Dock Mennonite Defeats Church Farm 49-45 for Bicentennial Athletic League Championship: Kehler on Hoops
Written by: Dell Jackson on February 21, 2023
Dock Mennonite Defeats Church Farm 49-45 for Bicentennial Athletic League Championship
Defensive pressure turned the tide for Dock Mennonite in their 49 to 45 win over Church Farm for the Bicentennial Athletic League championship in a closely contested game played at Morrisville on Saturday afternoon. For those unfamiliar with the schools, Church Farm is in Exton, and Dock Mennonite Academy is in Lansdale.
This was a choppy game with a lot of turnovers and plenty of free throws. The teams exchanged leads in the early going, until Dock Mennonite’s defensive pressure began to be really effective in the second quarter. Church Farm committed seven turnovers in the second quarter, and they also put Dock Mennonite on the free throw line for nine attempts in the second frame. Dock made eight of those free throws. Dock took the lead for good in the second quarter on two free throws by senior Lane Bergey that gave them a 15 to 14 lead. From that point, they never trailed, although Church Farm tied the game at 27 late in the third quarter.
In the second and third quarters, it was noticeable that several of the Church Farm players were reluctant to shoot, so much so that their coach verbally encouraged them to take shots. Dock pressed less in the second half, and Church Farm’s ball security improved after intermission. Late in the third quarter, Church Farm tied the game at 27 on consecutive 3-pointers by senior Cooper Shivers, but Church Farm went on a 7 to 0 run on two free throws by senior Hoyt Bultje, a drive by sophomore Tony Martin, and a 3-pointer by senior Zach Neff. Dock led 34 to 29 after three quarters of play.
Dock opened the fourth quarter with another 3-pointer by Neff and a hoop inside by Bultje, and that gave them the biggest lead of the game, 10 points, at 39 to 29. Then Church Farm’s Neiman Smith stepped up big. Smith had only shot once in the game up until that point, but he hit a 3-pointer from the right elbow extended. That shot seemed to give Church Farm confidence, and they launched a furious rally. With less than two minutes remaining, Smith scored a hoop inside to cut Dock’s lead to 44 to 43. Dock courageously responded with a drive by senior Nathan Lapp followed by two crucial free throws by Lapp, and they led 48 to 43. With 15 seconds left, Church Farm cut the lead to 48 to 45 on a hoop inside by senior Larry Paul. However, that was as close as they got. Poor free throw shooting in the fourth quarter hurt Church Farm; they missed all five of their attempts from the stripe in the final frame.
Dock Mennonite decisively out-rebounded Church Farm 34 to 21. Dock Mennonite committed 20 turnovers to 15 by Church Farm. Dock was 17 of 24 from the free throw line, while Church Farm was five of 12. Dock made four 3-pointers, and Church Farm scored six times from beyond the arc. There were five ties and six lead changes.
Dock Mennonite Academy scoring: Hoyt Bultje 15, Nathan Lapp 10, Tony Martin 8, Zach Neff 8, Lane Bergey 6, and Vaughn Martin 2.
Church Farm scoring: Gavriel Henriquez 15, Cooper Shivers 11, Neiman Smith 7, Larry Paul 5, Andre Anyimah 5, and Mohamed Sow 2.
Church Farm 7 9 13 16-45
Dock Mennonite Academy 8 16 10 15-49
On Twitter: @david_kehler
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