Olaswere, Springbrook boys slam Quince Orchard by 50

Springbrook 70, Quince Orchard 20

‘‘Everybody was pretty drowsy on the ride up here,” Olasawere said. ‘‘But it came out pretty good, and started off right. I’m proud of the fact that we held them to 20 points more than anything else. We got great defensive pressure from our guards.”

That pressure started early, as Springbrook (19-2 overall) made it the game plan to limit Quince Orchard’s leading scorer, senior forward Neil Kosculiek (18 points per game). Kosculiek’s first attempt, in the opening minute, was swatted away by Olasawere, who corralled the loose ball and threw a long outlet pass to senior guard C.J. Garner. Garner, the Blue Devils’ leading scorer (21.3 points per game), easily cut to the basket and scored the opening points of the game.

From that point on, Olasawere took over. He sunk 5 of 6 foul shots and dominated the paint, scoring all eight of his field goals within four feet of the basket, including three dunks that drew audible admiration from his teammates. Olasawere (15.5 points per game) said that preparing to face Kosculiek, who was limited to seven points, brought out something extra.

‘‘I watched [Kosculiek] play against Sherwood, and I knew that he was a really good player,” Olasawere said. ‘‘I came out to come play him and shut him down, but it worked out on the offensive end, too.”

The effect of those blocked shots lingered for Quince Orchard (14-8), which missed shots in the paint even when the Blue Devils were slow to rotate over. The Cougars were held to single digits in every quarter, their lowest offensive output of the season. They were victims of an unkind iron in the second quarter, when they managed to score just three points.

‘‘Springbrook was the aggressor, and the aggressor wins,” Quince Orchard coach Paul Foringer said. ‘‘We were very intimidated today, as you could tell. We had a lot of shots that went in and out, and we had a lot of shots that were adjusted because there was a guy on them. You can’t do that. You have to play fundamental basketball.”

Instead, it was the Blue Devils that showed off their fundamentals. Though Springbrook was loose with the ball in the second half, turning it over nine times, it was especially nifty with backdoor cuts and quick passes to the basket. Garner was especially proficient, adding six assists and 13 points, but his coach, Tom Crowell, hopes that the defensive effort carries over to the playoffs. The Blue Devils enter the 4A West Region as its top seed.

‘‘I’m pretty shocked,” he said. ‘‘This might have been the best defensive game that we have played this year. We had one of our finest games, and though I wished we could have saved it for the playoffs, every kid played hard and played well.”