Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Monday.
By Jarrad Saffren
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. The last week, when boys basketball teams play holiday tournaments. Twelve Suburban One League teams played in holiday tournament games Monday night. Two played each other, making 11 games in all. The results and recaps are below.
Upper Moreland 63, Franklin Towne Charter 33
Upper Moreland won its fifth straight game and continued to establish its identity.
The Golden Bears drained 10 threes, forced 22 turnovers, and suffocated Franklin Towne into shooting 22-percent from the field.
The threes are nothing new. UM has made 10 or more in five games this season. On Monday, the usual suspects came through. Leading scorer Damian Washington buried three treys and finished with a game-high 17 points. Casey Decker also hit three threes, ending with 11 points.
Brett Brossman knocked down two treys and scored eight points. Brendan O’Donnell and Ryan Coyle each made one three. Washington and Decker said Upper Moreland created open looks.
“Drive and kick,” said Decker. “Brought two defenders in, kick it out.”
“Just penetration,” added Washington. “If our guards get into the lane and kick out, we got open shots all day.”
UM coach Matt Heiland said his team benefitted from Franklin Towne’s 1-3-1 zone.
“Two of Casey’s threes came from the corner,” said Heiland. “If you play a 1-3-1 that’s where open shots are gonna be.”
Upper Moreland led 15-0 after one quarter and 37-18 after two. Franklin Towne switched to a man-to-man defense in the second half but it didn’t work.
“I prefer man,” said Washington. “We like man because we run a lot of off-ball screens for the shooters.”
Franklin Towne never got closer than 19 after halftime, thanks to UM’s defense, the other element of its burgeoning identity. The Golden Bears stifled Franklin Towne with their 2-3 zone, occasionally switching to a 2-2-1 and extending the defense to half-court.
Franklin Towne was forced to settle for long three-point attempts. In the first and third quarters, Franklin Towne had almost as many turnovers as shot attempts. The splits were seven and 10 in the first, and seven and 13 in the third.
Thirteen of Franklin Towne’s 33 points and four of its 11 field goals came during a four-minute stretch in the second quarter.
“To be honest, in the second quarter we got a little lazy,” said Heiland. “We came out with low hands and allowed some open jump shots, but for the most part we had good rotations in our zone. We kept them off guard with our 2-2-1 half-court trap.”
Upper Moreland (7-2, 3-1 SOL) will play Jenkintown in the championship of the Robert Hopf Memorial Basketball Tournament Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
Heiland was not too worried about Franklin Towne. But he is more worried about Jenkintown.
“I think we’ll be okay today,” the Bears’ coach said before Monday’s game. “If we win, Jenkintown will be a tough game.”
Upper Moreland 15-22-16-10 63
Franklin Towne Charter 0-18-10-5 33
Upper Moreland: Brendan O’Donnell 7, Damian Washington 17, Derick White 2, Ryan Coyle 5, Casey Decker 11, Brett Brossman 8, Mike Lyons 6, Shane Stone 6, Jake Villanueva 1.
Franklin Towne Charter: Basket 3, Kahlert 2, Anderson 11, Gilborges 3, Lugo 3, Diaz 4, Heine 7.
Cheltenham 70, West Chester Henderson 35
Cheltenham started the season 5-0, lost a pair of games, and has now won two straight.
Just like last Tuesday (a 64-49 win over Norristown), Cheltenham raced to a big lead and never looked back. The Panthers led 17-2 after one quarter and won the last three quarters as well.
"What we try to do is get out in the first quarter and establish our defense, and we were able to get that done," said Cheltenham coach John Timms. "That generally gets us started. It's important for us to have a good defensive first quarter.”
Cheltenham pulled away in the third quarter behind Khalil White, who scored 11 of his 16 points in the third. Trevonn Pitts complemented White with 10 points. Pitts also grabbed 14 rebounds, seven offensive. Anthony White snagged 10 rebounds to go with four points.
Justin Sutton added eight and Maurice Valentine and Blair Brown scored seven each. Twelve Panthers players scored in all.
Timms was happy that his team came out ready to play.
