Hatboro-Horsham holds off Upper Dublin

PLYMOUTH MEETING >> What was once a 23-point lead was slimmed all the way down to one.

But Hatboro-Horsham — amidst all the frenzy — was able to keep its head above water.
“We needed it. We really needed this one,” said the Hatters’ versatile guard, Brian McEachern, moments after Hatboro-Horsham withstood a furious second-half rally by Upper Dublin. “We had been strugging lately, and it feels good to come out with a win.”
The Hatters, who had lost four out of five entering Saturday’s contest, came out hot and did what it needed to in the fourth quarter, earning a 56-50 victory over the Cardinals in a Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament game at Colonial Gym.
“Free throws in the end — we made some clutch free throws,” McEachern said. “Just getting the ball in bounds, holding it, and letting them foul us — that’s what made the difference in the end.”
A three by Upper Dublin’s John Barrett brought the Cardinals to within 42-41, but a three by McEachern at the other end gave control back to Hatboro, along with a 45-41 advantage.
The ball went right back to Barrett, whose reverse layin made it a two-point game, but McEachern drove to the basket, was fouled, and sank both of his free throws to boost the margin to 47-43.
Speedy guard Jay Davis weaved his way to the hoop for two, extending the difference to 49-43 with three minutes to play. On the ensuing Cardinal possession, McEachern stepped in front of an Upper Dublin pass at midcourt and raced in for the layup, giving the Hatters a 51-43 cushion.
Upper Dublin would get as close as four, with a bucket by Jim Gallagher with five seconds to play, but a pair of free throws at the other end by Kyle Katz iced the game.
Six-foot-7 Clifton Moore and McEachern each had 18 points for the Hatters (8-7), who built a commanding 33-10 lead in the first half.
“I think the biggest thing was me made our shots — came out and hit five threes right in a row,” McEachern said. “We were moving the ball well and were hitting our shots.”
In the opening moments, Ryan Stover found Jim Gallagher underneath the basket for an easy two, bringing the Cardinals to within 5-4.
And then came the Hatter run.
Back-to-back threes by Moore ran Hatboro’s lead to 11-4, and moments later, Moore found Ryan Black along the perimeter for another three, boosting the Hatter advantage to 15-4.
Moore connected on all three of his three-point attempts in a 13-point first quarter, and added to that, McEachern was hitting from the outside, getting to the basket and setting up his teammates. McEachern stepped in front of a Cardinal pass and took it all the way in for two, as the margin grew to 23-6.
Upper Dublin would trim the margin to 15 by the end of the first, but the Hatters kept rolling in the second quarter.
Black used the glass to knock down his second three of the game, as the lead grew to 20, and McEachern would set up Jay Davis underneath as the Hatters continued to get more people involved.
Moore scored 14 in the first half, McEachern added 12, and Hatboro went into the break up comfortably, 37-19.
Upper Dublin (6-8), which had won five straight coming in, was led by Stover’s 15 points, who helped the Cardinals rally to within 42-41 in the fourth.
“It was a rough first half. They shot the lights out,” Stover said. “We didn’t play our best defense and we were very stagnant on offense. But we made good adjustments in the second half — gave ‘em a run, but we just didn’t have enough time.”