Kukla scores 20, Upper Dublin tops Upper Moreland for 5th straight win

UPPER DUBLIN >> Seaton Kukla does not get many chances from behind the 3-point line. But the Upper Dublin junior puts in the work to make sure he is ready for when the time comes to let it fly from long range.

“Especially home games, we have an aux gym upstairs, every home game I try to come an hour early and get up like 200 threes or something like that,” Kukla said. “Really, especially home games when I get my shots in before the game, it just flows into it and I’m feeling it.”

With the Cardinals boys basketball team and visiting Upper Moreland tied in the third quarter, Kukla got a look from beyond the arc off a pass from Colin O’Sullivan and hit nothing but net.

Kukla’s second triple of the Suburban One League crossover contest put Upper Dublin up 37-34 and from there the Cards never lost the lead in the Suburban One League crossover contest, pulling away with a 12-1 run to start the fourth and besting the Golden Bears 60-43.

“This season, I haven’t really gotten the ball on the wing that much where I had the opportunity,” Kukla said. “Tonight I did I hit two threes, it was very awesome. First three since (West Chester) Rustin like two weeks ago.”

Kukla added a pair of three-point plays in the fourth to finish with a game-high 20 points as UD (9-2, 6-0 SOL Liberty) outscored Upper Moreland 20-9 after leading 40-35 at the end of the third.

“He shoots them in practice and his volume of threes isn’t really high this year but it’s not because he’s not capable,” said Upper Dublin coach Chris Monahan of Kukla. “It’s just that we play almost essentially with four guards and really he’s a fifth big guard. He just hasn’t had the opportunities.”

O’Sullivan connected on four 3-pointers in recording 18 points while DJ Cerisier added 10 points as the Cardinals tightened up on defense after halftime to collect their fifth straight victory.

“Honestly, the story of the game, I know Seaton and Colin scored well, was guys like Noah Lee going in there and getting steals,” Monahan said. “Chris Kohlbrenner, DJ did a very good job against (Byron) Hopkins in the second half and that’s what got our offense going, the stops.”

Upper Moreland (7-4, 3-4 SOL Freedom) trailed 25-15 in the second quarter before ending the first half on a 14-2 run, Rashim Lancit’s buzzer-beating three giving it a 29-27 lead at halftime.

But the Golden Bears, who struggled from the foul line – ending the night 8-of-20 – could not keep the momentum going in the third, posting just six points in the quarter and were held to 14 points after intermission.

Matt Tiernan paced UM with 11 points while Hopkins chipped in nine points.

“We finished the first half strong and I think the break honestly hurt us, the halftime break,” Upper Moreland coach Dan Heiland said. “I don’t know what happened mentally, we just didn’t have it that second half and give credit to Upper Dublin and those guys, they came out, they kept pressuring us and we weren’t able to handle it tonight.”

Upper Dublin is back in action Saturday visiting Plymouth Whitemarsh at 5:30 p.m.

“I feel like we have a better team than last year,” Kukla said. “We’re going into PW tomorrow and PW traditionally been phenomenal, they blow us out every year, I feel we really have a chance against them tomorrow. I think we might beat them.”

Upper Moreland, which had won five of its last six coming into Friday, plays again Tuesday when it hosts Quakertown at 7 p.m.

“We’ve been on a good run, we have a tough schedule coming up, Suburban One’s a really good league,” Heiland said. “So now our crossovers are happening and they’re going to prepare us for when we get back in conference and hopefully at the end of the year when we’re making a playoff push, we can learn from these experiences and these games.”

Ryan Mulroy’s 3-pointer gave UD a 25-15 second-quarter lead but Hopkins scored on a putback then collected two more and drew a foul at 2:52 to make it 25-19.

A Kukla basket inside put the Cards up eight but the Golden Bears proceeded to score the half’s last 10 points.

Stefano Garofalo’s steal and breakaway layup had UM within 27-23. After a Tiernan free throw with 58.2 seconds, Hopkins found a cutting Bo Meakim for a layup to put the margin at 27-26. Lancit’s three off a Meakim assist just before the buzzer gave Upper Moreland its first lead since 6-5 in the first quarter.

“It wasn’t really anything we change, honestly it was more so guys being in the right spots and talking on defense,” Heiland said. “That’s what we preach, you got to talk and communicate and we were effectively communicating early in that second quarter and shots weren’t falling for them and we limit them to one and done.”

The Cardinals opened the third with seven straight points – an O’Sullivan three, a Kohlbrenner basket and two O’Sullivan free throws at 4:49 giving UD a 34-29 edge. Upper Moreland answered with the next five, four coming from Garofalo, who scored after rebounding his own miss to knot things at 34.

Kukla, however, knocked down a triple to put the hosts back in front and after each team hit one from the line UD’s Ellis Johnson connected on a jumper in the lane in third’s final seconds to make it 40-35 Cards.

O’Sullivan’s 3-pointer to start the fourth had Upper Dublin up eight. After a Hoskins free throw had UM within 43-36 at 7:18, Kukla scored off an offensive rebound and was fouled – converting the and-one for a 46-36 advantage at 6:03.

“He was the high scorer and he’s a skilled offensive player,” said Monahan of Kukla. “And you kind of saw his whole repertoire tonight offensively. He can score around the rim, both sides of the rim, stepped out as you said, hit the threes, so great offensive performance.”

A Kukla block led to Cerisier’s transition basket while Kohlbrenner saved a ball on the sideline to O’Sullivan, who found Cerisier for a breakaway layup. A Kohlbrenner fast-break basket after a Cerisier steal put UD up 16 at 52-36.

The Cards’ 9-0 run was stopped by a Meakim 3-pointer that made it 52-39 but the Bears could not get any closer. A Kukla three-point play off a Cerisier assist gave UD its largest lead of the night at 60-42 with 1:20 remaining

In the first quarter, the teams traded baskets early before Upper Dublin got a bit of separation with a 6-0 run capped by Cerisier’s steal and layup for a 18-11 lead. A Sean Dallahan basket had Upper Moreland down five after the opening eight minutes.

A 7-2 burst to begin the second quarter gave UD its biggest lead of the first half at 25-15 after Mulroy’s three.

Upper Dublin 60, Upper Moreland 43
Upper Moreland 13 16 6 8 – 43
Upper Dublin 18 9 13 20 – 60
Upper Moreland: Matt Tiernan 4 3-7 11; Byron Hopkins 3 3-9 9; Stefano Garofalo 3 1-2 7; Bo Meakim 3 0-0 7; Rashim Lancit 2 0-0 6; Sean Dallahan 1 0-0 2; Jared McCellan 0 1-2 1; Totals 16 8-20 43.
Upper Dublin: Seaton Kukla 7 4-4 20; Colin O’Sullivan 6 2-2 18; DJ Cerisier 5 0-0 10; Chris Kohlbrenner 2 0-0 4; Ryan Mulroy 1 0-0 3; Griffin Pensabene 1 1-2 3; Ellis Johnson 1 0-0 2; Totals 23 7-8 60.}
3-pointers: UM-Lancit 2, Meakim; UD-O’Sullivan 4, Kukla 2, Mulroy.