Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action in the opening round of the District One AAAA Tournament on Saturday.
#18 Souderton 44, #15 Pennridge 33
Coaches always know that it’s tough to beat any team three times in one season.
Pennridge found that out the hard way on Saturday afternoon, as the Rams fell to Continental Conference rival Souderton in a District One Class AAAA first round playoff at Pennridge High School.
After defeating the Indians twice during the regular season, Pennridge was handled extremely well by Carter Knight and the Souderton defense throughout the day, especially in the game’s final four-plus minutes, which saw Souderton finish the game on an 11-1 run.
“It was an awesome win,” Souderton coach Pete Chimera said. “We played fantastic today on defense. They had great defense when they beat us earlier in the year, but Carter (Knight) and the defense were spectacular all night.”
Knight, who scored a game-high 22 points, scored nine of Souderton’s final 11 points. Earlier in the year, following a 28-point performance, Knight had his toughest game of the year – a one-point showing against none other than Pennridge.
“Carter had his worst game ever against Pennridge, so for him to do what he did tonight was really great,” Chimera said. “We played well as a team and we used our size and matchup zone defense and we feel really good about the victory. Other guys like Nick Deihl stepped it up with a ton of minutes today and everyone did their job.
“The offense was mostly Carter, but we as a team had some pretty nice plays that freed him up, and he does a great job at creating for himself as well.”
Pennridge, which was down by only one at the half (13-12), trailed by six after three quarters. The Rams tied things up with less than five minutes to go, but the rest of the game was all Souderton.
Pennridge, the No. 15 team in the district, saw its season end with an overall record of 13-10. Zach Muredda and Dan Long led the Rams with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Souderton, which currently sits at 14-9, has to now get ready to play Chester, a team that is a perennial powerhouse in Pennsylvania more often than not.
“We have Chester next, so we’re going to have to play at an even higher level,” Chimera said. “If we play this well defensively, I think we can certainly make some noise, so I’m looking forward to it. They’re super athletic, but that’s why we play the games.”
Knight was responsible for half of Souderton’s points, but Jared Bernhart and Evan Slone also chipped in with six apiece.
Souderton 5 8 16 15—44
Pennridge 7 5 12 9— 33
#22 Central Bucks West 58, #11 Penncrest 50
If you look at Central Bucks West’s schedule this year, there were a number of losses by one or two points. The Bucks’ final regular season record was 13-9, but they certainly were a better team than that might’ve showed.
So, when the 22nd-seeded Bucks went into Penncrest and defeated the No. 11 seed by eight points in a District One Class AAAA first round playoff on Saturday night, it wasn’t that big of a surprise.
“Penncrest is a good team and that was a good matchup, but we had four games this year that we lost by two points or less, so if you turn those games around in the opposite direction, we could be an 11 seed,” CB West coach Adam Sherman said. “We knew this team and we scrimmaged with them at the beginning of the season, so we knew it was a good matchup.”
CB West led early on, going up 11-7 after one quarter. The Bucks, who are 14-9, led by only two at the half, but increased that to seven after three quarters (38-31) and then closed it out in the fourth.
Kyle Salvitti led CB West with 22 points. Jared Kelly added nine, Cal Reichwein Evan Dunn each added eight and Pat Kelley finished with seven.
Up next for CB West is a dangerous Plymouth Whitemarsh team which currently sits at 20-3 overall after defeating Downingtown East on Saturday night.
“We’re just happy to get the win and we’re looking forward to the next game,” Sherman said.
Central Bucks West 11 10 17 20 58
Penncrest 7 12 12 19 50
#6 Plymouth Whitemarsh 66, #27 Downingtown East 48
Plymouth Whitemarsh’s bid at its first district title since 1997 started out on a positive note, as the Colonials got past visiting Downingtown East by 18 points in a District One Class AAAA first round playoff on Saturday night.
Junior Andrew Mitchell led the Colonials (20-3) with 16 points and six assists, while junior Cameron Johnson also put up 16 points.
It had been just three weeks since PW took on Downingtown East at home, a game which resulted in a 55-45 win for the Colonials, who shot a season worst 30 percent from the floor in the effort.
