Bucks makes way to Donofrio finale

By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor

“This is brand new territory for us,” stated Bucks County head coach Jim Kenny. “We’ve never been here before.”
Those were the words uttered by the man who has guided the Bucks County all-stars for the past six years now. He said them after the local boys downed the Sonny Hill Juniors in double overtime April 14 in the Albert C. Donofrio Classic.
Before this, the furthest Kenny took the Bucks County boys was the semifinals. But that's where the road ended for the 2004 area all-stars.
Pennsbury senior Dalton Pepper led the way with 39 points including a 3-point play he pulled off with the Bucks boys trailing by 5 points with less than a minute to play. The West Virginia-bound Pepper finished off an end-to-end drive with a reverse layup then sank the ensuing free throw to draw his team within a pair.
Then with only seconds left, Falcon junior Jesse Krasna tied the game at 78-all, sending it into overtime.
“We were down by 5 [points] with less than a minute to go and we had to do something,” stated Kenny. “We went with the Pennsbury backcourt--that’s what got us here; you have to go with what works.”
In overtime, Bucks was up by 3 points with 14 seconds to go when the Sonny Hill team hit a 3-pointer that sent the battle into a second extra session.
The locals finally outpaced Sonny Hill, 12-7, in the second OT to emerge with a 101-96 semifinal victory and advance to Wednesday night’s championship battle with the A-I all-stars, a team led by Norristown standout Kalif Wyatt.
Against Sunny Hill in the semis, Pepper wasn’t the only player putting the pill into the box. CB South senior Will Barrett did his part, scoring 22 points. Germantown Academy forward added 17 points together with 16 rebounds.
Philadelphia University-bound Eddie Dirugeris put 10 points into the bucket. Krasna added 7. Neshaminy freshman Ryan Arcidiacono contributed with a bucket of his own. CR North’s Andrew Stress was 1-for-2 from the foul line. And Greg Johnston added 3 points to the Bucks County team’s cause.
Savon Goodman, an 11th-grader from Academy of the New Church, led the scoring effort for Sonny Hill with 29 points. Devonte Newbill, a 6-4 guard from Strawberry Mansion High, hit for 27. Brandon Brown, a 6-3 forward from Cardinal Dougherty put 16 points into the bucket. North Catholic’s Xavier Harris was next with 13 points.
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Bucks County 101, Sonny Hill Juniors 96
Bucks County 40 38 11 12 – 101
Sonny Hill Juniors 34 44 11 7 - 96
Bucks County
Dalton Pepper 15 5-7 39; Ed DiRugeris 3 4-7 10; Will Barrett 7 7-9 22; Jeff Holton 6 5-9 17; Greg Johnston 1 1-2 3; Jesse Krasna 2 0-0 7; Duffy Barrett 0 0-0 0; Ryan Arcidiacono 1 0-0 2; Andrew Stress 0 1-2 1. Totals 35 25-38 101.
Sonny Hill Juniors
Devonte Newbill 12 2-5 27; Xavier Harris 6 1-4 13; Saadia Berry 2 0-0 5; Mustafa Jones 2 0-0 5; Savon Goodman 13 3-8 29; Isiah Baker 0 0-0 0; Brandon Brown 6 4-6 16; Mark Houston 0 0-0 0; Jerrod Johnson 1 0-0 2. Totals 41 10-23 96
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3-point goals: SHJ- Newbill, Jones; BC- Pepper 4, Barrett, Johnston