CB West cruises past Hatboro-Horsham, sits alone atop SOL Continental

DOYLESTOWN >> Cal Reichwein and the Central Bucks West boys basketball team had done their homework on Hatboro-Horsham.

“They’re a terrific offensive team. They’re all really athletic. They have a lot of strong tendencies that we knew coming in,” Reichwein. “We all prepared a lot, watched a lot of film. Really knew their tendencies”

The pregame study proved beneficial early in Tuesday’s matchup between the final two undefeated squads in the Suburban One League Continental Conference.

Reichwein and Erich Hohenleitner combined for 13 of West’s 15 first-quarter points while the Bucks’ defense shut out the visiting Hatters in the opening eight minutes. West never lost the double-digit advantage and cruised to the top of the conference standings with a 53-35 victory.

“We were happy with our defensive effort for the most part through the game,” Bucks coach Adam Sherman said. “It went well defensively. We’re still trying to find our stride. I thought there were parts of the game we did offensively. Hopefully we’ll continue to get better and just go one quarter at a time.”

Reichwein collected 11 of his game-high 18 points before halftime while Hohenleitner finished with 10 points for West (9-2, 5-0). Luke Irons chipped in nine points.

“We have five guys all on the floor at the same time that can all attack and when one guy attacks, then another guy helps and kicks,” Reichwein said. “So, it’s a lot of attack and dish and find the open man.”

Hatboro-Horsham (6-5, 4-1) – which was without starters Joe Russell and Brian McEachern – finally got on the scoreboard eight seconds in the second quarter as Clifton Moore knocked down a pair of free throws. The Hatters pulled to within 10 after a Jay Davis bucket made it 19-9, but the Bucks went into halftime leading 30-13 thanks to an 11-4 run capped by Hohenleitner’s layup off a baseline drive in the final seconds.

“What they did tonight, they just completely outclassed us, in every phase of the game,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Ed Enoch said. “Wanted it more, played better, better coached. Everything, right down the line.”

Moore paced the Hatters with 12 points with Davis adding 10 points.

“I think we have a good team, but when you have a game like tonight, you got to go out and prove it,” Enoch said. “And you can’t rest of your laurels and tonight I think we got smacked. We got smacked.”

Both teams are home for SOL Continental contests Friday. Hatboro-Horsham takes on Pennridge – the teams are now tied for second in the conference after the Rams’ 74-66 win over North Penn Tuesday – while CB West hosts Central Bucks East.

“We want to play well. This is an important stretch coming here,” Sherman said. “We really need to find our stride. Guys need to play consistent basketball. So, it’s real important that we continue to play consistent from this point moving forward.”

Hatboro-Horsham struggled early with West’s zone defense while Reichwein pushed the Bucks’ advantage to 9-0 with a 3-pointer. A Hohenleitner jumper and back-to-back Reichwein buckets off drive made it 15-0 after a quarter.

“Very disappointing we came out the way we did and got behind the eight ball,” Enoch said. “They got up 15-nothing on us. Can’t happen against a team like this. They take care of the ball. Fifteen-point lead even by then is pretty drastic.”

The Hatters finally found some points with four straight free throws with their first field goal coming on a Davis baseline drive which cut the deficit to 17-6. The visitors were within 19-9 after a Davis bucket, but Reichwein and Ben Reigel answered for West to extend the lead to 14.

After Hatboro-Horsham cut the margin to 12, the Bucks ended the quarter by scoring seven of the final nine points, Hohenleitner’s late basket giving West a 30-13 edge.

“Erich’s important for us,” Sherman said. “When he shoots the ball well like that, he pulls their big from the basket, so it opens up a lane for us. Erich hitting a couple jump shots made Clifton (Moore) have to be a little more concerned about Erich on the perimeter and that opened up the lane a little more for us.”

Reichwein opened the third with a 3 for a 20-point lead. The teams traded baskets until Reigel scored on a putback and an Irons layup off a Reichwein assist gave West its largest lead at 41-19.

The Hatters scored the final seven points of the third to trail 41-26 entering the fourth, but West had its advantage back up to 19 after Reichwein’s bucket made it 48-29.