City of Basketball Love

Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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After Jake Cummiskey was talked out of grabbing the large jug — too much of a mess — CB East seniors Joey Giordano and Kyle Berndt instructed their other teammates to fill up their water bottles.

Cummiskey, Giordano and Berndt came into Tuesday night with a pair of league championship celebrations under their belts. They were well prepared for another, leading the dousing of coach Erik Henrysen following a 69-42 victory over North Penn.

“I feel like all these guys all picked up on it, and me and Kyle were kind of telling everybody to get your water bottles filled up,” Giordano said of the locker room celebration.

“We soaked him,” Berndt said.

The Patriots won an outright Suburban One League Colonial Division title in 2020-21 and shared the crown with C.B. South last season, so Henrysen, in his 13th year leading the Patriots, knew what was in store when he entered the locker room.

”It’s one that you invite if it means a championship then sure,” Henrysen said post wardrobe change. “I think they all got me.”

The Patriots (19-3, 14-2 SOL Colonial) missed an opportunity to clinch an outright title on Senior Night last week with a loss to Souderton. They got another chance Tuesday on the road, but standing in the way was a North Penn (17-5, 12-4) team with 12 straight wins hoping to force a split with the Patriots as they entered one game behind.

“We just wanted to finish the job,” Berndt said. “Get the job done, get the league title. That’s one of our main goals, and we want to keep on going.”

The Patriots have won a number of wild ones this season, but it was clear from the start that Tuesday was CB East’s night. CB East junior Tyler Dandrea scored 10 first-quarter points to jump the Patriots out to an 18-12 lead after one quarter. Giordano got going in the second as the Patriots expanded that lead to 35-21. 

North Penn started the second half with seven straight points. Dandrea and Berndt had an immediate answer, combining for seven consecutive points of their own to put the Patriots back up 14 with 4:51 left in third. CB East led 54-37 by the end of the period on three by junior Miles Demby and the rout was on during the final eight minutes of the game.

“We just packed the lane, didn’t let them get transition buckets,” Dandrea said of his team’s response.

“It was relieving,” Berndt said. “They didn’t really make that run to kind of make it close. We just kind of kept pushing on the gas, pushing on the pedal.”

Dandrea finished with 17 points, Cummiskey 16 points, Giordano 13 and Berndt 12. Senior Ryan Deininger led North Penn with 10.

“I enjoy the way they play for each other,” Henrysen said about what is special about this year’s group. “I enjoy that they’re not really concerned about any one particular guy scoring. They find each other, and they’re just willing to lay it on the line for one another. I think that’s why we are where we are right now. But it doesn’t mean anything tomorrow because now we’re in the postseason.”

Cummiskey was a starter on the 2021-22 Colonial Division championship squad that went 14-4 overall and 8-2 in the division. Giordano and Berndt were both swing players for that squad. Last season Berndt and Giordnano were reserves as the Patriots went 16-9 overall and 11-5 in the division to share the league title with CB South. Finally, this season they guided the team to a third straight championship alongside Cummiskey.

“It’s always great to be a part of a program and a team that is so well-bonded,” Giordano said. “Everyone has a role on the team and plays as a team, and it’s just a great experience overall.”

It certainly holds a little more significance for the seniors, knowing it’s their final league title together.

“Senior year, it’s always the best. It’s my last year to go out,” Berndt said. “Doing it with all these guys, really means a lot to just keep the winning culture alive, keep it going.”

CB East heads to the SOL tournament beginning with a home game Friday night. Tuesday’s victory was a nice palate cleanser from last week’s 55-44 loss to Souderton, a reminder of how the Patriots have asserted themselves as one of District 1’s top dogs this season.

“It was important because last game we lost on Senior Night,” Dandrea said. “We just didn’t play our type of basketball. It was big heading into the playoffs to get a win like this.”

The Patriots reached the semifinals of the SOL Tournament last season. Adding a league tournament title to their resume is one of the goals still out there. CB East also sits at No. 4 in the District 1-6A power rankings. The Patriots advanced to the District 1 semis in 2021, but didn’t get a chance to compete in states with a reduced state playoff crowd.

Following an upset loss in the first round of districts last season, the SOL Colonial champions are poised for lengthy postseason once again in 2023.

“This is the first step for what we want to do in our season,” Berndt said. “We have really high expectations, so this is the first step and it’s good to get that league title.”

By Quarter

CB East:  18  | 17  |  19  | 15 ||  69

North Penn:  12  | 9  |  16  | 5 ||  42

Scoring

CB East: Tyler Dandrea 17, Jake Cummiskey 14, Joey Giordano 13, Kyle Berndt 12, Miles Demby 6, Justin Diroberto 3,  Dhruv Mukund 2, Justin Panaia 2

North Penn: Ryan Deininger 10, Ryan Zeltt 9, Norman Gee 7, Mario Sgro 6, Teddy McAllister 4, Corey Meade 4, Gothanin 2