Scott Huff recaps the 2015-16 SOL boys’ basketball season in his final notebook and names his players of the year for each team.
By Scott Huff
Abington, Pennridge and Plymouth Whitemarsh all captured outright Suburban One League conference championships again this year – and that trio of exceptional basketball programs has been dominant over the last three years.
Abington – which captured the SOL National Conference for the fourth straight season – has continued its remarkable showing in the conference, winning 54 of its last 56 conference games in that four-year span. The last time the Ghosts failed to win the title was in the 2011-2012 season when Council Rock North captured the outright championship.
Pennridge – which won its third straight SOL Continental Conference championship – will be hit extremely hard by graduation this year and might be hard pressed to repeat next season. The Rams have won over 20 games the last two seasons, and the last time Pennridge did not win at least a share of the conference title was in the 2012-2013 season when Hatboro-Horsham and Souderton tied for the conference title.
Plymouth Whitemarsh – which won its third consecutive SOL American Conference title – should have enough firepower returning to compete for still another conference championship. The Colonials have won over 20 games the last three seasons, and the last time PW failed to win a conference title was in 2012-2013 when Norristown was the outright champion.
And the beat goes on…
SOL American Conference In Review
Plymouth Whitemarsh once again carried the Colonial banner deep into the state playoffs.
PW captured a PIAA Quad-A District One championship with victories over Radnor (49-36), Academy Park (60-56), Central Bucks West (43-41), Lower Merion (53-42) and powerful Chester (68-57) in the district final at Temple University.
The Colonials also went on an impressive run in the PIAA Quad-A State playoffs with wins over Lebanon (81-41), Bangor (58-44) and Simon Gratz (64-56). The season came to an abrupt end in the state semifinals with a 52-43 loss to eventual state champion Roman Catholic.
Upper Dublin stunned Abington 41-40 in a first round PIAA Quad-A District One playoff game. However, the Cardinals season came to a close with back-to-back losses to Lower Merion (68-66 in overtime) and Downingtown West (63-59).
Cheltenham and Upper Merion each completed excellent regular seasons and made an appearance in the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs. However, both were jettisoned from the tournament with opening round district losses. Cheltenham has shown the exit door in a 49-45 loss to Perkiomen Valley, while Upper Merion was shown the exit door in a 53-51 loss to Academy Park.
Upper Moreland earned a spot in the PIAA Class AAA tournament but lost an opening round game. The Golden Bears were jettisoned from the playoffs in a 45-42 loss to Holy Ghost Prep.
Norristown, Wissahickon and Springfield all failed to reach the postseason.
SOL American Conference Final Standings
1. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 13-1
2. Cheltenham Panthers 10-4
3. Upper Merion Vikings 9-5
4. Norristown Eagles 7-7
Upper Dublin Cardinals 7-7
6. Upper Moreland Golden Bears 5-9
Wissahickon Trojans 5-9
8. Springfield Spartans 0-14
SOL Continental Conference In Review
Central Bucks West did not win the conference title but the senior dominated Bucks made the most noise in the postseason.
CB West finished a game behind conference champion Pennridge in the regular season, but the Bucks captured the 2nd annual SOL playoff championship playoff tournament with a win over Plymouth Whitemarsh. CB West finished the season with a history making 24 wins.
The Bucks won three of five PIAA Quad-A District One playoff games. CBW defeated Downingtown East (54-35), Phoenixville (40-32) and Conestoga (59-31). The Bucks lost to both Plymouth Whitemarsh (43-41) and Spring-Ford (58-56 in overtime).
CB West opened the PIAA Quad-A State playoffs with a 60-55 victory over Central York. The Bucks saw their season come to a close with a 60-41 setback to eventual state champion Roman Catholic.
Pennridge did collect another SOL Continental Conference regular season title but failed to make a return run to states.
The Rams split a pair of PIAA Quad-A District One playoff games. Pennridge defeated Central Bucks South 67-60 but fell to Spring-Ford 61-58 in overtime. The Rams remained alive in district play with a 61-42 victory over Perkiomen Valley and saw its season come to an end with a 46-43 loss to Hatboro-Horsham.
Central Bucks East and Hatboro-Horsham each had mediocre 7-7 records in the conference, but both the Patriots and the Hatters survived district play and made an abbreviated run in the state tournament.
