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CB South boys' Farley playing free and in fine form; Spratt, CB West girls survive South late

12/17/2021, 1:00am EST
By Andrew Robinson

Andrew Robinson (@ADRobinson3)
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WARRINGTON — One of the primary tenets of architecture is the principle that form follows function, and it's not much of a stretch to apply it to basketball.

There were times this offseason where Central Bucks South senior Michael Farley was simply trying to do too much. He didn't need to be Atlas, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, he just needed to be a component of a Titans team with depth, experience and ability.

Once he realized he just had to function in his role, the form came quickly for Farley, who had his third 20-point night of the young season in Thursday's 65-51 win over visiting Central Bucks West.

"I think when that first basket falls, it's a relief off my shoulders and gets me going a bit," Farley said. "I'd say I'm kind of a streaky player where once I get going, it's usually pretty good for me.

"The weight room was a big thing for us this year and it takes a lot off when you go into it stronger and it helps your body through a long season so I think that's been a big part of it."

It also helped drive his college choice, with the 6-foot-7 senior recently pledging to Ursinus. There was definitely a mutual fit there, with Farley figuring out early in the process exactly what he wanted from an academic perspective and from the program he would be joining.

He hit it off with Bears coach Kevin Small right away and, just as importantly, he fit right in with his future teammates.

Titans coach Jason Campbell was there to give Farley and his family all the support and guidance they needed as the forward weighed his offers from other high academic Division III and a few Division II programs, but knew the decision was ultimately up to Farley. It didn't stop the longtime South coach from hoping his all-league big man would pick a certain program.

"He really wanted Michael, just the way he talked about Michael and the interactions they've had, it was like Coach Small fell in love with this guy and he even told me 'I need to get Michael,'" Campbell said. "I was hoping that would be Michael's choice in the end. It was a school he liked from the very beginning and never fell out of love. I think he made the right choice and I believe Coach Small will make him an elite college player."

Ursinus, which is currently 6-1, has a nice young core of frontcourt players that Farley should fit right in with. Cole Grubbs, a 6-foot-9 freshman, leads the Bears in rebounds while 6-foot-5 freshman Sean Neylon and 6-foot-5 junior Kyle Maurer both have double-figure scoring averages.

No sooner had he left from his official visit, Farley started hearing from guys on the team and they kept in touch, making sure the CB South senior knew how much they wanted him to join the program.

"It's a great group of guys, they do a really good job sharing the ball and have such good team play," Farley said. "Fitting in with that type of team environment was big for me and definitely a leading factor in my decision."

It was Campbell who felt that Farley was trying to force things a little too much in the teams' various summer and fall competitions and talked with his senior about it.

The Tians have plenty of options from athletic 6-foot-5 forward Tyler Meinel, sharpshooters Joe Rooney and Chris Granito to point guard Jay Maclindong, and that's just the starting lineup, so they don't need Farley to take every shot.  If he could find the right balance, the game would come easier.

"We had a conversation just before the season where I asked him not to try and not feel the need to carry the team on his back," Campbell said. "I told him there are nights where he may not score in the first quarter because he's giving the ball up and letting the other guys score and when that happens, you get the ball inside and once you start scoring inside, then you start to score outside."

It was a talk Farley accepted and has embraced. Campbell smiled a bit when the first play of the second half, which Farley kicked out of the post to get Granito a wide-open three, was brought up as an example.

"That's why we're winning games, because he's not trying to do too much," Campbell said.

Thursday's win pushed the Titans to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the SOL Colonial. Farley, who finished with an even 20, did most of his damage with 12 points in the second quarter and no coincidence, that was the quarter where the Titans blew things wide open.

The senior missed all three shots he took in the opening frame, but did have an assist and once he got going, he wasn't slowing down in the next quarter. Farley had a nice take, contorting his outstretched arm around a defender, for a layup during a personal 10-0 run that flipped an 11-10 deficit into a nine-point lead.

"Our guard play is great and it always helps having another skilled big man out there," Farley said. "The guards make it hard to double down on me, we have such good shooters and I also spent a lot of time in the weight room this summer so that's all helped me."

