Arcidiacono, Tredway propel Neshaminy boys basketball to a win over Council Rock South (VIDEO)

Neshaminy junior Chris Arcidiacono (15), left, exploded for eight of his team’s 10 fourth-quarter points, helping the Skins to a 46-40 triumph over Council Rock South Feb. 2, 2017 at the Fred Gerst Gymnasium, Langhorne, Pa. (J.S. Garber – For 21st-Century Media)

LANGHORNE – With two minutes to go in the third period of the Skins’ battle with visiting Council Rock South, Neshaminy junior Chris Arcidiacono accounted for only two of his team’s points in the Suburban One National League duel.

A few seconds later, he capped off an end-to-end layup then gave his team a 1-point lead going into the final frame with a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

In the fourth quarter, the 6-3, 190-pound shooting guard hit a putback basket and a shot off the glass then made 4-of-7 free throws to help seal a 46-40 triumph over the Golden Hawks.

Defensively, Chris came up with a pair of steals on South’s final two possessions including a steal of an inbound pass with 9.9 seconds remaining that made sure the Skins would come out on top.

“He played real maturely; he played like a man tonight,” said Hawks head coach Derek Wright. “We guarded him – 94 feet – and made things hard for him but he handled it well, came up with some good defensive plays and made the right passes.

“He made a lot of winning plays tonight.”

In the first half when Arcidiacono was limited to a pair of free throws, Chris got a lot of help from a cast of teammates, especially senior Zach Tredway, who exploded for seven of the Skins’ 11 points in the second quarter.

Tredway finished with 15 points – the same total turned in by Arcidiacono – on six shots from the floor including a pair of 3-pointers, one in each half to help his team to its second league win in three days

“Tredway was huge tonight, being a senior and knocking down some 3-pointers; it was kind of like his breakout game this year,” said Arcidiacono. “In the biggest game of the season in our push for the playoffs, he stepped up to the plate.”

“He was just finding open spots. When I’m penetrating the lane, I draw two (defenders) and I just kick out and he knocked down the shots tonight.”

Senior Anthony Verrecchio led the way to a 13-point performance by Neshaminy in the opening frame with a jumper and a putback basket.

After hitting just three baskets from 3-point range in the first half, South exploded for four treys – two by senior Austin Thomas and one each by juniors Christian Jabbar and Trey Irvin – in the third period to take a 35-30 edge with less than a minute until the start of the fourth quarter.

The Skins countered however with a pair of treys – one each from Tredway and Arcidiacono – to take a 36-35 lead going into the final frame.

While South senior Alex Nordenholt hit a putback basket to start the fourth quarter, Arcidiacono countered with one of his own, putting the Hawks on the tail end of this one or good.

South hit just 2-of-9 shots from the floor in the fourth quarter and got to the foul line just four times in the contest.

The Hawks are 1-2 since defeating Pennsbury in quadruple overtime Jan. 26 at the Falcons Nest. Coming on the heels of a dramatic 47-45 triumph Jan. 31 at Harry S Truman, the Skins are 2-0 this week after falling at the hands of Pennsbury and CR North last week.

Neshaminy 46, Council Rock South 40

(Feb. 2 at Neshaminy)

Neshaminy         13 11 12 10 – 45

CR South              11 11 13 5 – 45

NESHAMINY (8-11, 4-8: SONL) — Chris Arcidiacono 4 6-9 15, Anthony Verrecchio 2 0-0 4, Anthony Papeo 2 0-1 5, Mark Gentry 1 0-0 2, Zach Tredway 6 1-2 15, Andrew Note 1 0-0 3, Corey McGarry 1 0-0 2; TOTALS: 17 7-12 46.

COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH (13-8, 7-5: SONL) — Ryan Boyd 2 0-0 4, Alex Nordenholt 4 0-0 8, Ryan McNamee 0 1-2 1, Kevin Newbert 0 0-0 0, Austin Thomas 4 1-2 12, Christian Jabbar 2 0-0 6, Trey Irvin 2 0-0 6, Shaun Smith 1 0-0 3; TOTALS: 15 2-4 40.

3-POINT GOALS: CRS – Thomas 3, Smith, Jabbar 2, Irvin 2; N – Papeo, Tredway 2, Arcidiacono, Note.