Price, Towsen lead Souderton past Central Bucks South

FRANCONIA >> Picking up a pair of early fouls had Jason Price stuck on the bench in the first half. The junior, however, did not stay dejected for too long as he watched from the sideline.

“I got in early foul trouble and I was just really down at myself,” he said. “But when you have every other guy on your team just building you up the whole time it’s kind of easy to just come out there and produce for the guys you love next to you.”

Price struck for nine points during a decisive 13-0 run that began late in the third quarter and scored all of his team-high 18 points after halftime as the Indians pulled away from visiting Central Bucks South in the fourth then held off the Titans to claim a 55-46 victory Friday night.

“He’s been awesome to watch,” said Souderton coach Tim Brown of Price. “He went from being the sixth man to I think he’s first-team all-leaguer. I think he’s the best player in the league. He’s fun to watch. He can score at every level. He’s long, he’s quick. He’s just really talented.”

Jack Towsen added 14 points for the Indians, who opened up a tight SOL Continental contest by collecting the final four points of the third to go up 31-30 then opened the fourth with nine straight for a 40-30 lead on Price’s three-point play at 5:59.

“We’ve talked a lot about of focus in between first and second quarter and third and fourth quarter cause we generally have a little bit of a let up,” Brown “So we talk about it a lot in between that third and in the fourth quarter and they came out on fire and ready to take the game. So I was proud of them for the way they came out there.”

Souderton (11-7, 5-4 conference) pushed its advantage to 12 on two Towsen free throws with 1:44 remaining before the Titans made a late charge, chopping the margin down to six at 49-43 in the final minute. South had a chance to pull closer after the Indians missed two foul shots at 47.6 seconds but could not connect on a 3-pointer from the wing.

After two Price free throws made it 51-43 with 37 seconds, Alex Dietz’s corner triple had South (9-8, 4-5) down five but Big Red made four more from the line as Souderton snapped a five-game losing streak to the Titans and moved a bit closer to reaching the District 1 postseason for the first time since 2015.

“We’re really excited,” Towsen said. “We had two amazing practices and after our last game we’re just hungry. Hungry to make playoffs cause we’ve been in a drought.”

Despite missing seniors Andrew Vince and Dom Natale due to injuries, the Indians have steadied themselves from a midseason skid, winning three of their last four after a stretch of just one win in six games that had Big sitting at 8-6.

“They’re getting back to playing good basketball, good, solid basketball and they’re playing with confidence,” Brown said. “They’re experiencing their new roles and they’re thriving in their new roles and they’re trusting each other and they’re trusting just what we’re doing. And practicing hard and day-in and day-out they’re just getting better.

“And I’m proud of them for never kind of hanging their heads, staying mentally tough throughout the season and focusing on the bigger picture and not thinking about what we lost just thinking about what’s next.”

CB South’s Michael Farley finished with a game-high 25 points as Souderton had trouble all night slowing down the 6-foot-7 sophomore inside before he fouled out in the final minute. Farley had eight points in the second quarter then posted 11 points in the fourth.

“Matt (Uhrich) picked up early fouls in the first and the third and that’s our size,” Brown said. “After that, we don’t have much size so we’re kind of going to understand that he was going to get his but we needed to stop (Mike) Waltrich and we needed to stop Dietz and I thought they did a good job of frustrating those guys and taking away their shots.”

Souderton sits 14^th in the District 1-6A power rankings with the top 24 making the playoff field. The Indians have a tough stretch with three road games next week – Central Bucks East Tuesday, Pennridge Friday then Lower Merion Saturday.

“We’re ready for the challenge,” Brown said. “This is what we want to face, we want to face these district teams and get ready for districts. If we reel one more off, we’ll feel comfortable about our place in districts so we’re ready to rumble and we want to see these teams, so can’t wait ‘til Tuesday.”

After the teams played to a 22-22 tie in Friday’s first half, Farley began the third scoring two straight baskets to make it 26-22 before Price recorded his first points on a 3-pointer.

An Uhrich free throw gave Souderton a 27-26 lead at 4:50 but a John Hackendahl jumper and Josiah Harrison basket had the Titans ahead 30-27. Souderton, however, took the lead for good by scoring the quarter’s last four points – a Sami Chouriaf transition bucket then two inside by Price – and Big Red kept the momentum going in the fourth.

“We believe in every guy we have,” Price said. “So it’s like whoever puts on that red jersey, we’re confident in how they’re going to play and how they’re going to produce.”

Evan Kutzler found Towsen cutting down the baseline for a layup and 33-30 lead while Price proceeded to post the Indians’ next seven points. A Towsen steal under South’s basket resulted in a Price transition layup to make it 37-30 with Price’s three-point play on a scooping layup at 5:59 extending the lead to 10.

“Recently, the fourth quarter’s been our struggle,” Towsen said. “So we just tried to bring even more intensity and energy and the defense really propelled us in that fourth quarter.”

Consecutive baskets by Farley made it 40-34 but Price drained a 3-pointer after Chouriaf’s offensive rebound off a missed free throw. Another Farley basket made it 43-36 before Souderton scored the next five for its biggest lead at 48-36.

Farley scored his last five points during a 7-1 South run that cut Souderton’s lead  to six in the last minute. But the Titans could not make it a one-possession game and lost its second straight.

CB South led by six three times in the first quarter, the last time at 11-5 before a Kutzler jumper in the lane made it 11-7 at the end of the opening eight minutes.

A Brian Reiner three-point play on a jumper at 7:39 and a Towsen fast-break bucket gave Souderton a 12-11 lead. South went back ahead on a Farley dunk but Towsen hit a pair of 3-pointers in an 8-0 Big Red run to give the hosts a 20-13 edge.

“I told Jack afterwards he won us that game today,” Brown said. “Really smart basketball from him tonight, it wasn’t even the points that won us the game when they were playing their matchup he got to the right spots, he moved to the right areas, he rebounded the ball like crazy, played good defense, talked through possessions, so he was great tonight.”

South capped the half scoring nine of the final 11 points – the last four by Farley to level the score 22-22 at the break.