Upper Moreland finds its way in win over New Hope
WILLOW GROVE » As the second half began Tuesday night, Upper Moreland needed a jolt of adrenaline.
After a sluggish end to the second quarter, the Golden Bears were hanging on to a tenuous lead against visiting New HopeSolebury when Jahair Johnson and Byron Hopkins supplied that needed spark. Johnson’s hustle led to a Hopkins layup and the Bears would carry the momentum to a big third quarter
Thanks to a grind-it-out fourth quarter, UM topped the Lions 5044 to snap a two-game skid.
“In the first half, we were shooting some bad shots, we could have moved the ball more and our coaches got into us at halftime,” Hopkins said. “They felt the same way but they just reminded us to
do what we talked about before the game and we went out and followed through.”
The Bears got off to a great start, scoring the first eight points of the game. After eight minutes, the hosts had a 17-10 lead thanks to six assists on their six made field goals in the opening quarter. While they may have fallen into some bad shots at times, when the Bears moved the ball, good things happened.
By night’s end, Upper Moreland had tallied 17 made field goals and had impressively assisted on 14 of them. Hopkins led the team with six assists but forward Matt Tiernan had a sharp eye as well, dishing four helpers to go with his team-best 16 points.
“They were playing a zone most of the night,” Tiernan, a senior, said. “I was able to get in the middle and catch it, which made the defense collapse so I could pass out to shooters. I think we did a great job of knocking down shots when we were open.”
Foul issues limited Johnson’s time on the floor Tuesday, but the senior wing was quite effective when he wasn’t stuck on the bench. After picking up his second foul with 3:47 left in the opening quarter, Johnson sat the rest of the first half and as he did, the Bears’ offense went cold.
Tiernan had the team’s only three points in the second quarter and UM finished the half on a 6:32 scoreless streak that wasn’t helped by an 0-of-9 shooting stretch over that span. New Hope-Solebury closed within a point by the break, but wasn’t able to capitalize on a late possession where it could have taken the lead.
“Give New Hope a lot of credit, those kids battled and Coach (Derrick) Brooks did a great job of keeping them in it,” UM coach Dan Heiland said. “We had to grind for that one for sure. We’ve been in a few close games and come up short and this was another one, they were right in it so I’m proud of my guys.”
About 90 seconds into the third quarter, the
Bears got their lift. Johnson pounced on an errant pass, diving to the floor at midcourt between two Lions players and keeping the ball alive long enough for Hopkins to scoop it up and go in for the layup.
“Jahaire is such a good player, so once he starting making big plays, the team rallies around it,” Hopkins, who scored eight points, said. “He’s been doing this for so long and that play was a big energy boost for all of us.”
The Bears turned it into an 8-0 run with Tiernan converting the and-one on a putback the next trip down then Hopkins finding Johnson for a transition three. With limited spectators being allowed in, it’s integral that teams find ways to manufacture energy like the Bears did in Tuesday’s third quarter.
“There’s no student section, not many fans so we talk about it every day that we have to bring our own energy,” Heiland said. “It’s not going to be manufactured from any crowds, so we have to bring it every day. Jahaire is a tremendous athlete and him on the court changes the game.”