Goodman spurs C.R. North rally

After being kicked in the head in a game last Tuesday and suffering a mild concussion, Council Rock North's Arron Goodman said his weekend was "pretty much nonstop dizziness."

A week after the incident, a more clearheaded Goodman, returning to action after two missed practices, was quite the force in a Suburban One League National Conference basketball showdown against Abington.

The 6-foot-5, 210-pound senior, coming off the bench after being cleared to play the previous day, totaled 18 points and 19 rebounds as the host Indians recovered from early sluggishness to beat the Ghosts, 65-56, Tuesday night in Newtown.

"I played against [William] Tennent Friday, and then felt really bad afterward," Goodman said. "They say that sometimes happens, where you don't feel the effects of a concussion until some time later."

In 28 minutes, Goodman shot 7 for 12 from the field and 4 for 5 from the free-throw line. Seven of his 19 boards came on the offensive end.

Goodman, who is headed for Philadelphia University, also blocked three shots.

"He's tremendous in the way he can rack up the statistics," C.R. North coach Derek Wright said. "His rebounding has been huge for us."

In notching their 11th straight victory, the Indians overcame a 14-point, second-quarter deficit. They were down, 35-27, at the break.

"It was a revenge game for us, but we came out a little soft," said Goodman, whose team lost to Abington in their first meeting this season. "In one of our timeouts, we talked about getting back into the game one possession at a time."

Hitting four three-pointers, senior guard and Maryland-Baltimore County recruit Aaron Morgan equaled Goodman's 18 points. Late in the first half, he hit a jumper to become the program's 11th 1,000-point scorer.

Down by 44-32 in the third quarter, C.R. North (12-3 overall, 8-1 conference) ended the frame with an 11-1 spurt. It began with a three-pointer from Kyle McCloskey (12 points) and was capped by Matt McCloskey's baseline scoring drive.

Abington still led, 52-47, with 51/2 minutes to play. Back-to-back three-pointers, from Morgan and Matt McCloskey (eight points), ignited a 13-0 burst and sent the visitors packing.

Anthony Durham paced the Ghosts (12-5, 5-4) with 17 points, six rebounds, and five assists. Fellow junior guard Jordan Simmons chipped in 16 points.

Abington   17 18 10 11 – 56

Council Rock North   9 18 16 22 – 65

A: Anthony Durham 17, Chris Ruhl 7, Jiere Morrisey 6, Matt Penecale 7, Jordan Simmons 16, Mike Griffin 3.

CRN: Aaron Morgan 18, Rip Engel 3, Matt McCloskey 8, Kyle McCloskey 12, Arron Goodman 18, Alex Jordan 6.