City of Basketball Love

Rob Rose (@RobRoseSports)
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On an average night, wearing a pair of yellow and white sneakers could be described as an attempt to make a fashion statement.

However, Thursday was no ordinary evening and the pair of Nike sneakers on the feet of Central Bucks East sophomore Jacob Cummiskey set the tone for the game.

Cummiskey claimed he didn’t intentionally show up in shoes that matched the colors of his rival, Central Bucks West, but once he walked into the Bucks’ gym he knew his play needed to be what people talked about postgame and not his shoes.

He did just that with a team-high 13 points and led the Patriots to a 53-36 win over the Bucks with a big second half.

“I know it's the colors of our rivals, but to be honest it was all I had and we won so there's nothing they can say,” Cummiskey said. “You can't wear those shoes and then lose the game, so I had to make a statement.”

Cummiskey took over the game during a third-quarter run that sealed the victory for Central Bucks East. After he was held without a point in the first half, the sophomore scored 11 of his points in the third quarter and pushed the Patriots’ lead to 16 points from four at halftime.

The 6-3 guard had not taken a 3-pointer in three games, but buried three from beyond the arc during the run after the Bucks’ bench offered some added motivation, according to Central Bucks East head coach Erik Henrysen.

“He's just so talented and can do multiple things on the court andI could tell that he wanted to get going,” Henrysen said. “Once he hits that three, we hear from their bench, ‘Let him shoot.’ I don't know if he took that personally, but then he hit one and then another and I think it just kind of relieved some pressure.”

After Cummiskey led the Patriots to the district semifinals with consecutive buzzer-beating baskets as a freshman, he admitted there are more eyes on him this season. He said there’s no added pressure becoming a primary playmaker for the Patriots after the team graduated several seniors, but he struggled to start the game.

After turning the ball over, he committed a clear frustration foul, but battled through it to break out once the second half began.

While Cummiskey was big in the third quarter for Central Bucks East, it was the team’s seniors that got them to halftime up by four before he got going. Guard Nick Rivera scored 11 and ran the offense all game and Brett Young had 10 points and added a pair of 3-pointers.

“We have strong senior leadership so, he's still able to just play and he's one of our captains kind of leading for the most part by example,” Henrysen said. ”I think that he's embracing the role and learning, but at the same time we returned some talent as well, so he's not taking on too much and he's kind of playing within himself.”

While a road win over their rivals will always seem like an extra victory, the biggest win for the Patriots might be that Cummiskey broke out of a shooting slump and found some swagger with his statement shoes. In the second half he showed himself that although he was aimed at a student section filled with animosity toward him, he could score from anywhere on the floor.

“All season long I haven't been shooting the ball,” Cummiskey said. “I just lost my confidence and in that game, (in front of a) big crowd, I wanted to play well so, at halftime I was like, ‘I'm gonna start shooting this goddamn ball.’”

With their sophomore scorer feeling confident along with a rotation of seven seniors that put points on the board on Thursday, the Patriots appear to be capable of competing for another division title and make a run in the district playoffs. After a brutal loss at Central Bucks South on Tuesday, the Patriots bounced back in a big way and proved to their coach what they’re capable of.

“I think we're going in the right direction,” Henrysen said. “You always want to respond after a loss and we were humbled by the South. They really gave it to us, so after a loss you always want to come back and have a strong showing and I think we did, so kind of turn the page and enjoy this, but we gotta get ready for what's to come.”

By Quarter
CB East 8 | 12 | 21 | 12 | 53

CB West 2 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 36

Scoring
East: Jacob Cummiskey 13, Nick Rivera 11, Brett Young 10, Joey Giordano 4, Josh Lyzinski 4, Liam Cummiskey 4, Tyriq Toney-Bailey 3, Kyle Berndt 3, Aidan Weaver 1.

West: John Lee 14, Nick Tenaglia 9, Donte Mancini 6, Charlie Cashman 3, Colin McKenna 3, Michael Fountain 2, Bowen Gugger 1.