Upper Moreland advanced to the Final Four of the PIAA 5A State Tournament with its dramatic come-from-behind win over Bonner-Prendergast at Norristown High School. Photos provided courtesy of Greg Lindsay. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports' BOYS' BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
PIAA 5A quarterfinal
#1-4 UPPER MORELAND 46, #12-3 BONNER-PRENDERGAST 45
It’s a moment they’ll replay for a lifetime.
That moment when they held their collective breath until Bonner-Prendergast's shot for the win bounced harmlessly off the rim into the outstretched arms of Larry Hughes, and the jubilant celebration could begin. A win for the ages was in the books for an underdog Upper Moreland team that finds itself in the Final Four of the state.
“It was just the biggest sense of relief,” UM senior Colson Campbell said. “There were tears of joy in the locker room. We were all so happy. It was surreal.”
And surreal might best describe an incredible journey that Campbell admits he never saw coming.
“Best case scenario – we win the league and maybe we made a push for districts, but what we’re doing right now – if you told me this as a middle schooler, my mind would have actually been blown,” the senior captain said. “This is insane.
“It’s like a Cinderella story, it’s like March Madness. The underdogs – we know we have nothing to lose every game, so we’re just going out there, playing our hardest and doing everything we can.”
It was Campbell who sank 1 of 2 from the foul line with 34.8 seconds remaining that gave the Golden Bears a 46-45 lead that stood until the final horn.
“Obviously, it’s a lot of pressure,” Campbell said. “All four years of preparation were kind of built for that moment. I wasn’t too happy with myself that I was missing free throws, but at least I got one to put us up.”
It was Colson and younger sibling Cannon that erased a six-point fourth quarter UM deficit. First it was Colson burying 1 of 2 from the foul line, and then, after a Bonner-Prendie turnover, Cannon Campbell scored to pull the Bears to within three, and after a Bonner miss on a 3 out of a timeout, Colson buried 3-pointer to even the score 40-40 with 3:32 remaining.
“It was tremendous,” UM coach Dan Heiland said of Campbell’s clutch shot. “He set it up perfectly in my opinion. The way he was being physical on his drives, attacking.
“He made the defender really think about sitting off to cut him off on the drive, and it was enough space for him to knock it down. It was huge obviously to be down three to hit that and tie it up.”
The Golden Bears took a 42-40 lead – their first lead since the game’s early moments - when Nate Best scored on a drive, and after another miss on a shot from beyond the arc by Bonner-Prendie, Cannon Campbell connected on a pair at the line to put the Titans on top 44-40 with two minutes remaining.
UM’s lead grew to 45-40 with 83 seconds remaining when Colson Campbell sank 1 of 2 at the line. A Korey Francis 3 was followed by a Golden Bear turnover that resulted in a pair of foul shots by Aydin Scott to knot the score with 47.6 seconds remaining, setting the stage for the fantastic finish and a win that vaulted the Bears into the state semifinals.
“Amazing, absolutely amazing,” Best said. “It’s the best feeling I’ve had in my life. We’re going to the Final Four.”
“We really do feel like we might be the best Bears’ team in history. This season has been great.”
--The first half: Bonner-Prendergast had the better of play for the better part of four quarters while the Golden Bears played catchup. They trailed 12-6 with time winding down in the first quarter when Best buried a 3-pointer as time expired to pull the Bears to within three.
Bonner-Prendie opened up a 24-15 lead after Jakeem Carroll buried a 3 late in the second quarter, but what could have snowballed and marked the beginning of the end didn’t happen.
“When we watched the Upper Dublin film, Upper Dublin really wasn’t hitting their shots,” Colson Campbell said. “They were playing their play style, but we knew just from watching film, they only had six guys, so we were eventually going to wear them down, and we have good shooters, so if we just kept driving, kicking, moving the ball, our offense was going to be there, and it just all came naturally.”
The Golden Bears, according to Best, also knew they had to be the more physical team.
“All around – on the boards, winning the 50-50 balls, everything,” Best said. “We knew if we lacked that even a little bit – it could have gone just like Upper Dublin.”
The Golden Bears trailed by seven after a basket by Anthony Carson with 45 seconds remaining, and Bonner-Prendie was content to hold for the last shot of the first half.
