Pennsbury basketball’s foul shots seal win over Council Rock South (VIDEO)

FAIRLESS HILLS – Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice shame on me.

Pennsbury wasn’t going to let visiting Council Rock South escape with its second win of the season over the Falcons by missing a bunch of foul shots at the end like the Orange & Black did the last time these two squared off, not on Senior Recognition Night.

The last time Pennsbury went up against the Golden Hawks, the Falcons missed 10 shots from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter then watched in horror as CR South junior Austin Thomas tossed a one-handed shot in off the glass to beat the buzzer for a 1-point Hawks’ victory.

This time, the Falcons hit 13-of-18 foul shots in the last period including the last six to help seal a 56-48 triumph. If you’re counting, that’s four straight wins for Pennsbury including the Falcons’ recent thrilling overtime victory over Downingtown East.

“That was a hard loss – coming on a buzzer-beater,” said Pennsbury 6-8 junior forward Mark Flagg (18 pts.), who shot 6-for-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. “That was so much motivation for us to get this one back and get another win in the SOL.”

For the Falcons, the win pushes them to 13-7, overall, 8-4 in the Suburban One League (SOL) National Conference while the loss for CR South drops the Hawks to 7-13, 5-8 in the SOL.

The way the game began however, it was hard to imagine Pennsbury emerging victorious. The Falcons shot 5-for-14 in the first period while the visitors shot 8-for-15, a 53 percent shooting rate that gave CR South a 17-7 lead with 1:45 remaining in the initial frame.

The Hawks opened the game with three consecutive buckets by 6-6 junior forward Ryan Boyd, who scored on a putback, a spin move and a bank shot to give his team an early 6-3 edge. An ensuing layup by junior Kevin Newbert (9 pts.), a jumper by 6-7 classmate Ryan McNamee (6 pts, 11 rebounds) and a 3-pointer by junior Austin Thomas (15 pts.) gave CR South a 13-5 lead with just 4:14 elapsed in the first period.

South junior Alex Nordenholt (8 pts.) hit a jump shot and Newbert put a ball back into the basket for a 17-7 lead that was nice to look at but would not last, not for long.

It was right around that time that Pennsbury decided to amp up its defense, opting for a full-court press, from that point forward. The result was a 5-0 Falcon run to wrap up the first quarter and a similar scoring spurt to begin the second. Defensively, Pennsbury held the visitors off the scoreboard for over six-and-a-half minutes.

“Our perimeter defenders played real good; I think they score only six points in the second quarter,” commented Flagg. “Addison, Tyler, Vaughn – all them did a great job on their guards.”

Trailing the Hawks 17-12 entering the second period, the Falcons got a 3-pointer by senior Rob Daly (11 pts.), and another by junior Addison Howard (16 pts.) on a third-chance bucket to take a slim 18-17 edge. While it was their first lead lead in the contest, it was an edge Pennsbury would not relinquish.

Forcing South into a third consecutive turnover, Daly took the ball and went coast to coast with it then junior Tyler Sessa-Reeves (5 pts.) hit a jumper for a 22-17 lead.

When Austin Thomas went the distance with his next layup at the 4:45 mark, it was the first CR South points in the period. Layups by Boyd and McNamee sandwiched a 3-pointer by Howard – one of four treys by Addison in the contest – putting the Falcons on top 25-23 at the half.

Coming back from the break, Pennsbury posted a 12-0 run, a scoring spurt highlighted by a driving layup from the baseline and a 3-pointer by Flagg, his second in the contest.

Falcons junior reserve guard Vaughn Ward (8 pts.) also came alive in the period, hitting three shots from the floor and scoring all eight of his points in the quarter.

“I call them flow shots,” said Pennsbury head coach Bill Coleman. “If any one of our guys – if we get shots in the flow of the offense, not one pass-shot, not it’s my turn or me-shots, as I call them. When we get everything in the flow, we’re all very good shooters.”

Ward hit a 3-point play early on in the third period then, after a 3-pointer by Howard and an ensuing block by Addison, went the distance with a layup for a 42-38 edge. His only trey in the contest – one of eight made by Pennsbury in the game – put the home team on top 45-30 with time winding down in the third quarter.

“I knew Vaughn was a great player all the time,” said Flagg. “He usually comes off the bench but Tyler (Sessa-Reeves) got hurt and he really stepped up big time for us – when we needed him the most.”

With the Falcons on top 47-38 entering the final frame, Boyd hit his last layup in the battle to cut the Hawks’ deficit to seven. Both McNamee and Boyd missed golden opportunities to draw CR South even closer when each missed 1-and-1 chances at the foul line, despite the fact that each was given two chances to do so when Pennsbury committed lane violations.

The Falcons made them pay, too, working the ball around and around their offensive zone until they found Howard for his fourth trey in the game and a 50-40 lead with 2:30 remaining.

“That was huge,” stated Coleman. “They tried to trap us and we caught it a little bit. We were trying to run a play and they changed up defenses. We were up and they were playing a zone-trap. We don’t have to score; we were just trying to get a good shot and Addy stepped up and hit a big three.”

Pennsbury closed the game out at the foul line, making 13 of its last 16 shots from the charity stripe.

For his part, Flagg hit for six points in each of the first, third and fourth periods, a performance that included a pair of 3-pointers.

“Mark’s been taking flow shots the last two or three games,” explained Coleman. “That’s making sure your feet are settled, you’re squared up to the rim and everything is right and ready to go.

In addition to leading all scorers with 18 points, Flagg added 20 rebounds, many of which came off the defensive glass.

“As long as he fights for position early and continues to fight and spin off the block-outs – he’s always double-teamed – he’s pretty solid on the defensive boards,” commented Coleman, of Flagg.

For the Falcons, the win comes on the heels of Saturday’s win in overtime over Ches-Mont rival Downingtown East. In that one hosted Jan. 30 at Pennsbury, Flagg hit for 19 points while Howard led the scoring effort with 20 including a jumper to send the battle into overtime and a pair of free throws in the extra session to help seal a 60-57 triumph.

For the Golden Hawks, who were once at 6-7 overall, 4-3 in the SOL National Conference after their 60-44 win Jan. 12 at Neshaminy, South is reeling with losses suffered in seven of its last eight contests.

Contact the author at ssherman@21st-Centurymedia.com, or @BucksLocalSport on Twitter

Pennsbury 65, Council Rock South 48

(Feb. 2 at Pennsbury)

Pennsbury 12 13 22 18 – 65

CR South    17   6 15 10 – 48

COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH — Austin Thomas 15, Alex Nordenholt 8, Ryan McNamee 6, Ryan Boyd 10, Kevin Newbert 9; TOTALS — 19 5-13 48.

PENNSBURY — Addison Howard 16, Vaughn Ward 8, Tyler Sessa-Reeves 5, Isaiah Carpenter 3, Joey Monaghan 2, Rob Daly 11, Mark Flagg 18, Mike Alley 2; TOTALS — 20 17-27 65.

3-POINT GOALS: CRS — Thomas 3, Nordenholt 2; P — Howard 4, Flagg 2, Daly, Ward.