Wagner scores 1,000th point, Pennridge clinches share of SOL Continental title

EAST ROCKHILL >> Scoring 1,000 points is no small achievement in high school basketball. That is particularly true when you are playing for a team looking to win the Suburban One League Continental Conference, like Max Wagner is with Pennridge.

“I’m just glad that he was able to do it in front of the home crowd,” Pennridge head coach Dean Behrens said. “I thought that was real special, that he was able to do it with his family here and all our fans here. That was pretty cool.”

“Honestly I didn’t think about it,” Wagner added. “I knew it in the back of my head, but I knew we had to get the win first.”

Wagner’s 17 points, which landed him right on 1,000 for his career, helped the Rams pick up a 55-46 victory over Hatboro-Horsham and clinch at least a share of the SOL Continental.

Danny Long led all scorers with 19 points on the night. The senior, who registered 1,000 career points himself earlier in the season, scored all of his points in the final three quarters.

“We’re fortunate to have those types of players,” Behrens said of his two millennium scorers.

“We’re like brothers,” Wagner said of Long. “We have so much chemistry together and it’s great.”

Although Pennridge (18-3, 12-1 conference) had the lead for most of the first half, that advantage never stretched past seven points.

The first quarter in particular was tightly contested, as the opening frame saw a tie and three lead changes. Wagner had the first six points of the game for the Rams, and a Stephen Lowry three was the only other scoring Pennridge could muster. They still led 9-6 after the quarter thanks to solid defense.

“I thought (the key to) this game was limit penetration and rebound the basketball,” Behrens said. “We did a formidable job of doing that. If you can hold Hatboro to 46 points – we always say ‘47 and under, we’re always gonna be having a shot. Because I feel like offensively we can score that.”

The Hatters (11-10, 7-6) were paced in the game by and Jay Davis Clifton Moore, who had 12 and 11 points, respectively. Brian McEachern had eight as well.

Pennridge won the second quarter with solid offense and ball movement. Danny Long also found his offense, scoring eight points in the quarter.

When all was said and done the Rams won a more prolific second quarter 18-14 to take a 27-20 lead into the half.

Hatboro-Horsham  came out of the locker room and won the third quarter, but only by a point, trimming the deficit from seven to six, 38-32. Joseph Russell came up big in the quarter for the Hatters, scoring five points in the third.

Pennridge holds a share of the conference title for now, but it has a chance to take it outright for the second straight season with a win over Quakertown Thursday night.

“That’s our goal,” Behrens said about the outright title. “We’re not cutting down any nets tonight. We’re gonna take care of business Thursday.”