Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Friday.
American Conference
UPPER DUBLIN 62, NORRISTOWN 53
On a night that saw the Flying Cardinals lose their leading scorer, Simeon Fryer, to illness, his teammates were there to pick up the slack.
“Simeon got sick after the first quarter, so he didn’t play the rest of the game,” said coach Josh Adelman. “We needed guys to step up, and the rest of the guys played a great game.”
Perhaps no one played better than John Barrett, who scored a game-high 26 points.
“Johnny Barrett was just on top of his game,” Adelman said. “Whenever we needed a crucial three, he hit a three. If we needed a drive to the basket, he would make a clutch layup.”
It was Matt Thompson jumpstarting the Cardinals, scoring 11 points in the first quarter to propel the Cardinals to a 20-12 lead. Thompson finished the game with 12 points.
“He was sensational,” Adelman said. “He had a great game.”
Phil Santerian contributed nine points, and Will Derr chipped in with eight points.
“Phil Santerian probably played the game of his life,” Adelman said. “He did an awesome job – clutch rebounds, great defense. He scored nine points, which was his high for the season so far.”
Upper Dublin took a 32-21 lead into halftime. The Cardinals still led by 11 after three quarters (49-38) on their way to the big win.
“We came out and played our best defensive game as far as closing out, really finding where their shooters were,” Adelman said. “We were just flying around and playing a really good zone defense against Norristown.
“We knew how important this game was. When Sim went down, we went into halftime with an 11-point lead, and without Sim, they never got closer than seven points. 58-51 was as close as they got. Every league game is important, so we’re real excited.”
The Eagles were led by the 22-point effort of Roy Green. Darryl Carr added 11 points, and Khalif Sinclair, eight points.
With the win, the Flying Cardinals (10-4) are 7-1 in league play – tied with Plymouth Whitemarsh atop the conference standings. The Eagles are 4-4 in the league (5-7 overall).
Norristown 12-9-17-15 55
Upper Dublin 20-12-17-13 62
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 58, UPPER MORELAND 34
The Colonials opened up a 21-2 lead after one quarter and took a 27-9 lead into the intermission. They outscored the Golden Bears 31-25 in the second half.
Xzavier Malone led PW with 17 points, Jimmy Murray added 13 and Andre Mitchell 12 points. Mike Lotito contributed eight points.
For the Golden Bears, Joe Trovato led the way with nine points. Brendan O’Donnell and James Martin both had six.
PW is 7-1 in conference play (13-1 overall) while the Golden Bears are 2-6 in the conference (6-9 overall).
Plymouth Whitemarsh 21-6-14-17 58
Upper Moreland 2-7-7-18 34
Plymouth Whitemarsh (58) – Xzavier Malone 17, Jimmy Murray 13, Cam Johnson 2, Davon Burrell 6, Andre Mitchell 12, Mike Lotito 8.
Upper Moreland (34) – Brendan O’Donnell 7, Ryan Coyle 2, Aaron Heller 2, James Martin 6, Joe Trovato 9, Brett Brossman 3.
WISSAHICKON 53, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 44
The Trojans raced to a 22-11 lead and took a 33-17 lead into halftime on their way to a convincing win over the Spartans.
Steve Driscoll led a balanced Trojan attack with 13 points. Tre Holcomb contributed nine points off the bench while Todd Bentley had eight points and Zach Reiner, seven.
For the Spartans, Justin Hill led the way with 10 points. Ryan Daley and Sean Stovall both had nine, and Brendan Dugan added seven points.
Wissahickon 22-11-12-8 53
Springfield 11-6-4-23 44
Wissahickon (44) – Todd Bentley 8, Tre Holcomb 9, Ron Brundage 4, Stephen Driscoll 13, Jake Segal 8, Brandon Pace 4, Zach Reiner 7.
Springfield (44) – DeAndre Johnson 3, Justin Hill 10, Noel Franczyk 1, Sean Stovall 9, Ryan Daley 9, Quentin Johnson 5, Brendan Dugan 7.
