Kulbickas’ 3-point shooting steals show as Church Farm rolls over Valley Forge Military
WEST WHITELAND >> What was billed as a confrontation between two of the best big men in Pennsylvania turned out to be a show for a very sharp shooter from Church Farm.
The story before the game was the battle between the Griffins’ Jon Bol Ajak, the 6-foot-9 sophomore, and Valley Forge Military Academy’s 6-10 junior Abraham Deng. But it was the coming-out party for Church Farm senior Faustas Kulbickas that stole the show to lead the Griffins to the convincing victory.
Kulbickas drained six 3-pointers for a game high 18 points and the Griffins sprinted away from the Trojans, 56-34. The win puts Church Farm a half game ahead of the Trojans in the Bicentennial League race with a 7-1 league mark. Church Farm (10-2 overall) sprinted out to a 13-1 lead after just one quarter and was never threatened by the Trojans or Deng, who fouled out in the fourth period with just five points. Ajak totaled 12 points, nine rebounds and six blocks for Church Farm, but it was the Griffins’ long range shooting that turned the tide.
“It was a big game for Valley Forge and I hit my first couple of shots and that got my confidence up,” Kulbickas said. “We wanted to show them Church Farm basketball and we did that by playing good defense. Getting out early really helped us settle down. We talked about this game before and we knew it was a big game for Valley Forge because we are used to being top of the league.”
Kulbickas had four 3-pointers in the first half, a half where the Trojans shot just four for 24 from the field, including missing their first 14 shots of the game. Valley Forge (7-2, 11-4) also turned the ball over 10 times in the first half and never really seemed comfortable on the offensive end.
With the Griffins holding a 27-13 lead at halftime, Church Farm put the pedal to the medal in the third quarter. Gus Veniukevicius, who had 16 points for the Griffins, hit a 3-pointer right at the start of the the period. Kulbickas followed that with another long corner three-ball and the Griffins were up 33-13 early in the third. With Deng saddled with foul trouble, the Trojans had no other answer offensively except for point guard Myles Bunyon, who led Valley Forge with 14 points. But 10 of Bunyon’s points came in the second half, long after the game was decided.
But, then Ajak turned up the defensive pressure as he blocked two straight Trojan tries and Kulbickas hit another 3-pointer to make it a 40-23 lead at the end of three quarters. Church Farm shot 16 for 33 from the field on the night, and with Deng in foul trouble and off his game, it was no contest at all for the Griffins. Church Farm seemed a step faster for every loose ball and rebound the entire night.
“Me and Abraham are like brothers so I was keyed up to play tonight,” Ajak said. “And Faustas got us out to that big lead and it allowed us to just run our stuff and settle down. This was a big game for them and we came through and showed them Church Farm basketball.”
Things never got better for the Trojans as Valley Forge shot just three for 14 in the final period and never got closer than 16 points. Church Farm withstood the Trojans’ pressure defense in the second half and the Griffins basically did anything they wanted on the floor the entire 32 minutes.
“I thought our guys played really well tonight,” Church Farm coach Marc Turner said. “We knew this was a very big game for them and we know who we are and we played very well. No doubt, getting out to that big lead helped us settle down and Faustus can really shoot the basketball. We are still short handed a little due to injury, but I thought our performance tonight was very good and being back in first place is where we are used to being.”
Note >> St. Joseph’s University coach Phil Martelli was in attendance. St. Joe’s has already offered both Ajak and Deng.
Church Farm 56, Valley Forge 34
VALLEY FORGE: Deng 2 1-1 5, Hill 1 0-0 3, Bunyon 4 4-4 14, Lewis 2 1-2 6, Colleran 2 0-0 4, Ahronson 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 6-8 34.
CHURCH FARM: Kulbickas 6 0-0 18, Veniukevicius 6 3-4 16, Larue 0 2-4 2, Ajak 3 6-612, Lawton 0 5-6 5, Bryant 1 0-0 3. Totals 16 16-20-56.
Valley Forge 1 12 10 11 – 34
Church Farm 13 14 13 16 – 56
3-point goals; Kulbickas 6, Veniukevicius 1, Bryant, Bunyon 2, Lewis, Hill
