Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Friday.
National Conference
William Tennent 62, Neshaminy 56 (OT)
Trailing by four in the waning seconds and without a conference win on the young season, William Tennent refused to be denied.
Junior John Ryan made two free throws with 15 seconds remaining and then hit a game-tying basket with four seconds to go to force overtime. In the extra period, the Panthers took care of business, eventually beating host Neshaminy by six.
Tennent (2-5, 1-2) was able to force overtime after Josh Kravets got a deflection on defense to get the ball back for the Panthers. After that, Ryan, who led the way with 23 points and 11 rebounds, did his job.
“John has been our go-to guy all year, and he’s there when we need a couple of buckets,” Tennent coach Robert Mulville said. “He’s dependable offensively and defensively, and when we need a big play, we can go to him. He’s great and he’s as basketball coach’s dream, believe me. He plays hard, he tries to get better every day, and it’s just great to have him. I’m so happy to have him for another year also.”
Ryan had averaged roughly 19 points per game so far this season.
The Redskins (2-3, 1-2) led by two at the half, up 25-23. Tennent had a big third quarter, however, outscoring Neshaminy by six to take a four-point lead into the fourth. In overtime, Tennent outscored Neshaminy 9-3.
“I think the guys really took a step forward with stepping up and accepting a challenge,” Mulville said. “They were really hungry, and they got together at the end of the game to come up with some big plays.
“For us, it was a great win on the road and I was so happy for them. The kids came out, competed, believed in themselves, and it was really about (more) than just basketball. It was about the way they reacted and supported each other.”
Kravets finished with six points and six assists. Five of his points came in the overtime period. Chalie Wodack and Kyle Lewicki played big roles for Tennent, scoring 15 and 13 points, respectively.
Neshaminy was led by Billy Warren’s 23 points.
William Tennent will travel to Council Rock South on Tuesday while Neshaminy will travel to Council Rock North on Monday night.
William Tennent 16 7 15 15 9—62
Neshaminy 12 13 9 19 3—56
Abington 64, Council Rock South 44
Abington’s record remained perfect after six games, thanks to another all-around team effort.
The Ghosts received 16 points and nine assists from senior Matt Penecale and 16 points and six rebounds from fellow senior Amir Hinton in its win over visiting Council Rock South.
Robby Heath added 15 points for the Ghosts, who led by eight after one quarter and increased that lead to 18 at the half, 39-21.
CR South (3-3, 2-1) was led by Austin Thomas’ eight points and seven apiece from Matt Stewart and Dan Buchnik.
Abington (6-0, 3-0) will host Pottsgrove on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Rock South will host William Tennent on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 10 11 11 12—44
Abington 18 21 8 17—64
Council Rock North 55, Harry S. Truman 50
A huge third quarter was the difference in Friday’s contest.
The Indians, trailing by five (25-20) at the half, outscored Truman 19-8 in the third quarter to go on top for good.
CR North (4-1, 2-1) was led by Will Desautelle’s 19 points and 12 rebounds. He scored 15 points in the second half alone to spearhead the Indians’ comeback. Steve Nowmos added nine points and eight rebounds for the Indians, while Riley Thompson and Matt Margolis added 12 and eight points, respectively.
The Tigers (2-4, 1-2) were led by Danell Snelling’s 13 points. Tramere Adams added 10 points while Lucas Waters finished with eight.
Rock North will host Neshaminy on Monday while Truman will host Pennsbury on Monday.
Harry S. Truman 5 20 8 16—50
Council Rock North 9 11 19 16—55
Pennsbury 67, Bensalem 22 (Thursday, Dec. 18)
Derrick Woods scored 22 points, Mekhi Bryant had 15, and Cameron Jones added nine to lead the Falcons, who improved to 2-1 in league play (4-2 overall). Pennsbury will return to action on Sunday when the Falcons will face Neumann-Goretti at the Mary Kline Winter Classic at Archbishop Wood. Bensalem will face Holy Ghost Prep in Saturday’s Coaches vs. Cancer Classic.
Bensalem 0 5 11 6—22
Pennsbury 16 23 22 6—67
Continental Conference
Souderton 41, Central Bucks West 23
Senior Ben Wonderling’s name might not jump out of the box score for Friday night’s game, but he certainly made a huge difference in the Indians’ win over Central Bucks West.
Wonderling held Cal Reichwein, CB West’s top scorer, to only two points.