"Given West Chester Henderson's record (1-8 coming into the game), I didn't know how we would play,” he said. “I was excited that we didn't play down. We brought energy and energized the gym for the most part. I was definitely pleased with the way we came out.”
Cheltenham (7-2, 4-0 SOL) will play the winner of the Penncrest/Calvary Christian contest in the title game of the Penncrest Holiday Tournament Tuesday night.
Cheltenham 17-12-25-16 70
West Chester Henderson 2-10-11-12 35
Cheltenham: Khalil White 16, Anthony White 4, Maurice Valentine 7, Trevonn Pitts 10, Justin Sutton 8, Brendan Mack 6, Blair Brown 7, Amir Lewis 2, Jack Clark 3, Rodney Carson 2, Miles Holland 2, Ahmad Bickley 4.
WC Henderson: Austin Coles 2, Jack Saulino 1, Nassem Burke 1, Archer Rymiszewski 3, Tommy Blackwell 6, Matt Dinacci 4, Adrien Piel 16, Cowfield 2
Quakertown 54, Lincoln 38
Griffin Schmidt and defense. It was a winning formula for Quakertown, who won for just the second time in six games.
Schmidt dropped 29 to lead all scorers, including 11 in the first quarter. He also crossed the 1,000-point plateau, reaching 1,025.
“He’s not super-athletic and doesn’t jump over people,” said Quakertown coach Kevin Keeler. “He’s very smart, very crafty. He’s got that lefthand thing going. His outside shot is very good. He’s also lot stronger from when he started and can bull his way to the basket.”
Keeler has coached Quakertown for 33 years. Schmidt is just the fourth Panthers player to score 1,000 career points during that span.
Quakertown’s defense did the rest, holding every Lincoln player to single-digit point totals. The Panthers led 9-1 after one quarter and 26-9 by halftime.
“We played great D,” said Keeler. “Got lots of steals and turnovers.”
Keeler was also relieved to win after some tough losses.
“We had Souderton and Hatboro down and didn’t finish,” he said. “Hopefully we get some momentum going into the new year.”
Quakertown (3-6, 0-4 SOL) plays Salisbury Tuesday night in the championship of the Salisbury Christmas Tournament.
Quakertown 9-17-12-16 54
Lincoln 1-8-12-17 38
Quakertown: Ty Harrison 4, JR Grimmage 4, Rob Mestayer 5, Branden Lewis 4, Nick Drosnock 2, Wynder 4, Jesus Collazo 2, Griffin Schmidt 29.
Lincoln Leadership: Farmer 4, Rodriguez 9, Morales 5, Adams 7, Davis 3, Washington 1, Harris 3, Torres 3, Speaks 3.
Central Bucks East 47, Lowell (CA) 37
Tommy Strasburger turned in the kind of performance CB East coach Erik Henrysen had been expecting from his captain.
Strasburger missed most of last season with an ankle injury and started a little slowly in 2015-16. That changed last night. The captain finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five steals.
“Tommy had a game that we’re used to seeing,” Henrysen said. “He’s coming around health-wise. Seeing him get to the rim, that’s definitely going to help us.”
Henrysen, whose team opened a 20-16 halftime lead, was also pleased with the Patriots’ defense.
“They were a team that gets a lot out of dribble penetration. We were able to clog and keep them from getting to the rim,” Henrysen said. “We played man and kept guys in front of us. When they kicked, we did a good job closing out.”
Center Blake Peterson did most of the clogging, racking up six boards and three blocks. Justin O’Neil chipped in offensively with 10 points. Matt Pattyson added eight.
The Patriots (5-3, 1-3 SOL) entered the game having lost three of four. They will try to start a new winning streak Tuesday afternoon in the second round of the winners bracket against Scripps Ranch, the host of the San Diego Surf-N-Slam Tournament.
Central Bucks East 10-10-9-18 47
Lowell (CA) 8-8-7-14 37
Central Bucks East: Tommy Strasburger 19, Matt Pattyson 8, Blake Peterson 2, Justin O’Neil 10, Elijah Seger 1, Chris Reilly 5, Tiemo Fenner 2.
