A Record-Breaking Night at Pennridge

Junior Matt Campione put on a stellar performance on Jan. 19 putting up 42 points to help Pennridge defeat Harry S. Truman with a score of 80-59. Matt broke the previous single-game record by three points. The record was previously held by Pennridge alumni Tim Abrazzo who now serves in the Naval Academy. Pennridge has now won five and lost five versus Harry S. Truman.
During that game, Matt scored 42 points, had two assists, and four rebounds. Matt scored seven three-point shots during the game. Pennridge dominated this game-winning by over 20 points. Also, Pennridge dominated this game by having a 10 percent greater three-point percentage and a 15 percent higher free throw percentage. Pennridge was playing back-to-back games as the game versus Truman was rescheduled to that date. Matt said it “felt like a normal game. I was super excited, but tired from the previous game. I wanted to keep my boys and teammates hype and energetic though”. This attitude towards the game is what makes him an excellent team player and captain.

After scoring the basket to break the school record, Matt described the atmosphere as “exciting and the bench went crazy and with like five fans, it didn’t feel like it was real.” Matt went on to talk about how he was in shock and in disbelief. He thinks this is the “best game he will probably ever have.” Coach Behrens has been coaching Matt for two years. During a crazy year full of Covid, Matt started on the varsity basketball team as a sophomore. Coach Behrens said, “it was obvious Matt had trained a lot because he got so much better compared to his ninth-grade year”. Matt described himself as a hard worker which his coach clearly backs up. Coach Behrens said, “they move the ball around not just to Matt. I don’t coach just for Matt to succeed”. Coach Behrens coaches to spread the ball around and doesn’t create his game plan around Matt. Matt has been working on his jump shot according to the coach and it is clearly paying off.

After the game, Coach Behrens received a text from the former record holder Tim Abrazzo about his record being broken. Pennridge’s varsity basketball team has been struggling this year. In a lot of games, multiple key players have been out with COVID-19. Pennridge’s record stands at 3-11 after defeating Harry S. Truman. Pennridge has two upcoming games against Bensalem and North Penn and will try to improve their record and make the playoffs.

Sources:
https://papreplive.com/2022/01/19/the-reporter-times-herald-montgomery-media-local-roundup-jan-19-matt-campione-scores-42-points-in-pennridge-win/
https://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/pennridge-rams-(perkasie,pa)/basketball-21-22/videos.htm?videoid=eac7ab67-e0bd-4115-8f67-2d7b84ce85be