The Abington Senior High School boys’ basketball team edged Cheltenham High School 60-58 on Saturday, January 25 in Wyncote.
“It’s classic Cheltenham-Abington,” Ghosts’ head coach Dan Marsh told City of Basketball Love. “Incredible that we were able to persevere and pull it out. I’m really happy for our guys for being able to do that. It was sloppy, up-and-down, both teams had their chances.”
Abington (12-6) is now ranked #10 in the unofficial District 1 6A rankings, two behind Cheltenham (12-5).
Later in the day, the Lady Panthers took down the Lady Ghosts 57-49, which marked their first win over Abington in 13 years.
“Whatever Cheltenham they knew last year, this is a different team,” first year head coach Monique Boykins said. “We’re more disciplined, we’re focused, and we don’t take any team that we play, we don’t take anybody lightly.”
Junior forward Zoe Thompson led four players in double figures with a double-double of 15 points and 24 rebounds.
The Lady Panthers are now 14-2 and 7-0 in the Suburban One League Freedom Division. They are positioned for a top eight finish and spot in the second round of the district playoffs, which would put them one win shy of state playoffs.
History with Chuck: Ciara Andrews’ scoring dominance
On January 21, 2012, senior all-stater Ciara Andrews (pictured above) scored a game-high 29 points to lead the Lady Panthers to a 71-61 victory over Abington High in head coach Bob Schaefer’s final season of his 31-year tenure.
Andrews finished her high school career with 1,610 points, which is fourth on the Lady Panthers’ all-time scoring list.
History with Chuck: Craig Littlepage’s 1,000th career point
On December 20, 1968, Craig Littlepage (left above) and Lorrie Slade (right above) combined for 36 points as Cheltenham High School opened defense of its Suburban One League championship with a 71-44 rout of Abington High before a standing-room-only overflow crowd in the Panther gymnasium.
Littlepage, a 6’7″ center, scored the 1,000th point of his high school career with a few minutes remaining in the game, becoming the first Cheltenham High player, boy or girl, to do so. The two-time All-Stater, finished his career with 1,440 points before matriculating at the University of Pennsylvania.
Since that game, twenty-four Panthers, 17 girls and 7 boys, have broken the 1,000-point plateau.
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Photos: Josh Verlin/CoBL