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West York, William Penn fall short


It wasn’t the start that West York or William Penn were hoping for following the holiday break. Both teams lost their opening games Monday at the McCaskey Holiday Classic.

Despite a slow start on Monday night, the Bulldogs had a chance late in the fourth quarter to extend the game a few more minutes. Down by two, Nick Sarver was able to intercept a pass and streak back down the court. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, Sarver couldn’t complete the layup and the Red Tornado came up with the rebound.

McCaskey went on to win, 78-73. Earlier, Lower Merion handed William Penn a 58-55 loss.

“They just missed a layup,” Bulldogs head coach Bill Ackerman said about his team’s final chance to tie the game. “Nick played a hell of a game for us. It was a tough shot, and he just didn’t finish. He’s the one that caused the steal. You can’t fault him for that.

“We’ve been talking all year about opportunities, and these kids have created a lot of good opportunities for themselves.

The Bulldogs entered the final frame of the Monday night contest trailing by 10 points. West York used a 10-0 run in the fourth to tie the game at 63 and then again at 67. West York outscored the Red Tornado, 26-21, in the fourth.

Kenton Meckley finished the game with 23 points for the West York, which included a number of timely shots at the end of the third quarter and during his squad's run in the fourth.

The Bulldogs knocked down 27 shots from the field in the loss and went 17-of-24 from the line. Ackerman said that his team didn’t make the best decisions in certain situations.

"At the end of the day you have to make shots,” he said.

The Bulldogs will face William Penn in Tuesday’s consolation game.

The Bearcats took an early lead in the first game of the night, but watched it slip way at the end of the first half. They battled to regain control in the second half and swapped leads several times with Lower Merion.

Down 54-47, the Bearcats managed to claw back to within one in the dying seconds of the game. However, similar to the West York loss, William Penn failed to capitalize on a possession and turned the ball over with 9.4 seconds left in the game.

“We just didn’t take advantage of opportunities to score at the end. We had chances, and we just didn’t get it done,” William Penn head coach Troy Sowers said.

West York (73)

Josh Bailey 6 2-3 15, Cains 1 0-0 2, Kenton Meckley 7 9-11 23, Dellorfano 2 2-2 6, Lalic 1 2-4 4, Austin Frey 5 0-0 11, Sarver 2 0-0 4 McCauley 3 2-4 8. Totals — 27 17-24 73.

McCaskey (78)

Kobe Gantz 8 13-19 32, Ricky Cruz 5 3-4 15, Baratta 2 2-5 7, Nunez 4 1-1 9, Randolph Speller 4 4-4 13, Davis  1 0-1 2. Totals — 24 23-33 78.

West York_ 12 _ 17 _ 18 _ 26 _ — _ 73
McCaskey_ 21 _ 15 _ 21 _ 21 _ — _ 78  

3-point goals — WY 2 (Bailey, Frey). Mc 7 ( Gantz 3, Cruz 2, Baratta 1, Speller 1).

Lower Merion (58)

Helton 4 0-0 9, Harris 4 0-1 8, Fennell 2 0-0 6, Zack Magill 3 2-2 11, Horn 3 1-2 7, Needle 1 1-1 2, Terrel Jone 5 1-2 14. Totals — 22 5-8 58.

William Penn (55)

Jacquez Casiano 7 0-0 17, Kristopher Johnson 5 1-2 13, Jayden Iturmendi 4 1-2 11, Morgan 2 1-1 5, Drayden 2 0-0 4, Shifflett 2 0-0 4, Anderson 0 1-2 1. Totals — 22 4-7 55.

Lower Merion_ 17 _ 14 _ 21 _ 6 _ — _ 58  
William Penn _ 21 _ 9 _ 17 _ 8 _ — _ 55 

3-point goals — LM 9 (Helton 1, Fennell 2, Magill 3, Jones 3). WP 7 (Casiano 3, Johnson 2, Itu)