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CB East basketball winning impacts Jake Cummiskey's chances for school scoring record

tom moore, bucks county courier times
·4 min read

BUCKINGHAM — Central Bucks East's 49-44 win over Perkiomen Valley was meaningful for Jake Cummiskey and the Patriots' seniors.

The victory secured a second straight trip to the PIAA state tournament for the Patriots.

It also increased the chances of Cummiskey becoming CB East's boys basketball career leading scorer because East (19-6) is guaranteed at least four more games — three at the PIAA District One Class 6A playoffs and one at states.

Cummiskey, who has 1,269 career points, needs 92 to break the Patriots' all-time record of 1,360 points set by 1992 graduate Brian Penecale. And he's 53 from surpassing No. 2 scorer Bruce Stankavage, a 1987 grad with 1,321 points.

Central Bucks East's Jake Cummiskey (1) shoots the ball against Central Bucks South.
Central Bucks East's Jake Cummiskey (1) shoots the ball against Central Bucks South.

"It's an honor to even be in that conversation (with the career points leaders)," Cummiskey said. "Coach (Erik Henrysen) has set up the team for me to succeed and thrive, but all that matters to me is winning. … At the same time, when I need to get mine, I'm going to get mine."

Jake Cummiskey leads CB East in scoring again

Cummiskey, a 6-foot-3 guard, is averaging 16 points per game and leads East in scoring for the third consecutive season after averaging 11 points as a sophomore and 14 as a junior.

He was more of a facilitator in the first half Tuesday before scoring six of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a pair of clinching free throws with 17.1 seconds remaining.

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"We need him to really set things up for other guys," said Henrysen, the 14th-year head coach. "When he has those opportunities to score, he scores. That's what we love about Jake. There's this thing (the scoring record) lingering, but he knows he's not getting that unless we win and he'll do whatever it takes to win in that moment."

"He obviously wants to be the (all-time) leading scorer," said senior starting guard Justin DiRoberto. "That'd be an incredible accomplishment. I just think he's more focused on getting more games to get to that scoring number than actually just scoring a lot in these games. He's always playing to win and that's what we appreciate with him."

In the lead-up to reaching 1,000 career points in a Dec. 19 win against North Penn, Cummiskey said he altered the way he played somewhat in an effort to eclipse the milestone before settling down and returning to his regular style of sharing the ball afterward.

Henrysen didn't notice much of a change, saying "I think with Jake, even on the night he scored his 1,000th, he had opportunities throughout the game and he created and found open guys."

Cummiskey and the seventh-seeded Patriots visit No. 2 West Chester Henderson on Friday night (7) in the district quarterfinals. They've secured another top-8 finish after ending up fifth a year ago.

Cummiskey keeps earning All-SOL boys basketball honors

Cummiskey is a three-time All-Suburban One League Colonial Division first-team selection. He earned second-team honors as the sixth man during his freshman campaign, when he hit buzzer-beating shots in district playoff wins over Boyertown and North Penn.

CB East's Jake Cummiskey heads toward the basket during the Patriots' PIAA first-round state playoff game against Archbishop Wood in March 2023.
CB East's Jake Cummiskey heads toward the basket during the Patriots' PIAA first-round state playoff game against Archbishop Wood in March 2023.

He's helped the Patriots win their fourth straight SOL Colonial title, matching Bob Walsh's 1975-76 through 1978-79 Bux-Mont League championship squads. East set a school record with 22 victories a year ago.

Going to state playoffs again meaningful for CB East

The consecutive trips to states is a particularly big deal to Cummiskey after what he referred to as East "cracking at times" during a 4-4 stretch in the middle of the regular season.

"We play basketball together," Cummiskey said. "But off the court these are my guys. This is who I spend all my time with. This is who I laugh with. To make the state tournament with my brothers really means everything to me."

The left-handed Cummiskey, who plans on playing Division II or III ball next year, also leads East in assists (3 per game) and is second in rebounding (5).

He's admittedly aware of the scoring record, but is eyeing loftier team-based goals.

"As we move on and make states — we want to win the district," Cummiskey said. "That's all that matters to me."

Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes.com; @TomMoorePhilly

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Jake Cummiskey knows CB East success leads to individual records