Cheltenham gets it done in the fourth, holds off Central Bucks East in SOL semifinals

CHELTENHAM >> Their legs may have been a bit tired but their heads and hearts didn’t fail them, as Cheltenham held off a determined Central Bucks East team Monday night to advance to the Suburban One League Tournament Final.

Playing their sixth game in eight days, the Panthers still had enough left to get it done in the fourth quarter, pulling away to a 62-54 victory over the Patriots at Cheltenham.

“We gotta keep going and keep preparing,” said Cheltenham’s Justin Savage, a force at both ends of the court Monday night. “The further you go, it’s gonna get tougher.”

The win advances the top-seeded Panthers to Tuesday night’s final against No. 2 Bensalem, back at Cheltenham at 7 p.m.

The Panthers, 16-0 in the SOL Freedom this year, raised their unbeaten record to 23-0.

“We’ve been playing off adrenaline and passion,” Panthers coach Patrick Fleury said of this busy stretch. “We always talk about commitment, sacrifice and dedication. They may be tired but I don’t think their minds are fatigued.”

Freshman Josiah Hutson scored a game-high 21 points for the Panthers, including seven in the decisive fourth quarter. Rasheem Deary had 16 points and Savage added 12.

Cheltenham turned the game around with its defense.

“We started getting stops on defense and got out on their shooters,” Savage said of the Pats, who had 11 threes in the contest. “(Brett Young) and (Liam Cummiskey) are really good shooters. They wanted to drive and kick, and once we stopped them from getting to the paint, we were fine.”

Savage’s steal and breakaway dunk brought the crowd back to its feet and tied the game at 46 apiece early in the fourth.

A free throw by Deary nudged the Panthers into the lead at 47-46, and then a steal by Nasir Edens ultimately led to a layup by Savage, increasing the advantage to 49-46.

The Pats (15-8, 11-5 SOL Colonial) drew even one more time, as a three by Ryan Lenahan deadlocked things at 49.

But Hutson answered at the other end with a three for the Panthers. Cheltenham got another stop and then patiently worked its offense, a layup by Savage extending the lead to 54-49 with two minutes to go.

“We were getting to the rim and getting layups,” Savage said.

Deary did just that, weaving his way through traffic to widen the gap to 56-49. After a three by Liam Cummiskey (14 points), Hutson drove for two, Savage secured another defensive board, and Hutson’s layup made it 60-52.

A pair of free throws by Savage helped lock it up.

“What a performance by all the guys, top to bottom,” Fleury said. “They came through and made sure no matter what happened and no matter what was thrown at them, they continued to fight. East is a playoff team and their coach has been doing it for a long time.

“As they made plays, we made plays, and I think the guys played for each other.”

Elias Walker had the first four points of the night, off a layup and a pair of free throws, to give the Panthers the early edge.

Deary calmly buried a pair of threes and the Panthers were in control.

A layin by Brandon Bush and a score in transition by Hutson helped produce a 16-9 lead after one for the Panthers.

But CB East hung in, on the strength of its three-point shooting.

The Patriots hit seven 3-pointers in the first half, including three by Brett Young and two each by Tyriq Toney-Bailey and Liam Cummiskey.

A bucket by Jacob Cummiskey gave the Patriots their first lead, 29-28, but Cheltenham finished the first half with a three by Hutson, as the Panthers took a 30-28 lead to the break.

Cheltenham was ahead 41-39 going into the fourth and made the key run it had to.

“We know how good they are and we felt we gave them everything they could handle, but in the end, they hit a big three in the corner that put them up three and as much as we battled, we just came up a little bit short,” Patriots coach Erik Henrysen said. “Credit to Cheltenham – they made the plays when they had to. We’re looking forward to Friday (and a game against Perk Valley in the District 1-6A First Round) and then hopefully we get a chance to come back here (for a second-round game).”

Cheltenham 62, Central Bucks East 54
Central Bucks East 9 19 11 15 – 54
Cheltenham 16 14 11 21 – 62
Central Bucks East: Jacob Cummiskey 3 2-4 8, Liam Cummiskey 5 0-0 14, Brett Young 3 1-2 10, Aidan Weaver 2 0-0 4, Tyriq Toney-Bailey 3 0-0 8, Ryan Lenahan 3 0-0 8, Joey Giordano 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 3-6 54.
Cheltenham: Rasheem Deary 6 1-2 16, Josiah Hutson 8 3-3 21, Elias Walker 1 4-4 6, Brandon Bush 2 0-0 4, Justin Savage 5 2-2 12, Kamani Healey 1 0-0 3. Totals 23 10-11 62.
3-pointers: CBE-L. Cummiskey 4, Young 3, Toney-Bailey 2, Lenahan 2; Ch-Deary 3, Hutson 2, Healey.