Continental Conference
QUAKERTOWN 59, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 54
Coach Kevin Keeler doesn’t remember the last time his squad beat CB West, but the veteran coach knows it’s been a long time.
“This was a real big win tonight,” the Panthers’ coach said. “The kids played excellent.
“We played well on Tuesday against Pennridge, which is the best team in our league. We were upset that we didn’t finish that off. We’re getting to the point where we have to believe in ourselves and finish off games like this tonight.
“I have a lot of respect for (West coach) Adam Sherman. He’s a fantastic coach. They’re beating a lot of good teams right now. I’m happy for the kids. This is a shot in the arm for us.”
The Panthers – who trailed by just five heading into the fourth quarter of their game against Pennridge but lost 55-41 – led 11-7 after one quarter on Friday and stretched that lead to 26-16 by halftime. The Bucks trimmed three points off the lead in the third quarter, outscoring the Panthers 19-16 to make it a 42-35 game after three quarters, but they could not get over the hump.
“We pretty much took control from beginning to end,” Keeler said. “We were up 10 at halftime and seven going into the last quarter.
“They made a couple of runs, and we didn’t help ourselves at the foul line – we were 9-for-17, but any time they hit a three, we responded with a layup or a steal.”
Griffin Schmidt led the Panthers with 18 points while Kevin Norvaisas added 16 and Jake Perrine, 13 points. Brian Rejniak had seven points.
“Jake is sometimes passive, and we have to force the ball to him,” Keeler said of Perrine. “He got it going tonight for us, and we had three guys in double figures, so that was important.
“Griffin Schmidt had a great floor game. He had 18 points and seven assists, and Kevin (Norvaisas) had 16 points and eight or 10 rebounds.”
The Panthers buried eight three points with two each from Schmidt, Perrine and Norvaisas.
“That’s our game and teams know that,” Keeler said. “We don’t have that big post player. Ours is a perimeter game. We’ve had games of 10-11 three’s, so we had that going in the first half.”
The Bucks were led by Owen Cooney’s 20-point effort while Cal Reichwein added 17. Luke Irons had nine points and Erich Hohenleitner, eight, on a night that saw just four players contribute scoring.
While the Bucks are 5-3 in league play (11-4 overall), the Panthers are 2-6 in the league (6-8 overall) with a game at Bensalem on Saturday looming on the horizon.
“We haven’t won two in a row this year,” Keeler said. “If we want to start making any ground on anything, we have to start getting some wins together.”
Central Bucks West 7-9-19-19 54
Quakertown 11-15-16-17 59
Central Bucks West (54) – Luke Irons 9, Owen Cooney 20, Cal Reichwein 17, Erich Hohenleitner 8.
SOUDERTON 46, HATBORO-HORSHAM 44
The Indians won a thriller at Hatboro-Horsham. Tim Markow sank one-of-two from the foul line with just over three seconds remaining to give the Indians a two-point advantage, and the Hatters’ desperation shot from midcourt at the buzzer fell short.
“It was back and forth,” Souderton coach Pete Chimera said. “We got up four, but that was with 16 seconds left. We never really were able to extend the lead.
“They just played tough. It was one of those games – when we took our time and executed our offense, we got good things, but then we took some bad shots, and they turned us over. They played really well. We’re getting the best out of other teams, which is good because we need it.”
A basket by Tracy Simsick in the game’s closing moments put Souderton on top by four, but the Indians – who had a foul to give – failed to foul in the open court. Walter Kimble penetrated, converting a layup and drawing the foul. He completed the three-point play to make it a one-point game, setting the stage for Markow’s foul shot and the dramatic finish.
Evan Slone finished with a team-high 14 points for the Indians and also was a force on the offensive glass, pulling down seven offensive rebounds. Simsick added 12 points and point guard Ty Salone had nine. Markow finished with eight.
