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Scranton 46 - Pennsbury 44 3/17/10 - Parkland High School PIAAA - AAAA State Playoffs - Second Round Allentown, PA - The Pennsbury Falcons fell to the Scranton Knights in the second round of the PIAA AAAA State Playoffs. The game was played at Parkland High School’s tremendous gymnasium before a sparser than expected crowd. The Falcons started off strong, taking an 8-0 lead with five points from Jesse Krasna and a three by Kieran Bolger. Late in the first quarter the Knights pressure coupled with some poor Pennsbury decisions led to six turnovers in eight possessions and a 12-10 deficit after one quarter. Scranton, led by sensational sophomore Terry Turner, extended their lead to 26-17 late in the first half before a Krasna bucket cut the difference to 26-19 at the break. Pennsbury stormed out with back-to-back three pointers by Zak Kumor and Zach Sibel to start the third quarter and trim the lead to 26-25. That’s the closest the Falcons would get. Scranton countered with a three pointer of its own and rebuilt the lead to seven. In the waning seconds of the third quarter Kieran Bolger buried a three pointer from the top of the key to cut the lead to 38-36 heading into the final frame. With both teams in foul trouble the fourth quarter scoring was limited. Scranton only registered two field goals in the final frame, but the last basket was huge as a fifteen-footer by Turner in the final minute gave the Knights a four-point lead. Krasna raced down the floor for a layup and two of his twenty points. Trailing by two with less than four seconds remaining, Pennsbury immediately fouled. The Knights missed the first free throw and then purposely missed the second. Kumor rebounded and threw a quick outlet pass to Krasna who pulled the trigger from just a step inside halfcourt. The buzzer sounded as the ball was in the air. It would hit the backboard and bounced off the rim as Scranton celebrated the biggest win in their school’s history. Pennsbury, which won a state playoff game for the fourth straight year, finished the season 18-11. In the game, senior guard Jesse Krasna capped off one of the finest careers by anyone who ever wore the orange and black uniform. Krasna set school records with seven state playoff wins and played in a school record 31 playoff games. During his career the Falcons won three league titles and won 98 games. Krasna made four state tournament appearances, which included, four Sweet Sixteen, two Elite Eights and a Final Four. Krasna scored 925 career points, hauled in 401 career rebounds and handed out 363 career assists, which is good for third all-time.
Pennsbury 47 - Wilson 33 3/13/10 - Hershey Park Arena PIAA - AAAA State Playoffs - First Round Hershey, PA - Pennsbury won the tenth state playoff game in school history by defeating the Wilson Bulldogs. The Falcons started the game on a 10-0 run. Terrific team defense, a strong rebounding effort and baskets from Kieran Bolger, Jesse Krasna and Jay Jabat contributed to the fast start. The Falcons got a buzzer beating three pointer from Zak Kumor to extend the lead to 16-2 after one quarter of play. Wilson tightened their defense and held the Falcons to just three baskets in the second quarter but the Falcons were able to maintain an advantage and took a double-digit lead into the locker room, 23-12. The Bulldogs made their best push in the third quarter by matching their point total of twelve, but a well executed backdoor pass from Jay Jabat was finished by Ryan Charity to get the Falcons a much needed basket. Entering the final frame the Falcons held a 31-24 lead. The Falcons were able continue their solid defense limiting the Bulldogs to one shot on many key possessions. The Falcons score ten points from the three point line, including three straight by Bolger after he was fouled on a three-point attempt. The Falcons gave up just three field goals in the final frame and secured the victory with a sixteen point effort in both the first and last quarters. Bolger and Krasna paced the Falcons with 14 apiece. Kumor scored seven points and grabbed ten rebounds. Krasna also pulled ten rebounds to go along with five assists. Junior Jay Jabat registered a career high with five helpers. Four year letterman Jesse Krasna has now played in seven of the school’s ten state playoff wins.
