Hemsing, Blair shoot Souderton past CB South
FRANCONIA >> Souderton scored 10 straight points to break a 15-all tie in the second quarter and never looked back, winning its Suburban One League Colonial Conference opener, 52-42, over Central Bucks South at Souderton Area High School Friday night.
Souderton senior James Blair scored five straight points to give the Indians (1-2, 1-0 SOL Colonial) a 20-15 lead. Senior Nathan Hemsing followed with a three and senior Jared Zimmerman got fouled shooting from the outside. Zimmerman went 2-for-3 from the line, capping off a 10-0 run and giving Big Red a 25-15 lead two minutes before halftime.
The Titans (0-3, 0-1 SOL Colonial) responded with a 5-0 run, but the five-point deficit, 25-20, was as close as they’d get the rest of the way. Hemsing hit another three to get the lead back to eight and the Indians went to the locker room ahead by seven, 28-21.
Hemsing hit three three-pointers in the second quarter while Blair hit two. The two combined for 17 of Souderton’s 19 points in the frame that saw the hosts turn a 10-9 deficit into a 28-21 lead.
“It’s huge having two senior leaders like them,” Souderton coach Okoteh Sackitey said. “They put in work and they’ve put it in for years. I’m just really proud of the guys. Their hard work is paying off. They stayed persistent. They didn’t hang their heads after two losses to start. We just prepared, put one foot in front of the other. They’re super-talented and I’m very fortunate to have senior leaders and senior talented players like that.”
“Our shooting is what we do,” Hemsing, who also hit a three-pointer in the first quarter, said. “That’s what’s going to win us games. Our shooting, our defense. James is a great player. I really appreciate everything he does for us.
“Every shot I take I feel like it’s going in. I feel like I have to have that mindset.”
“I think we’re losing track a little, I think we’re a little late on our closeouts and getting buried on some screens and not reading it the way we practice it,” CB South coach Louie Ditri said. “They shot the ball well, that’s part of it too, but I think moreso not getting out on the shooters for us.”
While Souderton’s offense was knocking down shots, the defense was forcing turnovers. Zimmerman led an aggressive defensive effort that forced 20 turnovers and held CB South to 42 points.
“(Zimmerman) brings a lot to us,” Sackitey said. “He gives us a spark. He turns them over and we score off of that. Jared Zimmerman’s defense creates offense for us. He’s a dog. He’s going to be pressuring the ball all night, making it hard on whoever is playing against us and he’s been doing a great job with that.”
“(Zimmerman is) in all the passing lanes,” Hemsing said. “He’s annoying. No one wants to play against Jared.”
“They had some nice pressure on us,” Ditri said, “but we also made some uncharacteristically bad passes. They had good defense, but turnovers hurt us and some shooting hurt us as well. With the turnovers – less possessions – and I think that factored in as well.”
Souderton’s lead grew to 14, 42-28, early in the fourth quarter. South’s Tyler Meinel scored six of his team-high 15 points and grabbed seven of his game-high 17 rebounds in the fourth, but the Titans could only trim their deficit nine, 49-40. The Indians weren’t great from the free-throw line in the final eight minutes, shooting just 4-for-10, but played keepaway and maintained long-enough possessions to close out the win.
“We stayed poised,” Sackitey said. “We were aware of the time and score. We made strong passes. We made strong jump-stops and took care of the basketball. It shows maturity being able to close out a game like that.”
Hemsing led Souderton with 18 points while Blair added 14 and Zimmerman eight.
After Meinel’s 15 points, Dylan Valentine chipped in seven for South and Dalton VanZanten six.
“New coaching staff, new system,” Ditri said of his message to the team. “It’s going to take some time to get used to. We were hoping to be a little further along than we are right now, but just hang in there. There’s plenty of basketball left. Just keep working and the shots will fall our way, things will start dropping our way.”
Souderton 52, Central Bucks South 42
Central Bucks South 10 11 7 14 — 42
Souderton 9 19 12 12 — 52
Central Bucks South: Flynn Carroll 0 0-0 0, Chris Granito 2 0-2 4, Kyle Klein 0 0-0 0, Tyler Meinel 6 3-3 15, Sean Rieber 2 0-0 5, Dalton VanZanten 3 0-1 6, Owen Wheeler 0 2-4 2, JD Kollock 1 0-0 3, Dylan Valentine 3 1-3 7, Daniel McCusker 0 0-0 0. Total 17 6-13 42.
Souderton: Nathan Hemsing 6 2-4 18, Jared Zimmerman 3 2-3 8, Clinton Kikonjo 0 0-0 0, James Blair 4 4-6 14, Chanse Salone 1 0-1 2, Aiden Maue 2 0-1 5, Levi John 2 1-2 5. Total 18 9-17 52.
3-point goals: CBS: JD Kollock, Sean Reiber. S: Nathan Hemsing 4, James Blair 2, Aiden Maue.
