Council Rock North used a balanced scoring attack to defeat Central Bucks South in the opening round of its own tournament. To view game photos, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
Newtown – There is a brand new and exciting piece to the Council Rock North basketball puzzle with the addition of Rip Engel to the roster. And the sophomore transfer from Roman Catholic displayed his much anticipated talents as the Indians won their opening game of the Athletes Helping Athletes Tournament with a 74-58 victory over Central Bucks South.
CR North will face Cheltenham in the tournament final on Friday at 7:30 pm. The Panthers defeated St. Paul’s (Baltimore County Maryland) by a 62-52 score in their opening night contest.
“It is great to have a player like Rip on the team,” said Council Rock senior Aaron Morgan who scored nine points and had seven assists for the Indians. “He will be a big help in our rotation, and you can
tell that he isn’t going to turn the ball over. He plays with a lot of confidence.
“It is going to help me in that I won’t be the only player that can bring the ball up the floor,” added Morgan. “It will give me a chance to be able to score more than maybe I did last year.”
Engel – who played about half the game – finished with 12 points and played a polished floor game. The diminutive guard scored eight of those points – two on long range 3-point shots - in a stretch that saw the Indians break open a tight 19-17 game with 7:21 left in the second quarter to take a 29-19 lead with 2:51 left in the period.
“You can tell that he knows how to play the game,” said Council Rock North head coach Derek Wright. “He has only had about five practices with us, and he has picked up our offense very quickly. This is a team that is still searching for our identity, and now that we have Rip we will continue to find ourselves.”
Everyone knew the talent that Rock North returned in seniors Arron Goodman and Morgan. And both played excellent games for the Indians as Goodman finished with a game-high 14 points and collected 12 rebounds, while Morgan distributed the ball extremely well. The addition of Engel gives the Indians a three-pronged attack, but don’t sell the remainder of the team short.
Kyle McCloskey played a terrific game and scored 12 points for the Indians, while Alex Jordan played a fearless game along the baseline and added 10 points.
“I love the way that Alex played tonight,” said Wright. “He plays the game with a lot of energy, and it seems like when we play well Alex is a big part of that.”
Central Bucks South played with a lot of energy and success in the first period. The Titans played the Indians to a 15-15 stalemate in the first period, and there was not a player on the floor that played with more energy that Kevin Raymond. Raymond – who bombed home a trey at the first period buzzer to knot the score at 15 – finished the contest as the leading scorer for CB South with 14 points.
“I thought that we competed very well with them early in the game,” said Central Bucks South head coach Jason Campbell. “But they have so many different scoring options, and they were able to stretch our defense when they buried some 3’s. Plus, we gave up far too many offensive rebounds that turned into baskets in that second quarter.”
CR North outscored the Titans 42-22 over the middle two periods of the game to seal the deal.
Both teams will advance to a Friday game as North meets Cheltenham in the championship final, and South will face St. Paul’s in the consolation game.
“There are certainly no cupcakes on our schedule,” said Campbell. “We wanted to play a strong non-league schedule to help us prepare for a possible district playoff game. St.Paul’s plays a style of basketball that should help us down the road.”
“Cheltenham is the type of team that we struggled with in our losses to Boys Latin and Abington,” said Wright. “They have extremely athletic guards and are very quick. We are going to have to focus on the little things, and it should be a good challenge for our team.”
A team that now boasts the addition of Rip Engel.
Central Bucks South Titans 15 9 13 21 - 58
Council Rock North Indians 15 21 21 17 - 74
Central Bucks South: Kevin Raymond 14; Matt Scamuffo 8; Chase Vonder Schmalz 8; Dave Knox 6; Paul Zakrewski 5; Brennan Rudnick 4; Kevin Doyle 4; Adam Tamney 2; Bryce Dobisch 2; John Flaherty 2; and TJ Ohntrup 2.
Council Rock North: Arron Goodman 14; Rip Engel 12; Kyle McCloskey 12; Alex Jordan 10; Aaron Morgan 9; Alex Corry 9; Matt McCloskey 6; Ross Wilson 2.
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