Yoder scores 32, Pennridge uses big 3rd quarter to cruise past William Tennent

WARMINSTER >> William Tennent responded to every Pennridge run in the first half Friday night.

The visiting Rams, however, made sure that quickly changed in the third quarter.

Pennridge put the hammer down early in the second half, erupting for a 20-2 run out of the break and outscoring the Panthers 28-5 in the third – turning a 35-35 contest at halftime into a rout as the Rams earned a 79-53 victory in the the Suburban One League non-conference boys basketball matchup.

“I think defensively we really stepped it up,” Pennridge senior guard Sean Yoder said. “I know we struggled in the first half defensively. We adjusted that at halftime, we really came out with some energy, with a spark and that’s what we needed to do. Got some stops, I think we went on a — I don’t how much — but we went on a nice run, just kind of spark everything.”

Yoder finished with a career-high 32 points, 20 coming in the first half before the Navy commit added another 10 in the decisive third as the Rams improved to 4-0.

“We’re moving the ball and it’s fun when we moving the ball,” Yoder said. “I don’t care about my stats, I don’t care about that. I care about winning, that’s the bottom line. And getting my teammates involved and elevating their games.”

After the Rams scored the first five points of the second half, Josiah Johnson’s basket off a drive made it 40-37. But Pennridge proceeded to score the next 15 – the last five from Yoder for a 55-37 advantage.

“We kind of told them it was going to come down to defense. And it really did because they only scored five points in the third quarter,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “We did a better job at containing the ball, we rebounded more consistently. Obviously, our percentage of shooting that third quarter was unbelievable. And Sean – Sean was Sean tonight.”

A 3-pointer by Ryan Savage had Tennent (1-3) within 15 but that was the closest the Panther could get – Pennridge posted the third’s final eight points — a dunk by Jon Post followed by a Pat Gillespie basket for a 63-40 lead entering the fourth. The Rams stretched the margin to as large as 29 in the final quarter.

“They turned it up in the third quarter,” William Tennent coach Robert Mulville said. “I mean, we were able to answer both runs they had in the first half, but in the third quarter, we didn’t have an answer for them at that one.”

Post finished with 11 points — eight in the third quarter — while Gillespie came off the bench and chipped in another 11 points for the Rams, who host two-time defending District 1-6A champ Abington 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

“The first three games were too easy,” Behrens said. “I wanted to see how our guys play when they’re behind and also being tied at half, a little adversity.”

David West’s 13 points paced the Panthers (1-3), who erased an early 13-point deficit with a 19-2 run then used a 9-2 burst late in the first half — West’s buzzer beater on a drive down the lane pulling Tennent level at 35.

“We did some pretty good things at spurts but we got to be able to put it all together for four quarters,” Mulville said.

Derrik Cosenza scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half for Tennent, which tries to end a two-game skid when it faces Wissahickon 4 p.m. Saturday at Plymouth Whitemarsh.

Pennridge looked poised put Tennent away early, jumping out to an 18-5 lead in the first quarter after a Nick Dunn 3-pointer. But West scored the quarter’s final five points to make it 18-10 and Tennent kept the momentum going in the second.

After a Yoder basket made it 20-13, Cosenza collected six straight points — his two free throws at 5:20 pulling the Panthers within 20-19. Johnson gave Tennent its first lead 21-20 at 5:00 as he scored and drew a foul. Johnson didn’t complete the and-one but ended up connected on a three, extended the home side’s lead to 24-20.

“We got out of the man (defense) because they were slicing through that pretty good,” Mulville said. “And then we zoned up a little bit on them. I think that gave them a little bit of trouble but we were making pretty good decisions in that first half and getting good shots. And that was allowing them to get on the break. Like I said, that third quarter, that’s when they got on the break.”

Pennridge answered with an 11-0 run, the last eight from Yoder. The senior put the Rams back up 26-24 with a three, converted a three-point play off his steal at 3:26 then added two more to make it 31-24.

“Sometimes as a senior, as a leader on this team, I need to lead by example and maybe going to get my own bucket here and there when we need it,” Yoder said. Maybe that’s leading by example, so I need to go out there and do that and I think I did an all right job tonight.

A John Dominic basket had Pennridge up seven again at 33-26 before Savage’s three and two Jay Stanfield free throws made it 33-31 with 1:14 left in the half. Dunn found Gillespie inside to push the lead back up to four but Tennent scored the next four – West’s lay in dropping as the buzzer sounded to make it 35-all at the half.

Luke Yoder opened the third with a 3-pointer followed by two from Post for a 40-35 Pennridge lead. After Johnson made it 40-37, a Gillespie bucket then back-to-back treys from Sean Yoder and Gillespie had the Rams up 48-37. Post knocked down a jumper while Sean Yoder scored the next five for an 18-point lead.