Pennridge rolls in opener, beats Truman

EAST ROCKHILL >> Trent Fisher knew he would be stepping into a bigger role this year for Pennridge, and he filled it in a hurry on Friday night.
The 6-foot-7 senior forward scored a game-high 29 points, leading the Rams to a 77-65 victory over Truman at the Pennridge Memorial Classic.
“Last year I was rebounding, playing defense, just helping the team all around,” Fisher said. “And this year, I have more of a scoring role, picking up everyone. I’m excited. We had been practicing for a while, had two scrimmages, and had been playing well. It was definitely good to get out here for the first night and get a big win.”
Fisher scored 17 points in the first half alone, powering the Rams to a 14-point lead at the break.
“(Twenty nine) points is the most I’ve ever scored in a game in my lifetime,” he said smiling. “Momentum shifted right away early and it was in our favor. They had a hard time coming back from that. We were exploiting the middle because they were leaving the middle wide open.”
Fisher and Christian Guldin got the Rams going early.
Four points by Fisher and five by Guldin, including a three, pushed Pennridge out to a 9-2 lead.
That was just the start.
Luke Yoder got going, and Fisher’s dunk extended the Ram burst to 19-2. Fisher had a game-high 11 points in the first quarter.
Truman opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run to cut into the Pennridge lead. Brayden Templeman, Michael Leonhauser, Robert Winton, Jordan Fant (23 points) and Ethan Flail all hit threes to bring the Tigers within 19-11.
But Pennridge settled things down, with Guldin and Fisher combining for 16 points in the quarter, and the Rams took a 38-24 lead into the break.
“(That big start) set the tone right away,” Rams coach Dean Behrens said. “Trent was a monster and I thought Guldin did a good job versus their pressure. And that’s a tough team to play.”
The Tigers hit a dozen threes in the non-conference contest, but the Rams maintained a double-digit lead throughout.
Guldin added 18 points for Pennridge, which takes on Boyertown (overtime winner over Central Bucks East) on Saturday.
“It was a great way to get the first win and get on the right track,” Fisher said.

Pennridge 77, Truman 65
Truman 5 19 18 23 – 65
Pennridge 19 19 18 21 – 77
Truman: Dakota Kitchens 2 0-0 5; Kashun Holden 0 1-2 1; Fernando Vargas 3 0-0 9; Evan Profy 1 0-1 2; Antonia Carr 0 2-2 2; Brayden Templeman 2 0-0 5; Michael Leonhauser 1 0-0 3; Robert Winton 4 0-0 9; Jordan Fant 6 7-8 23; Ethan Flail 2 1-1 6. Totals 21 11-14 65.
Pennridge: Paul Croyle 3 1-1 8; Christian Guldin 5 7-9 18; Luke Yoder 1 1-2 3; Trent Fisher 12 5-6 29; Anthony Phillips 1 2-2 5; Ryan Benscoter 4 1-3 9; Colin Post 0 2-3 2; Colin Monahan 1 1-2 3; Justin Nichols 0 0-2 0. Totals 27 20-30 77.
3-pointers: T-Kitchens, Vargas 3, Templeman, Leonhauser, Winton, Fant 4, Flail; P-Croyle, Guldin, Phillips.