Friday night’s Abington/William Tennent game is an SOL Featured Game, sponsored by the Abington Booster Club. 
Check back for photos and a complete game story.
By Scott Huff
Breast Cancer Awareness Month is in October.
The Abington boys’ basketball team is not on the hardwood in the fall and will show its support to Breast Cancer Awareness on Friday as the Ghosts host William Tennent in a Suburban One League National Conference game.
“I lost my mom to breast cancer in 1992,” said Abington head coach Charles Grasty – a 1990 graduate of Abington High School. “This is a great way to show support to a community that has always supported me. The school has really become involved with this, and it is something that is important to the students and the players.
“This is something that we want to do with the players in our program – give back to the community and become part of the tradition of Abington basketball,” added Grasty. “I was a part of Abington basketball when my Dad brought me to a game at just two weeks old. I remember coming to the games, and those players were my heroes. I have been involved with Abington basketball since the early 1980’s until now.
“I recently had a talk with (legendary Abington coach) Jim Wilkenson and it was an emotional time,” continued Grasty. “He coached me here, and he was the only coach to coach an Abington state championship team back in 1974.”
Abington may not have a state championship caliber team this season, but the young Ghosts have gotten off to a strong 8-3 overall record and are competing for a conference championship.
“Right now we’ll take 8-3, but the coaching staff is still trying to teach them how to win,” said Grasty. “We want these players to buy into the idea of playing Abington basketball. We want to build that tradition.”
The building blocks of that tradition include junior Anthony Durham, junior Jiere Morrisey, and freshman Matt Penecale.
“Anthony is one of the leaders on the court,” said Grasty. “He is our most consistent scorer, and he is the player on the team that keeps everyone loose. He is our jokester.”
Durham played his freshman and sophomore years at the Academy of the New Church.
“This is my first year here, and I am very happy with the decision to come to Abington,” said Durham. “The coaching staff really works you hard, and you go into the games well prepared. We are always ready to play the game.
“The 8-3 start may not have been expected, but we expected it,” added Durham. “Playing home games here is such a great atmosphere. I love this gym.”
Morrisey is a product of the Abington feeder schools and has his memories of the Abington-Cheltenham basketball games – and the iconic gym.
“I remember being excited to see those games,” said Morrisey. “Coming to this gym for home games is a great experience. It’s not the usual high school environment. And winning games has made it even better.”
“Jiere is one of those players that is the first to practice and the last one to leave,” said Grasty. “His work ethic sets a great example for the rest of the team.”
Freshman Matt Penecale has taken careful notice.
“I have learned quite a bit from Jiere, Anthony, and Jordan (Simmons),” said Penecale of his junior teammates. “They have the varsity experience, and they will share things with me on how to improve. Playing in front of our fans has been nuts – it is such a great environment to play basketball.”
“There was never a question about Matt playing varsity basketball as a freshman,” said Grasty. “We went down to watch him play in eighth grade, and we watched him in the open gyms. We knew that he was going to be an impact player for us this season.”
Penecale, Morrisey, and Durham may have been impact players for Grasty – but Grasty has the same impact on his team and the Abington basketball family.
And that family will come together on Friday night to support Breast Cancer Awareness.
Just the Facts:
This year’s record: Abington 3-2 SOL (8-3 overall), William Tennent 2-3 SOL (3-8 overall)
Last year’s record: Abington 9-13 (1-9 SOL), William Tennent 7-16 (1-13 overall)
Last meeting: Feb. 8, 2011 – Abington 69, William Tennent 54 (Abington: Wesley Rines – 23 points, Darian McFadden – 15 points, Jordan Simmons – 12 points; William Tennent: Jack Rauchut – 19 points, Cole Weber – 12 points)
Last game: Bensalem 58, Abington 54 (Anthony Durham – 12 points, Jiere Morrisey – 12 points, Chris Ruhl – 10 points, Jordan Simmons – 8 points, Matt Penecale – 8 points)
Neshaminy 50, William Tennent 45 (Horace Spencer – 13 points, Jack Rauchut – 12 points, Matt Alden – 8 points)
Abington
#2 - Jiere Morrisey (Jr.)
#3 - Zaahir Baldwin (Sr.)
#4 - Anthony Lee (Jr.)
#5 - Jordan Simmons (Jr.)
#10 - Jordan Neely (Fr.)
#11 - Thomas Kennedy (Sr.)
#12 - Anthony Durham (Jr.)
#20 - Michael Griffin (Jr.)
#21 - Marvin Crawley (Sr.)
#22 - Matt Penecale (Fr.)
#23 - Mark Bond (Soph.)
#24 - Dillon Tranquillo (Jr.)
#30 - Patrick Rice (Jr.)
#33 - Khalid Gibson (Jr.)
#44 - Christopher Ruhl (Sr.)
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