Win over Bensalem seals Council Rock North basketball playoff bid (VIDEO)

NEWTOWN – Coming off a tough loss at Abington on Tuesday night, Council Rock North knew one thing about its season-ender at home against visiting Bensalem – win and you’re in.

Trailing the Suburban One National League rival Owls 24-22 at the half, the Indians pulled away with a big third quarter, then staved off a furious comeback bid by Bensalem in the final moments of the game to emerge with a much needed 49-47 triumph that guarantees that there will be a postseason for the Rock.

Ranked 32nd in the District One Power Rankings on Feb. 1, the Indians (13-9, 10-4: SOL) took care of Bicentennial League rival New Hope-Solebury later that day before falling to 7th-seeded Abington, a 4-point loss that threatened playoff hopes for the Indians.

“We knew what our ranking was and we knew that they were really close to us,” said CR North senior Will Desautelle. “We knew that if we came out and played strong and got a good win against them that would really augment our chances of getting into the playoffs.”

Thursday night (Feb. 4) on its home court, Rock received 17 points from senior shooting guard Riley Thompson, and 16 from Desautelle, including 10 by the 6-3 power forward in the second half.

“We were able to get Will some more touches and he finished really well around the basket – better than he did in the first half, and made some big plays,” explained Indians head coach Derek Wright.

“And Riley hit a couple of big shots. The first half, we did some things well, we just didn’t make shots. The second half, we executed better.”

Thompson was outstanding in this one, as he has been the second half of the season. The 5-11 guard hit 11 of his points in the second half including a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter.

“It’s great to have someone like him who you know wants the ball, despite the pressure,” said Wright. “He made some tough shots and kept his cool all night. To be guarded 94 feet for 32 minutes is a challenge so credit to him and credit to all our guys for sticking with Bensalem.”

“He’s a fantastic basketball player and a great kid, too,” added Owls head coach Mike McCabe. “He lives, eats and breathes the game and you can tell. He works hard and it pays off for him.”

North also received a significant spark and six precious points from junior Eric Levine. Two of Levine’s points came at the foul line in the closing moments of the game and two more by Desautelle sealed it – or so, we thought, putting the Indians up 49-45 with 12.8 seconds remaining in regulation.

A putback basket by Bensalem’s Brian Quarterman however with 0:0.5 showing on the clock meant the Rock had to inbound the ball one last time with just two points separating the sides. The pass was intercepted by the Owls and the Rock faithful had to hold its collective breath as the last shot bounced harmlessly off the glass.

“We’ve never quit all year,” said McCabe. “And we’ve been down 20-plus at times and we’ve never quit. They battle, they battle, they battle.

“You just hope you can get over the hump and get a ball bounce your way. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it here tonight.”

Playoff seeding aside, North knew the first order of business was the game at hand. While Bensalem (10-11, 6-8: SOL) entered the duel at 10-10 overall, they went 7-3 in the month of January in a spurt that included impressive wins over Holy Ghost Prep and Pennsbury. A team that is loaded with players who can shoot, the Owls put up 70 in their win over the Falcons and 75 in a more recent triumph at Truman.

Focus was needed in order to win and according to Desautelle, Wright provided the instrument necessary to keep the Rock on point.

“He talked about how outside pressures are voluntary. We choose whether they affect us or not,” explained Desautelle.

“I thought we did a great job, especially in those last few seconds, of eliminating those outside pressures and closing it out.”

Trailing by two at the half, the Indians took a 28-27 edge on a pair of floaters by Desautelle and a pair of free throws by Thompson on a technical foul leveled against Bensalem.

After the Owls fought their way back to a 31-30 edge with 2:30 left in the third quarter on a pair of layups by Rich Dean (10 pts.), Rock answered with a 6-0 run to close the period out with a 36-31 edge.

Thompson started the scoring spurt with a one-hander off the glass then followed it up with a floater. Levine finished it off with a steal in the Owls’ end of the court and an acrobatic layup.

After shooting 3-for-10 in the third quarter, Bensalem seem to find its shooting touch in the final frame, especially from 3-pont range. Quarterman, Ward Roberts and Taco Douglas each hit shots from behind the arc to draw the Owls back within a point at the midway mark of the fourth period.

Three consecutive turnovers by Bensalem opened the door for the Indians and they walked right in. First Thompson hit a jumper with defenders draped all over him and then Desautelle drained a ball of the glass on baseline drive to the rim, putting North up 45-40 with 2:30 to go.

The Owls answered with a baseline jumper by Quarterman to draw the visitors within three then fouled the Indians twice away from the ball, forcing North to an inbounds play. On one of those, North turned the ball over, giving Bensalem a golden opportunity with 30 ticks remaining.

The Owls failed to take advantage however with Brandon Vaughn missing 1-of-2 at the foul line with 21 seconds left and Dean failing to turn the and-one after a layup with 14 ticks remaining on the clock. The duo led Bensalem in this one with Brandon positing up with 14 and Rich coming through with 10.

After dropping their last three games and four of their last five, the Owls have one more chance to finish the regular season off with a win – on Saturday at Glen Mills.

Ranked 25th in the recent D-1 Power Rankings, Bensalem’s stock has dropped off rapidly. The Owls could get a win facing the 5-15 Bulls but they were probably thinking the same thing Tuesday night when they tipped off against 5-14 William Tennent.

The Panthers emerged with a 69-64 win on overtime in a loss that now threatens Bensalem’s playoff hopes.

Rock is on the other side of that coin; after beginning the season at 5-7, the Indians have won eight of their last 10, starting ironically enough with a win Jan. 12 at Bensalem.

Because of that, North won’t have to worry whether it’s in the 32-team District 1 playoff field – only which seed it will earn.

Contact the author at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com, or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter

Council Rock North 49, Bensalem 47

(Feb. 4 at CR North)

Bensalem 11 13 7 16 – 47

CR North 12 10 14 13 – 49

BENSALEM — Brandon Vaughn 14, Ward Roberts 5, Brian Quarterman 7, John Dumney 6, Taco Douglas 5, Richard Dean 10; TOTALS — 18 10-16 49.

COUNCIL ROCK NORTH — Riley Thompson 17, Elliot Spicer 3, Matt Baniewicz 3, Will Desautelle 16, Noah Ehlin 1, Eric Levine 6, Tyler Nowmos 3; TOTALS — 19 3-7 47.

3-POINT GOALS: B — Vaughn 3, Roberts, Douglas, Quarterman; CRN — Nowmos, Thompson, Spicer.