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By Nate Oxman
Joe Maher kept getting open looks from beyond the three-point line so he kept taking them.And they kept dropping.
After watching the Central Bucks South starters struggled collectively to find their range in the early going Friday night at North Penn in a Suburban One Continental Conference clash, Titans coach Jason Campbell called on Maher.
The 5-foot-9 senior guard answered emphatically, draining five first-half three’s en route to 17 points to help the Titans (7-5 overall, 4-2 SOL Continental) take down the host Knights (6-5, 3-3), 52-46.
Textbook ball movement - both inside-out and around the perimeter - provided plenty of open shots and easy opportunities for the Titans early on against the Knights’ matchup zone defense.
But the only field goal that fell in the first five minutes, 30 seconds for South was a breakaway layup by senior forward Sean Kummer.
Then Maher stepped on the floor and took full advantage of the uncontested opportunities that continued to open up for the Titans.After junior guard Sean Brooks (12 points) entered the ball game and provided the Knights with the same type of boost as Maher by burying a 3-point bucket to tie the game at 4-4 with 2:45 to play in the first quarter, Maher answered on the ensuing possession with a triple of his own.
Maher made his second to put the Titans ahead by 10-8 after one quarter of play and then stroked a wide-open three from the top of the key to start the second quarter. After a baseline 12-footer by Matt Johns stretched the lead to 15-8, Maher – left wide open on the opposite wing – caught a skip pass and canned his fourth three in four attempts to cap an 11-0 Titans’ run and put his team in front by 18-8.
“He was huge,” said Campbell of Maher. “He was a big spark off the bench, especially since it was a slow start for both teams. No one was shooting particularly well and someone needed to provide a lift. Fortunately for us, Joey came in and shot the lights out of the ball and that really put us ahead.”“I think he had 14 points all season, and he had five three’s in the first half,” said Knights coach Ron Hassler. “That happens. He shouldn’t have gotten open looks. We didn’t make adjustments. We’re still at the point where in the beginning of the game for some reason we’re like a deer in headlights and we’re watching other people play. And then we decide to play and it’s too late.”
It took a little help from Brooks to halt the Titans’ run as he knocked down a pull-up jumper for the Knights’ first hoop in more than four minutes of play.
An offensive rebound and putback by junior forward Matt Possanza (game-high 19 points) pulled the Knights within six at 18-12, but the Titans continued to pick apart North Penn’s defense.
South senior captain and leading scorer Mike Pincus scored back-to-back buckets to push the lead into double digits at 23-12.
The Knights sliced their deficit back down to 25-19 on a bucket by Brooks, a three from Sean’s younger brother, sophomore starting point guard Wes, and two free throws from Possanza, but the Titans stole the momentum right back when senior forward Nick Joerger found Maher alone in the corner for a three that beat the buzzer and gave South a 28-19 lead at the break.
“I was just feeling it,” said Maher. “They still weren’t coming after me so I just kept shooting and kept hitting them. They still didn’t come after me until I made like five three’s.”
A three-point play with 6:30 to play in the third by Joerger gave South its largest lead of the night at 34-22 before Possanza, who entered the game leading the Knights in scoring at 16 points per game, put the team on his back. He scored eight of his team’s 11 points in the period, working relentlessly without the ball on offense to free himself down low.
Unfortunately for North Penn, Pincus nearly matched Possanza shot for shot to hold the Knights at bay.After Possanza knocked down a pair of free throws, Pincus knocked down a three. After Possanza curled off a screen for a layup, Pincus canned a short jumper. After Possanza converted a beautiful baseline drive, Pincus deftly split the defenders at the top of the Knights’ zone and drove all the way to the hoop for two. And even though Possanza ended the period with two free throws, the Knights still trailed by 41-30.
“He’s carried us all year,” said Hassler of Possanza. “He was very physical. There were a number of plays where he thought he got roughed up and didn’t get calls, but that’s part of the whole thing. This is adversity and these guys haven’t been through it as a team.”
The lead jumped to 43-30 on a 10-footer by Maher before the Knights – keyed by the heavy-pressure defense Hassler was looking for from his players right from the opening tip - answered with a 9-0 spurt to make it 43-39 with 2:37 to play.The Knights’ defense forced five Titan turnovers in the final frame, the last of which senior guard T.J. Gill turned into two free throws that made it a one possession game at 46-43 with less than a minute remaining.
“It’s a little bit of hustle that we weren’t having earlier,” said Hassler of the difference in his team’s play on defense toward the end of the game. “Unfortunately, you have to play the beginning of the game like it’s the last play of the game and not wait for the last plays of the game. And we haven’t figured that out yet, not as a team. We have a few guys doing it, but until you get five guys doing it at one time it doesn’t matter. It’s not productive.”
The clutch free-throw shooting of Pincus (18 points), who stepped to the line six times in the final 32.5 seconds and dropped in all six free throws, sealed the win for the Titans.
“We finished in the clutch,” said Maher. “We got Pincus the ball. He’s our best free-throw shooter. It’s a big win for us.”
It was the third straight win for the defending conference champion Titans, who pulled into a four-way tie for first place atop the conference with Hatboro-Horsham, Quakertown, and Souderton. North Penn remains a game back at 3-3.
“This is a huge win for us on the road at North Penn,” said Campbell. “For us, we’re kind of progressing in the direction we want. We’ve won three in a row: Souderton, [C.B.] West, and now North Penn, and they’re all really good teams, so it keeps us near the top where we want to be—to defend our conference championship.”
Central Bucks South (52)—Kummer 2 1-3 5; Schneider 1 0-0 2; Policare 0 0-0 0; Pincus 5 6-6 18; Joerger 1 5-7 7; Maher 6 0-0 17; Johns 1 1-2 3; Doyle 0 0-0 0; Brown 0 0-0 0; Bieker 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 13-18 52.North Penn (46)—Wes Brooks 1 3-4 6; Koffke 1 0-0 3; Gill 1 3-5 6; Possanza 5 9-12 19; Silhanek 0 0-0 0; Sean Brooks 5 0-0 12; Stephens 0 0-0 0; Alston 0 0-0 0; Scott 0 0-0 0; Shy 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 15-21 46.
Three-point goals: Maher 5, Pincus 2; Sean Brooks 2, Wes Brooks, Koffke, Gill
Central Bucks South 10 18 13 11—52
North Penn 8 11 11 16—46
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