Check out the results for SOL boys/girls basketball teams in action on Saturday.
Boys
BENSALEM 52, HARRY S TRUMAN 47
The Owls’ win over their neighboring rivals put the finishing touches on a big day that included a girls/boys doubleheader and was part of Bensalem’s Hall of Fame activities.
“We’ve been struggling, and it’s always competitive, always an up and down game,” coach John Mullin said of his team’s matchups against Truman. “Nothing was different.
“We had an eight or nine-point lead, and I told them, ‘Let’s try and extend this, have good possessions,’ and before you know it, it’s a three-point game at the half. That’s how it kind of went.”
The Owls led 25-22 at the intermission and then were outscored 14-13 in the third quarter to go into the fourth quarter with a tenuous 38-36 lead. They edged the Tigers 14-11 in the final quarter to earn the hard fought win.
“We just plugged away and got some key stops,” Mullin said. “We held them to one shot a couple of times, and we converted. It was a good game.”
Neel Patel led the Owls with 15 points, which included four three-pointers.
“Nick Mulvey kept us in the game in the first half,” Mullin said. “Avery (Nyekan) did a nice job orchestrating the offense for us. The seniors came through.
“Kevin Wade played very good defense on Tyquan Law.”
Mulvey added 12 points for the Owls while Wade had seven and Rich Dean, Kevin Wade and Keith Howard all had six.
Law finished with a game-high 20 points while teammate Danell Snelling added 10. James Clowney had six.
While the Tigers fell to 4-8 (6-14 overall), the Owls are 5-7 in the league (8-12 overall). With two games remaining on their league schedule against William Tennent and Council Rock North, the Owls are alone in fourth place.
“I’ve been trying to tell these guys – people came before you played hard, the game means something, and you’ll leave an imprint for kids coming behind you – it’s your responsibility,” Mullin said. “That’s what we’re striving for – playing for pride, playing for your school.”
Harry S Truman 9-13-14-11 47
Bensalem 8-17-13-14 52
Harry S Truman (47) – Lucas Waters 2, Tyquan Law 20, Jaier Brown 3, Danell Snelling 10, Kelechi Ogbonna 2, James Clowney 6, Maurice Jackson 2, Mark Lopez 2.
Bensalem (52) – Neel Patel 15, Nick Mulvey 12, Rich Dean 6, Avery Nyekan 6, Kevin Wade 7, Keith Howard 6.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 48, NESHAMINY 33
The Indians opened up a 9-4 lead after one quarter and extended that to 22-11 by halftime. Riley Thompson, who finished with a game-high 20 points, accounted for 10 of his team’s first-half points while Will Desautelle had six.
The Indians blew the game wide open with a 21-point third quarter that featured four three-pointers. Thompson had a pair of three’s and scored 10 points in the quarter. Drew Glenn and Matt Margolis also each had a three. The Indians took a 43-18 lead into a fourth quarter that saw the Redskins close out the game with a 15-5 run.
Zach Treadway – who connected on a pair of three-pointers – scored 11 of his team-high 14 points in the fourth quarter.
Also for the Indians, Desautelle finished with eight points and Margolis had seven.
The Indians are 8-4 in league play and have clinched third place in the conference. They are 13-7 overall. The Redskins are 1-11 in the league (4-13 overall).
Council Rock North 9-13-21-5 48
Neshaminy 4-7-7-15 33
Council Rock North (48) – Riley Thompson 20, Drew Glenn 3, Matt Margolis 7, Steve Nowmos 5, Noah Ehlin 2, Will Desautelle 8, Matt Baniewicz 3.
Neshaminy (33) – Eric Rotteveel 1, Cole Housel 2, Billy warren 2, Francis Robles 2, Justin Kimber 3, Zach Treadway 14, Jack Spingler 2, Eric Altiere 2, Charles dominick 2, Chris Arcidiacono 3.
ABINGTON 56, CENTRAL 38
Girls
ABINGTON 58, CHELTENHAM 52
The Ghosts survived a strong start and an equally impressive finish by the Lady Panthers to earn a hard fought win in Saturday’s battle of neighboring rivals that saw both teams struggle with foul woes.
“I honestly think we needed this,” coach Dan Marsh said. “I think we needed to get tested, we needed to persevere. I was very happy the way we played the end of the first, the second and third quarters. I felt like we played really well, and that’s the team we normally are.
