William Tennent Defeats Upper Moreland 72-69 in OT: Kehler on Hoops

Written by: Dell Jackson on January 28, 2023

William Tennent Defeats Upper Moreland 72-69 in OT

William Tennent defeated host Upper Moreland 72 to 69 in overtime on Friday night in a Suburban One League Freedom Division contest that was fiercely contested and played at a very, very fast pace. The Suburban One League spans Montgomery and Bucks counties. In PIAA classifications, William Tennent, located in Warminster, is 6A and Upper Moreland, from Willow Grove, is 5A.

This game was close all of the way, and both teams ran at every possible opportunity. Upper Moreland had a significant height advantage with two lanky starters: 6’ 9” junior Sean Murphy and 6’ 6” sophomore Nigel Adamson. From the outset of the game, it was clear that Upper Moreland would have a rebounding edge, and they out-rebounded Tennent 15 to six in the first frame. In particular, Upper Moreland was strong on the offensive board, and they impressively had 16 offensive rebounds in this contest.

Upper Moreland did well in the early going, paced by six first quarter points by Adamson, who was strong inside. Both teams played very quickly in the first quarter, running up and down the court, and it looked like the guys were having a lot of fun playing in this fashion. Early in the second quarter, Upper Moreland took a 26 to 18 lead on a hoop inside by Murphy, and it seemed like Tennent was in serious trouble. However, Tennent made a strategic adjustment at this point, switching from man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone, which was much more effective for them. Then, 6’ Tennent senior Evan Devor hit a crucial 3-pointer, and his squad began to stem the tide. Also in the second frame, Upper Moreland had several damaging turnovers, and they put Tennent on the free throw line for 10 attempts in the quarter. The sloppy play tended to erode Upper Moreland’s decided rebounding margin, and Tennent led 39 to 35 its halftime.

Tennent led throughout the third quarter, helped by five more Upper Moreland turnovers. However, Upper Moreland continued to out-rebound Tennent, and their Jon Clark, a 6’ 3” senior, began to surge on offense, scoring eight points in the third frame. Only two Tennent players scored in the third quarter—6’ 2” junior Kirby Mooney, who had six points in the period, and 6’ senior George Marion, who notched nine points in the frame. After three quarters, Tennent led 54 to 52.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, Upper Moreland tied the game at 54 on two free throws by Clark. But Tennent wouldn’t relinquish the lead very easily, and, a couple minutes later, they went up 60 to 54 on a jumper by the outstanding Mooney. However, there was no quit in Upper Moreland, and they clawed back to tie the game at 64 on a 3-pointer by junior Alex Best.. Tennent then scored on a hoop by Marion to lead 66 to 64. With two minutes left in the game, Tennent went into a four corner set and burned some clock. After Tennent missed a free throw attempt with 50 seconds left in regulation, Upper Moreland got possession, and they tied the game at 66 on drive by Best, who had a big fourth quarter. Best’s hoop sent the game into overtime.

In the extra period, Upper Moreland took the lead, 68 to 67 on a drive by Clark, then Tennent tied it at 68 on a free throw by Marion. Upper Moreland regained the lead, 69 to 68, on a free throw by Clark, but Tennent recaptured the lead for good on a drive by Marion. Upper Moreland was badly hurt in overtime by ball security problems; they committed four turnovers in the four minute extra period.

Upper Moreland decisively out-rebounded William Tennent 47 to 26. Upper Moreland committed 17 turnovers to eight miscues by Tennent. Turnovers hurt Upper Moreland throughout the game. Tennent was 15 of 29 from the free throw line, while Upper Moreland was 10 of 17 from the stripe. Both teams made five 3-pointers. There were six ties and four lead changes.

William Tennent is now 13-5 this season, and Upper Moreland is 11-8. Based on their play in this game, both of these squads have good chances to qualify for the PIAA state championship tournament in their respective classifications.

William Tennent scoring: George Marion 26, Kirby Mooney 23, Evan Devor 7, Isaiah Dawson 6, Danny Scheller 4, Imad Abunima 4, Chris D’Ambra 2.

Upper Moreland scoring: Jon Clark 24, Alex Best 15, Sean Murphy 10, Colson Campbell 9, Nigel Adamson 8, Jimmy Perle 3.

William Tennent 17 22 15 12 6-72
Upper Moreland 22 13 17 14 3-69

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