Council Rock North boys basketball falls to CB South in AHA opener (VIDEO)
NEWTOWN – Some nights, you just need to make a few more shots in order to win.
Facing the home team Council Rock North in their annual Athletes Helping Athletes (AHA) holiday tournament, CB South staged a defensive clinic and came away with a 36-30 triumph Tuesday night, Dec. 29 in Newtown. It’s the third straight year the Titans got the best of the Indians in this tourney.
“They play physical, they play tough, they’re well coached – they make things difficult,” stated CR North head coach Derek Wright. “We knew that they had gotten us the last couple years so it would have been nice to get them this year.
“We put ourselves in a position to do that but we just didn’t make enough plays.”
The Suburban One Continental Conference rival Titans held Indians big man Will Desautelle and sharpshooter Riley Thompson to 11 points, combined, helping CB South to its second consecutive win and sending the Rock to today’s consolation matchup against Philly Public League rival Ben Franklin. The Titans take on St. Paul (Md.) in the championship.
“We need Will to score points,” admitted Indians head coach Derek Wright. “But they had the size and athleticism to match him tonight. They have at least three guys who are built like him and even taller so that’s a tough matchup for him.”
Any time Desautelle worked his way into the lane, the CB South zone defenders collapsed on the 6-3 forward. And no amount of muscle seemed to make much of a difference. At least twice in the contest, Will was called for an offensive foul after a Titan defender successfully absorbed the charge.
Neither side shot well in the game – North’s shooting was just over 30 percent from the floor. The Titans, however, gathered more rebounds off the offensive glass and registered at least a half-dozen putback baskets.
Still, Council Rock trailed the visitors by just two points at the half and just a point after three periods.
“For how poorly we shot the ball in the first half, to be down two, we were pleased with that,” stated Wright. “I thought we competed hard and defended well. (We) executed our game plan.”
CB South senior scoring leaders Chris Hones, a 6-5 power forward, and Tim Waddington, a shooting guard of the same height, sparked the visitors in the second half. With each held to single shots from the floor before the intermission, the pair combined on seven field goals after the break.
Hones hit for a pair of open layups early in the third period, two baskets that helped erase an 18-17 Rock lead, taken when junior Noah Ehlin registered back-to-back buckets on a mid-range jumper and a putback.
“We changed some things up defensively in the second half to try and create some turnovers and get some points and they took advantage of it,” said Wright. “They got to the offensive glass and they wore us down.
“They’re a lot deeper than us and a lot bigger than us and I think it took its toll.”
While Hones hit a jumper that gave the Titans a 23-20 edge midway through the third period, the Indians answered with a putback and a pair of free throws by senior Tyler Nowmos that drew North within a point heading into the final frame.
In the fourth quarter, Hones and Waddington combined on three buckets that stretched the visitors’ edge to seven points in the first two minutes. After that, the Rock was forced to play catchup and the Indians just didn’t make enough shots to do so.
The fourth quarter saw the North shooters go just 2-for-9 from the floor.
Turnovers also became a problem late in the contest. Twice in the final frame, the Indians surrendered the ball on the inbounds pass.
“When you struggle to score, getting possessions where you don’t even get a shot off, they tend to be key,” stated Wright. “It’s going to lead to points on the other end.
“Any time when you are in that kind of position offensively and you do turn it over, it’s going to seem like a much bigger deal.”
The only player to reach double digits in scoring for the Rock was Ehlin, who, after exploding for six points in the third period, went down with an ankle injury in the fourth quarter.
Before he went down, there were times the 11th-grader seemed to carry the Indians.
“He played very hard and he got to the glass and to the rim, offensively,” stated Wright. “He was on loose balls and he competed. When he plays like that, he makes us better.
Thompson, after scoring five of North’s nine points in the first period, was held off the scoreboard in both the second and third quarters. By the time Riley hit for a 3-point play that cut the Titans’ edge to four points in the final frame, there was just 1:16 remaining in regulation. From there, CB South made three of their last four from the foul line to help secure a Titans’ win.
After missing the first three games of the season with a finger injury suffered playing varsity football, Thompson is still working his way back into the Indian offense.
“He missed about four weeks of practice and played a season of football where he didn’t have a (basket) ball in his hands every day,” explained Wright.
“It’s going to take him some time but in addition, he’s the other team’s main focus, whereas last year, we had other guys that teams had to worry about.”
For the game, Hones and Waddington along with CB South senior Ryan Joerger combined on 28 of the Titans’ 36 points.
“We had them marked. We knew 32 (Hones), 24 (Waddington) and 23 (Joerger) were going to be tough matchups for us,” said Wright. “But I thought we did a really good job against them; we held them to 36 points.
“In most high school basketball games, you hold a team to that, you’re going to win.”
Unfortunately for Indian fans, not in this game.
NOTES: CB South lost to St. Anthony’s 53-52 in last year’s AHA championship. Council Rock rebounded with a 63-58 triumph in last year’s consolation game.
Contact the author at ssherman@buckslocalnews.com, or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
Central Bucks South 36, Council Rock North 30
(Dec. 29 at CR North)
Central Bucks South 6 10 9 11 – 36
Council Rock North 9 5 10 6 – 30
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH — Tim Waddington 12, Nate Robinson 2, Alex Karras 5, Ryan Joerger 4, Chris Hones 12, Tom Doyle 1; TOTALS — 15 4-11 36.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH — Riley Thompson 9, Elliot Spicer 3, Tyler Nowmos 4, Matt McAlister 2, Noah Ehlin 10, Will Desautelle 2; TOTALS — 11 6-7 30.
3-POINT GOALS: CBS — Karras, Waddington; CRN — Thompson, Spicer.