“Cheltenham is a dangerous team. When you have a kid like (Ashley) Jones and the athleticism they do, they can storm back, and they did, but we held on.”
There was nothing to suggest Saturday’s game would be close when the Ghosts – after erasing an early Cheltenham lead – used to a 14-2 second quarter to go into halftime with a 27-17 lead. That lead ballooned to 38-20, but just as quickly as they’d slipped out of the game, the Lady Panthers battled their way back into it.
“They were calling a lot of fouls,” Marsh said. “They had their two best players foul out, and we had our two best players foul out.
“I’m glad we won, but I’m also glad we had to persevere and hang on because it’s been a really weird season for us. We haven’t had a lot of close games.”
The Lady Panthers sprinted out of the gate to an early lead. Using six points from Amarri Trueheart, five from Ashley Jones and four from Gabriele Wright, they led 15-13 after one quarter. They increased that lead to 17-13 after Jones buried a short jumper one minute into the second quarter.
That basket, however, marked the last field goal they would score until midway through the third quarter. By that time, the Ghosts led 38-20 with Deja Rawls capping their remarkable 25-3 run with a driving bucket.
Sophomore Liz O’Leary, who finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks, was all but unstoppable in that stretch. She scored 13 of her points in the second and third quarters, benefitting from pretty feeds from Rawls (10 points, seven assists), Sammy Lochner and Gabby Nolan.
“Obviously, O’Leary in the second and third quarters killed us, and I knew that she was their bread and butter,” Cheltenham coach Brendan Nolan said. “I knew she was going to hurt us. I thought we defended her well in the first quarter, but she was doing such a nice job of sealing and getting position.
“Nashira Brown was fighting as much as she could. I think you just have to give Liz credit. She just did a nice job down there. She makes her free throws. Their other girls – Nolan and Lochner – had 12 and 11, and you don’t even notice them out there. Then you realize they’re hurting you. They’re very balanced.”
Nolan scored 12 points while Lochner added 11. Each had one three-pointer. Leah Simmons added seven.
“Gabby leads our team in assists,” Marsh said. “She is such a good passer and penetrator, and teams are starting to play off her because they want her to shoot, and she can shoot too.”
During the Ghosts’ big run, Rawls did a masterful job of defending Jones.
“The first three quarters I thought we did a really good job against (Jones),” Marsh said. “I thought Deja did a great job against a very good basketball player. Jones is very, very good. She’s tough to guard because she uses her body so well.
“She creates contact, and that’s why she goes to the line so much.”
Jones may have been silent for a while, but the sophomore star erupted for 21 second-half points and was the driving force in a 30-15 Cheltenham run to trim a once 18-point deficit to three (53-50) with 2:31 remaining. They had a chance to get even closer but couldn’t convert a pair from the foul line.
“I felt like we were in it,” said Nolan, who had already lost point guard Amarri Trueheart to fouls. “We started pressing in the second half, which we had done lately.
“We’re a team that needs to score to keep it going, and when we got through that stretch where we’re not scoring, we can’t put any kind of press on. It’s almost like the script completely flipped. Early in the game, they weren’t scoring. We were getting the rebounds, getting out in transition. Then it just kind of turned. They’re a little more suited to a half court game with their bigs.
“We go through stretches where we get away from what we’re good at and we get out of rhythm. I said to the girls – the answers are going to come from within. It’s a lesson we need to learn, and we need to learn it fast that teams win championships. That’s why you play games like this. Hopefully, in a week or so, we can respond as winners respond and learn from it and not repeat the same mistakes when our season is on the line.”
While O’Leary and Rawls both fouled out for the Ghosts, Trueheart and Jones fouled out for the Panthers. Both Rawls and Trueheart fouled out with plenty of time still on the clock.
“We had to play differently (because of foul trouble),” Marsh said. “We actually played a little zone, and that’s when they made their run.
“I was really just trying to survive at that point. They were calling such a tight game that we had to go to a zone, and it hurt us. They caught up quickly.
“Lizzie (O’Leary) had four fouls, Deja (Rawls) had four fouls, Sammy (Lochner) had four fouls and (Leah) Simmons had three fouls, so at that point we’re just trying to hang on. Ashley Jones got hot and hit a couple of three’s, and number five (Monet McGorda) hit a three. They actually cut it to three at one point, but we held on.”
