Souderton picked up a big win over CB West in a key Continental Conference game.
By Scott Huff
Franconia Township – Soudertonsenior point guard Luke Moyer wasn’t about to tell a lie after the Indians (11-3, 7-1) gained a share of first place in the Suburban One League Continental Conference with a 54-48 victory over visiting Central Bucks West. The Bucks (12-2, 7-1) defeated Souderton 56-49 in their first conference meeting and also share the conference lead with the Indians.
“I have to admit I caught a look at our scoreboard,” said Moyer of the Indian scoreboard that not only indicates the team score but also shows the individual scoring. “I was looking to see what the score of the game was, but I also caught a glimpse of the number of points that I had.”
Moyer torched the Bucks for 32 points that included six 3-point bombs, and it was Moyer that choked off numerous CB West attempts to get back into the game after the Indians snatched an early lead.
“You have to give Moyer a lot of credit, he is a very dangerous player,” said Central Bucks West head coach Adam Sherman. “He becomes very difficult to guard because he has the ability to create his own shot. And he was feeling it tonight – I hope he was feeling it – I wouldn’t want to see him shoot any better than that against us.”
“Luke has been a gamer all year for us, and he is the type of player that deserves the success that he gets,” said Souderton head coach Dennis Stanton. “That effort was a result of hard work - nobody works any harder than Luke.”
“I work on the ability to get my shots,” said Moyer. “I just let my mind go a little crazy, and I want to be as creative as I can.”
The victory fell into the must win category for Souderton in a quest for a conference championship. In order for the Indians to be the best, they had to beat the best. And that team was Central Bucks West.
“That loss we had against West was always in the back of our minds,” said Stanton. “We knew that we had to focus on the games in our conference to get us back to where this game was important.”
“That game was sitting in our stomach for a long time,” said Moyer. “To be able to come up with a win tonight was huge for our basketball team.”
In the first meeting between the Indians and the Bucks, West jumped out to an early lead and forced Souderton to take the comeback trail.
“If West gets up on you early, they can make you pay by controlling the pace of the game,” said Stanton. “We talked a lot about getting off to a good start. The games that we have lost this season have all come about because of how we started games.”
Souderton jetted to a 17-10 first period lead as Moyer scored eight points and Mark Wonderling scored five of his 11 points. However, the Indians went into a scoring funk that lasted nine minutes and 30 seconds with zero points that began in the second period and carried into the third period. During that stretch, the Bucks could close to within just four points at 24-20.
Moyer scored 10 points in the final four minutes of the third period to fuel a 14-point scoring run to propel the Indians to a 38-28 third period lead.
West, though, would not go away. The Bucks picked up the pressure and the pace of the game and closed to a two-possession game – 50-46 – with 57 seconds left in the game. Moyer and Wonderling converted on four-of-four from the free throw line in the final minute to secure the win.
“This is a team that is never going to stop fighting, we will scrap with you until the end of the game,” said Sherman. “We had to claw from behind, but we were a little too far behind to come all the way back.”
Central Bucks West was led in scoring by Derek Dyer with 17 points, while Tyler Schechter scored in twin digits with 10 points for the Bucks.
“Moyer was the difference tonight, but he has some very good pieces around him,” said Sherman. “Souderton can defend well, and they were very well prepared.”
And the scoreboard in the Souderton gymnasium told that very same story – just ask Luke Moyer.
Central Bucks West Bucks 10 10 8 20 - 48
Souderton Indians 17 7 14 16 - 54
Central Bucks West: Derek Dyer 17; Tyler Schechter 10, Sherrod Higginbotham 7; Shane Kellar 6; Sam Lis 4; Jack Rogers 4. Total – 48.
Souderton: Luke Moyer 32; Mark Wonderling 11; John Kanas 5; Ryan Connolly 4; Greg Mendrezcki 2. Total – 54.
The Rest of the Story in the Suburban One League
Cheltenham (10-6, 4-3) rallied from a five-point third period deficit and scored 22 fourth period points to defeat visiting Upper Dublin (7-7, 2-5) – 56-52 in a Suburban One League American Conference contest. Jerrell Haywood – who scored a team-high 18 points for the Panthers – scored nine points in the final period to spark the comeback. Nile Lyons also scored in twin digits for the Black Cats with 11 points. Upper Dublin was led in scoring by Andrew Carber with a game-high 19 points, while Darrell Harrison scored in double digits for the Cardinals with 11 points.
Upper Dublin Cardinals 15 6 18 13 - 52
Cheltenham Panthers 15 12 7 22 - 56
Abington (11-4, 5-3) exploded for 22 second period points as the Ghosts captured a 65-56 Suburban One League National Conference victory over visiting Neshaminy (3-12, 2-6). Anthony Durham led the Abington offensive surge with a game-high 26 points, while Jordan Simmons scored in twin digits with 17 markers. Neshaminy was led in scoring by Tyler Katz with a team-high 22 points.
Neshaminy Redskins 10 14 12 20 - 56
Abington Ghosts 10 22 15 18 - 65
Central Bucks East (7-7, 5-3) exploded for 25 second period points as the Patriots marched to a 71-53 Suburban One League Continental Conference win over visiting North Penn (3-9, 2-6). Steve Topley had a breakout game for CB East with a game-high 28 points. Matt Stauffer (14), Liam Gallagher (12), and Ryan O’Neil (11) also scored in double digits for the Pats. Wes Brooks was the lone scorer in twin digits for the Knights with a team-high 20 points.
North Penn Knights 11 14 10 18 - 53
Central Bucks East Patriots 19 25 14 13 - 7
*Friday Nite Lights *
* January 20, 2012*
American Conference:
Norristown Eagles @ Upper Merion Vikings
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials @ Wissahickon Trojans
Continental Conference:
Central Bucks South @ Pennridge Rams
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ Quakertown Panthers
National Conference
Council Rock North Indians @ William Tennent Panthers
Bensalem Owls @ Pennsbury Falcons
Council Rock South Golden Hawks @ Truman Tigers
****Suburban One League Challenge****
**Saturday**January 21, 2012
@ Cheltenham High School
William Tennent Panthers vs. Upper Moreland Golden Bears – 3 pm
Cheltenham Panthers vs. Central Bucks East Patriots – 7 pm
@ Wissahickon High School
Council Rock North Indians vs. Norristown Eagles – 2 pm
Wissahickon Trojans vs. Pennridge Rams – 5 pm
@ Bensalem High School
Truman Tigers vs. Central Bucks West Bucks – 2 pm
Bensalem Owls vs. Central Bucks South Titans – 6:30 pm
@ Pennsbury High School
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters vs. Council Rock South Golden Hawks – 2 pm
Pennsbury Falcons vs. Souderton Indians – 5 pm
@ North Penn High School
North Penn Knights vs. Abington Ghosts – 3:30 pm@ Upper Dublin High School
Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals vs. Quakertown Panthers – 5 pm
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