By Bruce Adams
Penn Wood gave an imposing Cheltenham team a battle for three quarters Sunday before the talented and deep Panthers pulled away for a 66-50 win in the second round of the PIAA Class 6A tournament at Bensalem.
The Patriots, the 10th seed out of District 1, found themselves tied with the Panthers at halftime, thanks in part to senior forward Evan Borward, who worked his way underneath the basket for eight first-half points.
Penn Wood led 40-39 with 16.8 seconds to go in the third after Sahmir Massenburg hit both ends of a one-and-one. But that preceded a 20-1 run by Cheltenham that ended all doubt as to the outcome.
“We expected to be there with Cheltenham. We’re a little upset with how we started the fourth quarter,” Penn Wood coach Matt Lindeman said. “Cheltenham is really good, but we’re proud of how our guys fought and competed.”
Cheltenham forward Justin Savage worked his way underneath for a basket in the closing seconds of the third to give the Panthers a slim 41-40 lead.
Borward led Penn Wood (16-9) with 12 points, followed by Massenburg (10), Murray (9) and Mekhi Shillingford (7).