Spring-Ford stuns Pennridge in OT

EAST ROCKHILL >> Loose and confident, Spring-Ford came out Tuesday night firing from deep and connecting, jumping out to a 17-6 lead over favored Pennridge.

And in the fourth quarter and overtime, when things were far more tense, Spring-Ford squeezed out every last shot and defensive stop it needed to earn a 61-58 upset, becoming the first road team this season to come out of Pennridge with a victory.
“We were by far the underdog in this game and it’s good to come out on top,” said senior guard Matt Gnias, who scored a game-high 23 points for 12th-seeded Spring-Ford. “We knew that they were gonna go on a run. It’s their court and they had the crowd behind them. We just wanted to compete with them, and that’s what we did.”
The win sends Spring-Ford to the District One Class AAAA Quarterfinals, with a trip to No. 4 Ridley on Friday. No. 5 Pennridge is still alive for a spot in states, heading to district playbacks.
“Our goal right now is to try and get to states,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “Spring-Ford’s a good basketball team.
“Our guys are down right now — they hadn’t lost a game on our home court all season, and we’re gonna try to pick them up.”
A three by Dan Long (team-high 20 points) pushed Pennridge ahead 52-51 and moments later Long scored on a rebound to extend the lead to 54-51 with two minutes to go in regulation.

Spring-Ford tied the game with a three by Charles Drummond, and after each team failed to score on its final possession of the fourth, the game headed to overtime.
Suggesting that maybe it was Spring-Ford’s night, a three by Cameron Reid bounced high off the rim and then fell through, giving the visitors a 57-54 edge.
A pair of free throws by Nigel Cooke increased the visitors’ lead to 59-54 before a basket underneath by Kyle Yoder sliced it back to a three-point game, 59-56.
After a free throw by each team, Pennridge would have the ball in the final seconds, down by three, and with five ticks to go, Stephen Lowry, who was hot early for the host Rams, connected on his first and then — to give his team a chance at a rebound and a two-pointer — Lowry line-drived his second attempt off the rim but Ryan Fitzpatrick secured the biggest board of the night for the visitors.
Fitzpatrick hit his second free throw with three seconds to go, making it 61-58, and then a steal by Spring-Ford locked it up as time ran out.
Spring-Ford’s strong start proved to be crucial.
“It was a shootout,” Gnias said. “They were hitting threes, we were hitting threes. It’s good to come into this gym, knocking down shots early.”
Spring-Ford came out firing, connecting on five first-quarter threes to build a 17-6 lead. Cooke, Gnias and Charles Drummond all connected from the outside, giving SF the early jump on the host Rams.
Pennridge, though, hit four threes of its own in the opening period, chipping away at the deficit and then drawing to within 21-17 when Long finished on the fast break just before the end of the quarter.
Pennridge built on that momentum in the opening stages of the second, as Long dished to Lowry, who connected for his third three of the night, bringing his team within 24-22.
Moments later, Lowry’s fourth three of the evening pushed the host Rams in front for the first time, 25-24. The lead would swing back and forth for the remainder of the half until Gnias — with 14 first-half points — dropped in a floater down the lane to give the visitors a 32-31 lead at the break.