“He just played fantastic,” coach Pete Chimera said. “It’s not going to show up on the box score, but he had a tremendous effort. I kept asking my coaches if he was tired and they said he looked fine. I asked him if he was tired, but he said he was fine. He played the entire second half, running through screens and fighting screens. It was a good game.”
While Wonderling was doing his thing on the defensive end of the court, Evan Slone was doing his thing on the other end, racking up 11 points and 15 rebounds to lead the way. Tracy Simsick led all scorers with 16 points, while Tim Markow added nine for the Indians.
Souderton (4-3, 3-0), which led 17-11 at the half, held CB West (5-2, 1-2) to single-digit scoring in all four quarters.
“It was a lot of offensive execution and great defense,” Pete Chimera said. “We’ve been playing great defense and rebounding the ball very well, and tonight was a great example of that. To hold a team like CB West to only 23 points, especially in their gym, is an accomplishment.” Luke Irons led the Bucks with eight points.
Souderton will host Pennridge on Tuesday night while CB West will host North Penn.
Souderton 6 11 9 15—41
Central Bucks West 4 7 4 8—23
Hatboro-Horsham 37, Central Bucks East 34
When Hatboro-Horsham – deadlocked with Central Bucks East – got the ball back with 34 seconds to play, the Hatters decided to hold onto it for as long as possible before setting up a play.
With 12 seconds to go, the Hatters made a couple nice passes and freed up Clifton Moore, who nailed a three-pointer with a second to play to lift the Hatters to the dramatic road victory over the Patriots.
Moore, who led the Hatters with 11 points, knocked down the last second shot to prevent overtime and propel Hatboro-Horsham to its first conference win of the season.
“Clifton has talent,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Ed Enoch said. “He can shoot the ball and tonight, he certainly caught it and shot it in rhythm and made a very nice play.”
The Hatters (3-2, 1-2) led by six after one quarter (12-6) but trailed 15-14 at the half. In the third, the Hatters were able to go back on top, taking a 25-21 lead into the final quarter.
Walter Kimble and Brian McEachern added 10 and eight points for the Hatters. Justin O’Neil led CB East (4-4, 0-3) and all scorers with 15 points.
“It was an important win for us,” Enoch said. “We had a tough loss the other night (against CB South) and it was nice to bounce back with a win tonight. The excitement and attitude from a shot at the buzzer is always a very good way to end the game.”
Hatboro will travel to Downingtown West for a non-league game Saturday while CB East returns to action on Tuesday at Central Bucks South.
Hatboro-Horsham 12 2 11 12—37
Central Bucks East 6 9 6 13—34
North Penn 67, Quakertown 59
Joey Richards drained four three-pointers and led all scorers with 21 points in an eight-point North Penn win over visiting Quakertown.
North Penn’s second consecutive league win was capped by a 29-point fourth quarter, allowing the Knights (3-4, 2-1) to come from behind in the final eight minutes for the victory. The Knights took a 30-23 lead into halftime only to watch the Panthers go on a 17-8 third quarter tear to take a 40-38 lead into the final quarter.
Jared Melone added 20 points for North Penn, while Cordell Lord and Kyle Hulmes added 10 and nine, respectively. Griffin Schmidt led the Panthers (1-4, 0-3) with 19 points, while Kevin Norvaisis added 18.
The Knights will host Lansdale Catholic on Saturday at 2:30 p.m., while the Panthers will travel to Freedom for a 7 p.m. game on Saturday.
Quakertown 12 11 17 19—59
North Penn 12 18 8 29—67
Pennridge 62, Central Bucks South 49
Joe Molettiere finished with 19 points and Zach Muredda and Stephen Lowry each added 16 as Pennridge went into Central Bucks South High School and came out with a 13-point win to remain undefeated in conference play.
Pennridge (5-1, 3-0) led by six at the half (24-18) before closing things out with a big fourth quarter, outscoring the Titans 21-14.
Dan Long added seven points for the Rams.
Chris Hones led CB South (4-3, 2-1) with 14. Alex Karris finished with 11 for the Titans, while Josh Brodie and Sean Gallagher added 10 and eight, respectively.
Pennridge 10 14 17 21—62
Central Bucks South 9 9 17 14—49
American Conference
Cheltenham 47, Springfield 37
With its leading scorer out of the lineup as well as two freshmen from the JV team making their first ever varsity starts, Cheltenham appeared to have its hands full against visiting Springfield.
