To view a complete state tournament bracket, visit the PIAA web site at the following link http://www.piaa.org/assets/web/documents/2009_AAAA_Boys_BB_Brax.pdf. Check back for game action photos.
By Scott Huff
HOLLAND – The uniforms were Pennsbury orange and black, but the uniforms could have been North Carolina blue and white.
Pennsbury utilized the famed Carolina ‘spread’ offense to perfection as the Falcons flew to a 51-26 victory over North Catholic in the opening round of the PIAA state tournament played before a packed house at Council Rock South High School.
“We knew that they were superior athletically than us, so we opened in the spread offense to open up the floor,” said Pennsbury coach Frank Sciola. “I’m sure some of the fans were worried that we might be trying to hold the ball, but really all we wanted to get were good looks at the basket.”And the Falcons got plenty of good looks. And the Falcons made the most of their scoring opportunities.
The newest look to the Carolina spread offense was the fact that senior scoring machine Dalton Pepper was running the offense from the point.
“I’m sure that no one expected him to be that far from the basket,” said Sciola. “But he can create his own shot from there, and he can create scoring chances for the other players on the floor.”
“I think that the idea was to have the ball in my hands,” said Pepper who scored ‘just’ eight points in his new role. “We wanted to get everyone involved in the offense, and it seemed to work out well.”
Pennsbury led 11-9 at the end of the first period, and North Catholic forged an 11-11 deadlock with 7:12 left in the second period. And then the Falcons took over the game with an answered 17-point scoring run.
Jesse Krasna hit one of two from the line, Eddie DiRugeris nailed a three-pointer, DiRugeris connected on two free throws, Tom Marcinkowski made a field goal, Pepper scored his first points of the game at the 3:10 mark with a dunk, Dante Devine hit a trey, Goran Dulac scored a basket, and Pepper concluded the run with his second field goal.
The 11-11 tie became a 28-11 Pennsbury lead.
“We shot the ball much better than we have in the last two games,” said DiRugeris in reference to Falcon losses to Norristown and Conestoga. “But we knew that the real reason we lost those games was the way the we played defense.”
“We struggled playing defense the last two games,” agreed Pepper. “We didn’t do what we do best, and we lost a couple of games because of it.
“I really couldn’t sleep all week thinking about this game,” added Pepper. “You lose here and your season is over. North Catholic has a lot of talent, and we knew the keys to what we had to do to win the game.”
“Our scouting reports are always great,” said DiRugeris. “To win a game like this is great – and it really doesn’t matter who we play next because the coaches will be well prepared.”
Scoilla acknowledged that the Falcons prepared well for Saturday’s opening round game.
“But we prepare well for every game,” he said. “The key is that the players come out and execute.
“We asked Dalton to do something a little different, and he did what he had to do to help us win the game,” added Sciolla. “He distributed the ball and got everyone involved.”
A peek at the Pennsbury stat sheet shows the balance the Falcons had on offense.
Krasna led the team with 10 points, while Pepper and Devine each scored 8 points. DiRugeris and Dulac scored seven points each, while Marcinkowski added six points and Marcus Healey scored five points.
“The looks we got were really wide open looks that we should make,” said Sciolla. “We took the ball inside, kicked it outside, and really had some uncontested shots.
“We had a week to get ready for this game, and I thought it showed,” added Sciolla. “This is an experienced team, and we played like it.”
Another stat that jumped off the stat sheet was that North Catholic failed to score in double figures in any of the four periods.
“We wanted to work hard to improve on the defensive end of the floor,” said Sciolla. “And we held a talented team to just 26 points.”
The tenacious Pennsbury defense – coupled with the patient Carolina offense – earned the Falcons a second round PIAA state playoff date.
North Catholic 9 5 8 4 - 26
Pennsbury 11 17 13 10 - 51
North Catholic: Jack O’Neill 5 0-0 10; Mike Terry 1 0-0 3; Rakeem Christmas 2 0-0 4; Woody Redding 1 0-0 3; Bob Makor 1 0-0 2; Jaleel Mack 2 0-0 4. Totals 10 0-0 26.
3-point field goals – Terry, Redding.
Pennsbury: Dalton Pepper 4 0-0 8; Eddie DiRugeris 2 2-2 7; Dante Devine 3 1-2 8; Tom Marcinkowski 2 1-2 6; Jesse Krasna 3 3-4 10; Goran Dulac 3 0-0 7; Marcus Healey 2 0-0 5. Totals 19 7-10 51.
3-point field goals – DiRugeris, Devine, Marcinkowski, Krasna, Dulac, Healey.
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