Lowell: Hum 1, Hong 5, Araula 6, Lin 6, Shaikh 6, Gee 3, Finestone 8.
Central Bucks West 48, Montgomery Bell Academy (TN) 40
Defense carried the day for CB West, which won its fourth straight game.
“We kept them off the glass and won the game with defensive rebounding. They did not get many second chances,” said CB West coach Adam Sherman. “We were also able to limit open shot opportunities.”
“Offensively we struggled a little bit.”
Luke Irons led the Bucks with 12 points. Bill Power added 10 and Erich Hohlenleitner had nine.
CB West (7-1, 4-0 SOL) looks like a strong favorite in the SOL Continental, but Sherman is not looking ahead.
“We just want to win the next quarter,” he said.
The next quarter will be against Harding on Tuesday afternoon in a second round game in the Franklin Road Academy Holiday Classic.
“Harding is athletic,” Sherman said.
Central Bucks West 11-9-12-16 48
Montgomery Bell Academy 5-13-9-13 40
Central Bucks West: Luke Irons 12, Cal Reichwein 7, Bill Power 10, Erich Hohlenleitner 9, Connor Lynch 6, Jake Reichwein 4.
Montgomery Bell Academy: Nutter 9, Hornsby 2, Carr 7, Talbott 8, Lee 5, Hoffman 2, Bryan 7.
Pennridge 53, Governor Mifflin 42
Pennridge’s rotation is small but effective. The Rams only go seven deep but everyone contributes.
That was true again in Monday’s semifinal in the Boyertown Christmas Tournament. The scoring was pretty evenly spread. Dan Long and Max Wagner led the way for the seventh time in nine games, scoring 14 and 10, respectively.
Kyle Yoder scored eight, Devon Balmer seven, and Ryan Cuthbert six. Stephen Lowry added five. Ryan Kinky also got on the board.
Despite the continued balance, Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said Monday was not his team’s best game.
“It wasn’t pretty,” the Rams’ coach said. “We turned the ball over more than we are used to. It was just one of those games where we were still in Christmas mode. We better not be tomorrow.”
Pennridge (7-2, 3-1 SOL) battles 9-0 Southern Lehigh Tuesday night in the championship game.
Behrens said Southern Lehigh “was on all cylinders tonight.”
“They are pretty darn good,” he added. “Even their big guys were out in transition tonight. The problem with that is, we like to get out in transition too.”
Pennridge already lost one track meet this year, against Emmaus.
“We scored 75 but we couldn’t stop them,” said Behrens. “We gave up like 34 buckets. Something ridiculous. We had like 12 threes in that game.”
Pennridge 12-12-13-16 53
Governor Mifflin 9-11-10-12 42
Pennridge: Devon Balmer 7, Dan Long 14, Stephen Lowry 5, Ryan Kinky 3, Kyle Yoder 8, Ryan Cuthbert 6, Max Wagner 10
Governor Mifflin: Tisdale 9, Diaz-Cruz 5, Peters 19, Walmer 7, Smith 2.
Hatboro-Horsham 55, Norristown 42
Hatboro-Horsham overcame a six-point deficit after one quarter to win its third straight game.
“It was a good win,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Ed Enoch. “A pretty well-balanced game.”
Enoch singled out one player in particular.
“The big thing was Joe Russell had 17 rebounds. That’s a big, big factor, on both ends of the court,” said Enoch.
Russell grabbed “a couple of real key offensive rebounds when we needed them.”
In the fourth quarter, H-H missed a free throw but Russell snagged the rebound. He kicked the ball out for a three that put the Hatters up seven.
“Joe’s improving. He’s getting better every game,” said Enoch. “He’s really assuming a role.”
Russell also had 11 points and was one of four Hatters in double figures. Brandon Crews (10 points), Clifton Moore (14), and Jay Davis (14) were the others.
Hatboro-Horsham (6-3, 4-0 SOL) plays Father Judge Tuesday night in the Norristown Triangle Club Tournament championship.
“That’s a tough game,” said Enoch. “They are very good. We got to get out on their shooters. They shoot an awful lot of threes. So we gotta identify their shooters.”
