Cheltenham holds off test

Pulls away from Penn Wood in fourth quarter

Penn Wood gave an imposing Cheltenham team a battle for three quarters Sunday before the talented and deep Panthers pulled away for a 66-50 win in the second round of the PIAA Class 6A boys basketball tournament at Bensalem High School.

The Patriots, the 10th seed out of District 1, found themselves tied with the Panthers (the third seed out of District 1) at halftime, thanks in part to senior forward Evan Borward, who worked his way underneath the basket for eight first-half points.

In the third quarter, Penn Wood sophomore guard Anthony Murray joined the Patriot scoring brigade, driving inside for a couple of buckets that gave his team a 36-34 lead.

Penn Wood led 40-39 with 16.8 seconds to go in the third period after Patriots senior Sahmir Massenburg hit both ends of a oneand-one. But that only preceded a 20-1 run by Cheltenham that ended all doubt as to the outcome.

Cheltenham’s 6-foot-5 senior Justin Savage worked his way underneath for a basket in the closing seconds of the third to give the Panthers a slim 41-40 lead.

In the space of the first 30 seconds of the final frame, a couple of missed Penn Wood scoring opportunities were immediately followed by baskets from Cheltenham seniors Rasheen Dearry and Brandon Bush (the latter on a dunk) to give the Panthers a quick 45-40 lead.

Cheltenham then intercepted a Penn Wood pass and Dearry was fed inside for another bucket underneath and the Panthers led 4740.

“We expected to be there with Cheltenham. We’re a little upset with how we started the fourth quarter,” Penn Wood coach Matt Lindeman said. “Against a good

MIKE CABREY— MEDIANEWS GROUP Cheltenham’s Rasheem Dearry goes up for a shot against Wissahickon during their game on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022.