Ghosts blow a fourth-quarter lead, lose to CR South 46-45

HOLLAND TOWNSHIP — Darian McFadden lay U-shaped on the Council Rock South court, gripping his right leg in obvious pain.

His coach, Charles Grasty, slowly walked over, then, just as slowly, returned to the Abington bench. His star forward joined him a moment later, head in hands, searching for comfort.

The real pain came for the Galloping Ghosts nearly 4:18 later, when McFadden's jumper fell in front of the rim and was recovered by South, spoiling a last-ditch attempt in a 46-45 loss to the Golden Hawks Tuesday.

"I knew it was short," said McFadden, who returned with just more than two minutes left in the game. "I thought I was going to make it, but when it left my hand, it went short."

The failed attempt may serve as a metaphor for Abington, which also lost by a point to Council Rock North Jan. 25. Between defeats, the Ghosts escaped Pennsbury with a 75-73 win during what has been a season of stops and starts.

"We feel like we let this one slip away," Grasty said. "We thought we had a good momentum going in.

“We've been inconsistent all season. As soon as we get a lead, we'll take a bad shot or turn the ball over, or [make] some mental mistakes."

With a district berth still a possibility, Abington (7-12, 3-8 SOL) worked a three-point lead after the first quarter and maintained a 19-18 advantage at halftime. Unlike the Pennsbury game, defense factored more, with both teams often applying full-court pressure.

While Jordan Simmons continued his strong play with 15 points, and McFadden added 14, the Hawks kept coming. Led by Justin Thomas' 20 points and 12 rebounds, South controlled the tempo and overcame missed shots by out-rebounding the Ghosts 34-17.

"We couldn't stop Thomas," McFadden said. "He came out strong. We tried to throw a couple of things at him, but it didn't work. We played a little lazy on defense, and couldn't seem to get it together."

The Ghosts led 33-30 entering the fourth quarter, but Thomas carried the final eight minutes by scoring 10 of his team's 16 points. He pulled up for easy jumpers, drove underneath for lay-ups and went 4-for-4 from the line.

He also contributed with a key assist when he dished a ball to Pat Silverthorn, who drilled a three-pointer that put the Hawks up 37-35.

"We wanted to work the ball inside and out," Thomas said. "That's when we play our best. We were getting open looks inside, and taking easy lay-ups."

Key free throws by junior Michael Travor pulled Abington even at 41, and Vincent Tranquillo's bank shot put the Ghosts up by two, in what would be their final lead of the afternoon.

Thomas emerged again with two free throws of his own, then drove down the lane again for 45-43 lead.

McFadden, who returned while Thomas was at the line, was fouled, but went 1-for-2 from the line, keeping the Ghosts down.

Another 1-for-2 pulled the teams even.

"I split free throws every time I went to the line," McFadden said. "I can't do that. Basically, it's my fault."

With 21.3 seconds left and playing for the final shot, guard Zach Fitzgerald broke free for a lay-up, but was fouled. He missed the first shot, but sank the second.

Abington had one final chance with 8.9 seconds left. They set up a play with the intention to get the ball to Wes Rines for a final shot, but McFadden had to improvise. He drove the lane and fired off his jumper.

Short.

"Eight seconds is an eternity to get the ball down the floor," CR South head coach John Easterly said. "We knew we wanted to play a full-court defense. They got off a good shot, but we contested it. We wanted to contest it and be in position to rebound. The defense we were playing secured that. It worked out nicely for us."

Not so much for Abington.

With games left against Bensalem, William Tennent and Harry Truman, the Ghosts can still qualify for the PIAA District 1 tournament. While a realistic goal, they need to improve how they're playing.

"We're pretty good when we're doing what we have to do, but when we start doing it our own way, it's the same story — losing by one, two, things like that," Grasty said. "We're very inconsistent right now. This is what happens. This is game 19 now, and there shouldn't be any excuses. That's all I can say."