Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams on Friday night. To view photos of the Wissahickon/Springfield and CB South/North Penn games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
American Conference
Upper Dublin 45, Norristown 44
On the road and trailing in the waning seconds, the Cardinals found a way to win.
Upper Dublin hit a shot with 2.8 seconds remaining to beat Norristown by one point in its conference opener. The Eagles’ shot at the buzzer fell short.
Simeon Fryer hit a base-line jumper from 10 feet out to win it for the Cardinals, who are now 2-2 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
“Simeon has had a lot of really great moments, and it’s great to see a big player like that come up with a big moment and a big shot,” Upper Dublin coach Josh Adelman said. “It’s one he’ll never forget.”
The Cardinals trailed by five after one quarter before tying things up at 22-22 going into the half. Neither team led by more than three points for the remainder of the game, according to Adelman.
Upper Dublin had three players in double figures, with John Barrett scoring 12 points, Fryer 11 and Will Derr 11.
“It was just a battle,” Adelman said. “They’d take a three-point lead, and then we would come back and take a three-point lead. It was a battle, it really was. It was two teams that really hit some clutch shots, but I think a really good defensive game for both of us made it a good battle.
“It was great coming off a disappointing loss (to Central Bucks East) and the guys played a great game defensively and kept their composure the entire game. They executed and to come out with a big win like that to start the league season was what we needed”
Norristown was led by Roy Green’s 16 points. Darryl Carr added 12, and Simpson added seven points.
Upper Dublin will travel to Cheltenham on Tuesday night while the Eagles will be on the road at Springfield.
Upper Dublin 6 16 12 11—45
Norristown 13 11 10 10—44
Wissahickon 53, Springfield 44
Led by Todd Bentley’s 16 points, Wissahickon went on the road and beat Springfield in the first conference game for both teams.
Stephen Driscoll and Brandon Pace added 12 and 10 points respectively for the Trojans, who are now 1-2 overall. (1-0 SOL)
The Spartans were led by Justin Hill’s nine points. DeAndre Johnson added eight, while Christian Yoast, Sean Stovall and Brendan Dugan each scored seven.
The Spartans led 12-11 at the end of one quarter, but Wissahickon had a huge second quarter, outscoring the Spartans 16-8 to take a 27-20 lead into halftime. The Trojans never looked back.
“Although we were inconsistent, we played well enough in stretches to win,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said.
Wissahickon 11 16 10 16—53
Springfield 12 8 6 18—44
Plymouth Whitemarsh 55, Upper Moreland 35
The Colonials improved to 3-0 overall following their conference opening win over Upper Moreland at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
The Golden Bears battled the Colonials to a 25-25 halftime tie, but the Colonials seized control of the game with a 15-5 third quarter burst. They outscored their visitors 30-10 in the second half.
Xzavier Malone led PW with 16 points, while Jimmy Murray added 13. Andre Mitchell chipped in with 12.
The Bears, who fell to 2-2 overall (0-1 SOL), were led by James Martin’s 12 points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh will travel to Upper Merion on Tuesday while the Golden Bears will host Wissahickon.
Upper Moreland 12 13 5 5-35
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11 14 15 15-55
Cheltenham 69, Upper Merion 55
Cheltenham notched its first win of the year following a 14-point victory over visiting Upper Merion.
The Panthers (1-3, 1-0) received 19 points from Khalil White, while Fatiir Al-Ahad added 14. Anthony White finished with 11 with three triples. Maurice Valentine also added 10 for Cheltenham.
Matt Faw led Upper Merion (0-4, 0-1) with 21 points.
Cheltenham will host Abington in Saturday’s Coaches vs. Cancer game at 6 p.m.
National Conference
Abington 58, Pennsbury 57
Trailing by two, Abington’s Jake Porter banked home a three-pointer with 32.9 seconds remaining to give Abington a one-point lead en route to a Ghosts victory over visiting conference rival Pennsbury.
Amir Hinton led Abington (3-0, 1-0) with 16 points while also recording a game-ending steal with 3.5 seconds to play. Matt Penecale added 14 points, while Robby Heath and Jack Steinman each added eight.
