Rams hold off North Penn, win third straight

A few loud blocks early did more than alter a few shots for the North Penn basketball team. It altered its entire game plan.

Pennridge has not held the advantage inside every game this season, but with 6-foot-7 center Andrew Dietterich and the energized play of Kyle Bigam control- ling the paint, the Knights relied on the three-point basket to keep pace with the Rams. The long distance dialing accounted for all of the Knights’ points in the first half Tuesday night, but the Rams adjusted quickly. They guarded the three-point line tightly and forced turnovers, which propelled them to a 52-44 Suburban One Continental Conference win.

Missing their lone two seniors — Mike Swanson and Stephen Brown — only complicated matters for the Knights. However, the group has not made excuses all season, and they were not going to start on Tuesday night. While the effort was there, 10 three-pointers could not make up for the lack of a consistent scoring option.

“Any time we were able to get it inside, we had trouble converting,” Knights coach John Conrad said. “They did a real nice job and Dietterich changed the game inside.”

Dietterich pulled down four rebounds to go with his two blocks in the first quarter alone. The senior finished with five points, six boards and three blocks and the only thing that slowed him down was foul trouble. Everyone got involved on the glass. Pat McClatchy finished with five rebounds to go with his nine points and Alex Krivda added 10 points and six rebounds.

“I thought we rebounded extremely well and that was one of the things we needed to improve on,” Rams coach Dean Behrens said. “Drew Dietterich rebounded the heck out of the basketball to start the game. He got in some foul trouble, and I had to sit him, but we had confidence in our bench.”

Dietterich knows

it

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much more than inches that goes into being a dominant inside presence. His constant work, along with his teammates, is making an area that was once a weakness a strong point for the Rams. The return of senior Shane Schmidt from an injury adds another body that will help down low moving forward.

“We changed up our defense a lot and that caught them off guard a little bit,” Dietterich said. “We have been playing more physical. With Shane back it has really boosted the confidence of the seniors because we have been playing together for such a long time.”

Bigam feasted on the Knights’ young guard play. As they moved the ball around the floor, Bigam was able to get his hand in the lane, make the steal and take it to the other end for the easy bucket. Bigam finished with 10 points and helped his team open up a 22-15 halftime lead with his defense.

“I thought Bigam brought a ton of energy,” Behrens said. “He has a motor that goes all of the time. Loose balls, who gets them? Kyle Bigam. Footballs in the air? It’s Kyle Bigam.”

Leading the scoring was senior Jeff Garner. The Rams’ captain showed the Knights that he can shoot the three-ball as well. The point guard hit three three-pointers and finished with a game high 16 points. Garner rebounded nicely from a slow start from the floor, missing his first seven shots.

“Jeff struggled at first, but he did not struggle in the second half,” Behrens said. “He was able to maintain and do other things. You know eventually he is going to hit shots.”

Knights junior Jason Jones led his team with 14 points and four three-pointers. Cordell Lord added 10 points, but in the end the lack of an interior presence and 14 total turnovers resulted in the tough night in the SOL Continental for the Knights (5-7, 2-5 conference).

“Jones got himself going and it was a big lift for us,” Conrad said. “We are not very big, but our kids play hard. Our defense was sound, but as our problem has been all year, had trouble putting the ball in the net.”

The Rams (8-6, 3-4), winners of three straight since losing to Souderton, are not willing to rule out the playoffs yet. While they recently lost leading scorer wack Muredda to an injury, with Schmidt back and the front court flourishing, the Rams hope to keep rolling.

“Poor wack, it is hard to watch your team play,” Behrens said. “But guys have stepped up and we have had good practices. We have to keep the energy up and take it one game at a time.”