Pennsbury 47 - Neshaminy 40 3/5/10 - Council Rock South High School District One AAAA Fifth Place Game Holland, PA - For the third time this season the Pennsbury Falcons beat their longtime rival, the Neshaminy Redskins. Following one and two-point wins in the regular season, the Falcons bested the Skins by a final tally of 47-40. The Falcons never trailed in the second half, but the game was in doubt until the final minutes. Late free throws by Jay Jabat (five for six from the line in the final three minutes) helped seal the win. Jabat scored a career high eleven points in the game. Sophomore Kieran Bolger knocked down four three-point baskets to register 12. Zach Sibel hit a huge fourth quarter three on his way to seven points. Senior captain Jesse Krasna scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds and handed out three assists. Forward Zak Kumor also pulled nine rebounds. It’s believed this is the first time in school history that the Falcons beat the Redskins three times in the same season. The win secures the fifth place seed in the district. The Falcons have now earned a top five seed four straight years, which is the longest streak in District One. Next week the Falcons will take on Wilson in the first round of the PIAA State Playoffs.
Pennsbury 43 - Penncrest 29 3/2/10 - Norristown High School District One AAAA Playback Game Norristown, PA - Before a smaller-than-usual crowd, the Falcons took on the Penncrest Lions in a district playback game at Norristown High School. The Falcons led nearly the entire game en route to a victory that would place them in District One’s fifth place game. Pennsbury was paced in the scoring column by Kieran Bolger’s 18 points. Bolger knocked down three triples and had thirteen by intermission. Bolger was joined in double digits by Zak Kumor, who registered a double-double with ten points and eleven rebounds. Bolger and Kumor were the only players in the game to score in ever quarter. Jesse Krasna added nine and sophomore Ryan Charity added a pair of key buckets in the fourth quarter that helped secure the win. The Falcons held a small lead when Jesse Krasna’s baseline jumper in the last second of the first quarter gave the Birds a 15-10 lead. Kumor would score on a free throw with 0.4 seconds remaining in the second quarter to keep the lead at five. The teams will play even in the third quarter as the Falcons only two baskets were a Krasna three and Bolger two. Pennsbury would add thirteen and put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. Chris Glennie’s layup gave the Falcons a lead of a baker’s dozen and a Penncrest miss at the buzzer gave the Falcons two playoff games in which they held their opponents in the 20s. Penncrest, the Central League champ, saw their record drop to 24-5 and will take on Chester for the seventh seed in District One.
Bayard Rustin 57 - Pennsbury 45 2/27/10 - Great Valley High School District One AAAA Quarterfinals Malvern, PA - The Falcons took on an unfamiliar opponent in an unfamiliar setting. Playing at Great Valley High against Bayard Rustin (both firsts in PHS History) the Falcons went down by a final score of 57-45. Rustin is a talented team of size, speed and shooters. The Golden Knights used some hot first half shooting to take an 11 point lead into the half. The Knights combined for five first half three pointers on just ten attempts and shot a remarkable 11 for 18 in the first half. The Knights raced out to an early 12-3 lead five minutes into the game and the Falcons were never able to overcome it. A pair of Zak Kumor’s threes late in the first cut the Knight lead to 17-11 after one quarter. Kumor scored a team high 16 points. Entering the third, the Falcons were down 31-20. Five different Falcons found the scoring column in the third period and for a brief moment the Falcons threatened. With Rustin leading 39-33 the Falcons had a three pointer rim out that would have cut the lead to three, but the Knights rebounded and scored before the quarter expired and took an eight point lead into the final frame. Rustin used solid a free throw shooting effort in the fourth quarter (eight for nine from the line) to seal the victory. Kieran Bolger knocked down a pair of threes and joined Kumor in double digits with eleven. Rustin will go on to the District AAAA semifinals against nationally ranked Plymouth Whitemarsh at Villanova. The Falcons will play for seeding Tuesday at Norristown.
