City of Basketball Love

Ryan Coyle (@ryancoyle35)
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The Upper Dublin boys basketball team was in search of a signature win over a high-quality team to give it confidence it could compete come playoff time.

The Cardinals got that win and more by knocking off Cheltenham 74-44 on the road Friday night.

“It feels so great to get a win like that,” junior guard Ryan Mulroy said. “Our three losses have been to West Chester Henderson, who is the top team in 6A; CB East, who is another top team in 6A; and PW, who is another top team. So, we knew this game was huge for us for districts and the league to get a big win over a top team in Cheltenham. We came into this one wanting to just execute the game plan, play hard and if we do that we will give ourselves a shot to win, and we did that tonight.”

Mulroy spearheaded the Cardinals’ dominant performance, scoring 16 points, and handled the pressure of the Cheltenham defense and was able to set up his teammates for open looks as UD shot 12-of-28 from downtown in the victory.

When Mulroy sees his teammates putting in the extra work day in and day out, it gives him the confidence his guys will knock it down when he dishes them the rock.

“Everyone after practice, we are always getting shots up, and when you know you put in the work and you see some shots go in early, the confidence will just build for everyone because we all know how hard we work,” Mulroy said. “Our game is getting in the lane, drive and kick, and trusting everyone to make shots because we know we can.”

Due to a lighting issue at Cheltenham High School, the game was moved to nearby Cedarbrook Middle School, which only has bleachers on one side of the gym, making the building feel more compact for the large crowd on hand. Despite being the road team, the Cardinals (11-3) didn’t let the crowd rattle them early as they jumped out early 9-0 and never relinquished the lead.

“It is always huge to get out to an early lead, especially on the road,” Upper Dublin head coach Derek Brooks said. “You don’t give the crowd a chance to get into it early, your guys can get comfortable, get their confidence and not feel like they are battling uphill all night.”

Idris Rines (six points), Brady Fogle (18 points) and Mulroy each knocked down a 3-pointer in the first quarter as the Cardinals took a 19-9 lead and never looked back.

“As a team we always are going to play hard,” Mulroy said. “Whether we get up 9-0 or go down 9-0 nothing, we are going to keep playing hard, and tonight we were able to get up 9-0 early and start to pull away. When you can start out like that it gives you a lot of confidence and makes you want to keep playing hard to keep that lead.”

The Cardinals blew the game open in the second quarter. Sophomore guard Noah Cohen came off the bench and knocked down four 3-pointers in the frame, including one at the buzzer to give Upper Dublin a 45-19 halftime lead, as part of his 16 points in the half.

“You look at Noah, coming off the bench, he just had a great game tonight,” Brooks said. “He’s only a sophomore and he is so cool, calm and collected for his age; he is super smart, and nothing ever rattles him. He made some tough ones tonight, he nailed that one to end the first half to give us more momentum heading into the half. He played great tonight and being able to bring him off the bench and he gives us those contributions, it makes us that much better as a team.”

On the defensive end of the floor the Cardinals were able to limit the Cheltenham (9-2) duo of Niles Tinlsey and Josiah Hutson to a combined 12 points on the night. Cheltenham’s 44 points was its second lowest of the season. Upper Dublin was able to execute its defensive game plan, which translated to some easy offense on the other end.

“We had a real big emphasis on boxing out and being able to get the rebound and go in transition,” Mulroy said. “We know Cheltenham plays hard and crashes the glass, so if we were able to get the rebound, we could get out in transition and score and we were able to do that early which helped us build that lead.”

The statement win ignites some confidence as the Cardinals prepare to go on the stretch run of the season. 

“We are a young team, so I am excited as the season has gone that we are seeing some growth and showing the ability to beat a team like that,” Brook said. “It is great to see that growth, and I think these last two games we have really turned it on and I am excited to see where we go from here.”

After the victory, Upper Dublin sits as the No. 1 seed in District 1 Class 5A and leads the Suburban One League Liberty Division. Riding the momentum into its next matchup with New Hope on Tuesday will be key, but Brooks is making sure his team stays motivated.

“Can’t get too high, can’t get too low,” Brooks said. “We will probably have to bring them back to Earth at practice on Monday,” Brooks said with a chuckle. “But we preach that a lot. You can’t read your press clippings that much. Yes, this was a big win, but it is just one game. 

“We haven’t won the league, we haven’t won districts; this is just another step to getting towards that, but you can’t just be satisfied after this win. But it shows what we are capable of, but we want to continue to have good habits day to day that lead to results like that.”

By Quarter

Upper Dublin: 19 | 26 | 15 | 14 || 74

Cheltenham: 9 | 10 | 16 | 9 || 44

Shooting

Upper Dublin: 26-53 FG (12-28 3PT), 9-14 FT 

Cheltenham: 17-43 FG (6-13 3PT), 3-8 FT

Scoring

Upper Dublin: Fogle 18, Mulroy 16, Cohen 16, Rines 6, Bazemore 5, Kohlbrenner 4, Castronuovo 3, Ragsdale 2, Oliveira-Schultz 2, Jackson 1, Altman 1

Cheltenham: Hutson 8, McClendon 6, Johnson 7, Mason 6, Harmon 5, Tinsley 4, Addison 3, Jones 2, Kelly 2, Johnson 1