Pennridge saw its season come to an end in Wednesday’s PIAA 6A second round. Pennridge/Roman Catholic photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
#12-2 ROMAN CATHOLIC 62, #1-7 PENNRIDGE 51
The Rams came up short in their bid to play the role of giant killer when they travelled to Bensalem for Wednesday’s PIAA 6A second round game, but they walked away with no regrets.
And with the remainder of the playoff season in jeopardy, Pennridge might well have played until what could be the final day of the season for the second time in as many years.
“I’m not disappointed with the boys’ effort or how we played – that was a tall task for us,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “After the game, it was more about the season. We had five seniors that led us to a great season and won the Suburban One (Continental Conference), got to states, won a state game, got to the Sweet 16.
“I said, ‘Guys, I’m glad we got to play tonight because the reality is I’m not sure we would play on Saturday if we had won.’ You know what, I got to coach the boys one more time, and it didn’t get taken from us. We played, we lost, we’re not moving on, but there was a finality to the season. The funny thing is we may have played the season out as far as we could go.
“I have no regrets that we played, I have no regrets that we lost. I feel like we had closure to the season. Basically, all the talk’s been – how much further can we go?”
Behrens bids farewell to a senior class that includes Paul Croyle, Trent Fisher, Christian Guldin, Anthony Phillips and Connor Pleibel.
Roman led 15-11 after one quarter but stretched that lead to 30-18 by halftime. The Rams battled in the second half but couldn’t make up the ground they lost.
“We were down four after the first quarter, and I thought that was an important quarter because it got us settled,” Behrens said. “They hit two 3s in the first half, which we were happy with, but we didn’t rebound well enough, and they had a lot of second chances.
“They were up 12 at the half, and I thought, ‘All right, we’re in it.’ They went on an 8-0 run to start the third quarter, and I thought, ‘Oh boy.’ Our kids, like they have all season, showed a lot of grit and made a run. We got it to six or seven at one point in the fourth. With three-and-a-half minutes left, they were up eight, and we still have a puncher’s chance.
“They started stalling, they started playing keep away, and I’m like – ‘Wow, that shows you something.’ We started fouling, we had a couple shots in and out. We needed to get a stop, they got a putback off a missed shot, and that kind of broke our backs.”
Fisher led the Rams with 19 points, which included three 3-pointers and a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line. He scored 14 of his points after the intermission. Colin Post added nine points – seven in the second half. Christian Guldin and Luke Yoder both had seven points, and Paul Croyle added six points on a pair of 3s.
Roman’s Jalen Duren – a 6-8 forward – led all scorers with 20 points.
“Duren is a tough matchup for us,” Behrens said. “On their first possession, they dunked the ball on us. I thought, ‘Oh boy,’ but Trent (Fisher) did a really good job on him, and Trent had a heck a of a game offensively.”
Pennridge (9-3 SOL) closed out its season with a 21-9 record.
Pennridge 11-7-18-15 51
Roman Catholic 15-15-17-15 62
Pennridge (51) – Connor Pleibel 1 0-0 3; Luke Yoder 3 1-1 7; Paul Croyle 2 0-0 6; Christian Guldin 3 0-0 7; Colin Post 4 1-2 9; Trent Fisher 6 4-4 19; 19 6-7 51.
Roman Catholic (62) – Nasir Lett 4 0-0 11; Xzayvier Brown 3 2-2 9; Justice Williams 6 2-3 16; Kyle Maska 1 0-0 2; Jalen Duren 9 2-2 20; Will Norman 1 0-0 2; Totals 25 6-7 62.
3-point goals: Pennridge – Trent Fisher 3, Paul Croyle 2, Christian Guldin, Connor Pleibel, RC – Nasir Lett 3, Justice Williams 2, Xzayvier Brown.
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