Hatboro-Horsham 6-17-9-23 55
Norristown 12-8-11-11 42
Hatboro-Horsham: Zeke Sloan 1, Brandon Crews 10, joe Russell 11, Kyle Katz 3, Clifton Moore 14, Jay Davis 14, Chris Edwards 2.
Norristown: Darryl Carr 13, Roy Green 15, Amir Carter 3, Darius McGowan 4, Tyrique Lyons 7.
Bensalem 69, Bristol 48
Bensalem coach Mike McCabe said the Owls fixed a problem that had cost them in earlier games.
“We got off to a quick start finally, the Owls’ coach said. “At one point it was 24-4. It was about time we had a lead. We are usually playing from behind.”
Defense and Brian Quarterman were responsible for the fast start.
“We came out and pressed full-court,” McCabe said. “We played really well with our press in the beginning.”
Quarterman “came out shooting,” scoring 10 in the first quarter. His teammates did the rest over the last three quarters.
Ward Roberts dropped 21, Richard Dean stroked 13, and Taco Douglas netted 12.
“It was a team effort tonight,” said McCabe.
Bensalem’s defense remained stout even after moving back.
“We defended well in the fourth quarter, only giving up six points,” said McCabe.
“The kids were focused tonight. They played well,” he added.
Bensalem (2-5, 1-3 SOL) plays in the championship of the Dick Dougherty Tournament Tuesday night. The Owls are hosting the tournament.
William Tennent 48, Swenson 32
Three players led the Panthers to their fourth straight win and a berth in the championship of the William Tennent Holiday Classic.
Pat McCauley led all scorers with 18 points.
“He got to the foul line real early,” said Tennent coach Robert Mulville. “He hit a couple threes in the first half and a big three in the fourth.”
The “big three” gave Tennent an insurmountable nine-point lead.
Tennent stole the ball on Swenson’s next possession and John Ryan laid the ball in on the other end. The Panthers led by 11 with four minutes left. Ryan finished with 14 points and four steals. He scored half of those points in the fourth.
“John had a big fourth quarter,” said Mulville. “He got in foul trouble in the third. They were collapsing on him early and he got a little frustrated. But he kept his composure.”
Point guard Anthony Woodard had six assists and six steals. Mulville said he played better as a distributor.
“Anthony was a little sloppy early. He’s trying to grow as a point guard,” the Panthers’ coach said. “We keep encouraging him when he’s not scoring that there’s other things he can do. There were times when he pushed himself to score when Pat was playing well. He did a real good job in the second half looking for Pat and John to get them involved.”
William Tennent (4-5, 2-2 SOL) will play in the championship Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Conestoga 67, Souderton 58
Strong offensive performances from Tracy Simsick and Austin Eberhart were not enough to save Souderton from a loss.
Eberhart had 14 and Simsick scored 12, but their teammates struggled.
The Indians (3-6, 1-3 SOL) take on Church Farm Tuesday at 6 p.m., in a second round game in the First Annual West Chester Rustin Winter Classic.
Church Farm 40, Council Rock South 31
CR South could not get anything going offensively Monday against Church Farm.
Seven of the nine Golden Hawks who played scored four points or less. Three scored zero. Alex Nordenholt led South with 14. Austin Thomas added eight.
Despite their offensive woes, the Golden Hawks’ defense kept them in the game. They led 7-6 after one quarter and took an 18-13 lead into halftime but then scored just five points in the third quarter, falling behind 26-23. CFS closed it out with a 14-8 fourth quarter and outscored the Hawks 27-13 in the second half.
CR South (3-4, 2-2 SOL) plays Harvest Prep Tuesday at 5 p.m., in a second round game in the First Annual West Chester Rustin Winter Classic.
Church Farm 6-7-13-14 40
Council Rock South 7-11-5-8 31
Church Farm: James Lawton 10, Augustus Veniukevicius 7, John Ajak 6, Emmit Jefferies 2, Fred Odhiambo 15.
Council Rock South: Austin Thomas 8, Jim Rebholz 1, Alex Nordenholt 14, Kevin Newbert 3, Ryan McNamee 1, Mike Stock 4.
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