Bell tolls for Abington in 2OT

Ghosts senior guard scores game-winner in double OT

BUCKINGHAM >> Rob Bell had the ball in his hands, which is exactly where Charles Grasty wanted it.

As the clock wound toward the final 10 seconds of the second overtime period against Central Bucks East on Tuesday, Grasty declined to take a timeout and instead gave Bell, his senior point guard, the play. It was a play Abington had run hundreds of times this season and the veteran coach saw no reason to not let his players see what they could do with it.

Bell’s drive led to a layup that hung on the rim just long enough to make it extra-dramatic before falling in the final second as the No. 14 Ghosts slipped by the No. 7 Patriots 56-54 in a District 1-6A double-overtime semifinal thriller.

“I had a nice mis-match on their big man and I felt I had an isolation play where I could take him to the rack and get a layup,” Bell said. “It worked out in my favor. Coach always has trust in me and at that point, he wanted the ball in my hands and I felt I would get a nice play and hopefully, a great bucket.”

Tuesday’s win continued an improbable postseason run for Abington that didn’t seem all that likely a few weeks ago when the Ghosts were 5-4 and reeling after a loss to Quakertown. They just kept coming to the gym and working, confident their time was yet to come and their best was in front of them.

It was. Abington has won eight of nine games since that subpar start including three straight road wins over higher seeds in the district tournament. All of it has added up to another trip to the District 1 title game, the Ghosts’ fifth in the last seven years.

“The last half of the season,

JAMES BEAVER — FOR MEDIANEWS GROUP Abington’s Rob Bell (5), pictured against Plymouth Whitemarsh last week, made the game-winning shot against Central Bucks East in the District 1-6A semifinals Tuesday.