“We did not play well the first time we faced this team,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “We were coming off an emotional win at Wissahickon and we didn’t think that Downingtown East saw our best, so this game was kind of self motivation for us. I was proud of the kids for really being able to take advantage of that psychology and use it.”
PW led 21-10 after one quarter and stretched that into a 41-21 halftime lead. The Colonials cruised in the second half with the commanding lead.
Jimmy Murray added 14 points for PW, while Alex Williams and Manuel ‘Junior’ Herezi finished with eight and seven points, respectively.
The game, like so many others, was pushed back from the original Friday night date due to snow. Donofrio’s team has been used to that all season, and the 12th-year head coach didn’t think it had any effect.
“The good thing is that in a weird year, we’re at least used to these delays by now,” Donofrio said. “So we keep steady with it. Normally, I am worried about it, but they seem to take it in stride.”
PW will face CB West in a second round playoff at home on Tuesday night.
Downingtown East 10 11 11 18—48
Plymouth Whitemarsh 21 20 12 13—66
#12 Oxford 57, #21 Central Bucks South 55
Central Bucks South, the No. 21 seed, went on the road to face Oxford, the No. 12 seed in the district.
Generally, a team with a seed as low as 21 is seen as the underdog, but CB South coach Jason Campbell didn’t see it that way.
“I thought with our non-league games and our strength of schedule, we played at least 12 games that were against District One-type teams that are in the playoffs,” he said. “We were well-prepared coming into the game regardless of where it was played.”
Unfortunately, for the Titans, things didn’t go their way, as Oxford came out on top with a two-point overtime win in a District One Class AAAA first round playoff on Saturday afternoon.
After CB South went on top by one point with 18 seconds remaining in OT thanks to a shot by Paul Weeks, Oxford went down court and hit a basket while getting fouled. The free throw put Oxford on top by two, and a last-chance heave by Shane Begman from just inside half court was off, ending CB South’s season.
“Shane drove it over half court and pulled up and we thought it was going to be good, but it bounced off,” Campbell said. “I’m proud of my guys, though. We were dealt a tough hand in terms of injuries with Matt Scamuffo missing the last quarter of the season, and any time he played, he gutted it out. I think a different story is being written if we had him at 100 percent, but give credit to Oxford. They’re a well-balanced team and they played tough.”
The Titans, whose season ends with a 13-10 overall record, led by one at the half (26-25). Eventually, overtime was needed, where a shot with 11.9 seconds remaining gave Oxford the win.
“We’ve been in so many close, tight games this year and I thought we’d be able to pull this one out,” Campbell said, “but unfortunately, we took the loss in overtime.”
Weeks led CB South with 15 points, while Begman added 10. Bryce Dobisch and Mason Kummer added 10 and nine, respectively, for the Titans.
Central Bucks South 11 15 12 10 7—55
Oxford 11 14 11 12 9—57
#9 Lower Merion 77, #24 Central Bucks East 43
A poor first quarter showing was enough to do Central Bucks East in on Saturday night. The Patriots trailed 17-0 to Lower Merion after eight minutes of play and never recovered, falling by 34 points in a District One Class AAAA first round playoff at Lower Merion high School.
The Aces led 42-12 at the half and only added to that lead in the third.
CB East was led by Brendan O’Neil’s 20 points. Brendan McLaughlin added seven for the Patriots, whose season ended with a 12-11 overall record.
Lower Merion was led by Justin McFadden, who scored 19 points.
Central Bucks East 0 12 16 15—43
Lower Merion 17 25 22 13—77
#1 Conestoga 47, #32 Norristown 34
Norristown’s season ended on Saturday night following a 13-point loss to top seed and host Conestoga in a District One Class AAAA first round playoff.
The Pioneers led 18-9 at the end of one quarter and took a 27-19 lead into halftime. The Eagles (12-11) trimmed one point off Conestoga’s lead in the third quarter but then were outscored 10-4 in the final quarter.
Chris Evans led the Eagles with 12 points, and teammate Khalif Sinclair added 11.
The Pioneers, who are now 21-4, will face Methacton on Tuesday in a second round playoff. Methacton defeated Ridley earlier on Saturday in another first round game.
Norristown 9 10 11 4-34
Conestoga 18 9 10 10 -47
- Log in to post comments