Until, that is, the Golden Bears were whistled for a foul that – interestingly – resulted in a Bonner-Prendie technical for taunting. Colson Campbell sank both foul shots, the Golden Bears got possession, and despite missing on a pair of foul shots with 1.6 seconds remaining, they trailed by just five at halftime, 24-19.
“Once they got that technical foul, it kind of swung momentum in our direction for the rest of the game, and we just kept crawling back, crawling back.
“The intimidation of a PCL school – out the roof. We know we can compete with this school. We’re just as good as they are, and we had an opportunity to win.”
--The second half: On UM’s opening possession of the third quarter, Colson Campbell – despite being fouled – scored and buried the foul shot to pull the Golden Bears to within two, and it was still a two-point game when Campbell - a catalyst who had seven points in the quarter - scored on a drive at the buzzer. The Bears trailed by just a 36-34 score heading into the fourth quarter.
The 5-8 Best added five big points in the quarter– including two points on a putback among the trees.
“It’s just going in and trying to get every ball that we can,” Best said. “I’m a little small, but I know I can leap a bit. Just putting my all into getting that and doing whatever I have to do to help my team.”
Best’s second 3 of the game came with the Bears trailing by seven and in desperate need of a big bucket.
“The ball was in Jaydon’s hands,” Best said of Jaydon Cybok. “He’s our shooter, and he’s definitely been big for us this year. I was expecting it to go up.
“He made the extra pass to me, and I had the confidence to take it. I knew it was going in.”
Bonner-Prendie opened up a 40-34 lead only to watch the Golden Bears rally for the win, their third win of a storybook state run for a program that had none prior to this season.
“We’ve been going at this for four months with the playoffs, and we don’t want it to end any time soon,” Best said. “It’s definitely a strong brotherhood.”
“It’s such a great group of guys,” Colson Campbell said. “We’re all so close and tightly bonded. I think that’s what puts us ahead of all these teams. We’re all a family.”
Key players: Every player wearing an Upper Moreland uniform. Colson Campbell’s 21 points led the Bears. He also had five rebounds. Nate Best added 10 points. Larry Hughes led UM with eight rebounds.
Upper Moreland coach Dan Heiland:
--On the technical: “It was big. The 3-pointer Nate (Best) banked in to end the first quarter killed a run for them, and then that. They were letting the clock drain and play for the last shot. We get a foul, their kid taunts one of our kids, and they get a technical. Colson
makes both free throws, and then we get the ball. It’s a huge momentum swing. It just allowed us to continue to hang around and hang around.”
--Campbell in charge: “As a three-year captain, a guy that’s been in this position – he’s the only kid in school history that I know of that’s been part of two state tournament teams. He is our general out there. He’s vocal, he knows where guys need to be, he’s an extension of our coaching bench. We need him out there. He does it all. He scores, he rebounds, he plays tough defense. He just does whatever the team needs him to do to win basketball games.”
--Best at his best: “I wouldn’t say Nate’s not a shooter, but if you’re scouting him, I wouldn’t say that’s the best part of his game, but he’s proven he’s added that part of the game with the work he’s put in. They were huge (shots). We always talk about – take what they give you, and he believed in himself, shot it with confidence, and when you play that way, good things happen.”
Next up: Upper Moreland (24-7, 9-1 SOL) will face District 12’s third place team, Neumann-Goretti, in a PIAA 5A semifinal contest next Friday at a site and time to be determined. Neumann-Goretti defeated Penncrest 76-69 in overtime in the second game of a twinbill at Norristown High School.
Upper Moreland 9-10-15-12 46
Bonner-Prendergast 12-12-12-9 45
Upper Moreland (46) – Nate Best 4 0-0 10; Colson Campbell 7 6-11 21; Anthony Carson 2 0-0 4; Larry Hughes 2 1-1 5; Jadon Cybok 1 0-0 2; Cannon Campbell 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 17 9-14 46
Bonner-Prendergast (45) - Devon Nelson 5 0-0 15; Korey Francis 3 3-3 10; Kam Jackson 1 4-6 6; Jakeem Carroll 3 0-2 8; Aydin Scott 2 2-5 6; TOTALS 14 9-16 45.
3-point goals: UM – Nate Best 2, Colson Campbell; B-P – Devon Nelson 5, Jakeem Carroll 2, Korey Francis.
- Log in to post comments