Aside from his work in the weight room, where he estimates he put on between 10 to 15 pounds, Farley has put a lot of time into extending his game outside the paint. He didn't make a three against West, but the shot is becoming part of his arsenal and the forward had a couple instances of grabbing a rebound and pushing the ball up the floor on his own.

With another good big in Meinel and guards who can drive, Farley doesn't have to occupy the lane all game either. In the fourth quarter Thursday, he set up a defender outside the three-point line, drove and finished the hoop that gave him 20 on the game and a little satisfaction that all his work is paying off.

"It's really cool all the work is paying off," Farley said. "Feeding off the crowd tonight really got me going and I'm always looking to be there for my teammates. Having our goals in mind really set me off the second quarter."

It's a long season and there's still most of the grinder that is SOL play left to navigate, but right now, the Titans' senior big man is functioning just how they need him to and his form couldn't be much better as a result.

"We've come out hot, we're playing well together, we think we have a really good team this year and the chemistry is strong," Farley said.

Emily Spratt stands in a gym

Emily Spratt (above) made a handful of clutch plays to help the Bucks win on Tuesday night. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

Spratt, West survive South late

It might have been the most painful steal of Emily Spratt's career.

A play that started with the CB West senior captain getting knocked to the floor trying to grab a rebound off a teammate's missed free throw ended with her flying in out of nowhere for a game-clinching steal on Thursday. It also came at a price, with Spratt immediately cramping up and needing to be stretched out on the floor behind her team's bench after the final horn and still a little gimpy about 15 minutes later.

The Bucks have lived on a high-wire act to start SOL play, but Spratt made sure they didn't fall off with a handful of clutch plays in the fourth quarter of West's 38-36 win over South.

"Being a senior and knowing my coaches have all the confidence in the world in me helps in that situation," Spratt said. "Having that experience and playing here so many times, I just think my team needed it and I just went and did it."

Spratt didn't make every big play, but she made a lot of them late. The Jefferson recruit had five of her 11 points in the fourth, two rebounds and the all-important steal with 1.4 seconds left that thwarted a South chance to take the lead.

The Bucks, who survived a frantic rally at North Penn in Tuesday's SOL opener, are still getting the hang of playing with a lead. Thanks to a hot start from Katie Finnan and great energy from Ava Longo, the Bucks had a 19-10 halftime lead and went up 12 three minutes into the second half before the Titans came back.

West coach Zach Sibel admitted to running the full gambit of emotions in the final minute of the game, but is optimistic it's all areas the team can improve on.

"These girls are taking years off my life, but the good thing is all the adjustments we have to make are on us," Sibel said. "This is a group that's so receptive to feedback and film that we're going to keep taking those steps. You have to learn how to play with a lead."

Spratt had good reason to be tired, spending every second she was on the floor defensively guarding South's standout senior captain and one her best friends, Taylor Hinkle. Hinkle, who was AAU teammates with Spratt for the Comets, also scored 11 and had seven of those in the third quarter to lead her team back into the game.

Free throws from Spratt gave West the lead for good at 35-33 and two more from Tai Henkels proved crucial when South's Mackenzie Erb hit a deep three with 12 seconds left to make it a one-point game. That would set up the clinching sequence, with Spratt running down the play to make the steal, hit one of two at the line, then blanket Hinkle into nothing more than a desperation heave at the buzzer.

"This is a quote I love, 'High tide raises all boats.' She's bringing that energy and it's lifting everyone else," Sibel said of Spratt. "She brought it. That raises the focus and raises the energy that comes with that, it's one thing to have energy but another to have it with focus."

West still hasn't played a home game but Sibel said that's just fine because this group wants to be battle tested by the time the final February push comes. The Bucks will most likely get another battle from South in a couple weeks and a few more between now and then.

"I think being rated as underdogs this year, we're surprising a lot of people and it's motivating us to become better and better every day," Spratt said. "I hope there aren't many more games like that left, I felt like it was giving me heart palpitations. Every team goes through runs but I think if we do a better job staying on top of runs and finding a moment to say, 'Ok, now we have to get back into it,' we'll get pretty good at it."


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