Third-period rally helps Pennsbury boys basketball topple North Penn (PHOTO GALLERY)
Pennsbury senior Addison Howard (3, left) came through with 13 points in 61-46 win over the Knights Dec. 13 at the Falcons Nest, Falls Township, Pa. Here, he’s guarded by North Penn junior A.J. Catanzaro. (Steve Sherman – 21st-Century Media)
FALLS TWP. – While Pennsbury toppled previously unbeaten North Penn by 15 points Tuesday night on its home court, Falcons head coach Bill Coleman is not getting too excited. Two games into the season, Pennsbury has put its stamp on the 2016-17 campaign with a pair of 15-point victories.
In their season opener, the Falcons (2-0) outpaced Berks Catholic, 55-40, in the Hoop Group Reading Showcase Tournament Dec. 9 at the Geigle Complex and rallied in the second half to get past the visiting Knights 61-46 Dec. 13 at Pennsbury. Still, Coleman is holding back on anything resembling a celebration.
“It’s good but it doesn’t mean anything,” said Coleman. “We started 7-1 last year so we’re taking it one game at a time.”
The coach is holding back with good cause. Coleman is probably thinking of the midseason slump last year’s team experienced, one that saw the Falcons drop five of seven contests. While they finished the regular season by winning their last four, Pennsbury made a quick exit in districts when they lost in the first round to CB East.
It was not the way the Falcons – a team that went to the District 1 finals in 2014 and the PIAA quarterfinals in 2015 – envisioned their postseason.
“That loss to CB East hurt us a lot,” said Pennsbury sophomore Gary Francis. “That loss has stayed with us – we’re still getting over it. We’re just trying to prove everybody wrong, right now.”
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Against North Penn (2-1), Francis, a 6-4 reserve shooting guard, led the Falcons with a team-high 15 points including three 3-pointers. None of those treys was bigger than the one Gary canned just before the third-period buzzer, putting Pennsbury on top 48-40 heading into the final frame.
“We got some easy baskets by breaking their press,” said Coleman. “Gary Francis’ three that put us up eight at the end of the third quarter was big.
“If it’s a five-point game in the fourth quarter, it might have been different but up eight, we had the momentum at that point.”
While the Falcons may have had the momentum going into the final frame, North Penn was the team with all the energy early on. The Knights received three buckets from junior Chris Coleman (6 pts.) and a pair of field goals each from starting seniors David Guiliani (16 pts.) and Noah Kwortnik (6 pts.), helping the visitors mount a 14-7 lead with three minutes remaining in the first period.
According to Guiliani, North Penn entered the non-league battle with a lot of confidence after toppling Council Rock North and Upper Perkiomen in a tipoff tournament Dec. 9-10 at Upper Moreland.
“We came into this game with a lot of intensity and a lot of confidence coming off last weekend,” explained Guiliani. “We were definitely looking to get out to a quick lead.”
It was right around the time that North Penn quarterback Reece Udinski (12 pts.) came off the bench to hit a bank shot that put the Knights up 16-7 that Francis entered the contest.
The sophomore hit a mid-range jumper from the baseline and started a 7-0 scoring run for Pennsbury with a 3-pointer from the corner that saw the Falcons behind only two points, entering the second quarter.
Offensively, senior Tyler Sessa-Reeves (9 pts.) hit a driving layup and defensively, forward Billy Warren, a recent transfer from Neshaminy blocked a Udinski shot, then sent the ball downcourt to an awaiting Mark Flagg, who finished off the period with a resounding dunk.
With Warren added to a frontcourt that already had Flagg, the Falcons are a force to contend with under the basket and along the perimeter. The two forwards teamed up on at least a dozen blocks in the contest.
“The addition of Billy Warren this year was really big for us,” said Francis. “Mark is 6-8 and he’s going to block shots. Billy is aggressive on offense and defense so that gives us more attitude that we need.
“Last year, we didn’t have that.”
“They’re a long athletic team and they really know how to speed you up,” added Guiliani. “Their defense picked up and got more tight on us on the outside. They were playing two, three (guards) up high so it was harder to get the open shots we were looking for.”
Pennsbury senior Joey Monaghan extended the Falcons’ offensive burst to finish the first-period to 11 straight by scoring the first four points in the second quarter, the first two on a layup and the second pair from the foul line, giving the home team its first lead, 18-16, with 5:31 to go in the half.
While Guiliani rallied his team back with a jumper and a layup back-to-back, Pennsbury went into the locker room with a 25-22 edge with help from a 3-pointer by Francis and a jumper by Flagg.
“They came out stronger than us – they were more hungry for the ball,” explained Francis. “Coach took us in at halftime and got on us. He said we have to match their energy and play with more aggression than we did in the first half.”
The Falcons responded with their most productive quarter after the break, canning nine field goals in the third period including 3-pointers by Sessa-Reeves and Francis. Warren tipped off an 8-3 scoring run to start the second half with a shot off the glass and senior Addison Howard (13 pts.) capped the spurt off with a layup he finished off a fast break.
Back to back buckets by Francis, who scored first on a one-handed putback jumper and then on a driving layup, put Pennsbury up 41-30 with three minutes to go in the third quarter. To their credit, the Knights responded with 10-4 scoring run that closed the gap to five points with 10 seconds to go in the period.
Seven of those points came off the hand of Udinski, who hit for a pair of field goals including a 3-pointer while Guiliani started the scoring run off with a trey of his own.
While Udinski added another 3-pointer to start the final frame, Howard hit a pair of driving layups and North Penn started to miss. With time winding down, the Knights were forced to foul and the Falcons made them pay, draining 9-of-13 shots from the foul line in the fourth quarter and 16-of-23 in the game.
In contrast, North Penn canned just four of 13 chances from the charity stripe.
NOTES: Senior Maurice Stukes, a 6-8, 365-pound offensive tackle for the Pennsbury football team, entered the battle in the closing seconds, recording a defensive rebound on the Falcons’ final possession.
Contact Steve Sherman at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter
Pennsbury 61, North Penn 46
(Dec. 13 at Pennsbury)
North Penn (2-1) 16 6 18 6 – 46
Pennsbury (2-0) 14 11 23 13 – 61
NORTH PENN — Reece Udinski 12, Ricky Johns 3, Paul Ford 3, Noah Kwortnik 6, David Guiliani 16, Chris Coleman 6; TOTALS — 19 4-13 46.
PENNSBURY — Joey Monaghan 4, Tyler Sessa-Reeves 9, Mark Flagg 10, Gary Francis 15, Addison Howard 13, Billy Warren 10; TOTALS — 20 16-23 61.
