Springfield puts it all on the line in upset win

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By Bob Grotz

If Springfield isn’t the first team to advance in the District One Class AAAA basketball playoffs despite managing just one second-half field goal, they’ve got be the last squad to do it.

The 20th-seeded Cougars’ unconventional 45-42 upset of No. 13 seed West Chester Henderson Friday night was made possible by converting a season-best 25 free throws, including 18 in the second half.

“I would have hoped we had one or two more possessions with a field goal,’ Kevin McCormick, who got the only Cougars bucket in the final two frames, said with a grin. “We just kept turning it over. There were a lot of fouls in the second half. It was an aggressive game. And it came down to defense. When you’re not making field goals you’ve got to get stops at the other end and I think we did that pretty well.’

McCormick scored six of his game-high 13 points at the foul line, all in the second half. Teammate Brian McCloskey was 10-for-10 at the charity stripe, sinking all six attempts in the second half for the Cougars (14-9), who next take on Plymouth-Whitemarsh, a 73-33 winner over Cheltenham.

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