City of Basketball Love

By David Comer
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HORSHAM - Central Bucks West guard Roman Kulesa, as the only senior on the roster and his team’s top returning scorer, is getting used to being the focus of the other team’s defense. Monday night against Hatboro-Horsham was no different, as Kulesa was faceguarded and shadowed all over the court.

“I’ve seen that quite a few games,” Kulesa said after his Bucks escaped with a 47-46 overtime win over the Hatters in a game that turned from sloppy to thrilling in an exciting fourth quarter. “I try to let my teammates do what they can, and I take what they give me.”

On this night, the 6-foot-2 Kulesa, who played much of the fourth quarter and overtime with four fouls, scored 10 points and was clutch in the extra period as Central Bucks West scored the first 8 points in overtime to take a 45-37 lead with 52 seconds left. 

First, Kulesa ripped the ball out of a Hatboro-Horsham player’s hands after a missed shot in overtime, and that led to a pair of Max Milillo free throws for a 39-37 lead with 3:07 left. He then made a no-look bullet pass to Isaiah Rubenstein for a layup and a 41-37 advantage. Next, he swished two foul shots to make it 43-37. Finally, he caught a length-of-the-court pass to break full-court pressure and converted it into a layup to make it 45-37.

But the Hatters, under first-year coach Bill Coleman, were not done. They scored seven straight points, capped by a steal and 3-pointer from Shane Phillips, to cut the Bucks’ lead to 45-44 with 20 seconds left. Two free throws from Connor Chuo extended the Central Bucks West lead to 47-44 before a layup from Kenny Lutz, who led Hatboro-Horsham with 14 points and was tasked with guarding Kulesa for much of the game, pulled the Hatters to within 47-46 with a layup with 11 seconds left. 

Hatboro-Horsham, using the pressure defense that defined Coleman’s teams during his successful 12-year run at Pennsbury High, then forced a jump ball with 10 seconds left to earn possession and a chance to win the game, but a three-pointer at the buzzer was off line.

“It definitely feels nice to win tonight,” Kulesa said. “We’ve lost a few close ones.”

With the win, Central Bucks West improved to 3-6 and snapped a five-game losing streak, which included defeats by one point to Neshaminy, three points to Abington in overtime, and four points to Central Bucks South. And the Bucks did it without starting guard Dan Pellegrini, who coach Adam Sherman said was home sick.

Several Central Bucks West players contributed as Hatboro-Horsham focused its efforts on stopping Kulesa.

“We knew who their best player was and wanted to take him out of the game,” Coleman said.

The Hatters’ game plan worked early, as they raced to leads of 7-0 and 9-2.

“We kind of took our foot off the gas after that start,” Coleman said.

Central Bucks West used a 16-2 run to close out the first half and to take an 18-11 lead into intermission. The Bucks led 25-18 at the end of three quarters and were in control of the game, but the Hatters turned up their defensive pressure and started to make shots. They eventually tied the game at 37 on a layup from Lutz with 10 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.

For Coleman, who took over a program that went 4-18 last season, he is looking for his team to play hard for all 32 minutes - or, on this night - all 36 minutes.

“They’re just not consistent,” he said of his team after it fell to 3-6. “You see bits and pieces of it, and you see it coming. It’s a challenge to get there, but it’s fun.”

Joining Lutz in double figures for Hatboro-Horsham were Jaden Thompson with 12 points and Phillips with 10.

Central Bucks West received contributions throughout its lineup. Rubeinstein finished with 10 points for the Bucks, while Milillo added 9 and Harry Myers scored 8 off the bench.

“It was nice to see Harry make a few shots,” Sherman said of the 6-foot-7 freshman. “It’s nice to see other guys take advantage of opportunities.”

The Bucks will now have off until a practice on Thursday morning before they leave to fly to Charleston, S.C., to play in the Modie Risher Classic, where they will try to defend the title they won last year in the tournament that features teams from South Carolina and Pennsylvania.

“I’m so excited for it,” Kulesa said. “The whole team is excited. It’s the greatest thing.”

~~~

Quarters
Central Bucks West (3-6 overall): 7 | 11 | 7 | 12 | 10 || 47
Hatboro-Horsham (3-6 overall): 9 | 2 | 7 | 19 | 9 || 46

Scoring
Central Bucks West: Roman Kulesa 10, Isaiah Rubenstein 10, Max Milillo 9, Harry Myers 8, Connor Chuo 4, Carter Bass 3, Gavin Reichner 3.

Hatboro-Horsham: Kenny Lutz 14, Jaden Thompson 12, Shane Phillips 10, Ryan Smith 6, Brad Davis 2, Sean McCue 2.