Reichwein’s 3s start late run, CB West bests Souderton

FRANCONIA >> With Central Bucks West leading Souderton by just a point in the fourth quarter, Cal Reichwein knew it was time to put his stamp on the game.

“I hadn’t been shooting particularly well the whole game and it was just time for someone to step up,” the Bucks senior said. “I feel like that’s my job as a leader on this team.”

A pair of free throws by Ty Salone had pulled the host Indians to within 49-48 with 5:15 left in the Suburban One League Continental Conference boys basketball matchup, but Reichwein drained a 3-pointer from the corner then hit another from the wing to extend West’s advantage to seven.

“I felt pretty good after the first one,” Reichwein said. “I mean, I’m a rhythm shooter more and after I get one, the second one’s more likely to go in.”

The pair of treys jump-started a 13-0 run that allowed CB West to pull away from Big Red and stay unbeaten in conference play with a 71-59 victory Friday night.

“Souderton’s always tough. They play really hard, they play good defense and when they’re making shots their one of the best teams in the league,”  said Reichwein, who has committed to Lafayette as a preferred walk-on. “So, we just stick with what we do and come out with a win.”

Reichwein and Luke Irons both scored 17 points, the duo combining to score West’s first 15 points of the fourth. Erich Hohenleitner added 12 points for the Bucks (5-1, 3-0 SOL Continental), who never trailed after collecting the final six points of the first quarter.

“It was funny though, because Cal really didn’t do much in the first half. Erich Hohenleitner, I think, did a lot more for us the first half, and Bill Power,” CB West coach Adam Sherman said. “So, it was nice there, one guy doesn’t do it one half, the other guy will do it the other half.”

Down 34-29 at the break, Souderton (3-4, 1-2) upped the tempo in the third quarter with a full-court press and tied West twice – the second time at 36-36 at 5:47. But the Indians could not get over the hump and had their two-game win streak snapped. West, meanwhile, stayed tied with Hatboro-Horsham atop the Continental with the win.

“They’re a well-coached team and they got a bunch of seniors that play together and they don’t crack under that kind of pressure. Sot, that’s what it was.” Indians first-year coach Chuck Kornegay said. “We tried to crack them, and they’re just a more experienced team. I thought talent-wise we matched up. They function really well as a team.”

Tracy Simsick had a strong effort for Souderton, hitting three three-pointers and finishing with 26 points. None of Big Red’s eight other scorers, however, registered more than seven points.

“He’s been solid for us all year. We need to definitely get him some help, get more of a balanced attack,” said Kornegay of Simsick. “That’s what I want, I want these guys to go out and play with confidence and pretty much equal opportunity type of offense. I don’t want one guy having to shoulder that kind of load, but I definitely respect the way he played tonight and trying to put us on his back.

“But as you saw tonight, that kind of philosophy is just not going to work a lot of the time against one team that’s functioning as one group. We can’t just win with one individual.”

Both teams are back on the court Tuesday for conference road games. Souderton visits Pennridge while CB West is at North Penn.

“Well, we’re on the road at North Penn and North Penn’s got a lot of talent,” Sherman said. “We’re just going to have to go there and prepare and do the best we can.”

Two Michael Bealer free throws at 5:47 in the third had Souderton even with West a 36-36, but the Bucks scored the next seven points – the first five by Connor Lynch, the last two Reichwein collected off glass to make it 43-36.

“We’re a very experienced team. We know how to handle ourselves when things aren’t going our way. We try to be really resilient. We’ve been focusing on being resilient lately. And so we really handled it well, came back and played hard.”

Irons’ two fouls host had West up 47-40 with 2:23 left in the quarter before Simsick connected on a foul line jumper then scored in transition, cutting the margin to 47-44 entering the fourth.

Simsick got Souderton with a point with two free throws with 7:25 remaining in the contest. An Irons jumper in the lane put the Bucks back up three, but Salone made two at the line at 5:15 to make it 49-48.

Reichwein proceeded to bury his corner three for a four-point lead, then connected again from beyond the arc to put West up 55-48. Irons’ three-point play off a drive made it 58-48 at 3:05.

The Bucks added four more points at the foul line to go ahead 62-48 at 2:05. From there, Souderton only got as close as 10.

The Indians’ final lead Friday came in the first quarter when two Connor Lennon’s free throw had Big Read up 8-7 at 2:03. But West collected the quarter’s last six points – Irons scoring after stealing a sideline inbounds pass for a 13-8 Bucks advantage.

West led by eight twice in the second quarter – the last time at 30-22 after two Hohenleitner free throws at 2:03 – however Souderton was down five going into halftime after a late bucket by Bealer.