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NORTH PENN 70, BENSALEM 58
The Knights and Owls were deadlocked at halftime, and the score was still knotted 45-45 heading into the fourth quarter. But a game that appeared destined to come down to the wire instead turned into a double-digit win for the Knights, who took the lead and then spent the rest of the final quarter taking trips to the foul line. They connected on 13-of-15 in the frame to seal the Owls’ fate.
“It really was a game of runs throughout,” NP coach John Conrad said. “They’re a good team, they’re explosive, and we were just fortunate to have the last run.
“It was close the whole way, and we were able to extend it late, and they had to foul. It was a one-possession game through most of the fourth quarter, and maybe we got it to five, and they were in a position where they had to foul us.”
Josh Jones – who had a game high 30 points – was a perfect 8-for-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter and had 10 points. Billy Coley was 4-for-4 at the line and had eight points in the quarter.
“They sealed it from the foul line at the end,” Conrad said. “To be honest, we got a couple of good (defensive) stops. I think we had five straight stops late in the fourth, and really, that was probably the biggest thing because then they had to come get us.”
Milind Pulugura buried a pair of 3-pointers in the final quarter that saw the Knights outscore their visitors 25-13.
Coley finished with 21 points – 16 after the intermission. Pulugura added 11, and while the trio combined for 62 points, they weren’t the only ones to make important contributions.
“I thought it was a nice team win, and I thought everybody contributed,” Conrad said.
Saturday’s win was the third in a row for the Knights after a 1-2 start.
“I think everybody is still trying to feel their way through it a little bit,” Conrad said of the season. “Whether it be rotations, whether it be how your travel. We were even spending time trying to figure out how we were going to do timeouts. You don’t think of that stuff until you’re in the middle of it.
“But I think everybody is in the same boat – we’re now finally all at the point where we can do a little more focusing on the game itself.”
For the Owls, Saturday’s loss was their third in what was a tough week. James Ashford had a big game for the Owls with 22 points – 13 in the second half. Aaron Sanders added 15 points, which included three 3-pointers, and Eric Gonzalez had eight points.
North Penn (4-2, 3-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday, and Bensalem (2-4, 2-1) will host Neshaminy on Tuesday.
Game Summary Brought To You By
Bensalem 13-14-18-13 58 North Penn 9-18-18-25 70
Bensalem (58) – Eric Gonzalez 3 1-1 8; Aaron Sanders 6 0-2 15; James Ashford 8 5-6 22; Rahul Kohli 1 0-0 3; Allen Myers 0 0-2 0; Luis Rodriguez 1 0-0 3; Nikita Schaffer 2 1-2 5; Luke Zeidler 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 22 7-13 58.
North Penn (70) – Mario Sgro 0 2-4 2; Joe Larkins 0 2-2 2; Billy Coley 7 4-4 21; Milind Pulugura 4 0-0 11; Josh Jones 8 14-16 30; Ryan Zeltt 1 0-0 2; Terhan Wright 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 21 22-26 70.
3-point goals: Bensalem – Aaron Sanders 3, Eric Gonzalez, James Ashford, Rahul Kohli, Luis Rodriguez, NP – Billy Coley 3, Milind Pulugura 3.