To view photos of the Bensalem/Central Bucks West game at the SOL Challenge, visit the Photo Gallery.
By Nick DeLorenzo
BENSALEM – As the Owls ripped down the rebound of Pennsbury’s final shot attempt, players and fans alike exploded with the raw emotion Bensalem was playing with the entire night, storming center court in celebration of their team’s 45-40 upset over the Falcons.
When asked about the enormity of the victory, senior guard Nick Christian had no reservations showing his excitement as he was smiling uncontrollably.
“This is big,” Christian said. “The guys on our team were ready for it. Yesterday we had a great practice. It’s exciting because we hadn’t beaten these guys since I’ve been at this school, and I don’t even know how far it goes back, but the bottom line is they have a good program and it’s definitely a good win.”
Christian finished with 10 points and grabbed several key rebounds in the fourth quarter. He also set up his teammates for open looks all night, contributing a handful of dazzling assists.
While impressed, head coach John Mullin was not surprised by Christian’s effort.
“Nick is our leader and he has been for three years,” said Mullin. “He battled and he played like the best player on the court tonight. He made the plays, got the rebounds, made the fouls shots – he did a great job.”
Bensalem set the tone early, opening the game with a 14-2 spurt and holding the Falcons to just four points in the first quarter.
Christian knew how vital it was for the Owls to start the game off strong.
“We usually start off slow,” he said. “We wanted to come out and play great defense and try to get a hand on the shot. We did a good job of that the first quarter.”
Pennsbury fought their way back in the game, thanks in part to five second quarter turnovers by Bensalem, but the Owls, who led from the opening tip, continually held off the Falcons’ comeback attempts, which included hitting 5-of-6 free throws in the game’s final minute.
Senior Liam Kirgan and junior Ivan Flores lead the Owls with 11 points each with Kirgan draining three 3-pointers, including a dagger with 2:20 left in the fourth quarter to extend the Owls’ lead to 40-33.
Coach Mullin was impressed with the way the Owls staved off the Falcons and sees his team’s confidence growing with every game.
“The kids kept their composure,” Mullin said. “Our goal this year was to defend our home court, and we did tonight against a very well-coached team and a very good defensive team. They force you to do a lot of things at the next level on offense. We did a good job. We hit our fouls shots in the end. Our confidence is very high.”
Senior Jesse Krasna and Kieran Bolger each contributed 13 points for Pennsbury (6-3). The Falcons failed to score 50 points for the sixth straight game. Head Coach Frank Sciolla is clearly frustrated when it comes to his squad’s lack of scoring success.
“We shot 31 percent from the field,” Sciolla said. “…which was the highest we shot in a long time, so I’m happy for that. We got wide open looks -- they just have to go down.”
Despite his team’s performance, Sciolla was quick to praise the Owls’ effort, including the play of 6’7” junior forward Calvin Brown, who was able to exploit the Falcons’ small lineup by both rebounding the ball and blocking shots.
“They’re a good team and they played great tonight with a lot of emotion,” Sciolla said. “They were very physical, and their size gave us problems.”
The win brings Bensalem’s league record to 5-4, just two games behind division-leading Neshaminy. The Owls’ are also in the midst of a five game win streak, and Mullin wants to build upon his team’s recent success.
“Hopefully momentum will keep us going,” he said. “We have five [wins] in a row now, and we want to keep the momentum.
Christian hopes that the Owls’ hard work, attitude, and performance on the court can not only continue throughout the rest of the SOL National season but also extend into success in the post season as well.
“We want to keep building off [our recent success],” Christian said. “Pennsbury is definitely one of the more competitive teams in our league, and that’ll definitely help us come playoffs.”
BENSALEM 45, PENNSBURY 40
Bensalem (45) - Ivan Flores 4 3-4 11; Liam Kirgan 3 2-2 11; Nick Christian 3 3-3 10; Chris McMullin 4 1-4 9; Calvin Brown 0 3-4 3; Alex Agyedu 0 1-2 1
Pennsbury (40) - Zachary Kumor 2 0-0 4; Kris Hassell 3 0-0 7; Kieran Bolger 4 3-3 13; Jesse Krasna 4 5-6 13; Ryan Charity 0 2-4 2; Dante Devine 0 1-4 1
Bensalem 15 5 17 8-45
Pennsbury 4 11 15 10-40
3-point field goals: Bensalem -- Kirgan 3, Christian; Pennsbury -- Hassell, Bolger 2
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