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SOUDERTON –With the outcome of Tuesday night’s game hanging in the balance and time about to expire in regulation, Kyle Connolly knew everyone in the house was looking for his brother Jimmy – Souderton’s senior sharpshooter – to take the final shot.North Penn expected it too.
“I know he wanted to take the shot, and I think everyone wanted him to take the shot,” Kyle said of a dramatic sequence that saw the Indians with the basketball trailing by two. “I think they knew he was going to take it, so it left me open.
“He was on the wing, and everyone collapsed on him.”
That’s when Jimmy kicked the ball to Kyle in the corner, and the junior forward – who didn’t have a field goal all night – rose up and hit nothing but net on three-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Indians a dramatic 42-41 win over the pesky Knights and setting off the kind of emotional celebration reserved for the really special wins.
“It was just great to finally put one down,” Kyle said of his game-winning shot. “I was just at the right place at the right time, just giving my brother another option.
“It was a great feeling. I don’t know. I have never done that before.”
Four nights earlier, the Indians were on the opposite ended of a buzzer-beater when they fell to Central Bucks West in overtime.
“Everyone was pretty upset after that game,” Kyle said. “Some of our players haven’t been in that situation before. Tonight everyone showed we can handle something like that.”
On the other side of the court, the Knights – fresh off a 48-45 non-league win over Methacton – were reeling as they watched a potentially huge win turn into a devastating loss in a matter of seconds.
The Knights rallied from a six-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to go on top 41-39 after Matt Possanza buried a pair from the foul line with 1:17 remaining. They appeared to have a victory all but sewn up when – after Souderton misfired on a pair of shots – senior center Jake Markle pulled down the rebound with 26 seconds remaining.
North Penn coach Ron Hassler called an immediate timeout, and with the Indians pressuring fullcourt out of the timeout, the Knights found a man wide open and heading for an easy basket that never happened because of a traveling violation.
Moments later, the Indians were celebrating the thrilling win, thanks to the Connolly connection of Jimmy to Kyle.
“They were focusing in on me, and I knew there was someone open,” said Jimmy, who scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the second half. “The first thing I saw was Kyle in the corner.”
What were Jimmy’s emotions when he saw his brother’s shot fall through the net?
“It was a big relief,” he said. “We were down the whole game. We had to play catch-up the second half.
“Fortunately, we fought our way back at the defensive end.”
The Indians – who led 4-0 only to watch the Knights close out the first quarter with an 11-1 run - needed something to ignite their sputtering offense after falling behind 21-12 at the intermission.
“We came out slow,” Jimmy Connolly said. “Their zone threw us off a little bit, and we weren’t hitting many shots. We were trying to force too many things.”
A Knight turnover on their opening possession of the third quarter set the stage for a basket by Nate Lewis on the low post. When A.J. Picard (11 points) hit nothing but net on a trey, the Knights’ lead was trimmed to 21-17.
A fastbreak bucket by Adam Jones (10 points) put the Knights on top 23-17, but Jake Metz turned an offensive rebound into a three-point play for the Indians, making it a 23-20 game.
Again, the Knights had an answer.
This time Markle scored on a putback, but Jimmy Connolly, who was just warming up, buried a three-pointer. A steal by the senior captain resulted in a three-point play at the other end, putting the Indians on top 26-25.“We take pride in our defense,” he said “We only had 12 points in the first half. We knew the offense wasn’t there, and we knew to get back in the game it had to start on defense.
“If my shot’s not going in, I have to do whatever else I can to help the team, whether it’s defense or rebounding. I really wanted to step that up tonight because my shot wasn’t there.”
Jimmy Connolly, who was fouled on a putback attempt, sank a pair from the foul line as time was about to expire in the frame to put the Indians on top 28-25.
That lead grew to 31-25 after a bucket by Jimmy Connolly early in the fourth quarter, but Possanza, who had a team-high 12 points off the bench, answered for the Knights, and when Jones buried a trey, it was a 31-30 game.
Connolly answered with a dunk at the other end, but Possanza came right back with a bucket on the low post. A baseline trey by Matt Albaugh put the Knights on top 35-33 midway through the frame, and they led by four after a Markle basket, It was still a four-point game (39-35) after Possanza hit a tough shot over his defender.A putback by Souderton’s Anthony Moe was followed by a Knight turnover, and when Picard sank a pair from the foul line, the two teams were deadlocked 39-39. Possanza’s free throws put the Knights on top by two and set the stage for the electrifying finish for the Indians.
“I certainly knew tonight was going to be a tough game,” Souderton coach Perry Engard said. “Case in point – they played Central Dauphin East, who is smoking everybody, to a 40-36 game. I knew right then and there, their system was slowing everybody down.
“I knew these guys were going to bring it tonight. We went up 4-0, and I had a good feeling, but they stayed with their game plan. All the credit to them. They’re coming little by little. You can see his system is starting to take flight.”
SOUDERTON 42, NORTH PENN 41
North Penn (41) – Derek Brooks 1 0-0 3, Matt Albaugh 2 1-2 7, Scott Billman 0 1-2 1, Adam Jones 4 0-0 10, Jake Markle 3 0-1 6, Ian Simmons 1 0-0 2, Matt Possanza 5 2-2 1, Matt Resnick 0 0-0 0, Graham Leonard 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 4-7 41.
Souderton (42) – Anthony Moe 1 0-0 2, Kyle Connolly 1 1-2 4, Nate Lewis 1 2-4 4, A.J. Picard 4 2-2 11, Jimmy Connolly 5 5-7 16, Jake Metz 1 1-1 3, Nate Moyer 0 0-0 0, Korey Bishop 1 0-0 2. Totals 14 11-16 42.
North Penn 11 10 4 15-41
Souderton 5 7 16 14-42
Three-point goals: Matt Albaugh 2, Adam Jones 2, Derek Brooks, Jimmy Connolly, A.J. Picard, Kyle Connolly.
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