Pirates Snap Two-Game Skid with Win Over Maple Shade

Coming off back-to-back losses last week, the Pirates wanted to start fast on Tuesday night against Maple Shade in the hopes of coming away with a win. The Pirates were successful in their efforts as they walked away with a 71-63 win to move to 8-2.

“I loved our intensity, especially the first half with the crowd,” head coach Mike Fries said. “The crowd got the players going. The intensity was there, but it started to lack in the third and fourth quarters.”

“We knew how much we needed this win for power points and if we want that home playoff game. I just told the guys to focus, to weather the storm, and let’s move on.”

After the Wildcats opened the game on a 4-0 run, the Pirates answered with a 5-0 run of their own to take a 5-4 lead. The first quarter was a game of runs as Maple Shade answered with a 5-0 run to go up 9-5.

Cinnaminson then went on another 4-0 run to tie the game at 11 late in the first and upped that run to 6-0 to finish the first quarter with a 13-11 lead.

The second quarter was dominated by the Pirates, who scored 24 points to just 14 from Maple Shade. Of the 24 points scored by the Pirates, 21 of them came during a 21-4 run.

Up by 13 at the half, it seemed as if this game was over, but the Wildcats had a much different plan coming out for the second half.

Devon Taylor led the Pirates with 18 points. Kyle Roberts-DeLoach added 14. Conor Bresnahan and Will Cabbler both finished with 12. This was Cabbler’s first game of the season after sitting out the first nine due to transfer rules.

“He’s (Cabbler) going to make our team much better, especially at the end of the game,” Fries said. “We won’t have tired legs. We will have fresh legs going into the game late.”

Maple Shade turned the tide in the third, dominating the quarter 18-11 and at one point tying the game at 42. The tie at 42-all would be the last time the Wildcats pulled even with the Pirates.

Cinnaminson finished the third on a 6-1 run to lead 48-43 heading into the fourth.

“They just stayed determined. They didn’t give up,” Taylor said. “That’s when we realized that the game wasn’t over and we had to start playing more defense.”

The fourth quarter was a back-and-forth affair, with Maple Shade throwing everything it had at the Pirates, but Cinnaminson had plenty of answers.

“Everyone had to dig in and know that we wanted to win the game,” Taylor said. “They made a little bit of a run and we dug in and played defense.”

Maple Shade clawed to within four with less than one minute remaining in the final quarter at 64-60, but could not keep the Pirates from putting up points.

Cinnaminson hit five of six free throws down the stretch to extend the lead and win the game 71-63.

“The biggest thing that impressed me is that at the end of the game we made our free throws,” Fries said. “When they stepped to the line they were confident.”

The Pirates return to the court on Thursday, January 21 with a game at Holy Cross at 6:30pm.

“Today is just the start of another run we need to make because of the fact that we’re in a tough playoff bracket,” Taylor said. “We need to make sure that we keep winning games to get a good seed and a couple home games for the playoffs.”

Pirates Scoring:
Devon Taylor – 18
Kyle Roberts-DeLoach – 14
Conor Bresnahan – 12
Will Cabbler – 12
Rich Rickus – 10
Pat McCarthy – 5