Wild rally sends Frankford past Bensalem

Leading by 20 points midway through the third quarter, Bensalem was set to punch its ticket for the second round of the PIAA Class AAAA state boys' basketball tournament and send listless Frankford packing.

"We talked things over during a timeout," Frankford junior wing guard Imire Taylor said. "Coach [Dave] Huzzard said, 'Win or lose, we're going to go out the right way. We're going to go out with a bang.' "

Taking those words to heart, Taylor and the Pioneers, down by 17 entering the fourth quarter, rallied for a frenzied and improbable 66-65 victory Saturday over the stunned Owls at Southern High.

"Yeah, that was pretty crazy," said Taylor, who hit three three-pointers on the way to 20 points. "It didn't look good at all for us. But I don't think there ever was a point where we thought it was over. We just kept battling. That's all we could do."

On Wednesday, at a neutral site and time to be determined, Frankford, District 12's champion, will face defending state titlist Plymouth Whitemarsh, District 1's third-place finisher and a 61-43 winner Saturday over Central Dauphin, in the second round.

Senior lead guard Keith Washington netted all 21 of his points, including three treys, over the final 11 minutes, 18 seconds. He had shot 0 for 6 from the field in the first half.

Said Huzzard: "We certainly needed Keith to score. The kid is clutch. When you need him the most, late in the game, he's there for you."

Trailing by 54-37, Frankford opened the fourth quarter with a 12-3 run. Taylor's two free throws cut the gap to 57-49 with 4:01 to play.

That was followed by a 16-4 spurt, which included two more free throws from Taylor and two follows by Chris Lewis (seven points, seven rebounds). Lewis' second putback, off Washington's missed free throw, put the Pioneers in front, 61-60, for the first time since the opening quarter.

With 46 seconds to go, Omar Askia's layin made it 63-60. After Bensalem guard Julian Hyden's bucket cut the margin to one, Washington's two free throws pushed the lead to 65-62.

Leo Vincent, a quick-footed sophomore guard who paced the Owls (19-9) with 24 points, missed left-wing three-point attempts with 15 and 11 seconds left. Taylor hit 1 of 2 free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining to render Vincent's trey at the buzzer meaningless.

"We went with man-to-man, full-court pressure from the middle of the third quarter on," Huzzard said. "Getting some of those turnovers got us on a roll."

Askia chipped in nine points, Kevin Lawson scored five, and Taylor Bessick collected seven boards.

In the second quarter, Alex Agyedu's inside basket and Calvin Brown's field goal off an underneath inbounds play gave Bensalem, District 1's eighth-place finisher, a 25-13 advantage. Vincent's last-second layup made it 28-18 at the break.

Bensalem   13 15 26 11 – 65

Frankford   11 7 19 29 – 66

B: Leo Vincent 24, Austin Nyekan 4, Chris McMullin 10, Dovanta Newkirk 7, Julian Hyden 7, Calvin Brown 8, Alex Agyedu 2, Quancine Wilson 3.

F: Keith Washington 21, Kevin Lawson 5, Taylor Bessick 3, Omar Askia 9, Imire Taylor 20, Chris Lewis 7, Anthony Lockhart 1.