Pennsbury 40 - Coatesville 39 (overtime) 2/23/10 - Coatesville High School District One AAAA Playoffs Coatesville, PA - The Pennsbury Falcons edged the Coatesville Red Raiders in the Second Round of the District One AAAA Playoffs to clinch a spot in the PIAAA Playoffs for the fifth consecutive season. It took a superior defensive effort and an extra session for the Falcons to take out the 20-win Ches-Mont League Champions. The game started fifteen minutes late due to the Falcons late arrival, but the visiting team never trailed in the first half. The boys in orange led 8-6 after the first quarter and took a 20-15 lead into halftime. The Falcons got four three-point baskets by three different players (Bolger 2, Hassell, Kumor) in the first half. Senior point guard added five of his own. The Red Raiders came storming out of the locker room in the third quarter and nearly matched their first half output by scoring 14 points in the period. The game was knotted at 29 entering the fourth quarter. The Raiders held the lead most of the way, but Jesse Krasna drove by his man for a layup with a minute to go. Krasna was fouled on the play and made the free throw for the old-fashioned three point play. A Kris Hassell blocked shot with under a minute to go gave the Falcons another chance to tie the game. Following a turnover the Raiders had once last chance to win in regulation but a missed shot as time expired sent the game into an extra four-minute session. In the overtime. The Falcons got a huge rebound to start overtime from Zak Kumor (8 points, 8 rebounds) which set up a long possession that ended with a Kris Hassell layup on an assist from Dante Devine. Rebounds by Kumor and Krasna would end Coatesville’s next two possessions. The Raiders would eventually tie the game with 9.1 seconds left. Going for a steal, a Red Raiders foul sent Kumor to the line with 6.1 seconds left and the game tied. Kumor hit the second free throw to give the Falcons a one point lead. Some great defense by Krasna and Devine on the last possession denied Coatesville’s ball handler from getting the ball inside the three point line and a desperate last second heave was never close. The incredibly outnumbered Falcon faithful in the crowd went wild as the players on the floor celebrated a playoff win that secured a berth in the PIAA State Playoffs. The defensive effort was all the more impressive when considering that Coatesville entered the game averaging 69 points per contest and were held to 39 points in 36 minutes.
Pennsbury 40 - North Penn 28 2/19/10 - Pennsbury High School District One AAAA Playoffs Fairless Hills, PA - Playing a first round home playoff game for the seventh straight season, the Falcons advanced with a fine defensive effort and eliminated the North Penn Knights by a final score of 40-28. Pennsbury got a strong shooting effort from sophomore Kieran Bolger, who knocked down three first half three-pointers and finished with a game high 13 points. Playing in the last home game of their careers several seniors recorded fine performances. Point guard Jesse Krasna scored 7 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out five assists without turning the ball over. Fellow senior Dante Devine was a perfect six-for-six from the line and added five rebounds and four assists of his own. Zak Kumor added eight points and eight rebounds. A tremendous defensive effort held the visiting Knights to just fourteen points in each half. The Knights were unable to reach double figures in any quarter. The home team led 25-14 at halftime and 33-22 at the end of the third quarter. The Falcons advance to play the Coatesville Red Raiders in Round Two.
REGULAR SEASON
Pennsbury 45 - Neshaminy 43 2/12/10 - Neshaminy High School Langhorne, PA - The Pennsbury Falcons nipped the Neshaminy Redskins at the buzzer in a thrilling ending to a hard-fought, back-and-forth battle. The Falcons started strong by taking a quick 9-5 lead and led by two (11-9) after one quarter of play. Sophomore Kieran Bolger led the way with seven points in the first quarter. Bolger would hit one three in each quarter en route to a game high 16 points. The Redskins were not going away anytime soon and used a 17-12 scoring advantage in the second quarter to take a 26-23 lead into the half. The teams played even in the third as senior co-captains Jesse Krasna (4) and Zak Kumor (6) combined for 10 of the Falcons thirteen in the frame. The Falcons entered the fourth down three points, but held the hosts to just four fourth quarter points before a huge crowd. The teams traded baskets before the Falcons tied the game with just over three minutes to play. The Redskins would not score in the last 3:07 of the game. The Falcons held possession with under a minute to go seeking to take the last shot. With 11.5 seconds left the Falcons called a timeout. Unfortunately the Falcons would turn it over on the inbounds pass, which gave the ball back to the ‘Skins. After a timeout the Falcons did what they could to attempt to extend the game, but a loose ball was recovered by Kumor and thrown ahead to Dante Devine who raced to the basket and scored on a layup as the clock ran down to all zeros. Devine’s most recent buzzer-beating heroics sent the Falcons faithful who made the trip to Langhorne into an absolute court-storming frenzy.
