Abington, C.B. West in Suburban One boys' basketball title game
After spending a year at Roman Catholic, Joe O'Brien transferred to nearby Abington before the 2014-15 school year and was looking forward to his first season of basketball with the Ghosts.
After spending a year at Roman Catholic, Joe O'Brien transferred to nearby Abington before the 2014-15 school year and was looking forward to his first season of basketball with the Ghosts.
But a broken foot suffered during the summer AAU circuit wiped out what would have been his sophomore campaign.
"I had surgery, and that was followed by about three months of rehab," the 17-year-old said.
On Saturday afternoon, with the gradually improving O'Brien contributing 10 first-half points and nine rebounds, No. 3 seed Abington topped No. 2 Pennridge, 59-51, in a Suburban One League playoff semifinal at Council Rock North.
"This tournament is a huge deal for us," the 6-foot-9, 240-pound junior forward said. "We want to get things rolling going into the district playoffs."
The Ghosts (19-4) will try for their second straight Suburban One postseason crown against No. 4 seed Central Bucks West at 7:30 p.m. Monday at Bensalem. The Bucks downed No. 1 Plymouth Whitemarsh, 53-46, in overtime in the other semifinal.
O'Brien shot 5 for 5 from the field in the first half, blocked two shots, and gathered four boards on the offensive end.
"It's been a process for him," Abington coach Charles Grasty said. "At times, he gets frustrated with his playing time. You miss a year of basketball, and it's tough to make a return."
O'Brien scored six points in the first quarter and four in the second. His fastbreak layup and Eric Dixon's three-pointer from up top capped an 11-3 spurt and gave the Ghosts a 31-20 advantage at intermission.
Dixon, a 6-6 freshman, netted 20 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate Robbie Heath, a sophomore floor general, scored 15 points, all in the second half, grabbed nine boards, and dished four assists.
Down by 45-43 early in the fourth quarter, Abington seized control with an 8-0 burst that was highlighted by Heath's deep trey from the left wing.
For Pennridge, senior guard Stephen Lowry drilled five three-pointers on the way to 16 points. The Rams (19-4) shot 16 for 52 (30.7) percent from the field.
Abington 13 18 12 16 - 59
Pennridge 10 13 18 10 - 51
A: Robbie Heath 15, Lucas Monroe 10, Joe O'Brien 10, Eric Dixon 20, Jack Steinman 2, Bernard James 2.
P: Danny Long 6, Max Wagner 12, Devon Balmer 8, Stephen Lowry 16, Ryan Cuthbert 3, Sean Yoder 4, Kyle Yoder 2.
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