Boyertown surges past Avon Grove in fourth quarter
BOYERTOWN >> The Boyertown boys basketball let a double-digit lead slip away in the first half.
Lucky for the Bears, they had plenty of time to build one back up.
Spearheaded by 22 points from junior Jake Kapp, 19 points from Eddie Higgins and some clutch shooting from Richard Black, the Bears used a dominant fourth-quarter to down Avon Grove, 65-49, on Tuesday in the first round of the Boyertown Holiday Tournament.
“Definitely our defense,” Kapp said of how the Bears turned things around. “We got a lot of stops, got out running on the break. We were always finding the open man, getting open shots and we were knocking them down.”
.@BashAthletics junior Jake Kapp led the Bears with 22 points in a win over Avon Grove on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/bPDiFB6JuM
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) December 29, 2021
The Bears (4-2) trailed Avon Grove (3-3) 42-40 entering the fourth, but Black put Boyertown up 47-44 with a three at the 6:43 mark in the fourth to give the Bears their first lead since just after halftime.
He canned another triple with three and a half to play to put Boyertown ahead 52-46. Just one minute later, the Bears were up by double digits on their way to a victory.
Black scored 11 for the Bears, including nine in the fourth quarter as Boyertown outscored Avon Grove 25-7 in the period.
“Richard Black is one of those guys who can come in the game and make such a difference,” Higgins said. “I remember Colin Eisenhard driving to the basket and kicking it out to Richard for a clutch three, and we smelled blood in the water. From there we knew we were going to take this game.”
Boyertown led 30-20 in the middle of the second quarter before an 18-3 run by the Red Devils at the end of the first half and early parts of the third put them ahead 38-33. Higgins and Kapp combined for 19 of Boyertown’s 30 points in the first half as the Bears went into the break up 30-29.
Aiden VioLette (12 points, four threes), Tyler Newman (11 points) and Adam Ziegler (10 points) all reached double figures for the Red Devils.
Avon Grove got off to a hot shooting start, but after making five threes in the first half it made only two in the second, going ice cold from deep down the stretch in the fourth.
“They knocked down a lot of shots from the elbow,” Higgins said. “They made it hard to guard the high and low. Coach gave us a good game plan. We communicated a lot on defense and we stuck it out until the fourth quarter.”
Richard Black cans a triple. 52-46 Boyertown with three and a half left. pic.twitter.com/4KqT23bgnC
— Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue) December 29, 2021
Junior Zach Ward added eight points for Boyertown, going 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the game and 6-for-6 in the fourth to ice the game.
Boyertown had to replace four college-bound players from last year’s squad heading into 2021. But through six games, the Bears are off to a strong start.
The Bears will play Governor Mifflin, a 73-64 winner over Pennridge, in the championship game on Wednesday.
“It’s very different from last year,” Higgins said. “This coming year, coming into this season, we lacked varsity experience but a lot of guys stepped up this year like Zach, Jake, (Ryan) Tinney. Tinney plays a great role. A lot of guys this summer, we just came together, put our heads downs and started grinding all summer.
“We’re feeling great,” Kapp said. “We’ve got a tough road ahead, but we’re looking forward to it.”
NOTES >> Boyertown assistant coach Mike Marinello led the Bears with head coach Travis Miller unable to coach on Tuesday.
