The Ghosts Are Looking To Put Their 0-2 Start In The Rearview Mirror

ABINGTON 69, HATBORO-HORSHAM 35

The Ghosts are looking to put their 0-2 start in the rearview mirror, and they certainly took a step in that direction with a no-doubt-about it win at Hatboro-Horsham.

“My assistant coach – Gary Massey – and I were talking on the bench, and he made a good point. He said. ‘If teams don’t understand the importance of preseason, hopefully, now they will,’ and that’s where we are,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “We are a little behind. We’re getting it though.

“Our first two games we played two tough opponents, but I thought we were in preseason mode and didn’t understand what it takes to play hard for the full 32 minutes. It’s true – preseason is important.”

The Ghosts took care of business in a hurry, opening up 20-12 lead after one quarter and extending that to 39-20 by halftime, allowing Grasty to go deep down his bench in the second half.

Thirteen of 14 players who saw action were in the scoring column. Devin Barnes did not score but had a pair of rebounds and a blocked shot off the bench.  The Ghosts connected on 23-of-52 shots from the field (44.2 percent), and they lit it up from beyond the arc, connecting on 7-of-9 in the in the first half and finishing 9-for-17 (52.9 percent) from long distance for the game. Equally impressive was the Ghosts 14-for-17 showing at the foul line (82.3 percent).

The difference in the team’s performance in its last two wins, according to Grasty, could be summed up in one word.

“Effort,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I feel like we’ve had a lot of talent since day one, but you play against each other for three weeks in practice, and you feel like you’re going hard, but then you get in a game, and it’s like – ‘Whoa, maybe I wasn’t playing that hard.

“You’re tired of playing against the same guys, and every team is in the same boat. I think those first two games definitely woke us up and made us realize we’re not playing as hard as we thought we were.

“All of our guys are unselfish – it wasn’t a selfish problem, it wasn’t that they weren’t familiar with each other. We have a pretty senior-laden bunch. They all know each other, love each other and hang out. That wasn’t the problem. It was just bringing it all together, watching film, correcting a few things. They bought in. They understand.”

Oreck Frazier led a balanced Ghost attack with 15 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers. He also had three steals. Rob Bell finished with 13 points and five assists.

“Oreck Frazier understands – he just wants to win,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “He doesn’t care about points or rebounds or anything. Oreck gets it.

“Oreck and Rob Bell have been with the team the longest, and they’re pulling the troops in. Oreck actually called me after our PW game and said he was going to try and bring the guys together and practice harder and be a leader. That’s what we needed.”

Also for the Ghosts, Sam McFarlane connected on a pair of three’s for six points to go along with three steals. Antoine Ellis added six points and three steals. Derrius Lucas led the Ghosts with four rebounds.

All told, the Ghosts had 15 steals and only five turnovers – three of those turnovers came in the last two minutes of the game when the starters were on the bench.

For the Hatters, Eric Butler’s 12 points led the way. He scored eight of those in the first quarter to keep his team within striking distance. Noah Schlosser added seven while Kyle Dittus and Zehier Cheeze both chipped in six points.

Abington (2-2 SOL) will be on the road at Upper Dublin Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (2-2) will travel to Wissahickon Friday.

Game Summary Brought To you By

Abington                     20-19-22-8   69

Hatboro-Horsham      12-8-8-7   35

Abington (69) – Jimmy Marino 1 0-0 3; Antoine Ellis 2 0-0 6; Sam McFarlane 3 0-0 8; Oreck Frazier 5 3-4 15; Rob Bell 4 4-5 13; Nate Willis 0 3-4 3; Connor Fields 1 0-0 2; Derrius Lucas 2 0-0 4; Kahjel Morris 1 2-2 4; Fhenyx Scutt 1 2-2 4; Karim Boyd 1 0-0 2; Aiden Boyles 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 23 14-17 69.

Hatboro-Horsham (35) – Eric Butler 5 1-2 12; Kyle Dittus 2 0-0 6; Noah Schlosser 2 3-4 7; Zehier Cheeze 3 0-0 6; Sam Smith 1 0-0 2; Joshua Spruill 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 13 6-8 35.

3-point goals: Abington – Antoine Ellis 2, Sam McFarlane 2, Oreck Frazier 2, Rob Bell, Aiden Boyles, Jimmy Marino, HH – Kyle Dittus 2, Eric Butler.