Mika Munari brought the steak and the sizzle on Friday night in the first game of the SOL/PAC challenge.
The CB West captain and point guard drew “oooohs!” from the home crowd for his ankle breaking dribbles. But Munari also produced points. He single handedly outscored Perkiomen Valley 8-7 in the second quarter to help the Bucks win their opener in impressive fashion, 45-33.
“Getting the penetration and being able to kick it out and knock down threes really sets our flow,” Munari said. “It makes me comfortable so being able to get into a flow early was great.”
Perk Valley scored the game’s first point on a free throw. After that, the Bucks went wire-to-wire. Two early Owen Haney threes helped the Bucks lead 10-7 after the first quarter.
“That was off of our penetration kick and the flow of our offense,” Haney explained. “It’s how our offense works and we get open 3-balls sometimes.”
Perkiomen Valley clawed back to 10-9 when Munari stepped up, nailing a jumper and going coast-to-coast on a layup after he secured a rebound. Dan Miller had a put back, Haney sank two free throws after driving the lane off of a steal and Munari hit another jumper to cap a 10-0 run.
West led 24-14 at the half: It widened that lead quickly when Miller and Ted Spratt both scored off of offensive rebounds and Munari completed a 3-point play after Spratt blocked a shot. The 9-0 run started when Miller hit Spratt on a beautiful back door cut.
The passing aptitude of West’s frontcourt “opens everything up and gets us a lot of looks,” Spratt pointed out.
Munari’s 3-point play made it 33-16 with 1:56 left in the third; Perkiomen Valley stayed doubled up until 3:30 left in the game. At that point, West coach Adam Sherman had emptied his bench.
“We dig in and play one-pass/two-pass really well,” said Haney, who had three steals. “Sherm gives us that great mindset of digging in and never letting up. Tying up the ball at the top of the key and denying the wings when it’s a flat force out from the elbows. It’s based on grit.”
Munari and Haney both scored a dozen. Haney also had three steals while Munari had two assists. Spratt hauled in nine rebounds and Miller added six boards as West won the battle on the glass.
“We emphasized locking it up,” noted Spratt, who scored six. “It’s not really being worried about getting it, but just making sure that your man doesn’t get it. Everything else from there falls into place.
Last year, Perkiomen Valley went 17-5 and advanced to the District One Elite Eight, securing a PIAA berth. The Bucks’ dominant win against a formidable opponent made a statement.
“We defend really well and we play hard,” Munari said. “Everything starts there for us. We put in a lot of time in the offseason. To work hard and play defense sets up everything.”
CB West takes on archrival CB East on Friday. The Bucks enter the tilt 3-0 after Saturday’s 56-53 win over Spring-Ford in the second game of the challenge. Munari, Miller, Haney and Spratt all scored between nine and 11 points as West avenged last year’s 59-57 Rams’ win that knocked the Bucks out of district playoffs.
West has won seven straight regular season games, extending back to last season. The Bucks opened SOL play with a 54-34 victory while hosting Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
