KENNETT SQUARE – The basketball team exploded into the win column Tuesday night, riding a 31-point performance from Chas McCormick to a 70-43 victory over Unionville Tuesday night at Unionville High School.
Chas’s twin brother, Jason, added 18 points and the Warriors team defense was a major factor for the Warriors, who continue their season-opening, three-week road trip with a 7:30 p.m. start Thursday night at Oxford. Henderson will have eight games under its belt before the home opener January 3 against Downingtown East.
“What worked tonight? Intensity. It’s got to be our hallmark,” said first year coach Chris Bruno, who last chalked up a boys varsity head coaching victory back in 2001, when he was in charge at Loch Raven High School in Loch Raven, MD.
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The first quarter was a chess match with Unionville’s Kyle Fries hitting a pair from beyond the three-point line to lift the Indians into a 12-12 tie after eight minutes. The Warriors turned up the volume in the second quarter with a wild-eyed, trapping defense that pressured Unionville into a series of turnovers that resulted in a 20-12 run and set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Unionville failed to score for the first four and one-half minutes of the third quarter as the Warriors created continuing havoc with full-court and half-court pressure fueled by the fresh legs of the 10-man rotation. Henderson ran out to a 53-31 lead after three quarters and cruised home in the fourth. All 13 team members got playing time for the second game in a row.
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“We’re learning how to control the intensity – less frantic, more aggressive,” added Bruno, satisfied with the team’s growth from the weekend losses to quality teams from Abington and Wissahickon. “We have a strong group of players who have grown up together and we’re adding others to that core,” he added in reference to the team’s developing depth. “So far, each day has been better than the day before.”
Unionville actually held a 14-12 lead after Division IAA football recruit Richard Sampson scored down low. The game’s turning point followed with Chas McCormick scoring on a drive and a jumper. Each McCormick then got a steal and a layup, T.J. White made three of four free throws and when intermission arrived, Chas had chalked up 17 points.
Other Henderson highlights included two blocked shots and four points by David Goodman, five points from Tim Ramirez and suffocating defense from Spencer Rymiszewski, Declan Kane, P.J. Costello and Scott Cullinan.
The Henderson junior varsity dropped a 51-46 decision to Unionville in the preliminary game with James Bady scoring 10 points and Luke Weaver nine for the Warriors.
