Pennridge senior Tim Abruzzo reached a personal milestone when he surpassed the 1,000-point mark.
Tim Abruzzo is a bona fide scorer.
But even the most optimistic Pennridge fan wouldn’t have given the senior sharpshooter much of a chance to score the 35 points he needed to reach the 1,000-point milestone in Friday night’s game against Central Bucks South. Still, his family and friends turned out in force for the game.
It’s a good thing they did.
The Rams extended the Titans to double overtime before falling 85-79, and in the first of the two OTs, Abruzzo buried a step-back three pointer to surpass the magical 1,000-point plateau, ensuring the senior standout a spot in program history and bringing a jubilant end to the countdown by Gang Green – Pennridge’s famed student section.
“It’s great,” Abruzzo said in a telephone interview the next day. “Just the way it happened - I had a bunch of family there. My sister came in (from Duquesne University), my grandparents, my aunt and my uncle and a bunch of family friends were there.
“They didn’t really think it could happen, but there was a slight chance, so a lot of people were there. It wound up being a great game, I pulled through and was able to get it, so just the overall atmosphere and how it all played out was great. Other than not getting the win, I’m really happy with how it all happened.”
Abruzzo wound up scoring a career high 39 points, which included a career best nine three-pointers.
“Thirty-five was definitely a stretch,” Abruzzo admitted. “My career high was 31 before that. I knew 35 would definitely be a lot to ask for, but just the way the game went, going into two overtimes and everything – (the points) just kind of kept coming.
“I knew what I needed, but I didn’t try and focus on it. With the position we’re in, we need as many wins as we can get. I was just trying to focus on getting the win.”
Coach Dean Behrens admits it was a unique experience.
“Here you are going tooth and nail, battling back and forth – and the chances of getting 35, which he hasn’t had in his career, weren’t in his favor,” the Rams’ coach said.
The chances appeared especially unlikely after Abruzzo scored just three points in the first quarter, but he came on strong in the second half, scoring 13 points in the third quarter alone.
“We weren’t even thinking about it, and all of a sudden we started overtime,” Behrens said. “I told the officials there were a chance Tim could score a thousand, and obviously, it happened. It was at a time when the game was in such limbo. It was in the heat of the moment.”
The historic basket came on the eighth of nine three pointers for Abruzzo. The game was halted as the senior guard accepted congratulations from teammates, coaches and family members.
“It was a good experience,” Behrens said. “It happened on our home court, and it happened in front of our home fans and in front of the Gang Green.
“It was a real treat for everyone because you don’t get to see a thousand-point scorer every day, especially now that they cut down the number of games we’re allowed to play each year.”
Abruzzo acknowledges he has been a shooter since his earliest playing days with his CYO and Deep Run community squads.
“I would shoot in the driveway all the time,” he said. “I just loved shooting.
“As the years went on, I worked harder and harder. It’s just something you need to know how to do no matter what level you play at.
“I just focused on either getting quicker shots, elevation or form. There’s just so much to work on with your shooting. You can never get content, and that’s what fueled my worth ethic to become as good a shooter as I can.”
Talk to his coach, and it’s clear that Abruzzo is a special talent.
“I know Pennridge has not been a storied program, but there have been some nice players, but he’s the best player I have coached at Pennridge,” Behrens said. “I would have to say he’s probably the best player Pennridge has had.
“I didn’t see guys who played in the 60s and 70s, but in the overall scheme of things, especially coming in as a sophomore where he basically shot threes, now Tim is hitting threes, he’s taking the ball off the dribble and hitting jump shots, he’s dunking the basketball. He can do so much more. He put a lot of time and effort into becoming a better basketball player.
Abruzzo, who scored just 10 points as a freshman, did all of his scoring in a remarkable three-year varsity career, averaging around 16 points a game in his team’s 61 games during that span.
“I can remember seeing him as a seventh and eighth grader and thinking he was a nice player, but I don’t think I could have imagined getting to this point,” Behrens said. “A lot of it is because he put a lot of work and effort into it, and he really loves the game. There were kids pretty close to his ability at that time in seventh and eighth grade, but Tim really took the time and effort to improve.”
Abruzzo is just the fourth male basketball player in Pennridge history to reach that milestone, joining Jim Groff (’88), Mark Hollenbach (’72) and Matt Best (’05).
“During my sophomore year, a lot of people because of how I scored early in my career said if I kept it up I could definitely get there,” he said. “I always thought if I kept working I could get there one day.”
Abruzzo’s name will join the short list of Pennridge players to reach the historic milestone, and it is not out of the realm of possibility that he could break Groff’s mark of 1,118 points to become the school’s all-time leading male scorer. The senior star has also has set the bar high for future Pennridge players.
“With all the little kids in the stands watching Tim Abruzzo, I think a lot of them will say, ‘I want to do that. I want to be like that,’” Behrens said. “Kids that age are real impressionable, and from that standpoint, Tim has really promoted the program extremely well with his performances.
“It means a lot to me as a coach because it shows that all the hard work he put in came to fruition for him. He and I can sit and talk about this when it all sinks in because Friday night was so emotional because we ended up losing a tough double overtime game. I was very happy for him and his family. It was a unique experience.”
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