Wissahickon’s defense leads the way against Upper Dublin

UPPER DUBLIN >> Wissahickon played lights-out defense in the first half against Upper Dublin Thursday night.

The Trojans blocked three shots, forced eight turnovers and, most importantly, limited the Cardinals to 10 total points in the first 16 minutes of play.

Wissahickon held a double-digit lead for most of the second half and made plays down the stretch to hold off their rivals for a 47-34 Suburban One League Liberty Division win at Upper Dublin High School.

The defensive strategy for the Trojans (9-5, 5-3 SOL Liberty) was to limit Upper Dublin’s DJ Cerisier, Colin O’Sullivan and Seaton Kukla. The three combined for 17 points.

“Our guys have constantly said they like to hang their hat on their defense,” Wiss coach Kyle Wilson said. “Any gym you go into, the rims might look a little different, where you’re standing, the atmosphere – defense should never change. Our guys knew (Upper Dublin) got us last year twice. They knew they’re standing above us in the rankings … They locked in with what we’ve worked on, made sure they knew where their two scorers were and our guys just battled.”

“Defense is our strongest asset,” Wiss senior Morgan Wilson added. “When we get down and all five of us get together and play hard defense, we come together and it’s awesome. We wanted to come out and limit Cerisier and O’Sullivan as best as we can and their big man (Kukla) because if those three get hot it could get dark for us. We kept it together and made sure to keep those three out of the game as best as possible.”

The two teams took the floor for the fourth game of a quadruple-header. After boys and girls basketball junior varsity games and the girls varsity game, Wissahickon and Upper Dublin stepped into an electric environment with two packed student sections.

“It was awesome,” Morgan Wilson said. “All the fans – this is the environment I live for. It was awesome. It’s crazy. I love it. (We) 100% (fed off it). We heard their fans chirping us to begin with, we just stuck in there like we want it. We brought it on. Everyone was feeding off the energy. I loved it.”

Wissahickon’s Josh Twersky got the scoring started with the first two baskets of the game. The Trojans opened with a 6-0 run over the first three minutes before the Cardinals responded with their own 6-0 run.

From the six-all tie late in the first quarter, Wissahickon took control with a 17-4 run through halftime and the early part of the third quarter. The Trojans won the second quarter, 8-4, and Dom Vacchiano scored the first five points of the third to give the visitors a commanding 23-10 lead.

Colin O’Sullivan and Ryan Mulroy each hit three-pointers for Upper Dublin (10-4, 7-2 SOL Liberty) in the third and the Cardinals trimmed their deficit to nine, 30-21, with eight minutes to go.

Mulroy hit another three on the first possession of the fourth quarter to make it 30-24, but Wissahickon’s Earl Stout immediately answered with a three of his own.

After the team’s went back-and-forth with trips to the free throw line, O’Sullivan hit a three-pointer to get Upper Dublin within eight, 36-28, with 4:30 remaining.

Wissahickon again had the answer. Morgan Wilson scored through contact, fired up the Trojans student section and hit the free throw to make it 39-28. The advantage never dropped below double digits for the final 4:19.

“I just saw Dom (Vacchiano) coming down the side,” Wilson said. “I knew I was open so I just flashed my hands and made sure I finished high. Thankfully I made it and was able to knock down the free throw.”

Wilson went 5-for-5 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter while the Trojans as a team went 9-for-11. Vacchiano also hit a three in the final minutes to put the game away.

“That’s definitely a strength for us,” Wilson said. “We were able to knock down clutch free throws right in the heat of the moment. I think we did a great job.”

Vacchiano scored a game-high 12 points for Wissahickon. Stout added 11 points, Twersky 10 and Wilson eight. Twersky also had seven rebounds and five blocks.

O’Sullivan led Upper Dublin with eight points and Cerisier and Mulroy each added six.

Wissahickon 47, Upper Dublin 34

Wissahickon 10 8 12 17 – 47

Upper Dubin 6 4 11 13 – 34

W: Lassiter 0 0-0 0, Twersky 4 2-2 10, Williams 1 1-2 4, Wilson 1 6-9 8, Dias 1 0-0 2, Vacchiano 5 0-0 12, Stout 2 5-6 11. Total 14 14-19 47.

UD: Cerisier 3 0-0 6, Lee 0 0-0 0, Kohlbrenner 0 1-3 1, M Pensabene 0 0-0 0, O’Sullivan 3 0-0 8, Mulroy 2 0-0 6, G Pensabene 3 0-0 6, Johnson 1 2-3 4, Kukla 1 1-2 3. Total 13 4-8 34.

3-point goals: W: Williams, Vacchiano 2, Stout 2. UD: O’Sullivan 2, Mulroy 2.