To view action photos of the CR North/Chambersburg, Neshaminy/Pottsville and PW/Central Dauphin games, visit the Photo Gallery by clicking on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
By Scott HuffCouncil Rock North (26-2) took advantage of its size inside the paint to defeat Chambersburg (19-8) on Saturday in a first round PIAA Quad-A state playoff game played at Council Rock South High School – 60-52.
The Indians will now face Bethlehem Liberty in a second round game to be played Wednesday (3/16/11). Liberty advanced with a 56-41 victory over Roman Catholic in its first round contest. The site of that game is to be determined.
“Our identity all season has been a team that wants to score in the paint,” said Council Rock North head coach Derek Wright. “We didn’t do that very well in the first half, but in the second half we made a much better effort of pounding the ball inside.”The Indians trailed the Trojans 26-22 at intermission, but Rock North was on a mission at the outset of the second half to exploit the Chambersburg defense from close range. And the biggest ‘pounder’ for Rock North was powerful John Raymon who bulled his way for 15 points and hauled in 17 rebounds.
“Our game plan was to go inside the whole night,” said the muscular 6-foot, 6-inch Raymon. “But sometimes they had three guys around me, and we settled for some jump shots. That really isn’t our game, and we got back to what we do best in the second half.”
Raymon also got some needed inside help from senior Charlie Anastasi. Anastasi – not quite the powerfully built player as Raymon but an identical 6-foot, 6-inches – also had a double/double with 14 points and 14 rebounds to match.
Anastasi fueled a 14-4 Rock North run that shifted the game into the Indians favor at the beginning of the third period as he scored six points in that impressive run.Rock North junior point guard Aaron Morgan led the Indians in scoring in that key third period with eight points. Morgan finished with a team-high 20 points.
The Indians played the game short-handed as starting junior Arron Goodman sat out the game with concussion-like symptoms. Goodman – who will likely return to the Indians on Wednesday - has been a force for Rock North all season both off the backboards and in scoring. The absence of the talented 6-foot, 4-inch Goodman forced the Indians to go a little deeper on the bench.
“We were pretty sure all week that Arron wasn’t going to be able to play in the game,” said Wright. “We prepared to play the game without him, and players like Brandon Knotts stepped in and did a good job for us. Brandon plays the game with confidence, and his play makes us a little deeper as we go into the tournament.
“If we want to win a state championship – and we do – we are going to have to go more than six or seven players deep,” added Wright. “We are starting to be more comfortable with the players on the bench, and hopefully we can make a run at this.”
Council Rock North 16 6 20 18 * 60
Chambersburg 17 9 12 14 * 52
Council Rock North: John Raymon 15, Aaron Morgan 20, Brandon Knotts 2, Hunter Stevens 4, Jordan Chernin 5, Charlie Anastasi 14. Total – 60.
Chambersburg: Kayone Teal 7; Skyler Roman 24; Kyle Patterson 8; Gabe Rivera 6; Kevin Stahl 4; Kaiden Maun 3. Total – 52.
Neshaminy earns rematch with Penn Wood
Neshaminy (21-6) received a 30-point offensive explosion from junior guard Ryan Arcidiacono as the Redskins tomahawked Pottsville (24-3) by a 64-45 margin. The win will send the Skins into a second round contest with a Penn Wood team that defeated York – 76-66 – in its first round game. Penn Wood throttled the Redskins 85-49 earlier this season (2/6/11) in a showcase game at Philadelphia University.
“I would love to be able to play Penn Wood again,” said Arcidiacono. “Our goal is to get at least to the final four, and for us to do that we have to beat good teams like Penn Wood.”
“I felt really good about playing them in that game,” said Neshaminy head coach Jerry Devine. “But we didn’t execute against them, and we didn’t play well. We got out of our game, and we had too many one shot possessions.
“The one really good thing about that game was that we cleared the air a bit,” continued Devine. “I think we have been playing much better basketball ever since.”
Neshaminy played very well in first period of its win over Pottsville. The Skins raced to a 20-5 lead and were never seriously challenged the remainder of the game.“We had a few first quarter jitters, but we came out strong,” said Arcidiacono. “We wanted to make them run the floor with us, and once we got the lead, they played the game a little faster than maybe they wanted to play.
“We know that if we want to do well in states we are going to have to play smart basketball,” added Arcidiacono. “And as the team leader, it is my job to get everyone involved and give everyone the confidence we need to win.”
“It isn’t every year that you are going to have the talent of a Ryan Arcidiacono on your team,” said Devine. “We want to be able to take advantage of that time. And that time is now.
Bensalem Suffers Tragic Loss
Bensalem (19-9) lost not only a 20-point lead but also its opening round PIAA Quad-A tournament game to District 12 champion Frankford (20-8) – 66-65.
“The last quarter was brutal,” said Bensalem head coach John Mullin. “They made foul shots and we missed foul shots (14-for-32 for the game). You can’t win a game in states if you can’t make free throws. I think we just got a little tight at the end – it was a bitter pill to swallow.
“We had a 10-point lead, built it to 20, and we felt really good about the way we were playing,” added Mullin. “We had the game right in front of us – a chance to move on in states – and we let it get away.”
Bensalem – which was led in scoring by sophomore guard Leo Vincent who scored a game-high 24 points – led 54-37 at the end of the third period. But Frankford rallied – outscored the Owls 29-11 in the final period – and advanced to a second round game with a one-point win.
“This is a tough game for the seniors on this team,” said Mullin. “We came so far during the course of the year, and we earned our chance to compete in states. This was a tough game for them to go out on.”
No Holiday for Norristown
Norristown (21-6) could do little to contain 6-foot, 7-inch Dequan Holiday as the Eagles lost in their PIAA Quad-A opening round to William Allen – 56-44. Holiday racked up an impressive double/double/double as he scored 20 points and pulled down 20 rebounds against the Birds in the contest played at Parkland High School.
Norristown – which missed its first 10 shots of the game, but closed to within 43-38 in the fourth period – was led by Aaron Webb with 20 points.
“We kept fighting and made a game of it,” said Norristown head coach Michael Evans. “I knew we were going to have make shots if we wanted to beat this team, and we struggled at the beginning of the game.
“Nobody really thought this was a 21-6 team at the beginning of the year,” added Evans. “We can hold our heads high – this group really overachieved this year.”
PIAA Quad-A Tournament Scoreboard
Chester defeated Dallastown – 69-56. West Chester Rustin defeated Cedar Cliff - 55-39. Chester meets West Chester Rustin in Round 2.
William Allen defeated Norristown - 56-44. La Salle defeated Reading – 57-56. William Allen meets La Salle in Round 2.
Frankford defeated Bensalem – 66-65. Plymouth Whitemarsh defeated Central Dauphin – 61-43. Frankford meets Plymouth Whitemarsh in Round 2.
Lower Merion defeated Scranton - 44-42. Red Land defeated Bartram – 69-47. Lower Merion meets Red Land in Round 2.
Penn Wood defeated York – 76- 66. Neshaminy defeated Pottsville – 64-45. Penn Wood meets Neshaminy in Round 2.
Council Rock North defeated Chambersburg – 60-52. Liberty defeated Roman Catholic – 56-41. Council Rock North meets Liberty in Round 2.
Gateway defeated McDowell – 57-46. Mount Lebanon defeated State College – 60-48. Gateway meets Mount Lebanon in Round 2.
Allderice defeated Chartiers Valley – 67-52. Butler Area defeated Cathedral Prep – 60-52. Allderice meets Butler Area in Round 2.
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