Jones led all scorers with 28, which included a 10-of-11 effort at the foul line. Trueheart finished with 12 while McGorda and Gabrielle Wright both had six on a day that saw just four players contribute scoring.
The Ghosts upped their record to 17-3 (12-0 SOL) while the Lady Panthers are 14-5 overall (9-2 SOL).
Abington 13-14-19-12 58
Cheltenham 15-2-16-19 52
Abington (58) – Gabby Nolan 4 3-5 12; Sammy Lochner 4 2-2 11; Liz O’Leary 4 7-8 15; Bre Bermel 1 0-0 2; Deja Rawls 2 6-10 10; Brittany James 1; Leah Simmons 2 3-4 7.
Cheltenham (52) – Ashley Jones 28, Monet McGorda 6, Amarri Trueheart 12; Gabrielle Wright 6.
BENSALEM 67, HARRY S TRUMAN 47
Lyric Lewis keeps rewriting the record books at Bensalem. Last year, she broke the program’s single game record with 42 points. On Saturday, in the opening game of a girls/boys doubleheader, Lewis did one better – scoring 43 points to break her own mark.
“She played well,” coach Don Bogan said. “I really didn’t think she had that many. It was a quiet 43.”
Making it seem like a ‘quiet’ 43 was the fact that Lewis scored over half of her points at the foul line, finishing the day 24-for-31. She had one three-pointer and eight two-point field goals. She did most of her damage in the second and fourth quarters.
In the second quarter, Lewis accounted for 18 of her team’s 21 points as the Owls turned an 8-3 lead after one quarter into a 29-17 halftime lead. In a 24-point fourth quarter, she scored 14 points. Lewis had just five field goals in the second and fourth quarters combined.
“Lyric is averaging 16 points a game, and the next closest person is eight, and that’s a big part of our program,” Bogan said. “We just weren’t getting enough scoring from our other players. Lyric sees a lot of double teams – they have her double teamed almost the whole game.
“She’s hanging in there and keeping a positive attitude, and that’s all I can ask.”
Samantha Werth added 13 points while Taylor Ferris added five points to go along with a team-high 12 rebounds.
“She really picked her game up big time,” Bogan said. “Julia Rymarchuk only had two points, but she is one of our best defenders, and she guarded their point guard and did a very good job against her.”
Senior Nicole Wajda also had a big day under the basket, contributing 10 rebounds and five blocked shots to go along with four points.
“She really played well off the bench,” Bogan said. “She’s coming off ACL surgery, and this is the best game she’s had all year. She tore her ACL last year and didn’t play at all. She just started playing well the last two or three games.
“She really helped us a lot today. I was really counting on her a lot last year because I didn’t have any bigs. This year I was counting on her, and tonight she really played well. She really did a good job for us.”
The win was the Owls first since Dec. 19, snapping an 11-game losing streak.
“We haven’t played well since Christmas as a team,” Bogan said. “I’m trying to get some continuity together.
“You get disgruntled when you’re not winning. We lost to Abington on Wednesday, and on Friday, I had individual conferences with some of the girls. It was interesting because I think we just needed to go back and have fun. I said to the girls, ‘Let’s just have fun.’
“Yesterday’s practice was just a fun practice. Today, we said we’re going to have fun. We did a couple of basic things. I didn’t press at all – we played half court defense, and they just had fun. I think they all got a little tight with each other because we weren’t scoring a lot. Lyric was scoring, but the rest of the girls were not. They just went out and had a good time. The next three games, I’m going to take the same approach – go out and have a good time and do the best you can.
“I think what they were doing they were getting tight because they wanted to win so much, and you have to have fun.”
Darnella McMillan led the Tigers with 16 points while Daeja Moore had 10.
The win was the first in league play for the Owls. Both teams are 1-11 in the league while the Tigers are 6-14 overall and the Owls are 4-15.
“Today was a good sign,” Bogan said. “We really played well, and I think they’re starting to like each other again.
“For a while there, I didn’t think they liked each other. They come to practice every day. They work hard.”
Harry S Truman (47) – Darnella McMillan 16, Daeja Moore 10, Alexis Bookard 1, Jayda Campbell 4, Jasmyn Wilson 5, Tykira Rogers 6, Sabria Lytes 3, Rickea Boyd 2.