“It was a nice confidence booster,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “We got a good shot, and we took a three and banked it
The Falcons were led by Mekhi Bryant’s 19 points. Juan Perez Jones and Cameron Jones both added 11, and it was the Falcons opening up a 19-11 lead at the end of one quarter. The Ghosts answered with an 18-point second quarter to trail by just three at the intermission (32-19).
The Ghosts erased that deficit in the second quarter, and the two teams headed into the final frame deadlocked 46-46, setting the stage for Porter’s late-game heroics.
“What I told the team is that you have to have bigger goals than just beating Pennsbury,” Grasty said, “but it was a great win. Don’t get me wrong. Pennsbury is a great team and well coached with really good players, but beating them was not one of our major goals.
Abington will look forward to facing its neighborhood rival, Cheltenham, on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s a great game atmosphere and it’s a like playoff game atmosphere and it’s a fun, fun game at home,” Grasty said of the upcoming matchup with the Panthers. “Whenever you’re at home, you get a great crowd to really support you. Tonight was a win in the league and we’ll take it.”
Abington returns to action Saturday when it will travel to Cheltenham for a Coaches vs. Cancer contest at 6 p.m. Pennsbury will host Council Rock North on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 19 13 14 11—57
Abington 11 18 17 12—58
Neshaminy 49, Bensalem 46
Neshaminy’s Shammond Thomas hit two foul shots with 20 seconds remaining to give Neshaminy a three-point lead, and the ‘Skins held on to win by that margin as the Owls’ last-ditch effort for a tie fell short.
It looked like the Redskins were on their way to an easy win when they opened up a 17-3 lead at the end of one quarter, but the Owls answered with 20 points in the second quarter to pull to within 31-23 at the intermission. The ‘Skins took a 42-33 lead into the fourth quarter when they were outscored by the Owls 13-7.
The Redskins (2-1, 1-0) received nine points from Thomas, while Billy Warren added eight points and 10 rebounds. Jenkins Kimber added seven points and five rebounds for Neshaminy.
Bensalem (0-4, 0-1) was led by Nick Mulvey’s 14 points while Neel Patel added 12 points – including three three-pointers late in the game to spark the comeback.
Neshaminy will host Abington on Tuesday while Bensalem will travel to Council Rock South.
Neshaminy 17 14 11 7-49
Bensalem 3 20 10 13-46
Council Rock South 54, Harry S. Truman 50
With its leading scorer on the bench after fouling out with five minutes remaining, Council Rock South played three sophomores and finished with a hard fought win over host Harry S. Truman in the first conference game for both teams.
Dan Buchnik scored 14 points for CR South (2-2, 1-0), while Matt Stewart scored 13 and Austin Thomas added 11.
“It was an exciting game,” CR South coach John Easterly said. “We did not handle their pressure particularly well at the beginning of the game, but we quickly got our composure and we got defensive stops when we needed to. We made free throws when we had to towards the end of the game. It was a great league win at Truman.”
The Tigers led 9-7 after one quarter only to watch the Hawks rally to go into halftime with a 19-17 lead. The Hawks stretched that lead to 32-27 head into the final frame and extended it to double digits before the Tigers stages a late game rally.
“We went up by 10 in the fourth quarter, but they made a run on us when our starting senior guard (Matt Stewart) fouled out,” Easterly said. “The guys that finished the game really held their composure without him. They did a great job.”
Starting guard Austin Thomas and fellow sophomore reserves Kevin Newbert and Kenny Brightcliff finished the game out for CR South.
“They really played well, and this game was a confidence builder for those guys,” Easterly said. “Mike Stock, our junior forward, played most of the fourth quarter. They finished strong and that group gave a great contribution off the bench tonight.”
TyQuan Law finished with 14 points to lead the Tigers (1-2, 0-1), while Lucas Waters added 12.
Rock South will host Bensalem on Tuesday while Truman will travel to William Tennent.
Council Rock South 7 12 13 22-54
Harry S Truman 9 8 10 23-50
Council Rock North 56, William Tennent 37
The Indians – after battling the visiting Panthers to a 10-10 tie after one quarter – took a 24-12 lead into halftime of Friday’s SOL National Conference opener. They blew the game wide open with a 22-point third quarter.
