The stands in Souderton’s brand new gymnasium will be rocking for Tuesday night’s game against Central Bucks South. That much is certain.
What will happen on the court is anyone’s guess.
The Indians and Titans enter the game sharing the top spot in the SOL Continental Conference with identical 8-2 records, and the Titans have something the Indians want. Badly.
“They’re the league champions,” Souderton coach Perry Engard said of the defending conference champs. “If you want to be the league champion, you have to take it from the person that has it, and that’s what our team is going to try to do.”
Souderton – which has not lost on its home court this season - brings an eight-game winning streak into the game while Central Bucks South has won nine in a row.Something has to give.
“It’s going to be a really good game,” Souderton senior A.J. Picard said. “Everyone comes out really hyped, and there’s a lot of emotion.”
The Titans, according to senior Mike Pincus, have to be careful not to get too caught up in that emotion.
“The key is to stay focused and not get rattled, and we have to shoot the ball the way we've been shooting,” he said. “In an environment like that, there’s bound to be some unforced errors, but we have to limit our unforced errors.
“There are a lot of similarities between our two teams.”
One of the similarities is that both squads boast strong senior classes.
“I tell my players – we’re only as good as our seniors,” South coach Jason Campbell said. “The seniors really determine the success of your season.
“You lay it out there for your seniors – what legacy do you want to leave behind? Do you want it to be one that’s memorable where you come back five, 10, 15, 20 years from now and talk about the great year you had, or do you come back and not really have much to talk about.”
Setting the tone for this year’s South squad is its captains – Pincus and Nick Joerger.
“Nick Joerger is like having another coach on the court,” Campbell said. “He’s really good at calming the team down when necessary.
“Mike Pincus does a great job of getting us into our offense. He’s good at handling the basketball and fighting pressure, he hits big shots, he does all the things skill-wise you need from a player.
“He’s really matured since his sophomore year. He picks his spots. He knows when he needs to score, and he knows when he needs to make the extra pass and get other teammates involved, and that has helped us have an unselfish and nice balanced attack.”
Pincus averages 11 points while Joerger averages nine to lead the Titans. A long list of players – including Sean Kummer, Justin Policare, Steve Schneider, Matt Johns, Joe Maher and Eddie Bieker – have taken turns stepping into the spotlight and providing offense.“That’s really a credit to Nick and Mike to look for the open man and put the egos aside and play to win games,” Campbell said. “Sean Kummer has the tough task sometimes of playing better players on the other team.
“Justin Policare has really picked up some of the scoring slack when we’ve needed it, and he’s always good defensively. Even our underclassmen, like Steve Schneider, have stepped up.”
Pincus credits the seniors who have gone before him for setting the bar high.
“We graduated seven seniors,” he said. “I have never been on a team that talented in my life.
“We had so many athletes and such great leaders. It’s impossible to replace leaders like Greg Johnston and Will Barrett.”
Pincus points to Joerger – the Titans’ 6-2 center - for establishing the team’s blue collar mentality.
“He’s a beast in the paint,” Pincus said. “I can’t even describe how hard that kid works.
“In games, he’s taking on 6-5, 6-6 kids, but I feel like we have an advantage with our 6-2 center who outworks any big man in the league. He’s the kind of kid you love to have on your team.”
The Indians are also led by a strong senior class, and at the head of that class is Picard, who surpassed the 1,000-point mark in Saturday’s non-league win over Upper Perkiomen. The gifted senior is averaging 19.9 points a game, but he is hardly one-dimensional.
Picard is the Indians’ leading assist man, averaging 5.2 a game. He also averages 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 steals.
“You really can’t stop a player like A.J. Picard,” Pincus said. “Every time I go against him he just amazes me.
“I look at the box score, and he has 25 points, and I’m like ‘Where did that come from? I thought I was playing good defense.’ We have to limit him to a somewhat reasonable number.”
In the initial meeting between the two teams, Picard scored 25 points, but it wasn’t enough for an Indian squad that watched an early lead slip away as South went on to earn a 56-49 win.
“We came out and had a good start, but we couldn’t follow through,” Souderton senior Nate Moyer said. “We didn’t stay focused.
“This time we have to stay focused the whole game instead of coming in and just starting out strong.”
A major difference in Tuesday’s showdown will be the presence of Nate Lewis in Souderton’s starting lineup. The senior forward returned to the court on Jan. 22 after completing a 13-game suspension.
“We had them early the first time we played them, but we didn’t have Nate,” Picard said. “On Tuesday, we need to focus on our rebounding, stick together as a team and hopefully shut down Pincus and their big man (Joerger), and we should be good.”
Engard echoed that sentiment.
“We have to contain Pincus and Joerger,” the Indians’ coach said. “They’re going to get their points, but you can’t let them dictate the game, and that’s what happened the last time.
“I think we’re more prepared this time. We’re going to make adjustments, and they’re going to make adjustments.”
While Picard is Souderton’s marquee player, the Indians have plenty of other players who can do damage. Moyer is a fiery guard who averages nine points, two steals and close to four assists a game.
Kyle Connolly gives the Indians a presence in the paint and averages 8.4 points and close to six rebounds. Senior Jeff Bishop has been turning in workmanlike performances for the Indians, averaging six points and seven rebounds.
Sophomore Mark Wonderling, who averages 7.5 points and 5.1 rebounds, and Anthony Sergio – a dangerous three-point shooter who averages 7.5 points a game – give the Indians a pair of dangerous weapons off the bench. “Souderton is a very good team,” Campbell said. “They’re top-notch quality. They’re well balanced, they’re unselfish, they play defense, they shoot the ball very well, and they’re well coached.
“It’s a good challenge for us, especially since we want to repeat as the conference champions.”
While the Indians were a pre-season favorite to vie for a conference crown, the Titans – according to many prognosticators – were not.
