In the fourth quarter, it was back and forth, nobody scoring

UPPER DUBLIN 55, PENNSBURY 49

Drew Stover has spent the season putting up one big performance after another. The Upper Dublin senior turned in another gem on Saturday, finishing with an eye-popping double-double – 30 points and 19 rebounds.

“We said in the locker room after the game that we wouldn’t be surprised if he had 30 and 20,” UD coach Chris Monahan said.

Stover had 16 points in the first half, but the Flying Cardinals still found themselves trailing by one at the intermission, 31-30. Evan Reichard led a balanced Falcon attack with eight points, which included a pair of 3-pointers. Amir Johnson and Evan McNeely both had seven points while Aidan McCormack had six.

“It was their Senior Day – they got off to a great start and had five three’s in the first half,” Monahan said. “They had us reeling a little bit. They played really aggressive, they trapped all over the place, and they made shots.”

In the third quarter, the Flying Cardinals outscored the Falcons 15-11, taking a 40-38 lead on a Stover putback at the buzzer. Stover had 10 points in the frame.

“We regrouped a little bit at halftime,” Monahan said. “We talked about how we wanted to stay connected to their shooters more – we were giving them too much space, we talked about how we wanted to handle their press better because we had a lot of turnovers in the first half and only two or three in the second.

“They had two three’s in the second half, so we did a much better job with that, and we were able to get Drew established throughout the game.”

A pair of clutch 3-pointers by Noah Lee keyed a 15-point fourth quarter for the Cards.

“In the fourth quarter, it was back and forth, nobody scoring,” Monahan said. “Drew wasn’t scoring as much, and Noah got two looks and knocked them both down to stretch our lead to six or seven, and that was the difference in the game.

“They would come back, cut it to five, cut it to three. We’d nail a three. His three’s were gigantic.“

Lee finished with nine points – all in the second half. Seaton Kukla added seven.

For the Falcons, McCormack’s 10-point effort led the way. Johnson and McNeely both had nine while Reichard had eight points and Kennan Taddei, seven points. Craig Stargell chipped in six. McNeely led the Falcons with nine rebounds. Reichard added five and McCormack had four.

Upper Dublin (5-1, 2-1 SOL) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday, and Pennsbury (2-4, 1-3) will be on the road at Council Rock North.

Game Summary Brought To You By

Upper Dublin  11-14-15-15   55

Pennsbury       15-16-7-11    49

Upper Dublin (49) – Noah Lee 3 0-0 9; Colin O’Sullivan 1 1-2 3; DJ Cerisier 1 0-0 2; Seaton Kukla 3 1-2 7; Tim Boutilier 2 0-0 4; Drew Stover 14 2-4 30 TOTALS 24 4-8 55.

Pennsbury (55) – Amir Johnson 3 2-2 9; Aidan McCormack 4 1-1 10; Kennan Taddei 3 0-0 7; Evan Reichard 3 0-0 8; Craig Stargell 2 0-0 6; Evan McNeely 3 3-6 9; TOTALS 18 6-9 49.

3-point goals:  UD – Noah Lee 3, Pennsbury – Evan Reichard 2, Craig Stargell 2, Aidan McCormack, Kennan Taddei, Amir Johnson.