Pennsbury 69 - Harry S Truman 50 2/9/10 - Pennsbury High School Fairless Hills, PA - Pennsbury beat Truman by a final score of 69-50 on the night they honored the programs six seniors - Dante Devine, Andrew Long, Chris Liccione, Mike Ciotti and Jesse Krasna. The Falcons stormed to an early lead by scoring 22 in the first quarter and did not look back. Sophomore Kieran Bolger netted three first quarter three-pointers. Making his first start, Chris Liccione scored on a slicing layup after a feed from Mike Ciotti. Liccione would go on to his a three pointer in the second half. The Falcon knocked down seven threes in the contest. A barrage of offense saw the home squad score 42 first half points. Senior captain Zak Kumor scored a game high sixteen points and grabbed eight rebounds. Co-captain Jesse Krasna hauled eight rebounds of his own and handed out seven assists to go with his ten points. Zak Sibel added six and Dante Devine cashed in with seven. Mike Ciotti had three assists and seven points in his last regular season home game. The Falcons extended the lead to as much as 28 points early in the fourth quarter before Truman made a late run to get the game just under twenty.
Pennsbury 49 - Council Rock South 38 2/8/10 - Council Rock South High School Holland, PA - In a game that was delayed for several days by a snow storm the Pennsbury Falcons took down the Council Rock South Golden Hawks by a final tally of 49-38. Following Senior Recognition festivities, the Falcons and Hawks battled closely throughout the first half before a third quarter spurt put the game out of reach. Two first quarter three-pointers from Jesse Krasna gave the Falcons an 11-9 lead at the end of the first eight minute session. Krasna would add another three and a pair of free throws in the second quarter for thirteen of his game high eighteen in the first half. Junior Kris Hassell netted six first half points and the Falcons took a 20-17 lead into intermission. The Falcons started the second half on a 7-0 run to extend the lead to ten. The Hawks cut it to eight before Dante Devine knocked down his second three of the third period to give the Falcons a double-digit lead they would hold nearly all of the remaining time in the contest. The orange and black won the third quarter by a score of 13-4 to extend their lead to 33-21 after three quarters. The Falcons extended the lead to sixteen points at 45-29 when the starters were pulled in the waning minutes. Krasna’s eighteen was complemented by eight point efforts from Hassell, Devine and Zak Kumor, who added six rebounds. Devine and Krasna each registered four assists.
Pennsbury 60 - William Tennent 49 2/2/10 - William Tennent High School Warminster, PA - Pennsbury traveled to Warminster to take on the William Tennent Panthers and end their five game losing streak by a final score of 60-49. The Falcons started slow and trailed after one quarter, but scored 19 in the second and twenty in the third to take and then stretch the lead. The Falcons were paced by Jesse Krasna who scored a game high 21 points and knocked down 10 of 11 free throws. Sophomore guard Kieran Bolger scored a career high 18 points. In a brief one minute and twenty second stretch to start the third quarter Bolger scored an incredible dozen points. Bolger knocked down two three-pointers, two two-pointers and pair of free throws. In his first start on the year Mike Ciotti registered a season high four assists. Dante Devine recorded five steals. Krasna added seven rebound and five assists. Zak Kumor knocked down a late three in the first half en route to high eight-points, seven rebound performance. The Falcons upped their league mark to 7-4 on the season.
Pennington Prep 45 - Pennsbury 27 1/29/10 - Villanova University Villanova, PA - The Pennsbury Falcons dropped their fifth straight game at the hands of the Pennington Prep Red Raiders from Pennington, New Jersey. The game was part of the Prime Time Shootout that spanned over three days at the Pavilion at Villanova University. Defensively, the Falcons started strong holding the Red Raiders scoreless until midway through the first quarter. The Falcons led 7-2 after one frame. At the midpoint of the second quarter the orange and black held an 11-4 lead. The Red Raiders capitalized on some costly turnovers and aggressive play to quickly pour in thirteen straight points and take a 19-16 lead into the locker room. Some uncharacteristic sloppy play by the Falcons allowed the Red Raiders to turn four straight turnovers into nine points. The Raiders extended the lead to a dozen at the 2:30 mark and held an eleven point advantage at the end of three. The Falcons held the Raiders to just two field goals in the fourth quarter, but Pennington sank nine of ten free throws to seal the victory. The Falcons were led in scoring by Kieran Bolger and Jesse Krasna, with eight points apiece. Krasna, who added five rebounds and three assists, was named game MVP.
