Cramer clutch late in OT as Pennridge edges Council Rock North

EAST ROCKHILL >> Winning plays late in a basketball game can be determined by skill or scheme. And sometimes, as was the case from Tommy Cramer and the Pennridge boys team Friday night, it simply comes down to desire.

With the Rams and visiting Council Rock North tied in the final moments of overtime, a jumper by Pennridge’s Xavier Peters rimmed out with Cramer and North’s Adam Mahtat both vying for the rebound. Their efforts knocked the ball off the backboard but on his second try, Cramer grabbed it and as he attempted a shot was fouled with just 3.8 seconds remaining.

“It’s just who wants it more,” Cramer said. “I was obviously the small kid. I’m used to being that, I’m a 6-4 center, 6-3 center, I’m always playing kids that are 6-6, 6-7, I’m used to being a little undersized but sometimes usually just who wants it more.”

Cramer drained both free throws and a deflection by Peters helped thwart the Indians’ last chance as Pennridge held on to edge CR North 43-41 to earn its second straight overtime victory.

“I was on the bench fourth quarter, I got foul trouble early in the game and was telling (assistant) coach (John) Altmire I knew I had a rebound in me,” Cramer said.

Peters finished with 11 points to pace the Rams (9-5, 5-4 SOL Colonial), who have won six of their last seven. Cramer, Ryan Hass and Gannon Perlini all scored eight points.

“Since the (Central Bucks) West game we’ve only lost one so the kids are bought in, we’re practicing well and playing hard and playing well,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “They’re great teammates, they’re easy to coach, they respond and they can handle some criticism, they’re not above that so it’s just been a fun group to coach JV and varsity.”

Mahtat led CR North (7-7, 4-5 SOL Patriot) with 11 points while Cole McCarthy added 10 points as the Indians dropped their fourth straight.

The SOL crossover matchup was tight throughout, the teams ending the first half even at 24. The largest lead for either side after the break was three – Caden Fisher putting Pennridge up 39-36 with 1:21 left in the fourth on his steal and fast break layup.

Council Rock North missed a tying three but the Indians regained possession on Micah Oxley’s steal after a Tyler Rodowicz deflection then called timeout with 33.6 seconds. Oliver Schaefer’s shot from three off an Oxley pass spun out, tapped the glass then dropped in with 23 seconds to make it 39-all.

I’ll give that kid Schaeffer credit, hitting that three,” Behrens said. “We thought we had Gannon Perlini really out on him with a hand up and that kid, I mean we knew he could flick it, and their coaching staff did a great job of getting him the ball and hitting that shot. And as it’s rolling around, I’m going, ‘This is going in.’”

A turnaround jumper by Peters from the foul line just before the buzzer did not fall and the game went to OT.

“When you play in the league as good as ours, every game’s going to be a close game, rarely you see more than two, three possession wins so we trust in ourselves,” Cramer said. “We got a little cold coming into the end of the third, fourth quarter but we stuck it out, we got the stops we needed to when we needed to.

“Unfortunately roll at the end of regulation but we trust in our self and our conditioning with (strength) coach (Dan) Branch for overtime.”

A Peters basket gave Pennridge a 41-39 lead before Oxley scored inside to pull North back level.

Still even at 41-41, the Rams held the ball until Peters drove and got off a jumper with less than 10 seconds to go. The shot would not go down but Cramer came up with the offensive rebound and earned two shots at the line with 3.8 seconds. The senior drained both free throws for a 43-41 advantage.

“When I got to the line I just tried to get my heartrate down,” Cramer said. “Take a step back, zone out all the crowd noise cause there was a lot of crowd noise – big fans today for the kids – but I just trusted myself, trusted the work I put in practice cause I started off the year not a great free-throw shooter.”

On Rock North’s final possession, Jack Blum took the inbounds pass, drove to midcourt and tried to send a pass to Schaefer but Peters reached out to get a hand on it. The ball bounced to the left corner and a Schaefer shot that was off target came after the buzzer.

“I think in the league that we’re in, every win is a battle,” Behrens said. “It’s tough. You have to play well to win. I feel like every time that we play a game in this league we have the opportunity to win. But the same token, we have the opportunity to lose. If you don’t play well, you can lose. Every game’s a 50/50 game.”

Pennridge is back on the court Saturday hosting Perkiomen Valley in a nonleague game at 1:30 p.m. Council Rock North is home against Souderton 7 p.m. Tuesday.

“Sometimes you just got to find a way to win,” Cramer said. “We had a couple sloppy games this year that we just found a way to win cause we got heart on this team, we trust each other.

Cramer collected Pennridge’s first four points, scoring inside and drawing a foul to get the Rams within 7-4 at 2:38 in the first quarter. But 11 seconds later, he picked up his second foul and went to the bench for the rest of the half.

A McCarthy three had North up 10-4 before Hass’ trey had Pennridge down 10-7 after the opening eight minutes.

Mahtat’s 3-pointer put the Indians back up six but the Rams answered with an 8-0 run capped by a Perlini triple that gave the hosts their first lead at 15-13.

CR North scored seven of the next nine – a Mahtat three putting the Indians up 20-17 before Perlini posted the next five points to give the Rams a 22-20 edge.

Peters converted on a drive for a 24-22 Pennridge lead but an Oxley basket knotted things 24-24 at halftime.

A long Peters two had the Rams ahead 30-28 in the third only for a Mahtat 3-point play to give North a 31-30 edge. The teams traded one-point leads with a Fisher’ basket putting Pennridge up 34-33 at the end of the quarter.

Rock North took a 36-34 lead in the fourth on a Schaefer 3-pointer but Hass’ bucket inside then a Peters free throw at 5:31 had the Rams leading 37-36. The score line stayed that way until Fisher’s steal and layup put Pennridge up three with 81 seconds remaining.

Pennridge 43, Council Rock North 41 (OT)
Council Rock North 10 14 9 6 2 – 41
Pennridge 7 17 10 5 4 – 43
Council Rock North: Adam Mahtat 4 1-1 11; Cole McCarthy 4 0-0 10; Jack Blum 4 0-0 8; Oliver Schaefer 2 0-0 6; Micah Oxley 2 0-0 4; Tyler Rodowicz 0 2-2 2; Totals 16 3-3 41.
Pennridge: Xavier Peters 4 3-4 11; Tommy Cramer 3 2-3 8; Ryan Hass 3 0-0 8; Gannon Perlini 3 0-0 8; Caden Fisher 2 2-2 6; Matt Campione 1 0-0 2; Totals 16 7-9 43.
3-pointers: CRN-Mahtat 2, McCarthy 2, Schaefer 2; P-Hass 2, Perlini 2.