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ABINGTON 50, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 41
Caleb Baker scored a game-high 19 points – burying 7-of-8 shots from the field and 5-of-5 at the foul line – to lead the Ghost to the come-from-behind win over the visiting Colonials.
The win was the third in as many outings for the Ghosts.
“Any time you beat PW, it’s a nice win,” coach Charles Grasty said. “We knew that we were going to have to try to gel – it took us a little longer than we thought.
“We knew we had the talent – we just had to get our guys some experience at the varsity speed and the physicality. It’s just a different game. We’ve always played hard, but now I think they’re getting a little more comfortable, and they’re making plays and playing defense. They’re trusting each other. I’m not saying we’re there yet, but it’s starting to come together.”
The Ghosts connected on a season-best 20-of-32 shots from the field (62.5 percent). They were 13-for-15 in a second half that saw the Ghosts outscore the Colonials 30-17 after trailing by four at halftime, 24-20.
“I thought our defense was really key,” Grasty said. “We had something like 12 steals, and in the fourth quarter, we started buckling down.
“We wanted to deny (Caelin) Peters because he’s a heck of a point guard. We felt like if we could make it tough on him we could close out on their other players. We were able to get a couple of turnovers and some baskets in transition, and that helped us big time.”
Baker also had six rebounds and two blocked shots. The junior forward, who has made 15 consecutive free throws, has come alive offensively for the Ghosts, turning in performances of 21, 20, 16 and 19 points in the last four games after averaging 7.6 points a game prior to those outings.
“I thought Caleb Baker played well again,” Grasty said. “He definitely battled down low and made some key layups. PW would make a run, we would break their press, and he would finish with a nice layup.”
Manir Waller added 11 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and five assists, and Oreck Frazier added 11 points – all in the second half.
“Manir’s going to play hard, and he played well – he was unselfish,” Grasty said. “Rob Bell did an excellent job defensively. From the second quarter on, he played extremely well. He just made it tough on Peters. He did a really good job on defense.”
Peters was held to just seven points. Luke DiCianno’s 15-point effort led the Colonials.
Abington (10-9, 8-3 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Friday, and Plymouth Whitemarsh (8-11, 6-5) will host Upper Dublin on Friday.
Game Summary brought to you by
Plymouth Whitemarsh 18-6-9-8 41
Abington 9-11-13-17 50
Plymouth Whitemarsh (41) – Caelin Peters 2 3-5 7; Luke DiCianno 5 4-4 15; David Harris 2 0-0 5; Zende Hubbard 1 0-0 2; Ray Tomassetti 2 0-0 5; Taji Hubbard 1 0-0 2; Jayden Glover 2 1-2 5; Totals 15 8-11 41.
Abington (50) – Robert Bell 1 0-0 2; Oreck Frazier 5 1-2 11; Manir Waller 5 1-2 11; Antoine Ellis 0 2-2 2; Sam McFarlane 1 0-0 3; Caleb Baker 7 5-5 19; Karim Boyd 1 0-1 2; Totals 20 9-12 50.
3-point goals: PW – Luke DiCianno, David Harris, Ray Tomassetti, Abington – Sam McFarlane.