Red Lion's Spencer McCreary, right, leans in for a shot but is fouled by a William Penn player during Wednesday night's game. McCreary led all scorers with 24 points, but the visiting Lions found themselves on the wrong end of a 74-57 decision. (Daily Record/Sunday News -- Bil Bowden)

For the William Penn boys' basketball team, one scare was all it took.

After an uncharacteristically close game Monday against a Spring Grove team that has lost more than twice as many games as it has won, the Bearcats pulled themselves together nicely Wednesday at home against Red Lion. With a share of first place in Division I on the line, William Penn registered a 74-57 victory to remain undefeated.

William Penn (14-0, 7-0 Division I) kept Red Lion (8-4, 5-2) in check from the start, holding the Lions to 36 percent shooting from the floor and outrebounding them 39-26. Leading scorer Malachi Leonard (19 points) was one of five Bearcats in double digits.

"Monday may have been a blessing in disguise," said William Penn coach Troy Sowers, whose team trailed at the half and only beat the Rockets by four points. "I didn't like that it happened, but retrospectively, it made us regain some focus and understand that we have to bring it every game.

"We had a high energy in practice (Tuesday). Everyone rededicated themselves to make sure we do what we have to do on and off the floor. We've been doing it all year, and we just have to keep doing what we're doing since it's working."

The Lions had plenty of opportunities in the first half, but had trouble capitalizing. The Lions missed 10 of their first 11 field goal attempts, but still managed to trail only 13-9 after the first quarter. The Bearcats responded with a 25-point second

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quarter to grab a 16-point lead at the half.

"I don't think we were ready to go from the start," Red Lion coach Steve Schmehl said. "We talked about coming out and really meeting them and punching them in the mouth from the start, and we weren't ready to do that. We missed three open layups in the first quarter. Then they blitzed us in the second quarter. You can't put yourself behind the eight ball like that at halftime."

It got worse before it got better for the Lions. A runner off the

William Penn's Malik Generett launches a jump shot over Red Lion's Jon Macken during Wednesday's win. Generett scored 10 points, one of five Bearcats in double digits. (Daily Record/Sunday News -- Bil Bowden)
backboard from Kelvin Parker (13 points) opened up an 8-0 run for the Bearcats and put them up by 25 points. The Lions opened the fourth quarter with a 9-0 run and eventually pulled within 15 on a 3-pointer from Spencer McCreary (24 points), but was unable to get any closer than that.

Malik Generett (10 points) led the Bearcats with 13 rebounds and guards Chemin Lambert (12 points) and Ryan Matthews (11 points) showed once again that William Penn can score all over the basketball court.

"The difference in them this year is they have guards," Schmehl said of the Bearcats, who travel to face West York (6-3, 5-0 Division II) on Friday. "They have guards that can make plays. And those two big guys are so tough. Not only are they big and strong, but they know how to position themselves and post up."

Sowers attributed Monday's struggles to a lack of mental sharpness and said it was the first time they didn't "fully bring our crazy energy level" to the game. Leonard said the Bearcats were fully aware what they needed to do to correct the problem.

"Coach didn't really need to tell us what we did wrong," Leonard said. "We know what we did wrong. We knew we had to come back and do better. We were focused during warmups. Everybody knows what their role is and we just came out ready to ball."

smclernon@ydr.com; 771-2045