Cheltenham holds on to beat Wissahickon
CHELTENHAM >> For the second straight time, Cheltenham found itself struggling in the final quarter of a game in which it held a substantial lead.
Fortunately for the Panthers, this one would be a little different than their last game as they withstood a fourth-quarter comeback effort from Wissahickon on their way to a 53-40 Suburban One League American Conference win.
“I’m just happy to be able to get out of here with a win,” Cheltenham coach John Timms said. “In my three years here we’re 1-3 against Wissahickon, they did something PW wasn’t able to do against us so in all honesty this was huge, we’re ecstatic to be able to walk away with a double digit win.”
It is easy to see how Cheltenham could come out flat. Its last game saw a seven-point fourth quarter lead vanish into a two-point loss to SOL American rival Plymouth Whitemarsh, but they came roaring back in this one.
The Trojans struggled for most of the game with Cheltenham’s athleticism. They were unable to get anything going from the paint and had to try and rely on shooting over the much bigger Panthers.
“I think they’re one of the best teams in the league,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said. “I know PW got them last week but I was telling coach Timms before the game that he just does a phenomenal job with his guys. They play disciplined, they play smart, and they just take good shots.”
Twelve first-half points from Cheltenham’s Khalil White was exactly what the Panthers needed to start as they shot out to a 29-19 lead at the break.
Even with the hot start, it didn’t always look like Cheltenham would cruise to the finish line like it eventually did.
After the Panthers building a 15 point third-quarter lead, the Trojans went on a 13-0 run to start the fourth, bringing them all the way back to within two points.
Sloppy offensive play and poor free-throw shooting made it look as though Cheltenham was in trouble again, and was on its way to letting another lead slip through its fingers.
They finished an ice-cold 6-for-18 from the charity stripe, which is something that has plagued the Panthers all year long and was a huge part of Wissahickon’s comeback effort.
“We have to work on that going forward, in the past, and always,” Timms said. “Right now we’re a 55 percent free-throw shooting team and we spend about an hour on it in practice a day. It’s just about building confidence and staying at it because some games we’ll go 9-for-10 and the next game it will be this.”
As his team sat there watching its double-digit lead disappear, it was the second half performance of Josh Sutton that saved the day.
“I’m a little biased,” Timms said. “I think he’s the best post player in the Suburban One. He leads the league in blocked shots, he has an unstoppable hook shot, and the only problem is we just can’t get him to take enough shots.”
Sutton went 4-for-4 from the line in the fourth, when his team needed him most, and finished with a game-high 16 points, 12 coming in the second half to clinch the game and show why his coach has such high praise for him.
