Blog: North Penn ends Cardinals' season, 49-38.

NORTH PENN 49, UPPER DUBLIN 38

After the Cardinals took the lead into the locker room, the Knights came into the second half and really heated up on offense. They used a barrage of long 3's and 2's to gain the lead, before slowing the game down and controlling possession. Upper Dublin went cold from the floor and the Knights really tightened up their interior defense, keeping the Cardinals from mounting any kind of comeback. Thanks for reading.

END GAME: #22 makes both for North Penn, and when Upper Dublin can't convert he is sent to the line again, hitting 1 of 2. Owens blocked on the final Cardinals possession, and the clock expires. NP 49, UD 38.

:33- Cardinals foul again, final one before the Knights enter the double bonus. NP's #10 makes 1 of 2 to push the lead to 8, and a DeCamara miss is pulled down by North Penn. DeCamara fouls out with :33 left on the clock, and the game appears out of reach for the Cardinals. NP 46, UD 38.

:59- Cardinals running full press defense at this point, Knights inbound and Harrison immediately fouls. Knights miss the front end and Upper Dublin pulls down the rebound, and Owens gets a decent look from 3, but they left him open on purpose as it's a bit beyond his range. Ball heads out of bounds and North Penn gets possession. North Penn 45, Upper Dublin 38.

#10 makes both free throws to push the lead to 7. He then fouls Owens on the other end, but the Cardinals are not yet in the bonus. The Cardinals throw the ball away after inbounding and lose possession. Now down 7 with 1:20 to play. Norristown 45, Upper Dublin 38.

1:36: Good defense for the Cardinals causes North Penn to call timeout, but they need steals at this point, not just tight defense. For those unaware, there is no shot clock in high school basketball. North Penn misses, but ball goes off a Cardinal to stay with the Knights. They inbound successfully and play tight defense, but can't get the turnover. They begin to foul to inch North Penn into the bonus, and the Knights head to the line for a 1 and 1.

2:17- UD stripped of the ball after a nice pass inside, and the Knights come down the other end, still playing a slow style. Knights find an open man off an inbounds, and push the lead to 5. Harrison has his shot blocked after working hard to get inside, and the Knights come away with it. Harrison with a frustration foul on the other end, although it might be useful to get the Knights into the bonus if it comes down to fouling. Cardinals almost come away with a turnover but the ball stays, and Upper Dublin calls timeout. North Penn 43, Upper Dublin 38.

4:13- Owens is fed the ball inside down low, and is fouled as he shoots, ball just rimming out of an and 1 opportunity. He makes both free throws to cut the lead to 1. #12 nails a very long 2 from the wing, appeared to be a 3 and drawing boos from the crowd. Harrison gets the ball down low and narrowly avoids a block to lay the ball in. #12 with a layup that kisses the top of the glass before dropping. North Penn 41, Upper Dublin 38.

5:42 Derr hits for 2 on the first possession, a nice push shot from the baseline. North Penn now slowing the game down tremendously, passing around the perimeter, #23 with a very quick drive on the baseline, lays it in over two Cardinal defenders. Owens finds himself open at the of the key, but misses the shot. Knights pull down the rebound and are now playing perimeter passing. They miss the 3, collect the rebound, but lose the ball out of bounds. North Penn 37, Upper Dublin 34.

END Q3 Cardinals passing around, and find Magruder for a very nice up and under layup. Knights hold for final possession, miss a 3, but pull down the offensive rebound and splash a 2 pointer as the buzzer sounds. NORTH PENN 35, UPPER DUBLIN 32.

:54- North Penn again pulls down several offensive rebounds, and Harrison picks up his second foul, with the Knights hitting a 2 off the inbounds to take the lead, 31-30. DeCamara misses another 3, but a foul is called and the Cardinals keep the ball. Owens misses a bank shot, and the Knights pull down the rebound. #22 hits a long 2, with one foot on the line, and the Cardinals call timeout. North Penn 33, Upper Dublin 30.

1:52- Harrison hits for 2 for the Cardinals, but NP answers right back with a jumper of their own. UD comes away empty from the next possession, and #22 AGAIN hits for the Knights to cut the lead to 2, he can't seem to miss. Upper Dublin with an empty possession, and follows it up with a set in which they allow 3 offensive rebounds before Khalil Owens fouled #23. That's Owens third. #23 hits one of two free throws to cut the lead to 1. Harrison is fed inside, but his shot rims out, as does the follow up by Owens. Upper Dublin 30, North Penn 29.