But thanks to some excellent play from the two new players as well as solid efforts from the likes of Anthony White and Justin Sutton, the Panthers were able to come out victorious, defeating the Spartans to earn their second win of the year.
The Panthers (2-5, 2-1) received 13 points from White as well as eight points and 11 rebounds from Sutton in the double-digit victory.
“It was a conference game and we have Norristown next week, so we knew it was important to get this win,” Cheltenham coach John Timms said. “We have such a tough out of conference schedule, so every conference game is very big for us, and tonight was a big win.”
The Panthers trailed by three (19-16) at the half, but they came out firing in the third quarter, outscoring the Spartans (1-5, 0-3) by 10 to go on top 33-26. They would ride things out in the fourth quarter en route to the victory.
Blair Brown added eight points and brought down eight boards for Cheltenham.
“We told the guys at halftime that they have to play defense and whoever doesn’t play defense is not going to play,” Timms said. “They got the hint that they had to step up their defensive intensity.”
The two freshmen, Amir Lewis and Miles Holland, played big roles. Lewis scored all five of his points in the fourth quarter, while Holland dished out seven assists. It was the first ever varsity playing time for Lewis and the first start for Holland.
“We got a big start from our two freshmen and they kind of sparked us,” Timms said. “Both played heavy minutes and they did an excellent job. Those guys were mentally prepared and they brought a lot of energy. They were really hungry and without those guys, I don’t think we could’ve won tonight.”
Springfield was led by Sean Stovall, who scored 15 points.
Cheltenham is scheduled to play at Norristown on Tuesday night while the Spartans will travel to Lower Moreland on Monday for a non-league contest.
Springfield 9 10 7 11—37
Cheltenham 9 7 17 14—47
Upper Dublin 55, Upper Moreland 31
Senior Simeon Fryer scored 12 points and brought down eight rebounds for Upper Dublin as the Cardinals rolled against visiting Upper Moreland, winning by 24 points to remain undefeated in conference play.
Matt Thompson added seven rebounds and five assists for the Cardinals (4-2, 3-0), while Will Derr finished with nine points and three blocked shots. James Martin led Upper Moreland (3-4, 0-3) with 12 points, while Brendan O’Donnell was the next highest scorer with six.
Upper Dublin doubled up the Bears in the first quarter, taking a 16-8 lead into the second. In the second, the Cardinals broke the game open, outscoring the Golden Bears 15-7 to go into halftime with a commanding 31-15 lead.
Upper Dublin continued to increase upon its lead in the second half.
The Cardinals will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday for a showdown with the defending conference champions. Upper Moreland will travel to Springfield on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 8 7 11 5—31
Upper Dublin 16 15 13 11—55
Plymouth Whitemarsh 53, Wissahickon 35
Another night, another win for Plymouth Whitemarsh.
The undefeated Colonials (6-0, 3-0) were led by Xzavier Malone’s 17 points, nine rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots and two steals in their home victory over Wissahickon.
The Trojans trailed by only two at the half, down 19-17, but in the third, PW began to seize control of the game, going up by 11 going into the fourth (36-25).
Andre Mitchell finished with 15 points, three rebounds and steals for PW, while Cameron Johnson added nine points and nine rebounds. Jimmy Murray chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds.
Steve Driscoll led the Trojans (3-2, 2-1) with 11 points.
The Colonials will host Upper Dublin on Tuesday while the Trojans will host Upper Merion on Monday.
Wissahickon 5 12 8 10—35
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10 9 17 17—53
NORRISTOWN 60, UPPER MERION 46 (Thursday, Dec. 18)
In the nightcap of a girls/boys doubleheader, the visiting Vikings gave the Eagles all they could handle for one half and took a 22-19 lead into halftime. Norristown came out of halftime on a mission, outscoring the Vikings 23-10 to go on top 42-32. The Eagles scored 39 points in the second half on their way to the big win.
Roy Green had a big night for the Eagles, scoring a game-high 21 points to go along with four steals and five assists. Darryl Carr added 15 points and seven rebounds. Rashon Wiggins led the Eagles under the boards with nine rebounds. Kyle Simpson had four steals.
For the Vikings, Ethan Miller led the way with 16 points, and Matt Faw had 10.
With the win, Norristown upped its record to 2-1 in league play (3-2 overall) while the Vikings are 0-3 in the league (0-6 overall).
Norristown will host Cheltenham on Tuesday night while Upper Merion will travel to Wissahickon.
Upper Merion 9 13 10 14-46
Norristown 10 10 23 16-60
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