Bensalem (67) – Samantha Werth 13, Taylor Ferris 5; Julia Rymarchuk 2. Nicole Wajda 4.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 57, NESHAMINY 48
The Indians came up with their second big win in less than 24 hours, knocking off the Redskins on their home court and solidifying their stronghold on second place in the conference standings. With the win, the Indians hold a two-game lead over the Redskins.
Starring for the Indians on Saturday was senior Madison Attanasio, who recently returned to the lineup after being sidelined a good portion of the season. The senior guard/forward led the Indians with 16 points, which included a near-perfect 8-for-9 effort at the foul line. The Indians buried 29-of-32 foul shots. Attanasio also had two rebounds, two steals and one assist.
Jessica Gerber (13 points) and Becca Margolis (11 points) also came up big offensively. Gerber added four rebounds and one assist. Michaela Finneyfrock owned the paint, pulling down 10 rebounds to go along with nine points, two steals and one assist.
Emily Mackin added four rebounds, two blocks and two points, and Hailey Burns had four rebounds, two steals, one assist and two points.
The outcome of this one wasn’t decided until the fourth quarter as the Redskins came out of the gate strong. They led 13-12 after one quarter and took a 24-21 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Indians came to life offensively, scoring 18 points in both the third and fourth quarters. They led 39-37 heading into the final frame when they outscored the Redskins 18-11.
With the win, the Indians improved to 10-2 in league play (14-5 overall) while the Redskins are 8-4 in the league (13-6 overall).
Council Rock North 12-9-18-18 57
Neshaminy 13-11-13-11 48
Council Rock North (57) – Becca Margolis 11, Jessica Gerber 13, Michaela Finneyfrock 9, Madison Attanasio 16, Samantha Saifer 2, Emily Mackin 2, Mackenzie Tinner 2, Hailey Burns 2.
Neshaminy (48) – Morgan Goldenbaum 17, Thyra Tuttle 2, Emily Alexis 6, Tiara Porterfield 10, Josafinne McIlwaine 2, Maddie Murray 2, Devon Storms 9.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 52, UPPER MORELAND 21
The Hatters opened up a 13-3 lead after one quarter and extended that lead to 26-14 by halftime. They outscored the Golden Bears 26-10 in the second half.
Julia Thornton’s 16-point effort led the Hatters (6-14, 1-11 SOL). Cassidy Quattro added nine points, Hannah Mallon contributed eight points while Bergen Sims had seven.
Noelle Woodman scored seven points to lead the Golden Bears (1-18, 0-12).
Hatboro-Horsham 13-13-12-14 52
Upper Moreland 3-11-7-3 21
Hatboro-Horsham (52) – Rachel Helton 4, Bergen Sims 7, Haley Seifert 3, Amanda Brett 5, Hannah Mallon 8, Julia Thornton 16, Cassidy Quattro 9.
Upper Moreland (21) – Julia Gatto 4, Emily Zanine 4, Noelle Woodman 7, Green 1, Kim Benge 3, Maddie Pisut 2.
MARPLE NEWTOWN 51, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 47
The Colonials led 13-10 after one quarter and took a 23-19 lead into halftime, but the third quarter belonged to Marple Newtown, which outscored PW 18-10.
“Marple capitalized off some PW turnovers in the third quarter,” said coach Daniel Dougherty, whose team trailed 37-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Alynna Williams, who led all scorers with 22 points, scored 14 of her team’s 16 points in the fourth quarter, trimming Marple’s lead to 50-47. A three-point shot with 22 seconds remaining fell short.
Marple connected on one-of-two from the foul line to go on top by four, and the Colonials’ last-second shots didn’t fall.
Freshman Taylor O’Brien added 10 points while Lauren Coscia added seven.
The Colonials are 12-8 overall (8-4 SOL).
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13-10-8-16 47
Marple Newtown 10-9-18-14 51
Plymouth Whitemarsh (51) – Taylor O’Brien 10, Alynna Williams 22, Khadijah Hickson 5, Lauren Coscia 7, Ali Diamond 2, Laurel Suchsland 1.
Marple Newtown (47) – Power 20, Hamilton 9, Smythe 14, Collins 2, Lynch 2, Young 4.
NORRISTOWN 34, PENNSBURY 28
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