Abington fights on, holds off Kennett in District 1-6A opener

ABINGTON >> Very little has gone smooth or to plan for the Abington boys’ basketball team this winter, so it seemed fitting their District 1-6A playoff opener would follow suit.

From 11 points up early in the third quarter to clinging to a one-point lead through much of the fourth, the No. 14 seed Ghosts were anything but precise coming down the final stretch. But for every miscue made, Abington found a way to respond and No. 19 Kennett couldn’t find a way to get over that final barrier preventing the Blue Demons from catching up on the scoreboard.

At the final horn, Rob Bell tossed the ball in the air while Connor Fields just put his hands on his head as the No. 14 Ghosts held on to top the No. 19 Blue Demons 39-36 Saturday afternoon.

“We were in a slump, we called a timeout and just motivated each other,” Abington senior Oreck Frazier said. “This game was important to us. We knew we couldn’t keep playing the way we were playing. We made free throws and even if we made a mistake, kept doing the little things because those equal wins.”

Kennett (10-4), didn’t get its first score until 4:45 remained in the first quarter, but tied the game 7-7 on Zach Lower’s 3-pointer and took a lead on Ethan Schmidt’s hoop in the final minute of the frame. Frazier, a Harvard football recruit, beat the quarter buzzer to knot the score and after Caleb Baker hit a pair of free throws to start the second, Abington (10-5) didn’t trail again.

Schmidt would tie the game 15-15, but a spark from Abington junior Derrius Lucas turned the flow of the game around heading to the intermission. The junior forward had scored a total of seven points all season coming into Saturday, but bagged eight points in the final 3:26 of the second  quarter to help the Ghosts to a 27-18 halftime edge.

“Whenever I got a chance, I took my shot,” Lucas, who led Abington with 12 points, said. “They started falling so I continued to take it. It was a different mentality, the motivation from my teammates helped me see the court in a new way.”

Lower’s first-quarter three proved important as it was the only shot from behind the arc the Blue Demons would hit all afternoon. Kennett shot just 1-of-15 from 3-point territory with looks in the final minute that included a potential game-tying shot just before the final horn.

Blue Demons coach Jacob Gray said those were the shots he wanted with the players he wanted taking them and they just didn’t go down. The fact Kennett was in that position was a credit to the players buckling down on the defensive end.

“We didn’t hit shots, that happens,” Gray said. “These guys have played defense hard all year, we switched up a few things and they started clicking and communicating and playing on a string. When they play on a string, they can play with a lot of people who don’t think we can play with them.”

Lucas gave the Ghosts a 31-20 lead with 5:23 left in the third but just as it looked like the home team might open things up, the Blue Demons came pushing back. The difference was their defense, with Kennett drawing two charges and picking up their aggression the length of the floor that started to turn Abington over.

Three players combined on a 10-0 run that cut the lead to one on Kalen Frazier’s score with 54 seconds left in the quarter. Kennett again pulled within a point when Andrew Hertz, who led the Blue Demons with 12 points, scored with 5:55 to go, making it a 33-32 game.

After taking relatively good care of the ball in the first half, Abington gave it away 11 times in the second half, including six in the final stanza.

“Our fight was important,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “If your guys will fight and give all they have, then the rest is up to us as the coaching staff.”

Oreck Frazier and Lucas both credited Grasty for playing a key role in keeping the team together during the final spell. Lucas said he never sees Grasty get rattled or panic and as a player, that helped him push through any errors on the floor and move on to the next play.

“He had a great game too, I know players get all the attention but there were times he bailed us out,” Frazier said. “He just knows us, he knows our style. He’s a great coach and he did his thing tonight which helped us.”

While the Ghosts couldn’t seem to get out of their own way at times, their defense did enough to get stops and more importantly, rebound the ball off misses.

“I’m going up for everything, I don’t care where it is on the court,” Lucas, who nabbed four of his six boards in the fourth, said. “If I see a shot go up, I’m ready to go get the ball. Rebounding is our thing, we have to be there ready to help and do everything we can.”

A turnover led to a Kennett runout with Charles Ebaugh scoring to cut the Ghosts lead to 37-36 with 43.0 on the clock. After getting a stop, the Blue Demons had a chance to take the lead but couldn’t convert a jumper with Abington’s Bell getting the rebound and knocking down two shots at the line.

Kennett drew up one last play with less than 10 seconds on the clock and got a clean look, but it wasn’t meant to be as Abington exhaled at its victory and date with No. 3 Plymouth Whitemarsh in the second round.

“Our leadership comes from our four seniors, and they’ve had a roller coaster career so to end it like this is fitting,” Gray said. “A year ago this week was our last open gym and we haven’t had one since, so for them to get to this points after three wins last year, that just speaks to their character and how hard they worked on their own to bring all these guys together.”

Abington lost both its regular season meetings with Plymouth Whitemarsh, but Grasty said the Ghosts are putting all of that behind them as they prepare for the familiar opponent.

“It’s the playoffs,” Frazier said. “At this point, we have that team chemistry, we try to set each other up and I love playing with my brothers.”

“We feel like we can run with any team,” Lucas said. “Every time we step on the floor, we need to keep that mentality all 32 minutes.”

ABINGTON 39, KENNETT 36
ABINGTON 9 18 4 8 – 39
KENNETT 9 9 12 6 – 36
A: Rob Bell 1 2-2 5, Connor Fields 2 1-2 5, Caleb Baker 1 5-6 7, Oreck Frazier 4 2-2 10, Derrius Lucas 5 0-0 12, Karim Boyd 0 0-1 0. Totals: 13 10-13 39.
K: Ethan Schmidt 2 0-0 4, Sam Forte 2 1-2 5, Charles Ebaugh 4 0-0 8, Andrew Hertz 3 6-6 12, Zach Lower 2 0-0 5, Kalen Frazier 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 7-8 36.
3-pointers: A – Lucas 2, Bell; K – Lower.