4:30- NP inbounds the ball and works around nicely, but #10 misses a 3. DeCamara with a miss of his own on a runner, and North Penn rebounds then hit for 2 on the other end to cut the lead to 3. DeCamara throws the ball away trying to feed Harrison, but Cardinals get the ball back. Owens works the lane and banks one off the glass. After a NP turnover, Cardinals push the pace and find Derr for a layup to push the lead to 19. #22 from North Penn answers with a 3, and Owens hit a jumper from the foul line. Both teams heating up offensively. North Penn's #22 hits another 2. Upper Dublin 28, North Penn 24

HALFTIME Magruder fouled on the other end, makes both shots at the line. Knights throw the ball away on the other end after a nice penetration step, and they are now pressing the Cardinals. UD beats the press, but loses the ball when an errant cross court pass results in DeCamara fouling a Knights' defender. #22 goes to the line, and makes both free throws. Knights still pressing, Zarwin in the game for Magruder with ball-handling duties. He finds DeCamara in the corner, but a 3-pointer rims out. NP calls timeout, then holds for final possession, they miss a pair of shots to end the half. UPPER DUBLIN 22-NORTH PENN 17.

1:36 Andrew Derr misses both free throws, and the Cardinals pull down the rebound only to turn the ball over. They foul North Penn's #12 on the other end, and he heads to the free throw line. Khalil Owens is called for the foul, but it's only his second as the early was an error. #12 makes both shots to cut the lead to 5. Margruder misses a long 3 from the top of the key, but North Penn's #10 misses one as well. Upper Dublin pulls down the rebound, and has a nice set on offense but Harrison is called for the charge. North Penn with a turnover on the other end. Upper Dublin 20, North Penn 15.

3:17-Upper Dublin picked on their end, but NP misses the open layup. Teams trade turnovers, and now Upper Dublin slows the pace of the game down. Owens works inside and goes up for a shot, and then is fouled, but misses both free throws. North Penn collects the rebound and then finally makes a 3 from the right corner on the offensive end. Owens answers with another 2. North Penn misses a layup but makes on a second put-back. Teams trade turnovers and the Cardinals are fouled, 33 heading to the line. By the way, we've got a packed house here tonight, and apparently nobody told them to turn off the heat. Upper Dublin 20, North Penn 13.

5:51- DeCamara opens the quarter with a 3 from the left wing. Blair Weiss called for his second foul on the other end, North Penn inbounds but #10 misses the 3. Knights collect the rebound, and number #23 misses a 3. A nice feed inside by Magruder to Owens is stopped by a nice shot alteration by NP. #10 misses another 3 for North Penn, who can't seem to make. Owens hits a baseline 2 as he was about to head out of bounds, pushes UD's lead to 10. #12 for North Penn misses a 3, and Owens is fouled as he pulls down the rebound. Upper Dublin 18, North Penn 8.

END Q1 Khalil Owens nails a 2 off the inbounds to push the lead to 4, but #23 for North Penn is fouled in the act on the other end. He misses  both, but the Knights pull down the rebound. #10 circles to the top of the key,  then feeds inside to #44 who is fouled in the act of shooting. Foul is on Khalil Owens, his second. North Penn with a pair of misses underneath, and UD comes away with the ball. North Penn very cold from the floor, but Upper Dublin altering a lot of shots. Height advantage appears even. #20 for UD is fouled at the offensive end, heads to the line, and makes one of two. Upper Dublin playing close man defense, and they hold off a long, empty possession to end the first. UPPER DUBLIN 13, NORTH PENN 8.

1:42 North Penn finds an open man right under the hoop but he misses the layup. Cardinals stuffed on the other end.  Darrell Harrison picks a pass and takes it to the other end. He almost misses the dunk but the ball rattles in. North Penn's number 23 misses a jumper from the foul line, and then the Knights foul a Cardinal on the floor on the other end. Cardinals 10 Knight 8.

3:10 Owens fouls North Penn's #14 on the shot, he misses both and UD pulls down the rebound. NP playing closing D, and Upper Dublin nearly turns it over in the paint, but Owens nails a long 2 from the right wing. North Penn's 23 answers with 2 in the lane, and Margruder misses 3 the following possession. Darrell Harrison streaks on the break and lays it in for 2. North Penn hits a 3 to tie. 8-8.

5:34: North Penn controls tip, #22 misses open 3, and they miss another opportunity. Upper Dublin immediately throws the ball away, leading to a #21 3 point from the top of the key. DeCamara misses a 3 to answer, and the Knights comes down with the ball. They're spreading the floor, and number 10 misses a 3. Darrell Harrison spins underneath the basket and puts it in on the other end. North Penn works inside nicely but #44 misses a wide open basket. Cardinals find Khalil Owens under the net for 2. Upper Dublin 4, North Penn 3.

Hi everyone,

This is Kyle Bagenstose, editor of Upper Dublin Patch. For those readers from Tony's Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch, welcome and thanks for reading.

I, as well as sportswriter have been following the Cardinals basketball teams all season long, and will be in the North Penn gym tonight to the game.

Cardinal fans, please come back at 7:00pm for the tip, and Knights fans, please excuse any bias or that may slip through our usually air-tight journalistic container!

See you at tip-off.