Bonnet’s last-second 3 lifts Souderton over Central Bucks South

FRANCONIA >> Shaun Purvy got the ball to Jay Bonnet in the right corner and the Souderton boys basketball senior let it fly.

“In the moment – I mean, I’m in the corner. I felt like I was behind the backboard,” Bonnet said. “I just shot it and I was like ‘All right.’ My mind kind of went blank in the moment and it went in.”

Bonnet’s 3-pointer found the bottom of the net, breaking a 57-57 tie in the final seconds of a tight SOL Colonial Division contest with Central Bucks South and lifting the Indians past the Titans 60-57 for their third straight victory Monday night.

“I trust him, he trusts me and he passed it to me,” said Bonnet of Purvy’s assist on the game-winning trey. “I think he made a great pass, it was only like a three-foot pass but he just shuffled it to me and I was pretty wide open – he contested it but it was just we just all trust each other and he just made a great pass.”

Bonnet finished with five 3-pointers and scored 16 of his game-high 19 points after halftime as Souderton (12-5, 7-5) snapped the division-leading Titans’ four-game win streak. The Indians and North Penn – which topped Central Bucks West Monday – are a game back of South (11-6, 8-4) in the Colonial standings while Central Bucks East sits at 6-5.

“We’ve been there before many times this season so these guys do a great job staying poised,” Souderton coach Okoteh Sackitey said. “And that was the message – simple as that.”

Bonnet put the Indians up 57-55 on a three off a Chris Towsen assist but the Titans pulled even when Tyler Meinel found Michael Farley inside for a reverse layup with 1:03 remaining.

Souderton held the ball until late in regulation’s final minute. As Purvy dribbled to the wing, his defender got tangled up in a screen and went to the floor. Purvy’s jump-stop drew another defender, providing just enough of an opening for a pass to Bonnet, who connected on the contested three for a 50-47 lead.

“With about eight seconds left we were looking to attack, Shaun Purvy did a good job attacking, jump-stopping and kicking it out,” Sackitey said. “Jay Bonnet is a great player and made a huge shot. We’re lucky to have him on the team.”

Central Bucks South had one last chance with 3.6 seconds remaining and Meinel got a long 3-pointer off before the buzzer but the effort was off target.

“It was back-and-forth all game,” Bonnet said. “We just compete with that team and we compete with every team but that’s one, they’re good and they can play.”

Aleks Smith scored eight of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Indians while Purvy and Paul Vince finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Meinel paced the Titans with 14 points. Chris Granito added 12 points while Farley posted all 10 of his points after halftime.

Both teams are on the road for SOL Colonial games 7 p.m. Tuesday. Souderton, ranked ninth in the District 1-6A, is at CB East while CB South, ranked 10^th, visits CB West.

“We’re excited for playoffs and getting our rank better but we’re focused on every game,” Bonnet said. “Whether we’re versing the worst team in the district or the best, we’re taking every game (as) seriously as possible.”

The largest lead for either side in Monday’s second half was four. The final quarter began tied at 43 before Vince scored inside off a Towsen inbounds pass with two Smith free throws putting Souderton up 47-43.

But South proceeded to go on an 8-0 run – a Bryan Delara basket followed by four straight points from the foul line made it 49-47 Titans at 4:28. Meinel drove down the lane for two more for a 51-47 South lead.

A Farley free throw had the Titans leading 52-49 with 2:58 left but Smith collected back-to-back buckets to give Big Red a 53-52 edge. Smith picked up his fifth foul with 1:47 left and Farley hit two at the line, giving South its last lead at 55-54.

Bonnet, however, knocked down the first of two clutch shots, taking a pass from Towsen and draining a triple from the right win for a 57-55 Souderton advantage.

“I was actually supposed to come off the top and get a handoff and I read it, that I kind of flared off of the screen,” Bonnet said. “So I kind of popped out and I was open and I made the right read on the screen. It was a great pass by Chris, he actually got it through like four or five people so it was a good pass and it was a good play.”

Farley’s reverse layup off a Meinel pass knotted things but Bonnet’s fourth three of the half gave Souderton the win.

“I trust myself, my teammates trust me and they always make the right plays,” Bonnet said. “We play so well together, it’s kind of like in those moments I can trust them, they can trust me and I’ll take the shot, I trust my teammates to take the shot and it’s just great.”

The Titans jumped out to an 11-2 lead after consecutive 3-pointers from Joseph Rooney before Souderton cut the margin to 15-11 at the end of the first quarter after a Purvy trey.

A Granito triple had South up 18-11 before the Indians went on a 9-0 run to grab their first lead at 20-18 on a Bonnet 3-pointer.

“We’ve been in that position before but we work extremely hard so we know what we’re capable of,” Sackitey said. “So weren’t fazed by the slow start.”

A Meinel jumper and Gregory three had the Titans back ahead 23-20 and the visitors kept the lead the rest of the half – a Smith basket pulling Souderton to within 27-26 at the break.

Bonnet opened the third with a trey to put the Indians up 29-27 and went on to score 10 points in the quarter. 

A Sean Rieber basket gave South a 39-35 lead but Souderton collected the next six – five by Bonnet – to hold a 41-39 advantage.

After a Meinel jumper tied things at 41, Smith scored inside to Souderton up two but Farley’s basket sent the game to the fourth even at 43. 

Souderton 60, Central Bucks South 57
Central Bucks South 15 12 16 14 – 57
Souderton 11 15 17 17 – 60
Central Bucks South: Tyler Meinel 7 0-0 14; Chris Granito 4 3-3 12; Michael Farley 2 6-8 10; Joseph Rooney 3 0-0 9; Sean Rieber 2 0-0 4; Bryan Delara 1 1-2 3; Jay Macalindong 0 3-4 3; Jesse Rotunno 1 0-0 2; Totals 20 13-17 57.
Souderton: Jay Bonnet 6 2-2 19; Aleks Smith 5 6-9 16; Shaun Purvy 4 2-6 11; Paul Vince 4 0-0 10; Chris Towsen 1 1-2 4; Totals 20 11-19 60.
3-pointers: CBS-Rooney 3, Granito; S-Bonnet 5, Vince 2, Purvy, Towsen.