really good. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
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