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Church Farm stakes claim as BAL's best with win over Valley Forge

01/16/2017, 10:30pm EST
By Josh Verlin

Faustas Kulbickas (above) dropped five 3-pointers as Church Farm moved to 7-1 in Bicentennial Athletic League play. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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It’s not difficult for Church Farm senior Augustas Veniukevicius to tell when his teammate, Faustas Kulbickas, is calling for him.

After all, not too many other players in the area speak Lithuanian.

“He always calls me in Lithuanian language, and when I hear his voice, I’ll always pass to him -- usually,” Veniukevicius said. “It’s easier to pass to him, he’s always wide open, he always makes the shots.”

The two Lithuania natives found each other early and often on Monday evening as Church Farm stormed to 56-34 win over Valley Forge Military Academy.

Taking advantage of a turnover-prone Trojans squad, the Griffins jumped out to a 13-1 lead after one quarter and were up as many as 19-4 in the second quarter before Valley Forge finally started to make a few shots.

Veniukevicius (game-high 19 points) and Kulbickas (15 points) combined for 20 points in the first half, which ended with Church Farm (10-3, 7-1 Bicentennial) up 27-13. The Griffins held a double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

Kulbickas, a 6-3 wing guard did all of his damage from beyond the arc, knocking down five 3-pointers on 10 attempts. Veniukevicius, just about an inch shorter, buried two triples of his own but also got into the lane and had a few run-out layups.

“They’re special kids, we’re happy to have them,” Turner said. “Church Farm school has been a benefactor of having two really smart, intelligent, socially responsible young men.

“Today being Martin Luther King’s birthday, to have kids from different countries that look a little different than maybe some of our other kids is just a great reminder of how far our country’s come,” he added.

The pair had been teammates before they arrived at Church Farm last year, on a youth team in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius.

Both agreed that their relationship, which was solid before the move to America, has only strengthened during their time at the Exton boarding school.

“It’s fun, because sometimes you need to talk with somebody from Lithuania, not to forget your language,” Veniukevicius said. “He’s a good friend.”

“It’s really good to have someone that is from where I’m from,” Kulbickas echoed, “just to have somebody that knows something that you know.”

Valley Forge (11-4, 7-2) turned it over seven times in the first quarter alone and 17 for the game. Even when they were able to get into their offense, the Trojans were often stymied by an active  Church Farm perimeter and 6-foot-10 sophomore Jon Bol Ajak (12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks) patrolling the paint.

“Our kids stuck to the game plan,” Church Farm head coach Marc Turner said. “I was impressed with how they understood who the personnel was they were playing against. We do what we do, we play defense, so we’re going to make it difficult for you, and that’s exactly what they did.”

The Trojans were led by senior guard Myles Bunyon's 12 points. Nobody else on the team had more than six.

Valley Forge had been one of three one-loss teams in the Bicentennial’s Independence division heading into play on Monday, along with Church Farm and Holy Ghost Prep. Church Farm dealt Holy Ghost Prep its only loss of the season, 50-46 on Jan. 5.

The Griffins are far from home free, as they’ll have to play both the Trojans and the Firebirds once more this season, both on the road.

But the defending District 1 AA champions -- Church Farm beat Valley Forge in the district semifinals last year, though the two are now in different PIAA classifications -- are plenty used to playing key games at the top of the league standings.

“Ever since we’ve been in the league, we know that we may be that team that’s circled on the schedule when it first comes out,” Turner said. “So we always feel like every game’s like that, so this game was no different.”


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