Henderson loses to Pennridge

It wasn’t the ending that the Henderson basketball team wanted to give head coach Leon Bell.  

When the District I pairings were announced on Sunday, a post-season win in the tournament seemed doable, even though the Warriors were on the road against a five-loss team with a homecourt advantage that may rival any in the state.

At their best this season, the Warriors could be a formidable foe with speed, firepower, pressure defense and a hustling mentality that often offset their general lack of size.  Since Pennridge was only slightly taller and not as fast, the hope was that Henderson could give Coach Bell the going away present of another game by knocking off the higher-seeded Rams with a quality performance.

But the Pennridge Rams weren’t terribly concerned about Bell’s retirement plans.  They had an accomplished season of their own to continue and that they did with a 74-54 victory over Henderson to advance to the final 16 schools still alive in this region of the state.

They did it with three-point shooting, disciplined rebounding, a press break formula that almost never faltered and an emotional energy elevated by the raucous gymnasiumfilled with students and townspeople who know what they had to do.

“The students have been talking about this game all week.  They were already here at 5:30 p.m. when the Henderson team arrived,” gushed Pennridge head coach Dean Behrens.  “But it was the kids on the floor.  We limited them to one shot with five guys rebounding.  We held them to six points in the first quarter.  That was key.”

For the second game in a row, Henderson had trouble getting points early and midway through the second period, the deficit was already 20-10.  The deficit grew to 12 points at the half and 18 after three quarters as Henderson tried to cope with a buzzsaw performance from a home team that sank big throws and won the loose ball battles throughout the night.

“They were high on emotion with the great fan support,” offered Bell, reconciling his team’s effort for the last time.  “They made a few shots and got the momentum.”

There was a moment late in the second quarter, when Austin Constable hit consecutive threes to cut the margin to 10, that gave hope to the small Henderson contingent that travelled almost to Allentown.  T.J. White’s three-point play brought it down to 15 and shifted momentum early in the fourth for one last glimmer of hope.

But Pennridge point guard Mike Guldin and forward Tim Abruzzo just kept knocking down free throws as time slipped away and Henderson never really threatened to get back in the game.  The victory lifted Pennridge’s record to 18-5.

Constable, the four-year starter who passed 1,000 points earlier this year, ended up with 20 points in a final performance during which he twice had to leave the game because his all-out play produced bloody bruises.  White ended up with eight points and nine rebounds while Chas McCormack contributed eight points and Scott Cullinan five. Senior point guard Des Alston also played his final game for the Warriors and contributed five points as the team closed out the season at 16-8.

“It’s the end of an era for me,” Bell stated softly at the close of his 14th year.  “Some guys are upset.  The seniors are sad and I’m sad too.  I told them that they’ll always have this experience of playing basketball for Henderson High School.  I do hate to leave this group of kids.  They’ll always be mine.”