Central Bucks West pulls past Spring-Ford, 54-42
Spring-Ford coach Chris Talley couldn’t have been much happier with his team’s defensive effort in the first half of their opening game of the season Friday night.
The eventual trouble was two-fold: The Rams couldn’t get their shots to consistently fall, and Central Bucks West matched and surpassed their intensity on both ends of the floor.
The result was a 54-42 CB West victory in the nightcap of the Suburban One League/PAC-10 Challenge on the Rams’ home floor. Spring-Ford held a 19-16 lead at halftime, but after that the Bucks methodically surged into control and pulled away late in the game.
Spring-Ford’s Stone Scarcelle takes the ball to the basket and is fouled by C.B. West’s Jake Reichwein in the first quarter.
“We felt great in the first half; that defensive effort was tremendous,” Talley said. “But we just couldn’t capitalize on the offensive end. We had a lot of good shots.
“They did all the little things at the end. That’s a very good team. They hit every foul shot at the end and put the pressure on us offensively.”
The Rams got a nice game from forward-center Cameron Reid, who scored a game-high 20 and gave the Bucks fits in the lane with his activity and athleticism. Matt Gnias was the only other Ram in double figures with 10, including two 3-pointers.
Spring-Ford’s Cameron Reid works the ball to the basket and was fouled by C.B. West’s Erich Hohenleitner.
Both teams got to the foul line a good amount in a physical contest, and Reid hit 6-of-7, but the Rams missed eight of their 21 tries. CB West was a so-so 16-of-23 but nailed the big ones in the fourth quarter to create breathing room, netting 13-of-17.
“The effort was there, but we got in foul trouble and they got in the bonus early,” Talley said.
CB West is deep, especially in the backcourt, and Lehigh-bound guard Cal Reichwein was a particular problem for the Rams with his penetration in the telling stages. Connor Lynch led the Bucks with 15, including three trifectas. Reichwein and strong interior player Eric Hohenleitner each scored 11.
Reid’s baseline jumper late in the first half gave the Rams a three-point edge. But the Bucks started finding more openings and took the lead for good, 31-28, on Lynch’s trey. After a lengthy drought, the Rams got a trey from Gnias to pull within 32-31 early in the fourth quarter. Then came a series of pivotal plays by the Bucks along with some key stops.
A three from Lynch and a beautiful 40-foot backdoor feed from Reichwein to Hohenleitner put the Bucks up six midway through the fourth. A driving layup by Reichwein and a conventional three-point play by Luke Irons, off another dish from Reichwein, kept the Rams at bay. In the final four minutes the Bucks spread the court with a solid ball control and converted from the foul line.
“In the second half, we kind of lost it defensively,” Reed said. “We just didn’t get it done on defense.”