CB East captured three of five PIAA Quad-A District One playoff games. The Patriots defeated Pennsbury (41-30), Coatesville (49-43) and Conestoga (44-40). CBE lost district playoff games to Chester (49-33) and Spring-Ford (64-58).
The Patriots lost in the opening round of the PIAA Quad-A State playoffs with a 57-37 loss to Bangor.
Hatboro-Horsham won three of its five PIAA Quad-A District One playoff games. The Hatters topped Strath Haven (68-45), Coatesville (67-57) and Pennridge (46-43). HH lost district games to Chester (56-34) and Academy Park (72-70).
The Hatters lost in the opening round of the PIAA Quad-A State playoffs with a 61-44 loss to Reading.
Central Bucks South and North Penn each earned invitations to the PIAA Quad-A District One playoffs – but both the Titans and the Knights were eliminated in the first round.
The Titans were jettisoned from the district tournament in a 67-60 loss to Pennridge, while the Knights were shown the exit door in a 51-49 loss to Ridley.
Quakertown and Souderton were the lone SOL Continental Conference teams not to make the playoffs. Both the Panthers and the Indians finished the conference season with three wins each and both programs won seven games overall.
SOL Continental Conference Final Standings
1. Pennridge Rams 13-1
2. Central Bucks West Bucks 12-2
3. Central Bucks East Patriots 7-7
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 7-7
5. North Penn Knights 6-8
Central Bucks South Titans 6-8
7. Souderton Indians 3-11
8. Quakertown Panthers 3-11
SOL National Conference In Review
Abington won an impressive fourth consecutive conference title – but that was going to be the only good news for the talented Ghosts.
Abington was jettisoned from the PIAA District One playoffs in the first round. The defending District One champions were shown the exit door in an ‘upset’ 41-40 loss to cross-town rival Upper Dublin.
Council Rock North, Pennsbury and Bensalem were all given invitations to the PIAA Quad-A District One playoff dance – but the Indians, Falcons and Owls did not stay long.
CR North was jettisoned from the district playoffs in a 53-27 loss to Chester; Pennsbury was jettisoned from the district playoffs in a 41-30 loss to Central Bucks East and Bensalem was jettisoned from the playoffs in a 43-40 loss to Coatesville.
Harry S Truman, Council Rock South, William Tennent and Neshaminy did not earn a postseason invitation.
SOL National Conference Final Standings
1. Abington Ghosts 13-1
2. Pennsbury Falcons 10-4
Council Rock North Indians 10-4
4. Bensalem Owls 6-8
Harry S Truman Tigers 6-8
6. Council Rock South Golden Hawks 5-9
7. William Tennent Panthers 3-11
Neshaminy Redskins 3-11
Suburban One Sports.com
Final SOL Rankings + Team Player of the Year
1. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 28-3 Xzavier Malone
2. Central Bucks West Bucks 24-7 Cal Reichwein
3. Pennridge Rams 21-6 Dan Long
4. Abington Ghosts 19-6 Robbie Heath
5. Central Bucks East Patriots 16-12 Tommy Strasburger
6. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 14-14 Clifton Moore
7. Cheltenham Panthers 16-7 Khalil White
8. Upper Merion Vikings 16-7 Matt Faw
9. Pennsbury Falcons 15-8 Mark Flagg
10. Council Rock North Indians 13-10 Riley Thompson
11. Upper Dublin Cardinals 12-13 Ryan Stover
12. Bensalem Owls 11-12 Richard Dean
13. North Penn Knights 11-12 Lance Lindsay-Ford
14. Central Bucks South Titans 10-13 Tim Waddington
15. Norristown Eagles 10-12 Darryl Carr
16. Wissahickon Trojans 10-12 Zach Reiner
17. Upper Moreland Golden Bears 9-14 Brendan O’Donnell
18. Harry S Truman Tigers 8-13 Maurice Jackson
19. Council Rock South Golden Hawks 7-15 Austin Thomas
20. Quakertown Panthers 7-15 Griffin Schmidt
21. Souderton Indians 7-15 Tracy Simsick
22. William Tennent Panthers 6-15 John Ryan
23. Neshaminy Redskins 5-16 Zach Tredway
24. Springfield Spartans 3-19 Ryan Daley
- Log in to post comments