“Ty Salone played really well,” Chimera said. “He hit a big three (in the third quarter) when they were up three or four. Anything we get from him offensively is a plus because he’s in there to facilitate to the offense.
“Evan played terrific as he always does, had offensive rebounds and just was the man.”
Brian McEachern led the Hatters with 13 points while Zeke Sloan had 10 points and Kimble, seven points.
Souderton upped its record to 6-2 in conference play (10-5 overall) while the Hatters are 2-6 in the conference (5-8 overall).
Souderton 9-14-7-16 46
Hatboro-Horsham 6-17-8-13 44
Souderton (46) – Evan Slone 14, Ty Salone 9, Ben Wonderling 1, Tracy Simsick 12, Tim Markow 8, Austin Eberhart 2.
Hatboro-Horsham (44) – Zeke Sloan 10, Walter Kimble 7, Brian McEachern 13, Joe Russell 2, Kyle Katz 5, David Robinson 3, Clifton Moore 4.
PENNRIDGE 70, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 50
The Rams needed a 21-point fourth quarter scoring explosion to put away a pesky Patriot squad. The Rams led 16-14 after one quarter and took a 33-27 lead into halftime. It was still a six-point game heading into the final quarter (49-43) when the Rams turned on the afterburners, outscoring the Patriots 21-7.
Joe Molettiere paced the high-octane Pennridge attack with 21 points. Dan Long added 15, and Stephen Lowry also finished in double figures with 10. Lowry was a perfect 4-for-4 from the foul line on a night that saw the Rams convert 11-of-13 from the charity stripe.
For the Patriots, Justin O’Neil led the way with 17 points while Travis Ives had 14.
The Rams maintain their stronghold on first place in the conference, upping their league mark to 8-0 (13-1 overall). The Patriots are 0-8 in the conference (4-11 overall).
Central Bucks East 14-13-16-7 50
Pennridge 16-17-16-21 70
Central Bucks East (50) – Matt Pattyson 1, Cooper Fink 2, Travis Ives 14, Justin O’Neil 17, Tommy Strasburger 5, Jeff Circuit 5, Ryan Plack 6.
Pennridge (70) – Joe Molettiere 21, Dan Long 15, Zach Muredda 12, Stephen Lowry 10, Joe Unangst 3, James White 5, AJ Demarso 2, Ryan Kinky 2.
National Conference
BENSALEM 41, NESHAMINY 32
The Owls led 14-9 after one quarter and then threw some serious defense at the Redskins, allowing just two second quarter points as they opened up a 23-11 halftime lead. The two teams exchanged baskets in the second half.
“We came out and played very good defense on them,” coach John Mullin said. “Not that we were killing it offensively, but we were doing a nice job defensively.
“We made some three’s – Neel Patel made two or three three’s in the first half to keep them honest defensively. We were up 12 at half (23-11), and they got back into it and cut it to five. Nick Mulvey made a three-point play to stretch it a little bit.”
The Owls took a 30-20 lead into the final quarter when they outscored the Redskins 12-11.
Mulvey led the Owls with 14 points while Neel Patel and Keith Howard both had 10.
“I thought we played very good team defense,” Mullin said. “Neel is shooting the ball pretty well these last couple of games, so he’s stretching the defense.
“Keith Howard is playing very well, being a force inside defensively and offensively, Avery (Nyekan) is the cog that’s doing everything for us. He’s a solid floor guy for us.”
The Redskins were led by the 11-point effort of Chris Arcidiacono. Cole Housel had seven points and Trevor Lay, six points.
The win avenged a 49-46 loss to the Redskins on Dec. 12. It was the Owls’ fifth win in the last six games.
“We are playing a lot of seniors, but not a lot of our seniors had a lot of playing time, and it’s taken time for them to get a little more comfortable with one another,” Mullin said. “Hopefully, we can keep it up.”
The Owls are 3-5 in league play (6-8 overall) while the Redskins are 1-7 in the league (3-9 overall).
Bensalem 14-9-7-11 41
Neshaminy 9-2-9-12 32
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