TOWAMENCIN — The North Penn Knights couldn’t have hit the pavement with a rain drop.
Nothing was landing.
Often settling for 3-pointers, the Knights were just 6-of-23 from beyond the arc. But with 2.7 seconds remaining, they found the net when it mattered most.
Down by one, junior guard Ahmaar Godhania took a pass from Corey Meade at the left wing and drained a trey — swish! — to lift North Penn over Central Bucks West 47-45 in an SOL Colonial matchup Thursday night at North Penn High School.
“I kicked it to Corey and then I came back out looking for the 3, and Corey’s always got me with the pass,” Godhania said. “He hit me with it, and I just knocked it down. I know I’m going to keep shooting, and eventually I’m going to make some. I just know I put the work in, so I’m going to make some.
“That’s my first game winner,” said Godhania, who finished with a game-high 20 points. “I’ve never done that. It’s a crazy feeling. I’ve got to hit my free throws though.”
The Knights (3-1, 2-0) trailed the entire night until Godhania’s dagger. They used pressure and traps late to confound the West, which turned the ball over with an errant pass while trying to escape down the court.
A basket there likely would have sealed it for the Bucks (2-2, 0-2). Instead, North Penn took possession to set up Godhania.
After Godhania’s 3, CB West was assessed a technical foul when coach Adam Sherman called a timeout he didn’t have. It was a smart move by Sherman, because it stopped the clock, and Godhania missed the foul shots. But West couldn’t generate another shot.
The Bucks were up 24-16 at halftime, but North Penn — which was missing point guard Norman Gee, who was nursing an ankle sprain — made some defensive adjustments after the break.
“I think without Norm, we had trouble getting into rhythm,” North Penn coach John Conrad said. “I thought we did a better job in the second half. We got some stops, which kind of got us going a little bit.”
“We tinkered around with a zone in the first half, because we had a different lineup, and then we went back to playing man-to-man and got our energy level going. We got some transition baskets.
“I think our guys did a nice job of it (with pressure and traps),” Conrad said. “We were only about seven deep tonight, so we were reluctant to do it all game. I thought the kids did a really good job of when to do it. We were able to create some turnovers, and then obviously we got the big one at the end.”
Sherman could be heard outside the locker room ripping into his team after the game. When he burst through the doors, the red-faced and out-of-breath coach didn’t want to talk to the media
“No, I can’t,” Sherman said, as he briskly walked by. “I’ve got to go.”
Tre Simpson finished with 13 points for the Knights. Gabe Altemus, who was active in the paint, had nine.
Roman Kulesa led West with 13 and Julian Phillips added 12.
“CB West is always hard, they’re physical,” Godhania said. “It’s a good win. They’ve been playing well this season, and we just got it done.”
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NORTH PENN 47, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 45
CB WEST 11 13 10 11 — 45
North Penn 9 7 14 17 — 47
CBW (45) – Roman Kulesa 6 3-3 16, Julian Phillips 5 0-0 12, Matt Engle 1 2-2 4, Bowen Gugger 2 0-0 4, Sam Jankowski 1 2-4 4, Aiden Kimberly 1 0-0 3, Dan Gallagher 1 0-0 2. Totals — 17 7-9 45.
NP (47) – Ahmaar Godhania 8 0-2 20, Tre Simpson 4 5-7 13, Gabe Altemus 3 1-2 9, Lee Hammond 1 0-0 3, Corey meade 1 0-2 2. Totals: 17 6-11 47.
3-pointers: CBW – Julian Phillips 2, Aiden Kimberly, Roman Kulesa; NP – Ahmaar Godhania 4, Gabe Altemus 2, Lee Hammond.
Turnovers: CBW 15, NP 10.
Records: CBW 2-2 (0-2), NP 3-1 (2-0).
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Email Christiaan DeFranco at cdefranco@thereporteronline.com. Follow him on X at @the_defranc, or visit ChrisDeFranco.com.
