North Penn Defeats Pennsbury 46-40 in Playoff Game: Kehler on Hoops

Written by: Dell Jackson on February 11, 2023

North Penn Defeats Pennsbury 46-40 in Playoff Game

North Penn came from behind to defeat host Pennsbury 46 to 40 in a Suburban One League playoff quarterfinal. North Penn will play at Plymouth-Whitemarsh in the championship tournament’s semifinal round on Saturday afternoon.

There were two significant scoring runs in this game, one for each team. Pennsbury’s run was in the first quarter; North Penn’s was at the end of game.

With the score tied at 4 in the early going, Pennsbury concluded the first quarter with a 10-0 run, consisting of two free throws by senior Ty Kocak, two more free throws by Kocak, a drive by Kocak, a baseline floater by junior Connor Taddei, and a hoop inside by Kocak. Although Pennsbury led 14 to 4 at the end of the first quarter, they had committed four turnovers in the first frame.

Pennsbury’s ball security problems continued into the second quarter in which they committed five turnovers. This provided North Penn with an opportunity to get back into the game. Five North Penn players scored in the second quarter, and, although North Penn had been outplayed in the first half, they trailed by just six points after 16 minutes of play. It appeared that, if North Penn were to hit some 3-pointers, they could at least draw even with Pennsbury.

North Penn hit the boards hard in the third quarter, out-rebounding Pennsbury 11 to six in the third frame. North Penn also began to find the range from behind the arc in the third quarter, as junior Norman Gee made a 3-pointer, and his teammate, junior Teddy McCallister, sank two more. McCallister had a terrific third quarter, notching 11 points in the frame. Neither team had a turnover in the third quarter, but Pennsbury’s offense stalled during the third period. North Penn led 35 to 32 at the end of the third quarter.

However, there was no quit in Pennsbury. They opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with a putback by senior Ryan Zuckerman and a free throw by Taddai to tie the game at 35. The teams exchanged 3-pointers, then Pennsbury broke the 38 to 38 tie with a drive by Kocak with 4:48 left in the game. Those would be the last points that Pennsbury scored in the contest. North Penn finished the game with an 8 to 0 run, consisting of a 3-pointer by Gee with 2:20 left, two free throws by Gee, a free throw by senior Nick Hoffman, and two free throws by senior Ryan Zeltt.

Pennsbury out-rebounded North Penn 35 to 28. North Penn had five turnovers, while Pennsbury had 12 miscues. North Penn was 14 of 18 from the free throw line, and Pennsbury was nine of 15. North Penn made six 3-pointers, and Pennsbury made three. There were five ties and three lead changes.

North Penn scoring: Teddy McCallister 16, Norman Gee 15, Ryan Zeltt 7, Ryan Deininger 4, Mario Sgro 2, Lee Hammond 1, and Nick Hoffman 1.

Pennsbury scoring: Ty Kocak 14, Connor Taddei 10, Ryan Zuckerman 9, Sam Callahan 3, Danny Cohen 2, and Mike Roccograndi 2.

North Penn 4 15 16 11-46
Pennsbury 14 11 7 8-40

On Twitter: @david_kehler

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