Udinski, Johns join starting lineup, lead North Penn past CB West

DOYLESTOWN >> During the fall, Reece Udinski and Ricky Johns were a winning combination for North Penn.

Their first start together of the basketball season showed signs that could be the same case this winter. The two seniors, feeling more up to game speed following a short break after football, joined the Knights starting lineup Friday night at Central Bucks West.

Udinski was big in the first half, Johns a force in the second as each scored 15 points in North Penn’s 48-35 victory over the cold-shooting Bucks.

“Our coaches saw they were playing in a kind of zone, so we just wanted to throw it in the middle,” Udinski said. “That’s what Ricky did best. We were able to drive and give him shots in the middle and he was able to finish.”

CB West is in the midst of replacing its entire starting lineup from last year, with senior Jake Reichwein the only guy with significant varsity experience in Friday’s starting five. Reichwein led his team with 10 points, as did Colin MacAdams, but the Bucks just could not buy anything from the outside or really even in close.

At least early on, neither could North Penn. The game’s first hoop, a score by Reichwein, didn’t come until there was 4:32 left in the first quarter and the Knights needed another minute before their first score on a bucket by David Giuliani.

The Bucks got the kind of shots they wanted and just didn’t hit them. What they weren’t able to do was win the other areas that teams need to do when they’re not shooting well.

“We had a lot of nice open looks in the first quarter and if we knock them down, we’re front-running and in great position,” West coach Adam Sherman said. “When we’re not making shots we have to find other ways to win and I don’t think we did a good job of capitalizing on those other ways, we didn’t make enough hustle plays, we didn’t offensive rebound enough, we have to find a way to do those things.”

North Penn’s bouncy, long-limbed lineup created a bunch of second chances, whether it was an offensive board or two, sometimes three volleyball tip-in tries after a miss. North Penn’s bench was a good source of that energy, whether it was from Lance Ford, Derek Heiserman or anyone else who checked in.

BOYS BASKETBALL: Lance Ford drives and scores Q4 at CB West pic.twitter.com/UPno8ExTc0

— Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3) December 17, 2016

The Knights are getting close to being full strength with Udinski and Johns in the fold, but guard AJ Mitchell wasn’t available Friday due to an illness. In his stead, Ford took over as the second point guard and really helped open things up in the second half.

“He handled it great for us, he hasn’t played that role for us but we saw in the first half he could handle it,” Knights coach John Conrad said. “He can do so many things; he’s very versatile and very unselfish.”

Udinski had nine points at the half as the Knights built up a 20-12 lead. CB West scored just four points in the second quarter, a mix of poor shooting and aggressive defending by North Penn. With so many guys capable of getting from point A to point B in a second and a stack of long arms to get in passing lanes, North Penn played several defenses.

At times, the Knights went into a full-court man pressure and others dropped into a scrambling matchup zone, knowing the Bucks were going to swing the ball around looking for a 3-point shot.

“They’re definitely the most athletic team in the league and probably the longest,” Sherman said. “We have to do a better job of taking advantage of opportunities that are presented to us.”

“That’s our advantage on a team that wants to shoot the ball,” Johns said. “We had to close out well and from that we were able to get the job done. The defense we were in helped a lot, we stayed up top and were able to break up some of their passes. Closing out the shooters was our main job as was not letting the ball drive to the lane.”

The 6-foot-4 Johns was quiet in the first half with just two points but was the North Penn catalyst in the second half, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor before he fouled out with about 2:30 left in the game. He also pulled down nine rebounds.

He scored the first seven third quarter points for North Penn, including a three-point play. Johns’ easy bucket off an inbound pass with 2:36, followed by a pretty drive and finish by Ford with 2:42 left put North Penn up 44-26.

“Ricky Johns, Lance Ford and Reece, their length really helped us,” Conrad said. “They got some deflections and we were able to get out and run in transition. Defensively we did a nice job and that carried over to the offensive end.”

Conrad said it’s nice having the football guys back in the mix and as a unit, he likes the depth, versatility and competitiveness in his roster. The lineup has been in flux through four games, but the Knights are close and have good chemistry, so welcoming Johns and Udinski back was easy.

Considering neither guy had done any basketball work until the last week, it was a pretty good showing.

“I think if Coach (Dick) Beck found out we were trying to play some basketball he probably would have killed us,” Udinski said in a firmly joking manner. “We probably had half a week of practice for this game. I don’t know how we do it, I guess because it’s just fun for us.”

“We just like the game,” Johns added. “We feel it’s on us to be here and contribute to our team.”

North Penn 48, Central Bucks West 35
North Penn 7 13 11 17 – 48
Central Bucks West 8 4 13 10 – 35
North Penn (48): Reece Udinski 3 8-8 15, Ricky Johns 7 1-1 15, Lance Ford 4 0-1 8, Noah Kwortnik 0 3-4 3, Chris Coleman 1 1-2 3, David Giuliani 1 0-2 2, Derek Heiserman 0 2-2 2. Nonscoring: Nate O’Donnell, Michael Ward. Totals: 16 15-20 48
CB West (35): Jake Reichwein 5 0-0 10, Colin MacAdams 2 6-8 10, Shane McCusker 2 0-1 5, Liam Cooney 1 2-2 4, Jack Mulhearn 1 0-0 3, Jack Traina 1 0-2 2. Nonscoring: Matt Cooper, August Meyer, Jack Neri. Totals: 12 9-15 35
3-pointers: NP – Udinski, CBW – McCusker, Mulhearn