CR North celebrated Senior Night with a 68-30 win over Neshaminy in Tuesday’s SOL Featured Game, sponsored by the CR North Booster Club.
By Bill McFarland
Correspondent
NEWTOWN — Council Rock opened the second half with a 17-point run to turn what had surprisingly been a close game into a 68-30 romp over Neshaminy Tuesday night in a Suburban One League National Conference boys basketball game.
The Redskins played a little tougher than expected and trailed by only 10 points (26-16) at halftime, but that run in the third quarter ended any doubt about the game’s outcome. The Indians outscored the visitors 28-10 to make the final frame somewhat inconsequential except for one basket shortly before the final buzzer.
North senior Josh Josephs sank a jump shot that drew a rousing ovation from the crowd.
“I’m not much of a scorer,” said Josephs, who started the game and also had a steal and two rebounds. “I’m more of a bench player, but I’m there every day, and I guess everybody was happy to see me score.”
“He’s a very likable kid,” said Council Rock North coach Derek Wright about Josephs. “He made the varsity for the first time as a senior, and those were his first two career points, so it was a big deal.”
And those points came long after this game was decided. The Indians took the lead at the outset and never trailed, but Neshaminy made things interesting toward the end of the second quarter. Although they were trailing by 14 points at the time (26-12), Eric Altiere and Marvin Carr scored for the Redskins to make it 26-16 at intermission.
“We battled a little bit in the first half,” said Redskins’ assistant coach Mark Tingle. “Our kids fought hard, but we’re young, and it’s been a long season, so basically it’s our inexperience (that hurts us).”
“(Neshaminy) did a nice job in the first half,” agreed Wright. “They ran their stuff, and they made some shots, so you have to give them credit (for keeping the game close).
“We talked at halftime about getting a little more effort and focusing on defense, and our guys definitely responded.”
The coach also pointed out how his team was trying to keep hopes alive for a conference championship. Unfortunately for the Indians, Abington defeated Pennsbury, 52-48, to clinch first place. This would explain the second-half surge, although at the time, nobody at Council Rock North knew the outcome of the Abington game.
Chris Rowland, Rip Engel and Brandon Knotts engineered the 17-point run to open the third quarter.
Rowland began it by sinking a three-point goal from the left side and then Engel scored after making a steal. Rowland followed with another trey, this time from the right corner. After Knotts scored, Rowland and Engel hit consecutive three-pointers, and Engel copped another steal and went in for a lay-up that gave the Indians a 43-16 lead.
Rock North had found the magic touch, and while the Redskins’ defense sometimes kept the Indians at bay, they just fired away from beyond the perimeter. Six of the Indians’ 11 field goals during the third period were three-pointers.
That third-quarter surge gave Rock North a 28-point lead (54-26) after three quarters, making the last quarter meaningless except for Josephs’ brief moment in the spotlight.
The Indians’ Engel led all scorers with 18 points. Rowland was also in double figures with 14 points. Four of his five field goals were three-pointers. Kyle McClosky added nine points, five rebounds and three blocked shots, and Knotts had six boards.
Cole Housel and Carr led Neshaminy with eight points each.
Neshaminy (30) — Justin Josephs 0 0-0 0; Housel 3 0-0 8; Leonhauser 0 2-2 2; Fattore 1 2-4 4; Altiere 1 0-0 2; Lay 3 0-2 6; Carr 4 0-0 8; Perko 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 4-8 30.
Council Rock North (68) — Josh Josephs 1 0-0 2; Baker 4 0-1 8; Kardos 2 1-2 5; Knotts 3 0-0 6; McClosky 4 0-0 9; Rowland 5 0-0 14; McWilliams 1 0-0 2; Engel 8 0-1 18; Madison 1 0-0 2; Desautelle 1 0-0 2; Nowmos 0 0-0 0. Totals: 30 1-4 68.
Three-point goals: N – Housel 2. CRN – Rowland 4, Engel 2, McClosky.
Neshaminy 7-9-10-4 = 30
Council Rock North 16-10-28-14 = 68
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