Pennridge takes title from Boyertown
Special to Montgomery
Media
The boys championship game of the Boyertown Holiday Basketball Tournament on Friday night resembled a three-point shooting contest much of the time and the Bears certainly held their own in that department. But it was the inside game that ultimately made the difference as Pennridge scored on close-range shots and offensive rebounds early in the fourth quarter and went on to capture the title with a 64-58 win.
Mike Mansur hit a gamehigh 24 points for Boyertown (3-5), which had won the last three tournament championships, and Connor Dunn and Kyle Dennin added nine points apiece. But Zach Muredda poured in 11 points in the third quarter as the Rams (5-4) wiped out a 31-20 Bear halftime lead and forged a 39-39 tie. Then Pennridge scored the first four points of the final quarter and led the rest of the way while protecting the advantage with a 14-for20 performance at the free throw line.
“I think they came out in the second half and hit some shots early and that really built their confidence,” said Bears coach Mike Ludwig, whose team won last year’s title with an 81-71 decision over the Rams.
Boyertown scored the last nine points of the first quarter to take an 18-14 lead, with Mansur nailing the last three from the foul line after time had expired to finish with 11 points in the quarter. Then Mansur scored five more in the second quarter and the Bears held the Rams to just six points for the 3120 difference at the break.
But Muredda drilled a 3-pointer from the left wing and another from the top of the circle to start the second
half and a three-point bomb by Jeff Garner (12 points) gave Pennridge a 34-33 edge midway through the third quarter.
Then the Bears came right back with a 3-pointer by Ethan Shalaway and another trey by Mansur gave the hosts their final advantage of the night at 39-37. But Kyle Bigam (10 points) tied it for the Rams and Alex Krivda gave Pennridge a 41-39 lead with a baseline jumper to start the fourth quarter. A basket off a rebound by Bigam boosted the margin to 48-42 before a 3-pointer by Mansur cut the lead in half.
Boyertown still trailed by just four with 2:16 to go after Shalaway stole the ball and lobbed a nice pass to Mansur for a layup, but the Bears missed a couple of shots in a row and had no choice but to foul the rest of the way.
“We stopped executing on offense and they got some extra shots,” said Ludwig. “Even in the end we had a chance. We got it down to three, but we couldn’t execute every possession. We gave up a ton of offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter. It’s hard to defend the rebound. We’re going to get better and we’re going to keep working.”