Abington 54 - Pennsbury 43 1/28/10 - Pennsbury High School Fairless Hills, PA - The Falcons dropped their second straight home game, this time to the Abington Ghosts by a final score of 54-43. The Falcons took an early 11-5 lead, but could not hold the lead as a late three by the Ghosts tied the game at the end of the first quarter at thirteen. The Ghosts overtook the lead in the second quarter as the Falcons continued to struggle to knock down open shots. Zak Kumor led the way for the Falcons heading into the half with nine points as the home squad trailed 29-17. In the third, the Falcons forced several turnovers but were not able to consistently capitalize. A pair of threes by Dante Devine and Jesse Krasna helped cut the lead down to six, but the game never got closer as the Ghosts were able to hit shots and extend the lead. The Ghosts shot a tremendous 8 for 11 from the three-point line. The Falcons were paced in the scorer’s column by Jesse Krasna’s 15 and Kris Hassell’s ten.
Bensalem 45 - Pennsbury 40 1/26/10 - Armstrong Middle School Bensalem, PA - The Bensalem Owls snapped a twelve game losing streak versus the Pennsbury Falcons by way of a 45-40 victory at Armstrong Middle School. Bensalem used a hot start, missing only one first quarter shot, and never trailed. On the other hand the Falcons shooting woes continued as they dug themselves an early 14-2 hole before strong defense in the second quarter. In the second the Falcons outscored the Owls 11-4. Ryan Charity was fouled after an offensive rebound and sank a free throw to cut the halftime lead to just five, 20-15. The Owls used an offensive spurt in the third quarter to once again extend the lead. The Falcons did what they could to match the home squad as Kieran Bolger scored eight of his thirteen in the third quarter. The Falcons created several second half turnovers but were unable to capitalize, scoring only two fourth-quarter field goals. Senior guard Jesse Krasna and Bolger each poured in a game high 13 points. Krasna was 5-6 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter. The loss marked the first setback to Bensalem since January 17, 2003 when the Owls dealt the Falcons a 48-46 defeat.
Holy Ghost Prep 36 - Pennsbury 33 1/23/10 - Archbishop Carroll High School Radnor, PA - For the third consecutive season the Falcons participated in the Kobe Bryant Classic. The Falcons and Firebirds left Bucks County to meet in Radnor. It was the first game between Holy Ghost and Pennsbury since December 4, 2004. The Firebirds started strong building a 7-0 lead midway through the first before the Falcons found the basket. Holy Ghost used a dangerous combination of strong defense and a methodic offense to build a 14-5 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Falcons played their fair share of strong defense in the second quarter to cut the lead to 19-15 heading into the locker room but the shooting woes for the orange and black team continued. The Falcons were paced by Kieran Bolger who scored six of his eleven in the third quarter. The Falcons outscored the Firebirds in the fourth quarter as Kris Hassell netted five of his seven, but it was a story of too little too late. With the Falcons down 36-29 with just 0:35 left, Jesse Krasna was fouled shooting a three pointer. He knocked down the first two. Krasna missed the third, but snaked into the lane to get his own rebound and go right back up with it cutting the lead from seven down to 36-33. The Falcons called a timeout. The Firebirds struggled to get the ball inbounds and called two timeouts before getting the ball in on their third attempt. Strong Falcon pressure forced an errant pass that was intercepted by Krasna with 15 seconds left. Krasna brought the ball over midcourt and called a timeout to set a final play. The Falcons got one look at a three pointer but it was off the mark. Dante Devine grabbed the offensive rebound but time expired before the shot attempt and the Falcons fell by three. Kieran Bolger was selected Game MVP and received a trophy in a brief post-game ceremony.
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