Check out the results from SOL boys’ basketball teams in action on Friday. To view photos of the Souderton/Father Judge, Pennridge/Gov.Mifflin and Wissahickon/CR South games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
SOUDERTON 48, FATHER JUDGE 45
If Pete Chimera was concerned about how his team would respond to Tuesday’s disappointing loss to Pennridge, the Indians’ coach needn’t have worried.
The Indians rebounded to earn their most impressive win of the young season in the opening round of the Wissahickon Holiday Tournament, upending previously undefeated Father Judge in a thriller.
“That’s a tough team – it really is,” Chimera said of a Crusader squad that entered the game with a 7-0 record. “It’s a huge win for us because we were really disappointed with our loss to Pennridge.
“We didn’t really give the kind of effort that we normally do. A lot of that had to do with Pennridge. They played terrific. We just responded really well to (the loss), and that was pretty important. This is a quality team.”
Tim Markow buried a pair of foul shots with six seconds remaining to give the Indians a three-point lead. The Crusaders called a timeout after getting the ball past midcourt and misfired on a desperation three-pointer as time expired.
“We were planning to foul them in the backcourt but didn’t have a chance,” Chimera said. “Then we decided not to foul because when they got it to halfcourt there was 3.7 seconds left, and I figured as soon as they touched it they’re going to shoot it, and I didn’t want somebody shooting three (foul) shots to tie it up.
“We just played solid defense. We did a great job of making the ball go backwards. We put (Tracy) Simsock on the ball, and he’s super athletic, and he did a great job.”
The Indians put four players in double figures. Leading the way was Evan Slone, who finished just one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.
“Evan Slone was terrific,” Chimera said. “He just swallowed up rebounds.”
Also finishing in double digits were Ben Wonderling (11 points), Markow (11 points) and Simsick (10 points). Wonderling connected on a pair of three-pointers and Simsick had one.
The Indians connected on 14-of-24 from the charity stripe.
“We made a concentrated effort to get to the foul line tonight,” Chimera said. “The good news is we got to the foul line. The bad news is we didn’t shoot all that well.”
It was the Indians’ ability to defend the Crusaders’ perimeter game that may have been the difference in the game. Judge connected on just 7-of-27 shots from beyond the arc.
“We defended their three’s really well, and they shoot a lot of them,” Chimera said. “It really was a team effort because we played a lot of zone.
“They’ve got some really talented players that can shoot it, so it was a real concentrated effort. We did a great job talking, making sure we were aware of the shooters. We got out on them with two hands up early, and nobody is as good a shooter when they’ve got hands in their face.”
The Indians led 12-11 at the end of one quarter and took a 21-18 lead into halftime. They upped that lead to 35-29 heading in the final frame when the Crusaders staged a rally.
“The thing we really liked was we did such a great job defensive rebounding,” Chimera said. “That sometimes very difficult because you get long rebounds, and we only gave up five offensive rebounds.
The Indians’ coach went on to laud the defensive performance of Ty Salone.
“When you have four guys in double figures, it’s hard to single out one person, but one guy who didn’t get in double figures was Ty Salone,” Chimera said. “He did an awesome job of controlling their point guard, who is terrific. (Salone) did a really nice job of keeping him in front of him, so he didn’t get into the lane as much as he normally does, and he handled the pressure.”
The Indians (5-4) will face Wissahickon in Saturday’s title game at 4:30 p.m.
Father Judge 11-7-11-16 45
Souderton 12-9-14-13 48
Father Judge (45) – Reed 18, Rodriguez 9, Brazukas 2, Fleming 2, Higgins 5, Nowack 9.
Souderton (48) – Evan Slone 14, Ty Salone 2, Ben Wonderling 11, Tracy Simsick 10, Tim Markow 11.
WISSAHICKON 56, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 40
The Trojans – sparked by six points by Tre Holcomb – opened up a 14-8 lead after one quarter. They took a six-point lead into halftime (28-22). Rock South’s Matt Stewart led all scorers in the half with 10 points while teammate Austin Thomas had eight. Holcomb led the Trojans with nine points.
In the third quarter, the Trojans outscored the Golden Hawks 13-11 to go on top 41-33 – this despite nine points from Thomas. Rock South managed just one field goal in a fourth quarter that saw the Trojans close out the game with a 15-7 burst. The Trojans were 7-of-8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, 14-of-19 for the game.
Ron Brundage came off the bench to lead a balanced Trojan attack with 15 points while Brandon Pace had 13. Holcomb finished with nine, and Steve Driscoll added eight.
Thomas led all scorers with 17 points while Stewart had 10.
The Trojans (5-2) will face Souderton in the title game at 4:30 while the Golden Hawks (3-5) will face Father Judge in the consolation game at 1:30 p.m.
Council Rock South 8-14-11-7 40
Wissahickon 14-14-13-15 56
Council Rock South (40) – Matt Stewart 10, Austin Thomas 17, Kenny Brightcliffe 1, Kevin Newbert 6, Mike Stock 5, John Gannon 1.
Wissahickon (56) – Todd Bentley 2, Tre Holcomb 9, Ron Brundage 15, Steve Driscoll 8, Jake Segal 2, Brandon Pace 13, Mike Howard 2, Zach Reiner 5.
PENNRIDGE 79, GOVERNOR MIFFLIN 70
The Rams had their high-octane offense in gear from the outset of Friday’s opening round game of the Boyertown Holiday Tournament. They led 19-15 after one quarter and took a 45-29 lead into halftime and then withstood a late-game rally by Governor Mifflin.
Four Rams finished the game in double figures. Dan Long led the way with 22 points, and Zach Muredda added 18. Joe Molettiere had 16 points, and Joe Unangst had 13. The Rams, who were 14-of-23 from the charity stripe, connected on three shots from beyond the arc, two from Unangst and one from Muredda.
Pennridge (7-1) will face Boyertown in Saturday’s title game at 7:30 p.m. Boyertown defeated Southern Lehigh 65-58 in an opening round game.
Pennridge 19-26-17-17 79
Governor Mifflin 15-14-18-23 70
Pennridge (79) – Joe Molettiere 16, Dan Long 22, Zach Muredda 18, Stephen Lowry 4, Joe Unangst 13, Ryan Cuthbert 6.
Governor Mifflin (70) – Ovid 11, Tisdale 8, Peters 11, Hoff 16, Rodriguez 6, Willet 4, Klahr 14.
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