The final minute in the Central Bucks East gym was pure pandemonium.
There was a sense among the crowd that the game was over, along with the Patriots’ season. But with 30 seconds left – and Perkiomen Valley leading by one – CB East senior Miles Demby, a 6-foot-6 center, forced a turnover just past half court, raced toward the basket on a fast break and soared through the air for a breakaway dunk that not only gave CB East the lead but sent shockwaves through the bleachers.
“I’m thinking ‘just lay it in,’” head coach Erik Henrysen said jokingly. “But Miles is a super athlete. Once he’s up there, you know he can flush it.”
That play was the crux of the back and forth contest, sealing the win for No. 7 CB East over No. 10 Perkiomen Valley 49-44 in the second round of the District One Class 6A tournament. The game consisted of more than six lead changes, half of them coming in the final five minutes of play.
“It’s a big-time win, especially since we felt like we were in control coming out of halftime and they made it a run at us,” Henrysen said. “You know, they’re a 20-win team, and they’re a 20-win team for a reason … just happy with our response.”
CB East’s win wasn’t pretty.
Entering halftime, the Patriots led the Vikings 26-16 and had lots of momentum. Tyler Dandrea – who tied Jacob Cummiskey as the team’s leading scorer – scored 13 points, 10 coming in the first half, and was the backbone of the offense for the first 16 minutes of play.
“Coaches were telling me to come out firing early,” he said. “(It) helped our offense open up. Our guys did a great job moving the ball too.”
His first-half contributions consisted of two 3 pointers, displaying his smooth left-handed jump shot, two free throws and a lone two-point field goal on a 180 jump shot from the right side underneath the basket. He was also constantly in the mix on defense, grabbing critical rebounds and forcing turnovers with physicality and hustle.
But, like the rest of the team, his hot hand cooled on offense, and Perkiomen Valley got back into the mix. The Vikings trailed just 29-28 with three minutes left to play in the third quarter.
“It felt like we had them the whole first half (but) we just kept letting them crawl back into it,” Dandrea said. “We didn’t play our best basketball in the second half.”
Perkiomen Valley kept it tight all the way up to the end of the game, that was until a pair of free throws by Cummiskey put it out of reach.
For the Vikings, it was the Julian Sadler show. He was giving the Patriots all kinds of problems – he was hitting shots from deep, hitting mid-range shots and making tough finishes at the rim. Before Demby scored the game-winning slam dunk, Sadler scored eight straight points that had the Vikings leading.
“Sadler is a stud,” Henrysen said. “He’s a really tough guy to guard and if you give him just an inch, he’ll knock a shot down. He really came through in the clutch, but we made just one or two plays more.”
“We were looking to shade him at all times. We think he’s just that good,” he added.
This win not only propelled the Patriots to the District One quarterfinals, but it also secured their return to states.
They’re now set to travel to and face No. 2 West Chester Henderson on Friday, Feb. 23. CB East is slightly familiar with its upcoming foe, having faced the team at Penncrest for a fall shootout.
“They’re just a really really good team,” Henrysen said. “We have to be ready, we have to go on the road, and we have to win a big playoff game.”
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