Hohenleitner helps CB West bounce back, beat Souderton

DOYLESTOWN >> Erich Hohenleitner doesn’t really have a preference on whether to hurt opposing defenses inside or outside.

“I like to stretch the defense a little bit, but I definitely still work on my post moves,” the Central Bucks West senior said. “If I have a mismatch down low, I’d definitely exploit that. But it’s always good to have something to stretch the defense a little bit.”

Thursday night against visiting Souderton, Hohenleitner found success in both locales. He work down low in the third quarter for nine of his game-high 19 points as the Bucks push their lead as high as 18.

And when the Indians’ hot shooting carved the margin down to six in the fourth, Hohenleitner drained a 3-pointer from the wing to blunt Big Red’s comeback charge and help CB West come away with a 60-50 Suburban One League Continental Conference win.

“When they’re hitting shots like that, we try to slow the game down a little bit, try to get good looks. Just prevent them from getting on even more of a run,” Hohenleitner said. “So, when I got that open shot, no one was one me, so I thought I’d take it.”

“It’s one of the shots that towards the end of the game it could been a made shot if it missed, but it went it.”

BOYS #BASKETBALL: CB West's @erichho32 with a putback 3Q vs. Souderton for 2 of his game-high 19 points. pic.twitter.com/7cjKgMj0jY

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) January 22, 2016

Connor Lynch hit four 3-pointers to collected 12 points while Luke Irons added 10 points for the Bucks 15-3, 9-1 conference), who used a 13-0 run in the third to take control as West bounced back for its setback in Continental play, a 63-60 loss to Pennridge Tuesday.

“It always nice to get back on the court and not let it sting too long,” Bucks coach Adam Sherman said. “So, I thought the guys did a good job of moving on and playing the next game.”

West outscored Souderton 18-5 to lead 43-25 before Ian Beardsley’s three had the Indians within 15 heading to the fourth.

“Just the turnovers and for a stretch we had so many turnovers we didn’t even get a shot,” Souderton senior Ty Salone said. “So, that played a big role in it. They were running the floor good, scoring, we were having turnovers, that was getting them down the floor and were panicking. We just had to settle down.”

The Bucks still held a 15-point advantage after a Jake Reichwein short baseline jumper, but the Indians (6-11, 2-8) went on a 13-4 run – Big Red hitting a trio of three during that span – to make it 51-45.

“I thought we had hands up in their face and they hit some tough shots down there in the stretch,” Sherman said.

Hohenleitner’s three, however, put the Bucks up nine while Bill Power made two free throws with 1:10 left for a 56-45 lead. From there, Souderton could only close the gap to eight as it dropped its second straight game.

“We just kept fighting, that’s what we wanted to do,” Salone said. “We had a tough third quarter, but I was real proud of our guys to not giving up and keep fighting that fourth quarter.”

David Brush and Michael Bealer each scored 14 points to pace Souderton. The two combined to make seven three points with the nine of the Indians’ 19 field goals coming from beyond the arc. Salone finished with 13 points.

Both teams are back in action Tuesday in SOL Continental matchups. CB West hosts North Penn while Souderton is home against Pennridge, which is tied with the Bucks for first in the conference.

BOYS #BASKETBALL: CB West's Connor Lynch hits a 3 before the 1Q buzzer vs. Souderton. pic.twitter.com/zkFsuIaBk1

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) January 22, 2016

Central Bucks West jumped out to an 8-1 lead, but Brush knock down three consecutive 3-pointers – the first two from the left corner, the third from the top of the arc – to give Souderton a 10-8. Lynch put the Buck back ahead 11-10 with a trey just before the first-quarter buzzer.

Another Lynch three broke a 16-16 tie. After Bealer’s bucket got Big Red within a point, West collected six straight points to lead 25-18. Salone scored on a drive to make it 25-20 at the half.

Hohenleitner started the third with a putback then answered a Bealer three with a triple of his own.

“I started off slow, couldn’t hit a couple shots. But I thought instead of shooting jump shots, dribble a little bit,” Hohenleitner said. “I got into a rhythm, and ended up hitting a couple jump shots after that. Felt good.”

A bucket by Salone cut the margin to five, but the next 13 points came from West. Irons’ short jumper had the Bucks up 36-25 with a Hohenleitner three-point play at 2:09 extending the lead to 14. An Irons steal and layup then a

Hohenleitner drive down the lane for two gave West its biggest advantage at 43-28.