Hot start sends Central Bucks West to Senior Night victory over Pennridge

DOYLESTOWN >> It was just a matter of time. 

“We honestly just went off,” Central Bucks West senior Donte Mancini said of Friday night’s contest with rival Pennridge. “We had seven 3-pointers in the first quarter, came out with a lot of energy. The student section was crazy. The energy was just awesome.”

The Bucks were due for a night like this.

A 27-point first quarter sent them on their way to a satisfying 64-53 victory over the Rams on a loud, raucous Senior Night at West. 

“It feels great. We had a rough patch, losing games by two or three points, so it’s good to get one under our belt,” said Mancini, who scored a team-high 16 points. 

The Bucks raised their Suburban One League Colonial Division record to 3-11 and are now 4-13 overall. Pennridge is now 5-15 on the year and 3-11 in the Colonial.

Ten different players contributed points for the Bucks, who led 27-11 after the first quarter and were up 40-25 at the break.

“Even though we’ve had a rough season, everyone comes with a positive mindset every day,” Mancini said. “That’s the best part of this team is how close we are.”

Nick Tenaglia, another senior, nailed four 3-pointers in that big start for the Bucks and finished with 14 points. Senior John Lee battled underneath for 10 points and he also hit a pair of threes, as did Mancini. 

The Rams, who got a game-high 17 points from Matt Campione, closed to within 10 a couple times in the fourth, but the Bucks carefully controlled the final seven minutes.

Charlie Cashman started getting to the basket, his pair of drives down the lane helping to work the lead to 52-42 with about five minutes to play.

Matt Engle battled his way in, getting one to go as he was on his way down, widening the gap to 54-42.

Michael Fountain’s three-point play caused the crowd to erupt, and strengthened the West lead to 57-44 at the midway point of the fourth. 

Engle had another tough basket inside and another burst by Mancini helped shove this one into the win column, his layup making it 61-48 as the final minutes wound down. 

CB West is at arch rival CB East Tuesday and Pennridge is home against Souderton Area that same night. 

Asked what he’s enjoyed most about this group, Mancini said: “just how close-knit we are. We know everything about each other. I think we even spend more time with the team than we do at home with our families. Every time we break down, we say ‘family on three,’ and it is like a family. I trust these guys like they’re my brothers.”

Central Bucks West 64, Pennridge 53

Pennridge 11 14 9 19 – 53

CB West 27 13 6 18 – 64

P: Justin McCormick 3 1-2 8, Justin Nichols 2 1-3 5, Matt Campione 5 6-6 17, Xavier Peters 1 4-4 6, Tommy Cramer 2 2-3 6, Jude D’Agostino 3 0-0 6, Tyler Johnson 1 0-0 2, Gannon Perlini 1 0-0 3. Totals 18 14-18 53.

C: Matt Engle 4 0-1 8, Nick Tenaglia 5 0-0 14, Donte Mancini 7 0-0 16, Bowen Gugger 2 0-0 4, John Lee 3 2-2 10, Colin McKenna 1 0-0 2, Charlie Cashman 2 0-0 4, Michael Fountain 1 1-1 3, Owen Duffy 1 0-0 2, John Stim 0 1-2 1. Totals 26 4-6 64.

3-pointers: P-McCormick, Campione, Perlini; C-Tenaglia 4, Mancini 2, Lee 2.