Upper Dublin defeated Upper Moreland to earn a berth in the PIAA 5A State Tournament. Photos provided courtesy of Greg Lindsay. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ B0YS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
Class 5A quarterfinal
#4 UPPER DUBLIN 70, #5 UPPER MORELAND 46
Noah Cohen was feeling it.
The UD senior stole the spotlight with his 21-point performance that included three 3-pointers. Cohen and Horace Jackson both had seven points in the opening quarter, propelling the Cards to a 19-14 advantage.
By halftime, Jackson had 11 points while Cohen had 10, and the Cardinals led 32-24.
A 21-point third quarter by the Cardinals – which included seven points from Cohen and six from Justin Ragsdale – all but put
the game out of reach as the Cards took a 53-35 advantage into the final quarter on their way to the decisive win.
There were plenty of reasons to celebrate for the Cardinals and their fans. The win not only propelled the Cards into Friday’s district semifinal, it also ensured UD a berth in the PIAA 5A State Tournament.
It was yet another inspired performance by a Cardinal team that is operating on all cylinders. The difference in recent outings?
“I would say it has been our intensity and effort and focus,” UD coach Derek Brooks said. “Especially when adversity hit like in the PW game. The second round of the SOL Tournament – that PW game (a 45-43 win) was what I had been hoping we would show all season. When the going got tough, we just kept grinding.
“The Cheltenham game (a 68-41 win in the SOL Tournament title game) – we were just so laser focused and shot out of a cannon that it was a different type of mental toughness and just a maturity of being ready to go.”
Happy 100th
Wednesday’s victory was win number 100 of coach Derek Brooks’ successful career, a feat that was recognized by his players and parents with a postgame celebration.
“I’m very grateful that they did that – we got a very great group,” said Brooks, who is in his fourth season at Upper Dublin after two years at New Hope-Solebury.
Brooks was 8-35 at New Hope and 92-18 at Upper Dublin with a District 1 5A title on his resume.
“I owe a lot to the boys for earning 92 of those,” the UD coach said. “I am very lucky. I’ve got a great coaching staff and a great group of kids who show up every day with a great attitude.
“We have great parents, the community has been great,” Brooks said. “I am so very grateful for this group because you know – it takes a village. We all help one another.
“We have other good coaches, and it helps you keep your kids, it helps build up those sports and builds school pride and excitement in athletics. We have a great academic school and a good administration. It’s a great place.
“I’m so very grateful to (former athletic director) Matt Heiland, who took a chance on a guy that was 8-35. I owe him, and I owe my wife for giving me the opportunity to do this every day.”
Key players: Noah Cohen led three UD players in double figures with 21 points. Horace Jackson contributed 13 and Justin Ragsdale, 11 points.
For the Golden Bears, Nate Best led the way with 13 points while Kyle Moore and Cannon Campbell both added 12 points
Upper Dublin coach Derek Brooks:
–The game: “Tonight we were not as good as the Cheltenham game in terms of being ready to go. I thought we had a really good offensive night. Defensively, in the first half, we could have been better. Jose Hernandez didn’t play for them – he is either their first or second leading scorer, so that was a big loss for them. I wasn’t too pleased – we gave up 14 (points) in the first quarter and then 24 (in the first half). Credit to them, they made some shots, but I thought our defensive intensity could have been a little bit better.
“We did come out pretty good to start the third defensively, and it helped us lead our offense as well. It was a good night. I think coming off the SOL title game and then starting a new tournament, there’s a little bit of an energy dip – here we are, starting over with another tournament. I felt there was a little bit of that to start, but I was overall happy with our performance.”
–Getting offensive: “We put up 70 points, and it’s hard to complain when you score 70. We shot the ball very well. We passed the ball well. I thought we executed the offensive game plan well.”
–Cohen comes through: “Noah was fantastic tonight. His decision making was excellent, he shot the ball well. He took whatever the defense gave us or gave him, and he made them pay for it. He passed the ball well. He was great. He was easily our most consistent player.”
–Picking up the slack: “Brandon Altman was sick yesterday and today but gave it a go. I thought after the first quarter, he was great – good energy, played the right way, made some plays.
“Justin (Ragsdale) and Horace (Jackson) had good offensive nights. They were very efficient from the field.
“I thought our bench was pretty good – Luke (Caron), Benji (Ravitz) and Lawson (Tyler). Bryce (Kukla) also got minutes. Jake Scherzer – because of the transfer rule – isn’t eligible for the playoffs, so we’re down a guy from our bench rotation. Lawson had seven points, Luke had five, Benji had a bunch of assists, and Bryce had four in the fourth quarter at the end. When you get 16 points from that group, that is pretty good.”
–Bound for states: “We’ve now been there three years in a row, which is great. We’re very proud of that accomplishment. This time we want to make sure we make an even better run. We were a first round bounce the first time, a second round bounce the second time. We hope this year we can break through and put together two, three, four wins.”
Up next: Upper Dublin will travel to top-seeded Holy Ghost Prep for a District 1 5A semifinal on Friday (7 pm). Upper Moreland is one of four teams vying for two spots in the state tournament and will host #8 Harriton on Saturday (2 pm).
Upper Moreland 14-10-11-11 46
Upper Dublin 19-13-21-17 70
Upper Moreland (46)
Will Hansberry 0 0-2 0; Nate Best 3 7-9 13; Kyle Moore 4 2-2 12; Brody Hughes 0 1-2 1; Tracy Owens 2 0-0 4; Larry Hughes 2 0-0 4; Cannon Campbell 4 3-4 12; TOTALS 15 13-19 46.
Upper Dublin (70)
Kobe Bazemore 1 0-0 3; Brandon Altman 2 1-1 6; Noah Cohen 8 2-3 21; Horace Jackson 4 5-6 13; Justin Ragsdale 5 0-0 11; Luke Caron 2 1-4 5; Lawson Tyler 3 1-2 7; Bryce Kukla 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 27 10-16 70.
3-point goals: UM – Moore 2, Campbell; UD – Cohen 3, Bazemore, Altman, Ragsdale.
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