Boyertown takes charge in fourth to topple Pennridge
EAST ROCKHILL >> Once Ryan Tinney poked the ball free, he and Boyertown didn’t look back.
The Bears’ junior guard turned his steal into a dish that Zach Ward finished for the go-ahead layup midway through the fourth quarter Saturday against Pennridge. A night after coming undone in the second half against Central Bucks East, Boyertown buckled down in winning time of a close game.
A couple big plays on both sides of the floor added up in the Bears’ favor as a key 8-0 run in the final frame led to a 49-42 win over the Rams.
“Our intensity overall and our attitude were much better,” Boyertown wing Jake Kapp said. “Last night in the second half, we weren’t ready for (CB East) and lost our composure but tonight, I think we were ready for everything.”
Kapp was terrific in scoring a game-high 18 points, none more important that the right corner 3-pointer he sank off an assist by Tinney on the next possession after the go-ahead layup in the middle of that 8-0 fourth quarter run. Scoring is only part of the equation however and where Kapp felt his team really shined Saturday was the other end of the floor.
After seeing what Pennridge did to Quakertown with its pace and shooting on Friday, the Bears wanted to make sure they didn’t give up those same kind of opportunities. Using their length and size, plus a well-run zone defense, the visitors made every basket in the halfcourt a significant endeavor for the Rams.
“We forced tough shots from them and got going on the offensive end, so it was those defensive stops that set up our shots in transition,” Kapp said. “They have two nice shooters, we keyed on them and I thought did a nice job taking them away in the second half. They tried to get them the ball and we were there for it.”
While Boyertown could celebrate a win, the host Rams had their first look at adversity in the young season. After a slow start, Pennridge spent the second quarter trading scores with the Bears, ultimately taking a lead to halftime and stretching out to six late in the third quarter.
Starting with the final 30 seconds of that third frame, enough things didn’t go right down the stretch to turn that leading edge into a deficit. Instead of holding for a final shot while up five points, a Pennridge turnover led to a Tinney layup and a few minutes into the fourth quarter, the Boyertown junior was there again leading the takeover surge.
Rams coach Dean Behrens noted it wasn’t one player or one sequence that lost the game, it was an accumulation of miscues coming together at the wrong time.
“All weekend, we played with a lead until that fourth quarter tonight,” Behrens said. “We still need to learn how to play when we’re behind.”
The veteran Rams coach added that good teams are going to have things in place to take away an opponent’s strengths, like Boyertown’s zone did to shooters Matt Campione and Justin McCormick, so his team will have to figure out ways to adapt. At times on Saturday, that was Jude D’Agostino hitting shots from the high post, but it just didn’t happen enough for Behrens’ liking.
“It’s a good learning experience,” Behrens said. “If we hold teams under 50, we’re probably in good shape but they did a really good job slowing us down, we want to get into transition and operate freely.”
Kapp had the high point total but Boyertown got plenty of contributions across the board. Eddie Higgins was a force on the glass with nine points and eight rebounds, four offensive and got plaudits from Behrens for the two charges he drew. Ward had eight points and a couple blocks, plus he and Roman Marinello knocked down some important foul shots in the final minutes.
The difference maker was Tinney. His stat line wasn’t overwhelming but the shortest player who saw time for Boyertown did a bit of everything with six points, a board, three assists and three steals, all seeming to come at critical junctures in the game.
He scored the layup at the end of the third that cut the Pennridge lead to just three, he converted an and-one during the second quarter off a steal and of course, made the two key passes in the decisive 8-0 fourth quarter run.
“Ryan’s a great player,” Kapp said. “He had some really nice defensive stops, came up with a few steals that got us going on the break and he always makes the right pass. He really got us going.”
The teams could meet again in a few weeks, with Pennridge making the trip up to Boyertown to take part in the Bears’ holiday tournament.
Pennridge is right back into it on Tuesday when it hosts CB East to start SOL play. The Patriots looked quite comfortable this weekend going 2-0 in the Rams gym and like Boyertown, will pose a challenge with their mix of length, defense and scoring ability.
“It’s fun to play in this league because you’re going to get challenged every single night and find out what you’re made of,” Behrens said. “You also have to find out what you’re made of after a tough loss like this.”
BOYERTOWN 49, PENNRIDGE 42
BOYERTOWN 14 10 9 16 – 49
PENNRIDGE 14 11 11 6 – 42
B: Zach Ward 3 2-2 8, Roman Marinello 1 2-2 4, Jake Kapp 6 4-7 18, Richard Black 1 0-0 2, Eddie Higgins 2 5-8 9, Colin Eisenhard 0 2-2 2, Ryan Tinney 2 2-3 6. Totals: 15 17-24 49.
P: Justin McCormick 3 0-0 8, Justin Nichols 2 1-2 5, Matt Campione 3 6-6 13, Jude D’Agostino 4 1-2 9, Tommy Cramer 3 1-2 7, Tyler Johnson 0 0-1 0. Totals: 15 9-13 42.
3-pointers: B Kapp 2, P – McCormick 2, Campione.
