CR North defeated Bensalem in Tuesday’s SOL Featured Game, sponsored by the Council Rock North Booster Club. To view photos of all the game action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Mary Jane Souder
NEWTOWN – Council Rock North had just put on an offensive clinic in the Indians 74-59 win over Bensalem in a key SOL National Conference showdown when Brandon Knotts was asked about the key to his team’s impressive 9-1 start this season.
“We knew coming into the season that we could do very good,” the Rock North senior said. “A lot of people didn’t think we would be this good because of all the people we lost last year and all the talent.”
Knotts nodded in the direction of Arron Goodman and Aaron Morgan, four-year starters and the high scorers on last year’s National Conference championship squad who were standing not far away.
“We might not have as much talent this year, but we have great team chemistry and love playing with each other,” Knotts said. “We know everybody can score, and we play well with each other.
“We like to share the ball, and that’s how we run a good offense. We get good shots and make other teams guard all five players on the court.”
The Indians certainly ran an impressive offense on Tuesday night and looked like a team that is onto something special as they handed the Owls (7-3, 4-1 SOL) their first conference loss.
Knotts and junior Rip Engel led the Indians with 18 points each. Chris Rowland added 14 points and Kyle McCloskey 13 points and 11 rebounds. Josh McWilliams came off the bench and scored seven second-half points.
The 74 points was the highest point output of the season for an Indian squad that averaged 57 points a game coming into Tuesday’s showdown.
“You’ve got to give credit to Bensalem for part of that,” Rock North coach Derek Wright said. “If you had told me the game was going to be in the 70’s tonight, I would have been a little concerned.
“That’s not the style we (like) to play, although I know we can score those points, but when you’re playing six guys, that can be tough. We have the ability to score if we share the ball, and I thought we did that tonight.”
The two teams were deadlocked 11-11 after Engel buried a three in the closing seconds of the opening quarter. A Rowland three-pointer was followed by a short pull-up by Engel to put the Indians on top 16-13 in the opening minute of the second half.
A baseline three-pointer by Engel was followed by a Knotts basket, and when Rowland buried his second three of the quarter, the Indians led 24-13, prompting Bensalem coach John Mullin to burn his second timeout of the quarter.
“We were just moving the ball well,” Rowland said. “We got a lot of open shots. I thought everybody was playing really unselfish.
“We were driving the ball well, which opened up the three outside.”
The Owls answered the Indians’ tear with a run of their own out of the timeout. When Steve Johnson buried a baseline three-pointer – his third three of the half, it was a 28-22 game, and after the Indians were whistled for a three-second violation, Johnson banked home a tough shot in traffic to pull the Owls to within four.
“He did what he had to do,” Mullin said of Johnson, who led the Owls with 16 points. “With them keying on Leo (Vincent), he had to make some shots.”
A basket by Brian Kilcoyne cut the Indians’ lead to 28-26, but McCloskey answered with a three-point play after pulling down an offensive board to put the Indians back on top by five.
But not for long.
Another Kilcoyne bucket made it a 31-28 game at the half, and when Johnson opened the second half by burying another three to knot the score, it looked as though the Indians could be in a for a long night.
“We knew that when they made a run we knew we could make a run back,” Rowland said. “We just had a good attitude and kept playing through it. We knew that at times when our shots weren’t falling that eventually we’d make them again, and we kept our heads up and just kept playing hard.
“It all started on the defensive end. We started getting stops.”
A McCloskey three righted the Indians’ ship, and they led 39-33 when – after Ryan Baker drew a charge at the other end – Knotts turned a Rowland pass into a three-pointer. A Bensalem miss was followed by an Engel three, and just like that, the Indians led 42-33. They stretched that lead to 48-34 after Knotts scored on a tough drive, and the Owls had no answer for the backcourt duo of Knotts and Engel.
“Brandon is a warrior,” Wright said. “He’s a tough kid. I take no credit for that.
“We also have to understand who we are and what we have to be tough with. With our size, we have to make sure we’re really tough with the ball, and that’s what we preach every day at practice.”
The Owls pulled to within four late in the third quarter (48-44), but McWilliams converted a three-point play to send the Indians into the final frame with a 51-44 lead. The Owls would get no closer the rest of the way.
“We tried to do some things as far as trying to get the ball out of Engel’s hands, and we just didn’t do the proper rotations,” Mullin said. “They made shots, but we just didn’t execute our game.
“Overall, I think we didn’t do our job defensively, and that’s what it came down to. (Rock North) did a good job. They played a good game, but we didn’t do anything to help us.”
BENSALEM (59) – Donnie Reed 2 0-0 4; Leo Vincent 5 1-4 12; Austin Nyekan 1 3-4 6; Steve Johnson 6 0-0 16; Deion Jones 3 3-4 9; Kyle Kirgan 1 1-2 4; Brian Kilcoyne 2 0-0 4; Andre Mitchell 1 0-0 2; Avery Nyekan 1 0-1 2; AJ Brody 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 22 8-16 59.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH (74) – Josh McWilliams 3 1-1 7; Rip Engel 6 3-4 18; Ryan Baker 2 0-0 4; Chris Rowland 4 4-4 14; Brandon Knotts 7 3-4 18; Kyle McCloskey 3 6-7 13; Matt Margolis 0 0-0 0; Tyler Madison 0 0-0 0; Josh Josephs 0 0-0 0; Quinn Johnson 0 0-0 0; Nate Kardos 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 25 17-20 74.
Bensalem 11 17 16 15-59
Council Rock North 11 20 20 23-74
3-point goals: Bensalem – Steve Johnson 4, Leo Vincent, Kyle Kirgan, Austin Nyekan; CR North – Rip Engel 3, Chris Rowland 2, Brandon Knotts, Kyle McCloskey.
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