PENNSBURY:Falcons punch ticket to states

By BILL KENNY
For BucksLocalSports

FAIRLESS HILLS — The deeper that Pennsbury High advances in the District One Class AAAA tournament, the easier things seem to get for the Falcons.
Four nights after routing first-round foe Council Rock South by 31, Pennsbury blitzed visiting Owen J. Roberts High of Pottstown, 70-48, last night as senior Dalton Pepper poured in 29 points in his final appearance on his home floor.
Though the final margin was less than in the CR South game, Pennsbury’s victory was no less emphatic as the Falcons led by 32 before subbing deep throughout the fourth quarter.
The victory clinched a PIAA state tournament berth for fourth-seeded Pennsbury (21-3) and set up a district tourney quarterfinal match-up with fifth-seeded Central Bucks South (21-3) on Friday night at a neutral site.
“I was a little nervous for our first two (playoff) games because if we lost, we wouldn’t qualify for the state playoffs,” Pepper said.
Actually, Owen J. Roberts (20-4) has one more shot at the state tournament. The Wildcats will enter an eight-team consolation bracket with the district’s ninth and final state berth available to the winner.
Nonetheless, if Pepper was nervous, neither he nor the Falcons showed it as he scored the team’s first seven points, as well as its final 11 of the first half. Pennsbury closed the half on a 17-6 run to take a commanding 61-32 edge.
Pepper, a 6-foot-5 wing forward, punctuated the rally with a two-handed dunk on a feed from senior guard Eddie DiRugeris with one second on the second-quarter clock.
In the third quarter, Pepper added 15 more points before sitting virtually all of the fourth. DiRugeris contributed nine points and five assists in the game.
Pennsbury approached the game as if it were facing an elite opponent, according to Pepper, even if the real competition was several notches less than that.
“We want to come out of every single game with as much intensity as anybody out there,” Pepper said. “That really helps us out a lot.”
And in the third quarter: “My teammates got me really involved with a lot of back-cuts and inside stuff. We made the extra passes and that really put them away.”
Pennsbury took the Wildcats out of everything they hoped to do offensively by getting 6-8 center Kevin Henry in foul trouble early and closing down their three-point shooters for the most part.
“We knew that they had a lot of shooters, that they play up and down the court,” Pepper said, “(that) they weren’t going to play much defense and they had a big man inside. We wanted to go to the basket as much as we could early to get him fouls and to get our big men involved early.”
Henry was whistled for two fouls in the first 1:06 of the game and sat until midway through the second quarter. Seconds later, he fouled again and sat until the second half.
He scored 13 points after intermission to lead the Wildcats for the game.
***
LINESCORES
Owen Roberts (20-4) 13 9 10 16 — 48
Pennsbury (21-3) 18 23 20 9 — 70
OWEN J. ROBERTS (48)
Vining 3-1-9, McNaughton 2-0-6, Setzler 2-0-6, Brumfield 1-0-2, K. Henry 4-5-13, Lawler 3-4-10, Costanzo 0-0-0, Ponto 0-0-0, M. Henry 0-0-0, Tammaro 0-2-2. Totals 15-12-48.
PENNSBURY (70)
Krasna 1-2-4, Devine 2-2-6, DiRugeris 4-1-9, D. Pepper 11-6-29, Marcinkowski 1-2-4, Healey 2-0-6, Wolff 0-1-1, Dulac 2-0-4, Kumor 1-0-2, Bolger 1-0-3, Sibel 0-1-1, B. Pepper 0-0-0, Jabat 0-0-0, Ciotti 0-1-1. Totals 25-16-70.
3-pointers: Vining 2, McNaughton 2, Setzler 2 (OJR); D. Pepper, Healey 2, Bolger (P).
***

District 1 CLASS AAAA
Playoff Scores

Central Bucks South 51, Glen Mills 44
Chester 66, Souderton 58
Norristown 62, West Chester Rustin 41
Penn Wood 65, Bensalem 32
Pennsbury 70, Owen J. Roberts 48
Lower Merion 45, Central Bucks West 41 OT
Conestoga 65, West Chester Henderson 36
Plymouth-Whitemarsh 63, Neshaminy 47
**
Friday’s Matchups

(at neutral sites)
Chester vs. Norristown
Pennsbury vs. Central Bucks South
Penn Wood vs. Lower Merion
Plymouth-Whitemarsh vs. Conestoga