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#24 NORTH PENN 46, #12 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 43
Unlikely, Improbable, Impossible.
Take your pick. Any one of those words – as recently as mid-January – would have aptly described North Penn’s chances of earning a spot in the District One 6A Tournament, much less a berth in the PIAA 6A state tournament.
The Knights snuck into districts as the 24th and final seed, and while that in itself was quite an accomplishment, it wasn’t enough for the suddenly surging Knights, who decided to make their trip to districts a memorable one.
A Kolby Barrow three at the buzzer broke a 43-43 tie in Tuesday’s must-win playback, capping a heroic late-game comeback and giving the Knights a dramatic win that vaulted them into the state tournament.
“I said to the guys in the locker room before our game – we were 4-10,” NP coach John Conrad said. “It’s just a tribute to our seniors and our leaders. They’ve not let us quit, they’ve continued to hold each other accountable, and they’ve done a great job.”
No one seems to know for sure if the Knights made history as the first 24 seed to advance to states, but there’s no denying it’s a remarkable accomplishment.
“I don’t think a 32 seed ever made to the states, and since they’ve gone to the new format, I’m not sure if a 24 seed has gone or not,” Conrad said. “I just don’t have any words for it, to tell you the truth.
“I never would have thought we’d be in this position in the middle of January, but again, our seniors have done a great job, our coaches have continued to coach. We’ve been fortunate, obviously.”
The Knights, winners of eight of their last 12 games, trailed by 43-37 with two minutes remaining.
“They turned the ball over three times, and we were able to score and tied the game,” Conrad said. “They were holding for a last shot, they drove the lane, and Matt Swanson took a charge with a little over six seconds to go, so that gave us the final possession, and Kolby hit the 3-pointer.
“Kolby inbounded the ball, and he trailed the play. We’d worked on our end of game situations and they doubled Joe (Larkins), and he hit Kolby trailing the play. He hit a 3-pointer at the top of the key, but he was probably two or three feet beyond the line.”
The Patriots – sparked by eight points from Chris Charlton – opened up a 14-11 lead after one quarter, but the Knights pulled to within one at halftime, 23-22. Senior Josh Jones kept the Knights afloat with 10 first-half points.
“We went up five halfway through the third, and then (Jason) Markowitz hit three straight 3s for them, and they came storming back and took a lead,” Conrad said. “They extended it to six with two to go in the fourth quarter, and we had a couple of stops and were able to score in the half court to create that situation.”
Jones led all scorers with 18 points, which included a 6-for-7 effort at the foul line. Rob Carangi also finished in double figures with 11 points – six in the second half. Larkins added seven points.
“Early on, I thought we were very nervous and tentative,” Conrad said. “Honestly, Josh put us on his back early. He was the difference early, kept us in the game, and then as we started to settle in, the other guys contributed, but Josh deserves a lot of credit because he put us on his back early.”
The Knights coach credited the defensive play of Mike Chaffee on East’s high-scoring junior Joe Jackman.
“Mike Chaffee has not scored a ton throughout the year, but he always draws the toughest defensive assignment,” Conrad said. “He held Jackman to eight tonight, and he deserves a ton of credit for the way he dug in defensively. Jackman was in foul trouble throughout the game, but still, Mike did a great job.”
For the Patriots, who buried 10 3-pointers, Markowitz led the way with 12 points on four 3s. Charlton added 11, including three 3s, and Jackman had a pair of 3s and eight points. Tyler Young added seven points.
The Knights were 9-for-15 at the foul line while the Patriots were 5-of-6.
North Penn (12-14, 5-7 SOL) will travel to #2 Garnet Valley for a seeding playback game on Friday. Central Bucks East (7-5 SOL) closed out its season with a 15-11 record.
Game Summary brought to you by
North Penn 11-11-11-13 46
Central Bucks East 14-9-11-9 43
North Penn (46) – Kolby Barrow 1 0-0 3; Josh Jones 6 6-7 18; Joey Larkins 3 0-0 7; Mike Chaffee 1 0-0 2; Rob Carangi 5 1-3 11; Matt Swanson 2 1-4 5; Totals 18 8-14 46.
Central Bucks East (43) – Jason Markowitz 4 0-0 12; Tyler Young 3 0-0 7; Jacob Rotondo 1 0-0 2; Anthony Giordano 0 3-4 3; Chris Charlton 4 0-0 11; Joe Jackman 2 2-2 8; Totals 14 5-6 43.
3-point goals: NP – Kolby Barrow, Joey Larkins, CBE – Jason Markowitz 4, Chris Charlton 3, Joe Jackman 2, Tyler Young.