Buzzer-beater won’t fall; West Chester East ousted by Abington
WEST GOSHEN >> All things considered, it was kind of miraculous that West Chester East even had a chance to pull out Thursday’s District 1 6A boys’ basketball quarterfinal clash against visiting Abington.
Not with the terrible start. Not with some shaky shooting at the free throw line. And certainly not after falling behind by eight midway through the final period. But somehow, someway, the gritty Vikings managed to pull to within a point in the final seconds.
And then East executed a picture perfect length of the court pass that found its way to Kieran Hefferan, and the senior guard got off a potential game-winning shot from near the free throw line at the buzzer … but it glanced off the rim.
That’s how the 2021 season ended for the sixth-seeded Vikings, on the short end of a 50-49 heartbreaker. East lost a bunch from last season’s district championship squad, but still went out and shocked everyone by going 13-4 overall and winning the unofficial Ches-Mont crown.
“This sport will reward you for the time and effort you put in,” said senior forward Jackson Kulp. “We did more things together as a team than anybody else in the offseason.
“People say that we play so well as a team and that’s because of how badly we wanted it.”
The 14th seed and coming off an upset over No. 3 Plymouth-Whitemarsh, Abington (12-5) advances to the district semis.
“I just kept telling our guys to keep believing,” said Galloping Ghosts’ head coach Charles Grasty. “I knew we had the talent and the heart. Right around the end of the regular season I could see the fire coming back. We started playing more as a team and we are gelling at the right time.”
Things looked pretty bleak with just over a minute on the clock and the Vikings down 47-41. But Kulp knocked down one of his three 3-pointers, and then came back with a leaner off the glass to make it 48-46 with 37.4 to go.
“We knew we weren’t out of it because we have a team of fighters,” said East head coach Tom Durant.
A pair of free throws by senior point guard Mike Dedda with 9.3 seconds sliced it further, 50-49. But East needed some divine intervention and got it when Abington’s Robert Bell missed three straight from the line.
The Vikings called a timeout with 3.4 remaining. Freshman guard Ryan Price then hurled the ball the length of the court and it somehow found its way into Hefferan’s hands. But the remarkable comeback wasn’t to be.
“It was a great pass and (East) got a great look, and fortunately for us it didn’t go in,” Grasty said.
“(Price) is a baseball player so we knew he could get it where we wanted it to be,” Durant added. “And if he overthrows it, there is still a release, and in this case it was Kieran. It actually worked, and Kieran got a nice look – which is what you want, a game-winning look. We couldn’t ask for more than that.”
A junior varsity player a year ago, Kulp scored 14 of his game-high 17 in the second half. Hefferan added 10 points and Dedda eight in their final high school appearance. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the district field was trimmed to just 20 teams and playbacks were eliminated.
“I think Jackson should be the MVP of the league,” Durrant said. “He is smooth and is a danger outside and inside. He just blossomed this season.”
It was a struggle right from the start for Vikings, who missed their first six shots and turned it over four times before falling behind 11-3 through one quarter. But then East forced eight turnovers, scored 12 in a row and actually led 15-13 at the half.
“Abington did a great job of targeting our weaknesses,” Kulp said. “We tried a lot of different things in the first half and really tried to go with that in the second half.”
Abington scored nine of the first 11 points in the second half, however, and the Vikings were in catch-up mode the rest of the way.
“We had to really work hard to score. It was tough to get good looks,” Durant pointed out.
“And we had to play some very good defense to get back into it in the first half and then to catch up at the end.”
Both teams connected on 18 buckets from the floor. But East was just 7-of-12 from the line. And even though the Ghosts made only 5-10 free throw in the fourth, they were 9-14 for the game.
Despite the agonizing finish, Durant has absolutely no regrets for a 2021 season in which his team was expected to take a step back, but instead stepped up.
“We are undersized, especially against 6A schools, but our kids played over their heads,” he said. “This was a fun group.”
Abington 50, West Chester East 49
Abington 11 2 21 16 — 50
W.C. East 3 12 14 19 — 49
ABINGTON – Ellis 4 0-0 11; Frazier 3 0-1 7; Bell 5 4-7 14; Fields 5 2-2 13; Baker 1 3-4 5. Totals 18 9-14 50.
W.C. EAST – Dedda 3 2-2 8; Kushner 1 2-4 5; Ramos 1 0-0 3; Dutton 1 0-0 2; Hefferan 4 1-1 10; Kulp 7 0-0 17; Price 1 2-5 5. Totals 18 7-12 49.
3-pointers: Ellis 3, Frazier, Fields, Ramos, Hefferan, Kulp 3, Price.
