Justin DiRoberto delivers in clutch again for CB East
BUCKINGHAM >> When Central Bucks East needs a clutch bucket, they know where to look.
Junior Robert DiRoberto hit some big shots to keep the Patriots perfect through their first seven games of the season. In the eighth against North Penn, he did it again.
DiRoberto hit a three-pointer and followed with another basket in the fourth quarter to extend a five-point lead to 10 and help the Patriots close out a 60-53 Suburban One League Colonial Division win over the Knights Thursday night at Central Bucks East High School.
“I don’t know what it is this year but I’ve just been able to step it up in the fourth quarter,” DiRoberto, who also hit key shots in the final moments against William Tennent and CB South, said. “I’ve been hitting clutch threes. I guess it’s just in my blood now.”
“I always know (DiRoberto is) going to make that shot,” East captain Joey Giordano said. “That’s pretty much everybody on the team. You look at the roster, everybody makes contributions and that’s the great thing about this team. That’s how we’re going to win.”
CB East (8-0, 5-0 SOL Colonial) led by as many as 15 points, 31-16, late in the first half. North Penn (4-2, 3-2 SOL Colonial) trimmed the margin to eight multiple times in the third quarter before making it a five-point game, 49-44, in the fourth.
DiRoberto extended the lead to eight with a three from the left wing and made it a personal 5-0 run to give the Patriots a comfortable 10-point advantage, 54-44.
“That’s what Justin’s been doing,” CB East coach Erik Henrysen said. “When games are on the line and things get tight, Justin seems to make plays and make big threes. Then he follows it up with a big rebound. Justin is comfortable in those moments. He’s somebody we’re leaning on.”
“We get it to five and they hit a big three,” North Penn coach John Conrad said. “It’s back to eight and we just never got over the hump. We worked hard to cut it to five and they stole the momentum back.”
East’s Jake Cummiskey added another three to make it an 8-0 run and 57-44 game with less than 90 seconds remaining on an eventual 60-53 Patriots victory.
Teddy McAllister and Norm Gee led North Penn’s comeback attempt. The two combined for five three-pointers in the second half. McAllister scored 11 of his game-high 19 points after intermission while Gee had seven of his nine.
“We had better offensive possessions,” Conrad said, comparing the Knights second-half push to the beginning of the game. “When we scored we were able to set up defensively and made it a little harder for them to score. Offensively, we hit a bad stretch that we never overcame there in the second quarter.”
East built its initial lead in the second quarter. After the teams were tied, 10-10, the Patriots rattled off a 21-6 run for a 31-16 lead right before the half. Giordano scored 10 of his team’s 16 points in the second quarter, including a sequence when he grabbed back-to-back offensive rebounds on the same possession before converting a layup himself.
“I’m not the most skilled player but I think I make up for that with effort,” Giordano, who scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds, said. “They were really focusing on Jake (Cummiskey in the second quarter). They were really spread out, really trying to not let him get the ball. I just took advantage of that, saw an open lane and went for it.”
“We just call that ‘Joey,'” Henrysen said. “Joey does a lot for us. His size doesn’t matter. He gets up for rebounds, he defends, he’s one of our captains, he’s a leader. We’re fortunate to have him.”
Cummiskey added 15 points for the Patriots. He scored seven in the first quarter to help his side to a 15-12 lead through eight minutes.
Central Bucks East 60, North Penn 53
North Penn 12 6 16 19 – 53
Central Bucks East 15 16 14 15 – 50
NP: Mario Sgro 3 0-1 6, Norm Gee 3 1-2 9, Teddy McAllister 7 1-2 19, Ryan Zeltt 1 0-0 2, Ryan Deininger 4 0-0 8, Luke Cody 0 0-0 0, Corey Meade 1 0-2 2, Robbie Sukaly 3 1-2 7. Total 22 3-9 53.
CBE: Joey Giordano 7 2-2 16, Jake Cummiskey 5 2-2 15, Dhruv Mukund 1 3-4 6, Tyler Dandrea 3 2-2 9, Kyle Berndt 1 0-0 2, Miles Demby 2 0-1 4, Justin DiRoberto 3 0-0 8, Nolan Jacob 0 0-0 0. Total 22 9-11 60.
3-point goals: NP: Teddy McAllister 4, Norm Gee 2. CBE: Jake Cummiskey 3, Dhruv Mukund, Justin DiRoberto 2, Tyler Dandrea.
