TOWAMENCIN- The North Penn Knights faced the Central Bucks East Patriots on Tuesday in a game that was as neck-and-neck as basketball games get. The last time the two schools met, East won on a buzzer beater, and that surely left a bad taste in the Knights’ mouths. Knowing it would be a tough game, both teams came prepared to battle, but it was North Penn who brought more arsenal to win 60-54 in overtime.

“We played well enough to win,” said North Penn Head Coach John Conrad, “I thought we competed really hard on the offensive end, but struggled on the defensive end tonight.”

“North Penn is a tough, big, strong, and athletic team, but I think we played with a lot of grit tonight,” said CB East Head Coach Erik Henrysen.

The first quarter reflected just how close the match up between the Knights and Patriots really was. With both teams going back and forth on the scoreboard, neither was able to significantly outscore the other.

For North Penn, seniors Ricky Johns and David Giuliani were key factors in the Knights’ 13-11 lead going into the second quarter. East seniors Matt Pattyson and Elijah Seger both helped the Patriots contain the Knights’ lead by contributing their efforts on both offensive and defensive plays. Junior Cooper Fink was also a key component to the Patriots’ transitions and movement of the ball.

The next eight minutes brought the same neck-and-neck competition. Senior Reece Udinski led scoring for the Knights in the second quarter, but his efforts were matched again by Pattyson and junior Kyle Cassidy. Outscoring the Knights 16-13,  the Patriots came out of the quarter with a slight 27-26 lead going into halftime.

“During halftime, we talked about how every possession counts, every rebound counts, and every little thing counts in a close game,” said Conrad.

As predicted, the third quarter was an intense brawl as both teams attempted to break away from the close score. It was clear that both the Knights and Patriots were focusing more on their defense coming out of halftime. The third quarter saw limited scoring; 11 points were put up by North Penn, and CB East earned 10. North Penn showcased their junior offensive powerhouse, Chris Coleman, who earned six points, while CB East’s Pattyson contributed five in the tight quarter.

“In the second half we knew we had to pick up our defense because we had been letting up too many shots in the first. We also started to pick up the tempo in our transitions,” said Coleman.

With the game tied 37-37 after the third quarter, neither team had an advantage to start the last one. Coleman and sophomore AJ Mitchell lead North Penn’s offense, but CB East’s Seger kept the offensive pressure pouring for the Patriots. With less than two minutes left in the game, the Knights were leading 47-44, but Seger wasn’t done scoring. Right when the clock hit the one minute mark, he sunk a 3 pointer to tie up the game 47-47. Then East took the lead at the thirty second mark, 49-47.

North Penn earned possession with only 14 seconds left in the game, and it was Coleman who swished a jump shot to force overtime, 49-49.

“Chris sending the game into overtime was huge. He is a great competitor and it was a great shot,” said Conrad.

In the four minute overtime, the game stayed as close as it had been until a series of personal fouls allowed the Knights to rack up points at the foul line. Ricky Johns also came up with many defensive steals to give the Knights more possession of the ball. The Knights were able to put up the highest lead of the game in overtime, outscoring the Patriots 11-5.

“Since we beat North Penn on a buzzer beater the last time, we knew it was going to be a good game. We played together and played strong, the ending just didn’t go our way,” said Fink.

With it being senior night at North Penn, the large student section made the atmosphere one that CB East thinks will help them in future playoff games.

“Tonight was one of the toughest environments we have played in all year, but we got a taste of what playoff crowds will be like, and I think we really handled it really well,” said Fink.

As for North Penn, they see the close game as a helpful situation that will come in handy later down the road.

“We don’t have too many games where it is neck-and-neck the entire time, so tonight showed us that we can play together as a team in tight situations,” said Johns.

“Hopefully tonight’s game helps us realize that every game matters. Playing close games make us realize that from here on out, we can’t take any game lightly,” said Udinski.

SCORING

NP 13 26 37 60

Mitchell, 16; Coleman, 14; Giuliani, 9; Johns, 7; Udinski, 5; O’Donnell, 3; Ford, 2; Heiserman, 2; Kwortnik, 2

CBE 11 27 37 54

Pattyson, 19; Seger, 15; Cassidy, 11; Fink, 8; Plack, 1