Riley Thompson and Matt Margolis had the hot hands for the Indians. Margolis buried a pair of treys and had eight points while Thompson also had a three-pointer and scored nine points in the frame. For good measure, Drew Glenn also had a trey in the quarter as the Indians opened up a commanding 46-20 lead.
Nine players contributed scoring for the Indians, who were led by the 16-point efforts of Thompson and Margolis. Margolis buried four three-pointers. Steve Nowmos had six points while Glenn and Matt Baniewicz both had five.
Tennent’s John Ryan led all scorers with 17 points, and teammate Kevin Simonsen added 11. Chalie Wodack had six points.
The Indians (2-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury on Tuesday while Tennent (1-4, 0-1) will host Harry S Truman.
William Tennent 10 2 8 17-37
Council Rock North 10 14 22 10-56
Continental Conference
Pennridge 52, Central Bucks East 29
Joe Molettiere led the way for the Rams with 18 points as Pennridge led from start to finish to earn a big win over host Central Bucks East.
It was the first loss of the season for the Patriots (3-1, 0-1), who were led by Tommy Strasburger’s eight points in a frustrating offensive night for CB East.
Dan Long added 13 points for the Rams, who are now 3-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.
“Giving up 29 points – last Friday we gave up 76 points to Saucon Valley, which we were obviously very disappointed about,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “We felt if we were going to be successful, we would have to play better defense. If we don’t, we’re going not going to be as good as we think we are.”
Pennridge went up 7-0 early and took a 24-9 lead into the half. The Rams continued to build on that lead, outscoring the Patriots 20-10 in the third quarter. The Rams’ defense allowed CB East to score only two points in the second quarter.
“Tonight we really set the tone defensively,” Behrens said. “Sometimes you have it. I thought our defensive intensity was the best we’ve played in the four games so far. We bought into what we were doing defensively, and we don’t worry about the offense as much. We say let’s worry about the defense.”
Pennridge will host Central Bucks West on Tuesday while CB East will travel to North Penn.
Pennridge 13 11 20 8—52
Central Bucks East 7 2 10 10—29
Central Bucks South 62, North Penn 53
Central Bucks South improved to 3-1 overall while earning its first conference win in a nine-point victory over visiting North Penn.
The Titans led 15-8 after one quarter and took a 29-17 lead into the intermission. They never looked back.
Chris Hones led the Titans with 16 points and 15 rebounds.
CB South will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday night while the Knights (1-4, 0-1) will host Central Bucks East.
North Penn 8 9 16 20—53
Central Bucks South 15 14 11 22—62
Central Bucks West 57, Quakertown 47
Central Bucks West improved to 4-0 on the season while winning its conference opener by 10 over Quakertown in a game played at Central Bucks West High School.
The Bucks opened an 18-10 lead after one quarter and led 29-17 at the intermission. They never looked back.
Leading the way for the Bucks was Cal Reichwein, who scored 11 points and added five rebounds and four assists. Owen Cooney chipped in with nine points and four rebounds, while Luke Irons added five points and three assists.
The Panthers (1-2, 0-1) were led by Kevin Norvasis and Brian Rejniak, who scored 16 points apiece.
Central Bucks West will travel to Pennridge on Tuesday while Quakertown will travel to Souderton.
Quakertown 10 7 12 18—47
Central Bucks West 18 12 11 16–57
Souderton 44, Hatboro-Horsham 30
Evan Slone scored 18 points and Tim Markow added 15 for Souderton as the Indians defeated Hatboro-Horsham by 14 points at Souderton High School.
After a 9-2 advantage following one quarter, Souderton led 17-13 at halftime. The pesky Hatters trailed by just 27-21 heading into the final quarter when the Indians closed out the game with a 17-9 tear.
Walt Kimble led the Hatters (3-0, 0-1) with 15 points.
Souderton (2-2, 1-0 SOL) will host Quakertown on Tuesday while Hatboro-Horsham will host Central Bucks South.
Hatboro-Horsham 2 11 8 9—30
Souderton 9 8 10 17—44
About the Author
