Abington holds off Pennridge in SOL semifinals

NEWTOWN >> Whether it’s Australia, Abington — or in this case Council Rock North — Robbie Heath feels right at home on a basketball court.

And in the second half when the Ghosts needed him most on Saturday, Heath calmly handled the basketball, directed Abington’s inside-outside attack and scored all 15 of his points after the break to lead the way to a 59-51 victory over Pennridge in a Suburban One League Semifinal at Rock North.

Pennridge led 45-43 early in the final period but the Ghosts pulled ahead on a three by Heath and extended their lead on a turnaround jumper by the towering Eric Dixon, making it 48-45.

Then, with the second-seeded Rams (19-4) hoping to get a stop, Heath launched a three from deep and connected, stretching the gap to six.

“The Australian three-point line is a bit further out so I felt those shots were within my range,” said Heath, an Aussie import who is now a two-year starter for the Ghosts. “I took them and I made them.

“In the first half, I wanted to get my teammates involved — (in a an earlier loss to Cheltenham), I didn’t really do that, so I wanted to take my time. And we came out with the ‘W.’”

The sophomore hit three crucial threes in the second half while teammate Lucas Monroe — a freshman — used his length to bottle things up around the basket. Pennridge, after taking that 45-43 lead on a pair of free throws by Sean Yoder, was held scoreless for a five-minute stretch in the fourth.

Monroe sank two foul shots to increase the Abington lead to 53-45 and then the Rams came back to life with a three by Ryan Cuthbert.

Heath, a sleek 6-foot-1 sophomore guard, hit two free throws to give the Ghosts a 55-48 cushion with 1 minute and 8 seconds to play.

Stephen Lowry capped off his impressive shooting day for the Rams with his fifth three, cutting the margin to 55-51 with 52 seconds to go. But third-seeded Abington (18-4) battled its way through the Pennridge press, finding a wide open Dixon under the basket for the last of his game-high 20 points, and after a defensive stop, two more free throws by Heath sealed it with 15 seconds left.

“It’s fun to come here and compete with a high-level team, and this gets us ready for next week,” Rams coach Dean Behrens said of the upcoming District One Class AAAA Playoffs.

“I thought Max Wagner really played well in that second half,” Behrens said of the senior, who was an inside force with 12 points.

After Abington led by eight at the break, Wagner scored seven points in the third to get the Rams back in it and eventually push ahead early in the fourth. Heath’s three-point shooting and ball handling would propel the Ghosts from there.