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PERKASIE – Ryan Connellan, Pete Roberts and Andrew White seemed remarkably upbeat.Granted, Pennridge’s senior tri-captains weren’t exactly whooping it up after Monday night’s 79-45 non-league loss to St. Pius X, but they were able put the loss and their season in perspective.
No easy task for the captains of a squad that has won just once in 15 outings.
“It’s fun for the most part,” Roberts said. “We all love playing the game a whole lot.
“Yeah, it gets frustrating not putting up W’s sometimes, but for the most part, we all just love playing, and we’re all good friends in school. At practices, it’s usually a good time playing with one another. It just hasn’t fallen our way this year.”
Theirs is a friendship that was borne on the basketball court.
“The three of us have played with or against each other since seventh grade,” Connellan said. “That’s how we’ve been able to stay positive because we’re such good friends on and off the court.
“All three of us agree being team leaders is the focus. Offensively and defensively, we want to set an example for the younger kids. Just being a captain and being able to lead – that’s what we’re focused on.”
Connellan personifies the hustle and desire that the Rams bring to the court. Roberts is the go-to-man on offense, and White – wearing a knee brace after sitting out last season with a torn ACL – has been a coach of sorts coming off the bench.
“They all have different roles,” coach Dean Behrens said. “We have been stressing being a good teammate, and being a good teammate is picking each other up no matter what the score or what the situation is.“All the kids – jayvee and varsity – have been great teammates.”
They have undoubtedly taken their cues from their three captains, who have provided positive leadership to a young team that boasts 10 sophomores and two freshmen on its roster.
“We try to set an example for the younger players - to have them go out and play hard every day and practice hard not only so we’ll get better this year as a team but also for the future,” White said. “If we go hard every day and get better, hopefully, they will reap the benefits down the line.”
One of the bright spots in Monday’s loss was the fact that the Rams put up 45 points – no small accomplishment after back-to-back games when they did not reach 30.
Roberts once again led the way. The senior forward poured in a game-high 17 points to go along with seven rebounds. The consistently solid performances of Roberts have also been a bright spot this season.
“It’s neat to see him progress from where he was when we had him in ninth grader to where he is now,” Behrens said. “I never thought he would start on the varsity. Now he’s leading the team in scoring.”
It was Roberts who put the Rams on the scoreboard when he connected on a hook shot early in the first quarter to knot the score 2-2. That tie last all of 15 seconds as Ed McKeon answered with a bucket for the Lions to ignite a 9-0 run, a streak that was broken when Roberts scored on a putback.
The Winged Lions opened up an 18-6 lead, but sophomore point guard Mike Guldin turned a pass from teammate Rocky Ferrier into a basket at the buzzer, trimming that lead to 10 at the end of one quarter.
In the second quarter, the Winged Lions outscored the Rams 19-11 to take a 37-19 lead into halftime. Roberts accounted for 11 of the Rams’ points while every Pius starter had at least four points, and Ross Reber - who led a balanced attack with 14 points - had 10.
“Before the game, they said, ‘This kid’s a shooter, that kid’s a shooter,’ but about halfway through the game, we just decided that everyone was a shooter,” White said.
“They could shoot the ball like no other,” Roberts said. “Most teams have one shooter or maybe two shooters, but when you have a team that up and down (the lineup) can shoot the ball, you have to play your best defensively.
“We can’t slip up on defense like we did tonight.”
Sophomores Guldin and Zech States teamed up for a pair of buckets on textbook plays in the third quarter. Twice Guldin penetrated and dished off to States under the basket for easy points. The second basket made it a 44-27 game, but that’s as close as the Rams would get.
When it was over, no one was hanging their heads.
“We just try to keep things upbeat, keep things positive and set an example – not only on the floor but also off the floor,” White said. “We have to represent not only ourselves but our team here and in school in the hallways.”
They admit the response they receive is not always positive.
“You get heckled, and you get stuff in school sometimes,” Roberts said. “Our soccer and football teams did pretty good this year, and we have to live up to the potential of the other teams.”
It doesn’t help that the Rams play a league schedule that is a mine field.
“That’s the toughest part,” Connellan said. “Kids come to the games and they watch, but they really don’t really know how tough the competition we play is. I think we play in one of the toughest leagues in Pennsylvania. We don’t play a bad team ever.”
That trend apparently doesn’t change when the Rams face a non-league opponent. The Winged Lions – fresh off a 20-point win over Allentown Central Catholic – brought a 13-2 record into Monday’s game.
Despite the outcome, Behrens remained positive.
“As the season has progressed, all our kids have improved,” he said. “Coming to practice has really been a lot of fun in regards to watching the kids develop.
“Obviously, everything is marked by wins and losses, which makes it tough for the kids because they have to walk around school and everyone asks how they did last night. We try to focus on not worrying about what our record is, and every day we show up hoping to get better. In games, we’re trying to value every possession. That’s how we address the team on a daily basis.”
ST PIUS X 79, PENNRIDGE 45
St. Pius X (79) – Andrew Meszaros 2 1-2 5, Ross Reber 4 4-4 14, Mike Dinnella 5 0-0 13, Ed McKeon 5 0-0 11, Paul Mills 4 0-1 8, Dylan Pasik 3 3-3 9, Nick Quigley 2 0-0 5, Spencer Stratton 4 1-1 9, Alex Kobylinski 0 0-0 0, Paul Slegelmilch 1 0-0 2, Callellesse 1 0-0 3, Jeff Evans 1 0-0 3. Totals 31 9-11 79.
Pennridge (45) – Mike Guldin 1 4-4 6,Jonathan Lewis 1 0-0 2, Zech States 3 0-0 6, Ryan Connellan 1 2-3 4, Pete Roberts 7 3-3 17, Dylan Tice 0 0-0 0, Kyle Peters 2 0-0 4, Rocky Ferrier 1 0-0 2, Drew Smith 0 0-0 0, Andrew White 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 9-10 45.
St. Pius X 18 19 18 24-79
Pennridge 8 11 8 18-45
Three-point goals: Pius – Reber 2, Dinnella 3, Quigley, Callellusse, Evans.
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