Upper Dublin outraces William Tennent, advances to Suburban One League Tournament semifinals
WARMINSTER >> Even from the sideline, Upper Dublin boys basketball coach Derek Brooks felt at times it was hard to keep up with the pace both the Cardinals and William Tennent played Friday night.
“That’s one of those games where you’re going through it and you’re like wow, even as a coach you’re not even playing but it’s hard to catch your breath at times,” Brooks said.
Both sides sprinted up and down the court throughout the Suburban One League quarterfinal but it ended up being Upper Dublin’s quick start that allowed it to outlast the host Panthers.
Brady Fogle knocked down three of the sixth-seeded Cardinals’ five 3-pointers in the first quarter that gave UD a 25-12 advantage after the opening eight minutes.
William Tennent’s frenetic tempo got the No. 3 seed back in the contest but while the SOL Freedom Division champion came close it could never grab the lead and a few Fogle free throws late in the fourth helped Upper Dublin advance with a 71-61 victory.
“Tennent likes to really get up-and-down the court so it was like a track meet,” Fogle said. “They get the ball in and just run every time. And we kind of matched that energy.”
Fogle had a team-best 20 points, the junior scoring 10 in the first quarter, collecting back-to-back buckets to cap the third then went 6-of-8 from the line in the fourth as the Cardinals move on to visit No. 2 Central Bucks East in the semis 12:30 p.m. Saturday. East topped No. 7 Pennridge 67-61.
“I wasn’t hitting my shots recently,” Fogle said. “And to see the first couple in gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the game.”
Seaton Kukla had 15 points – his personal 7-0 putting UD up 61-51 in the fourth – while Ryan Mulroy added 11 points as the Cardinals (18-5) reached 70 points for the first time since its previous win over Tennent 73-49 Jan. 6. In its 10 games prior to Friday, Upper Dublin’s highest point total was 59 in beating Upper Moreland Jan. 10.
“One of the things we saw in film when we watched this old game is how well we pushed the pace and how we were able to score,” Brooks said. “So we tried to emulate that from the start and it worked out better than I could even imagine. And it’s good for Brady to see the ball go in, Seaton to see the ball go in, DJ (Cerisier), Ryan, the other guys filled in when they could.
“We needed that. It wasn’t our best defensive night and rebounding night – fortunately we had our best offensive night in a while.”
Kirby Mooney scored 20 points to lead Tennent (16-7), which dropped it second straight and now waits to play in the District 1-6A tournament. The Panthers are 12th in the district rankings, which would mean hosting a first-round game Friday.
“We just seemed that we couldn’t get over the hump,” William Tennent coach Robert Mulville said. “We’d get it to two, we’d get it to three and then our defense would have a miscommunication or we’d miss a shot. I think if we could’ve just gotten it where it was (a) tie or got the lead, it sends a whole new set of energy into ya.”
“But we battled, that first quarter just kind of killed us and then we were uphill for the rest of the way.”
The Cardinals began the game with consecutive threes from Fogle and Cerisier with Fogle’s second trey putting UD up 10-3. A 7-0 run with two Cerisier baskets sandwiching Fogle’s third triple had the UD lead at 19-7.
An Isiah Dawson corner three had Tennent down 21-12 but Colin O’Sullivan was fouled hitting a three at the top of the arc and converted the four-point play with 38.5 seconds for a 25-12 lead.
The Cardinals, however, could not connect for deep in the second quarter and Tennent’s pace began to pay dividends.
“I thought we got good looks in that second quarter, couple of them rimmed out, they made their (shots), it’s just sometimes it’s how it works,” Brooks said. “You just got to weather the storm. We talk about all the time where shooting is sometimes it’s just about getting a good look – sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t. You got to have a short memory. We always talk about being a goldfish like Ted Lasso always says.”
Chris Kohlbrenner’s basket had UD ahead 27-13 but the Panthers cut the margin in half with seven straight points.
The Cardinals went back up double digits after a Terrell Turner foul shot made it 34-24 at 3:38. Devon drained two 3-pointers during an 8-0 Tennent run to pull the home side to within 34-32. UD, however, scored six of the half’s final seven points, a Griffin Pensabene bucket making it 40-33 at the break.
“We did make an adjustment on our offense just cause their matchup (zone) was bothering us,” Mulville said. “We had planned to play a certain way and it really didn’t pan out too well for us so we switched that up a little bit.”
Upper Dublin extended its lead to 11 twice early in the third, the second time at 46-35 after a Cerisier basket but Tennent rallied back and was within 47-44 following five straight points from Mooney.
After a two by O’Sullivan, Marion’s transition layup had the Panthers down three again at 49-46 only for Fogle to hit a runner then get in the lane and a shot to drop to send the Cardinals to the fourth leading 53-46.
“We just had the composure just once they make a run we got to make a run and calm it down,” Fogle said. “Getting a couple buckets here and there and just take the lead back.”
Danny Scheller’s basket had Tennent back within three at 54-51 but Kukla proceeded to score the game’s next seven – knocking down a three from the top of the arc, scoring off an inbounds then a putback to extend UD’s lead to 61-51.
A Turner basket off an offensive rebound then a long two by Mooney made it 61-55 while a Devon 3-pointer capped an 8-0 run that had the Panthers down 61-58.
Pensabene found Mulroy inside for a layup to give the Cards a five-point edge. The ball went out of bounds off Tennent with 1:29 left and 19 seconds later Fogle hit both ends of a 1-and-1. Fogle rebounded a missed three by the Panthers and was fouled at 57.5 seconds and again made a 1-and-1 for a 67-58 UD lead.
Upper Dublin tacked on four more foul shots in the final minute to push its advantage to 71-58.
Upper Dublin 71, William Tennent 61
Upper Dublin 25 15 13 18 – 71
William Tennent 12 21 13 15 – 61
Upper Dublin: Brady Fogle 5 7-10 20; Seaton Kukla 7 0-0 15; Ryan Mulroy 4 3-4 11; Colin O’Sullivan 2 2-3 7; DJ Cerisier 4 0-0 9; Griffin Pensabene 2 0-2 4; Terrell Turner 1 1-2 3; Chris Kohlbrenner 1 0-0 2; Totals 26 13-21 71.
William Tennent: Kirby Mooney 7 5-7 20; Evan Devor 5 0-0 15; George Marion 6 2-3 14; Isiah Dawson 2 0-0 5; Chris D’Ambra 1 2-2 4; Danny Scheller 1 1-2 3; Totals 22 10-14 61.
3-pointers: UD-Fogle 3, Cerisier, Kukla, O’Sullivan; WT-Devon 5, Dawson, Mooney.
