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#7 BENSALEM 48, #10 SPRING-FORD 45
Ron Morris admits he has to pinch himself to make sure he’s not dreaming.
The Owls – on the heels of winning the SOL National Conference title – punched their ticket to the state tournament with Tuesday’s hard fought win.
As beginnings go, it’s been a good one for the Owls’ first-year year.
“It’s surreal,” Morris said. “It’s an amazing group of boys. They played so well tonight as a team. They shared the ball, they picked each other up.
“We got so many big defensive stops down the stretch. Defensive stops and rebounds were the difference tonight. Spring-Ford is a really good team. They’re well coached, their defense was good. It was a really nice win.”
The Owls held a 16-14 advantage after one quarter and took a 29-25 lead into halftime.
“In the first half, Aaron (Sanders) shot the ball extremely well – he had four 3-pointers,” Morris said of his sophomore point guard. “He shot them out of the zone.
“Jerry (Alexander) did an awesome job all game defending and rebounding. He was either altering shots or blocking shots. He defended their big kid, number two (Tre Medearis), really well. That kid’s a really good player, and Jerry did a really good job against him. Jerry got into a little bit of foul trouble early, but we were able to play him with two fouls. Justin Johnson, when he was in there, also defended him.”
After a low-scoring third quarter that saw the two teams combine for just nine points, the Owls led 34-29. James Ashford had the hot hand for the Owls in the fourth quarter, scoring 10 of his team’s 14 points.
“He got on the fast break, and when they went man-to-man, we were able to get by them and get to the rim,” Morris said. “That’s when James was getting his points.”
Ashford led three Owls in double figures with 18 points. Sanders added 14 and Alexander had 11.
“Aaron shot the ball well,” Morris said of Sanders. “Jeremiah (Alexander) had an amazing and-one dunk. It gave us momentum early, and it was one of the nicest dunks I have ever seen in high school
“Travis (Robinson) does what he does. He causes havoc, he made some nice plays. Justin Johnson had a play at the end where the ball came to him, and he was wide open, but it was a time when we needed to kill the clock, and he brought the ball back out. It was a true team effort and team win tonight.”
The win loomed large since it ensured the Owls a coveted spot in states.
“We stamped our ticket to the state tournament,” Morris said. “That was something we talked about. We had goals since the beginning of the year.
“One of the team goals was SOL champs and we got that. The kids write down their goals, and almost all of them had SOL champs and states on their goals. We met those two goals, and it’s time to keep going. We enjoy this tonight. Now you play with less pressure because you’re in the state tournament. We’re fortunate enough to have another game Friday.”
Bensalem (18-6, 11-1 SOL) will host #18 Downingtown East in a district quarterfinal contest Friday. The Cougars upset #2 Garnet Valley 55-50.
Game Summary brought to you by
Spring-Ford 14-11-4-16 45
Bensalem 16-13-5-14 48
Spring-Ford (45) – Tre Medearis 9 2-4 21; Pat Kovaleski 4 2-2 11; Zack Serocki 2 3-4 7; Nate Santiago 1 0-0 3; Jake Kressley 1 1-2 3; Totals 17 8-12 45.
Bensalem (48) – Travis Robinson 1 2-2 4; Aaron Sanders 5 0-1 14; Jeremiah Alexander 5 1-2 11; James Ashford 7 4-7 18; Luke Zeidler 0 1-2 1; Totals 18 8-14 48.
3-point goals: SF – Tre Medearis, Pat Kovsaleski, Nate Santiago, Bensalem – Aaron Sanders 4.