“This year kind of exceeded everyone’s expectations but ours,” Pincus said. “My goal coming into the season was to capture back-to-back league championships.
“I don’t really blame anyone for not thinking we could be here right now because no one knew half the kids on our team, but we knew all along. A lot of it is attributed to our coaches. They had faith in us, and they stuck with some players when they were in slumps.”
Things didn’t look promising after Titans lost three of their first four games, including an 82-39 drubbing at the hands of a powerhouse Plymouth Whitemarsh squad in their season opener.
“Right off the bat, we lose by 40,” Pincus said. “It kind of took us awhile to regain the confidence we had going into the season.”
“I kind of knew all along our team had something special.”
This year’s seniors grew up playing together in the Warrington Warwick Athletic Association.
“A lot of the kids are literally my best friends,” Pincus said. “We hang out. I see them every day.
“I grew up playing WWAA travel with them, and we always won. This past summer, we won. Basically, our whole lives we found a way to share the ball and just find ways to win when no one thought we could.”
The turning point in the season, according to Pincus, was the Titans’ come-from-behind win over Souderton.
“They were up by eight points in the first quarter, and it really was our bench that provided the spark we needed,” he said. “Everyone’s heads were down, and the bench got us right back in the game.”
Although Tuesday’s game won’t determine a champion, it will give the team that wins control of its own destiny.
“This is the kind of game that creates character for the playoffs,” Campbell said. “It’s a playoff type game.
“Going into the season, I set goals based on what our best outcome could be. I thought if everyone was on the same page, if we played unselfish basketball and good defense, and if we played together as a unit – I was coming in thinking we would be 16-6 and have a good chance to be in the position we’re in on Tuesday, playing in a big game between first place teams.”
“You always want to be standing there with a chance at the end,” Engard said. “For a while, there was a big group. We were facing some challenges, and we were a part in cutting it down from six teams to four teams and from four teams to two teams.“Now we get to go toe-to-toe with the person standing there with us. Especially coming off a loss at their place, I know our guys are excited for the challenge. I know our fans will be giving all they have. They’re going to deserve a good game, and we’re going to give it to them.”
“We’re trying to get everyone to come out,” Moyer said. “I’m going to have my game face on and get ready to play. This is definitely going to be a fun game.”
Tipoff for the huge Continental Conference showdown is 7 p.m.
Just the Facts
Last year’s record: Souderton 10-4 SOL (15-10 overall); Central Bucks South 12-2 SOL, Continental Conference champion (22-7 overall)
This year’s record: Souderton 8-2 SOL (16-2 overall); Central Bucks South 8-2 SOL (13-5 overall)
Last meeting: January 8, 2010 – Central Bucks South 56, Souderton 49 (Central Bucks South – Nick Joerger 17 points; Mike Pincus 14 points; Eddie Bieker 9 points. Souderton – A.J. Picard 25 points; Kyle Connolly 10 points)
Last game: Souderton 61, Upper Perkiomen 44 (A.J. Picard 22 points; Nate Moyer 10 points, Jeff Bishop 10 points; Nate Lewis 8 points; Mark Wonderling 6 points; Nate Lewis 5 points)
Central Bucks South 42, Hatboro-Horsham 38 (Steve Schneider 9 points; Mike Pincus 9 points; Justin Policare 8 points; Nick Joerger 5 points; Joe Maher 5 points; Sean Kummer 4 points; Matt Johns 2 points)
Souderton
Projected starters and season averages:
#10 – Jeff Bishop (Sr., F/C) 6.1 PPG, 7 rebounds, 1.7 blocked shots
#11 – Nate Moyer (Sr., G) 9.4 PPG, 3.6 assists, 2.0 steals
#24 – Nate Lewis (Sr., F) 5.0 PPG, 4 rebounds
#25 – A.J. Picard (Sr., G) 20.2 PPG, 5.3 rebounds, 2 steals, 5.3 assists
#32 – Kyle Connolly (Sr., G/F) 9.5 PPG, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists
The rest of the Indians:
#1 – Greg Mendrzycki (Soph., G)
#3 – Derek Brown (Sr., G/F)
#5 – Joseph Plank (Sr., G)
#12 – Daniel Falencki (Soph., G/F)
#15 – Anthony Sergio (Jr., G) 7.5 PPG (45 percent 3-point field goals)
#20 – Ryan Connolly (Soph., C)
#21 – Mark Wonderling (Soph., G/F) 7.5 PPG, 5.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists
#22 – Sam Wonderling (Sr., F)
#23 – Ryan O’Connor (Sr., G)
#30 – Korrey Council (Sr., F/C)
Central Bucks South
Projected starters and season averages:
#3 – Steve Schneider (5-10, Jr., G) 6 PPG, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot
#5 – Sean Kummer (6-1, Sr., F) 5.5 PPG, 3.5 rebounds
#10 – Justin Policare (5-11, Sr., G) 5 PPG, 2.5 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 assists
#22 – Mike Pincus (6-1, Sr., G) 11 PPG, 3 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 3.8 assists
#34 – Nick Joerger (6-3, Sr., F/C) 9 PPG, 7.5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists
The rest of the Titans:
#13 – Brian Doyle (6-2, Sr., F)
#15 – Dan Brown (5-9, Soph., G)
#23 – Joe Maher (5-9, Sr., G) 4 PPG, 1.5 rebounds
#24 – Eddie Bieker (6-1, Jr., G/F)
#33 – John Staman (5-11, Jr., G)
#44 – Matt Johns (6-4, Soph., F/C) 3 PPG, 3 rebounds, 1 blocked shot
#45 – Dan Eichorn (6-0, Jr., F)
#55 – Sean Gorman (6-8, Sr., C)
- Log in to post comments
0
