BOYS BASKETBALL: Cheltenham edges North Penn in District 1-6A first round

CHELTENHAM – Down a point with less than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, North Penn’s baseline inbounds produced an open look inside only for the layup attempt to come up a bit short.

The Knights still had possession after the miss but their chance to reset ended when Cheltenham’s Kamal Mason deflected a pass at the top of the key for a steal, the freshman finishing the fast break by Euro-stepping past a defender and scoring to give the Panthers a 44-41 edge in Friday night’s District 1-6A first-round matchup.

“I just think because the kids had the right mentality and effort that we got lucky,” Cheltenham boys basketball coach Patrick Fleury said. “Anytime you’re trying to win a tournament or anything like that, you got to get lucky.”

The scoreline still the same in the final minute, North Penn’s bid to pull even with a 3-pointer from the left corner was off target. Martin made the second of two free throws with 26.6 seconds left for a two-possession lead and 12th-seeded Cheltenham held on to advance past the visiting No. 21 Knights with a 47-41 victory.

“I think if you give up 41 points, you give yourself a chance to win,” Fleury said. “Peyton (McClendon), our sophomore, grew up. I think Jo (Hutson) was more focused on making winning plays rather than individual statistics. I think Osei (Johnson) shot the ball very well. I think Mark Hill came in, had a great finish and had great energy.”

Johnson paced Cheltenham (18-6) with 13 points while Hutson scored nine of his 11 points in the second half as the SOL Freedom Division champ Panthers move on to visit No. 5 Coatesville in the second round Tuesday. Cheltenham’s last district meeting with the Red Raiders came in the 2020 quarterfinals, the Panthers earning a 68-61 win.

“I just felt our team was more focused and we was more prepared and our coach did a very good job preparing us this week,” Hutson said. “I feel like we knew what we was supposed to do and we did what we supposed to do.”

Norman Gee connected on a trio of 3-pointers in scoring a game-high 15 points for North Penn, which made a late push – winning three straight and four of five – to earn a spot in districts. Ahmaar Godhania and Tre Simpson both added nine points for the Knights, who end the season 12-11.

“I said to them in there, we didn’t have any issues, discipline, anything all year, they’re just a great group of kids and I’m going to miss ‘em,” North Penn coach John Conrad said. “I’m very proud of their effort to get into the playoffs, it just didn’t end the way we hoped it would.”

Hutson gave Cheltenham the lead for good in the fourth, knocking down a 3-pointer from the left wing to break a 32-32 tie. The junior point guard’s penetration resulted in second-chance opportunities for the Panthers. McClendon scored off an offensive rebound followed by Kevin Addison flying in for a putback to cap a five-point run that gave Cheltenham a 40-33 lead.

“As I got older and got more experience, everything is not about shooting threes and shooting pull-ups, it’s about getting to the basket,” Hutson said. “You can miss but your teammates can help you and get the rebound, being able to support you.”

A Johnson jumper had the Panthers again up seven at 42-35 but Godhania proceeded to score the next six points – his 4-point play after getting fouled and having his trey bounce off the rim and in with 2:50 left in regulation pulling North Penn to within 42-41.

The Knights, however, could not convert inside off their inbounds and Mason’s steal and transition layup had Cheltenham up three. North Penn was called for a travel with 1:20 left but an offensive foul on the Panthers gave the Knights back the ball with 1:09.

North Penn’s three from the corner missed and after Addison grabbed the rebound, Cheltenham pushed the ball upcourt before North Penn fouled to stop the fast break. Mason went to the line after the Knights’ fifth foul at 26.6 seconds and hit the second for a 45-41 advantage.

After a missed NP jumper, Johnson was fouled with 11.1 seconds to go and made both for the final six-point margin.

“I think they just made plays,” said Conrad of Cheltenham. “Defensively I thought we played really well, held ‘em to 47 points, should feel like you can win the game. We just were not efficient or very effective on the offensive end.”

North Penn went out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter after threes from Godhania and Gee and was up 10-2 after a Gee transition basket.

Two Gee free throws with 1.2 seconds left in the opening quarter had the Knights ahead 12-6 but Cheltenham started the second period with 12 straight points. A Nile Tinsley fall-away jumper gave the Panthers their first lead at 13-12 with a Johnson 3-point play made it 16-12 at 3:23.

A Tinsley jumper had the home side’s advantage at 18-12 before Gee drained a triple. A Johnson trey put Cheltenham up 21-15 while Simpson’s basket had North Penn within four at halftime.

It was the Knights with the strong start in the third, a Lee Hammond 3-pointer then Corey Meade collecting a 3-point play after a twisting finish at 7:14 gave North Penn a 23-21 lead.

A Simpson bucket inside made it 25-21. Hutson hit two free throws at 6:06 but Gee drained a 3-pointer to push the Knights’ advantage to 28-23.

“We talked about some things, we felt we were defending well, we thought we were just too quick and impatient on the offensive end,” Conrad said. “I thought we started the quarter well but they’re where they are for a reason. I thought they defended really well, made things tough for us.”

Cheltenham knotted things at 28 after a Johnson three and Hutson scored on a drive.

Aiden Atkinson’s basket inside off a Meade feed put North Penn up 30-28. Hutson got two off a drive and was fouled at 1:55. He could not complete the and-one but later found McClendon for a basket inside for a 32-30 Panther lead heading to the fourth.

A Simpson basket made it 32-32, the game’s final tie as Hutson gave Cheltenham a 35-32 edge with his 3-pointer. Simpson’s free throw at 6:17 had NP within 35-33 but the Panthers scored the next five to hold a 40-33 advantage. Cheltenham was again up seven — its largest lead of the game — after a Johnson jumper made it 42-35.

Cheltenham 47, North Penn 41

North Penn 12 5 13 11 – 41

Cheltenham 6 15 11 15 – 47

North Penn: Norman Gee 2 3 2-2 15; Ahmaar Godhania 1 2 1-1 9; Tre Simpson 3 0 3-4 9; Lee Hammond 0 1 0-0 3; Corey Meade 1 0 1-3 3; Aiden Atkinson 1 0 0-0 2; Totals 8 6 7-10 41.

Cheltenham: Osei Johnson 2 2 3-3 13; Josiah Hutson 2 1 4-5 11; Nile Tinsley 2 1 0-0 7; Kamal Mason 2 0 2-4 6; Kevin Addison 2 0 0-0 4; Peyton McClendon 2 0 0-0 4; Mark Hill 1 0 0-0 2; Aiden Wilson-Worley 0 0 0-2 0; Totals 13 4 9-14 47.