Cheltenham’s depth comes through in SOL semifinal win over Central Bucks West
BENSALEM >> Cheltenham’s lineup has been an unbreakable chain.
The Panthers showed why on Saturday evening, particularly in a second quarter that saw Saleem Payne and Rasheem Dearry come off the bench to contribute 13 points and help push the Panthers along in their Suburban One League Challenge Semifinal with Central Bucks West.
“We just have a lot of pieces that are hungry and are good basketball players,” coach Patrick Fleury said.
Cheltenham is going to its first SOL Challenge Final, thanks to an impressive 52-43 victory over the Bucks at Bensalem High School.
Cheltenham went a perfect 14-0 through the SOL American and is a win away from an SOL title.
“(When Zahree Harrison went down early in the season), it made me tell myself I had to pick it up, I had to pick it up, turn it up, because we want to win a state championship this year,” said Payne, who scored seven points off the bench. “We definitely needed Zahree. He was a big help to us. So I had to step up and play a bigger role. And help the team and help us win.”
Tight Early
The two teams went back and forth in the first.
Mike Munari scored eight first-quarter points for the Bucks while Justin Moore and Sean Emfinger countered for the Panthers with four each. It was 12 all after eight minutes.
Then, the Cheltenham bench began to make a major contribution.
Payne hit a three and Rasheem Dearry hit a pair, as the Panthers got 11 bench points in the second quarter to open up leads of 22-14 and 25-17.
The Bucks stayed close, finding a way to feed Jack Neri cutting to the hoop, and tightened things to 30-23 at the break.
But the second half belonged to Cheltenham, and when Justin Moore (17 pts) sped away to finish a fast break, the lead was at 10 with four minutes to play.
Munari had the game high for the Bucks with 20 points, but Cheltenham’s depth came through. The Panther reserves outscored West’s 13-2.
“In ninth grade preseason, I wasn’t ready. But I definitely grew – in the big games, I come to play,” said Payne, a sophomore guard. “My team – we all come to play. And I had to take a bigger role.
“I come in, try to pick up the energy, play defense, get buckets, get my team involved. That’s been my role all season. And if I keep doing it, we’re gonna be good. (When the bench is contributing), it makes the game way better for us and harder for them to defend. A lot of people can score for us. I’m excited (to play for the title). We’re ready to get a ‘W,’ do what we do.”
The Panthers scored key baskets in transition and also had three players hit threes.
“(When Zahree) went down, we had to adjust to every style,” Fleury said. “So we have a little bit of everything in our game right now.”
Cheltenham 52, Central Bucks West 43
CB West 12 11 9 11 – 43
Cheltenham 12 18 10 12 – 52
CB West: Owen Haney 1 0-0 2, Dan Miller 2 3-6 7, Mike Munari 7 5-6 20, Jack Neri 5 1-1 12, Jack Slaymaker 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 9-13 43.
Cheltenham: Brandon Scott 1 0-0 2, Justin Moore 5 7-9 17, Jaelen McGlone 3 2-4 9, Sean Emfinger 3 2-2 8, Travis Coleman 1 1-2 3, Saleem Payne 3 0-2 7, Rasheem Dearry 2 0-0 6. Totals 18 12-19 52.
3-pointers: CBW-Munari, Neri; C-McGlone, Payne, Dearry 2.
