Christopher Dock edges Jenkintown

In a close game, defense and a solid bench makes the difference between a win and a loss. Luckily for Christopher Dock, it had both against a feisty Jenkintown team.

Led by Jared Armstrong’s 12 points off the bench, the Pioneers edged the Drakes 44-35 at home in a Bicentennial League Constitution Division clash.

Despite scoring a combined six points in the middle two quarters, Jenkintown was in the game until midway through the fourth quarter. However, poor shooting and a size advantage in favor of Dock eventually sank the Drakes.

The Drakes took a 13-11 lead into the second quarter, but that was only thanks to an 11-1 run in the middle of the period. Dock dominated the better part of the first three quarters by taking high-percentage shots and taking care of the basketball.

Dock’s Azariah Parmer, who finished with 13 points, was the only consistent threat throughout the game. However, it was Armstrong’s court vision, precision passing and clutch shooting that gave the home team the advantage.

Dock didn’t exactly shoot the lights out, either. While it took Jenkintown until its 16-point fourth quarter to get in any kind of offensive rhythm, Dock also struggled in the middle quarters, but it was masked by the Drakes’ poor shooting.

Big man Najee Miller kept the Pioneers out of harms way by pulling down boards and being a force in the middle. He scored nine points, but his defensive ability and rebounding made life difficult for Jenkintown all night.

It looked like Dock was going to win handily until the fourth. Joe Sobolewski went off for nine of his team-high 14 in the final period. The Drakes also did not falter from the charity stripe, going 5 of 6 in the last eight minutes.