PLYMOUTH MEETING — Displaying plenty of drive and determination — especially down the home stretch — Abington’s basketball-playing Ghosts carved out a satisfying 56-52 victory over Philadelphia’s Martin Luther King in a PIAA Class AAAA quarterfinal Saturday at packed Colonial Elementary School.
Anthony Lee pocketed 19 points, Matt Penecale chalked up 13 and Amir Hinton tacked on 11 as Charles Grasty’s Ghosts (25-5), trailing 31-27 at the halftime break, rallied for a win that popped the suburban Philadelphians into Tuesday’s semifinal round opposite undefeated District 7-AAAA champ New Castle.
New Castle edged Hampton 57-55 in another quarterfinal-round tussle. No site nor tip time has been announced for the Abington-New Castle matchup.
Sammy Foreman scored 16 points and Chase Rodgers finished with 10 for Sean Colson’s third-ranked Cougars (25-6), who trailed for the entire first quarter and much of the second before pushing in front on a Foreman trey.
Abington rallied in the second half, however, moving in front to stay early in the fourth quarter on a Penecale runout. While Grasty’s Ghosts were able to stretch their lead to seven points — Abington had success getting to the hoop with the dribble drive early and flourished as well in the third quarter with similar tactics — they also were able to fend off a late King challenge.
PIVOTAL SEQUENCE
Trailing 40-38 late in the third quarter following Greg Bennett’s conventional three-point play, Abington pulled even with 8.5 to play on Hinton’s finish at the rack.
While the Ghosts had a chance to step in front seconds into the fourth on a Hinton freebie, they took the lead with 48 seconds gone when Lee’s outlet put Penecale on the break for an easy finish. Although Lee’s layup was matched by a Foreman floater, another Penecale score and Laz Mackrides’ trey had Abington up 49-42.
Just 3:35 remained in the game.
While Abington tried to milk clock with extended possessions that tested a solid spread, King still managed to creep within three (49-46) with 1:51 to go when the crafty Foreman knocked down two free throws.
Although Lee’s drive and two freebies from Jordan Neely helped the Ghosts extend their lead to six (53-47), Sean Colson’s Cougars were within two (54-52) with 7.8 ticks to play and Jabri McCall standing at the line.
McCall’s first free throw had sliced King’s deficit to two, the second was waved off by a lane violation that gave Abington the ball. Moments later, Hinton sewed up the Ghosts’ date with New Castle by splashing a pair of freebies.
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REVIEWING THE NUMBERS
Although Abington shot 43.2 percent (19-for-44) from the field, Grasty’s Ghosts connected on 47.4 (9-for-19) of their second-half efforts. … Abington canned 5 of its 15 3-point attempts with the 6-5 Mackrides and Lee each bagging two. …
Grasty’s Ghosts were remarkably efficient at the line, draining 13 of their 14 free-throw attempts, including a 10-for-11 performance after the break. … Abington was outrebounded by the taller Cougars 31-26. … The ninth-ranked Ghosts committed 18 turnovers, one fewer than Colson’s Philly Public League champions. …
Khari Jefferson’s six rebounds topped Abington, while Lee finished with five. … Penecale dished out four assists, one more than Lee. … Lee, who can drive or rock from deep, was 8-for-13 from the floor — 2-for-4 from beyond the arc. …
King converted 40.5 percent (17-for-42) of its field-goal attempts, but shot just 27.8 percent (5-for-18) from the floor after the break. … Colson’s Cougars drained three of their 11 treys, with Foreman bagging two and Bennett one. …
Jahmir Taylor added nine points and nine boards for King. … Rodgers also grabbed nine boards. … McCall finished with eight points.
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