Check out the recaps of Thursday’s game featuring SOL boys’ basketball teams.
12THAnnual Pete & Jameer Nelson Classic
ABINGTON 53, CHESTER 50
Abington junior Robbie Heath joined a pretty select list Thursday night.
He's been part of two wins over one of the state's premier boys' basketball programs in Chester. Just like the first time, in the district tournament two years ago, it was far from easy on the campus of Widener University in the Pete and Jameer Nelson Play-by-Play Classic.
But it was Heath's four foul shots in the final 38 seconds that helped seal up a tense 53-50 win over the Clippers.
"It didn't really faze us," Heath said. "We've played teams like that before, against teams that are going to be up on you like that. We took our time and came out with a W."
Heath scored a game-high 17 points and was named his team's MVP for the game. What made the win so tense was the entire fourth quarter. Abington had a big upper hand for three quarters, leading 20-9 after one, 31-21 at the half and by 14 points, 47-33, at the end of the third frame.
Then, Chester started pressing and Abington got out of sorts enough for the Clippers to chop the lead down. Abington had seven turnovers and didn't make a shot in the last quarter, getting its only scoring in the frame at the foul line.
"We knew they were trying to speed us up, and I thought we handled their pressure pretty well," Ghosts coach Charles Grasty said. "It's just that when good teams like try to speed you up and you're able to break the press, you have a 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 and you take that quick shot. If it doesn't fall, they're right back running their stuff."
Eric Dixon registered a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds while center Joseph O'Brien had seven points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Lucas Monroe scored nine while Rob Young had seven and Eric Dougherty had three for Abington, which only played seven players.
Heath also added six rebounds, six assists and three steals to his solid game and the junior was clutch at the line late, hitting all four of his fourth quarter foul shots.
While the rotation was shortened up, Grasty noted it was still a complete team effort, citing the energy and enthusiasm of the guys on the bench throughout the game.
Teams don't just beat Chester and the Clippers are one of the most athletic and deep teams in the state, so they can send waves of players out to run their pressure defense. Plus, the Clippers are very good at it.
"They're athletic, well-coached and they play hard," Grasty said. "That's what they like to do – they like to speed you up and get into their press. It caused us to turn it over more than we normally do, but that's a credit to the Chester program."
Young had a crucial foul shot in the fourth, putting Abington up 51-47 and letting the Ghosts keep the lead after Chester hit a three with 9.7 seconds left, just before Heath was fouled to put his team back up by three with 3.4 left on the clock.
The Ghosts shot 13-for-26 in a first half and 19-for-42 for the game. They turned the ball over only once in the opening half.
Both teams return to Widener Friday, with Chester facing Pennsbury at 7 p.m. and Abington facing Neumann-Goretti out of the Philadelphia Catholic League. Neumann-Goretti is led by Kentucky recruit Quade Green and has won the last three 3A state titles.
"Coach puts us in these games to put our name out there and go against tougher competition to help us in the playoffs," Heath said. "Doing that, it just helps us even more."
Abington 20-11-16-6 53
Chester 9-12-12-17 50
Abington (53) – Eric Dixon 10, Robbie Heath 17, Joseph O’Brien 7, Lucas Monroe 9, Robert Young 7, Eric Dougherty 3.
Chester (50) – Ahrod Carter 11, Jammier Springfield 2, Brian Randolph III 8, Jamar Sudan 13, Jordan Camper 14
PENNSBURY 62, CHELTENHAM 53
Sparked by a standout defensive effort, the Falcons took an early lead and maintained it the rest of the way to earn the important win in the Thursday’s opening game at Widener University.
It marked the beginning of a tough 10-day stretch that coach Bill Coleman hopes will go a long way toward preparing the Falcons for a long playoff run.
“This stretch of games for us – I don’t know why I did it – is crazy,” Coleman said. “We have Cheltenham today, Chester tomorrow and CR South on Tuesday, CR North on Thursday and Constitution on Friday.
“To start that stretch of games with a ‘W’ against a very scrappy Cheltenham team was big. Usually effort doesn’t show up on film, but with these guys it does.”
The Falcons set the tone defensively in the first quarter, limiting the Panthers to just seven points while opening up a 12-7 lead.
“We did a very good job of keeping their guys in front of us and forcing them to take contested jump shots, which was part of the game plan,” Coleman said. “We didn’t do that good of a job on (Trevonn) Pitts – he still had 19 and 16, but for the most part, we were able to do what we wanted to do and kept them out of the paint.”
For the Panthers, according to their coach, it was their second slow start in as many games.
“The one thing I was concerned with coming into the season was our youth and our lack of experience, and how that usually shows its face is through turnovers,” John Timms said. “When you turn the ball over, unless you’re creating turnovers yourself or getting offensive rebounds, you’re losing the possession battle. Early on, we couldn’t get second shots with 6-8 Mark Flagg and the other big guys they have, so we couldn’t afford to turn the ball over, but that’s what happened.
“We like the fast-paced game, and we actually got the shots we wanted. We just missed early, and not being able to get second chance points hurt.”
The Falcons took a 27-18 lead into halftime and upped their advantage to 46-32 heading into the final quarter when the Panthers staged a late-game rally.
“We left our foot off the gas a little,” Coleman said.
Flagg – a defensive force in the paint all game – fouled out with the Falcons leading by just four points in the fourth quarter (48-44). Instead of folding, the Falcons added to their lead.
“We got some big plays from our bench guys,” Coleman said. “Joey Monaghan doesn’t start, but he was huge for us.”
Monaghan contributed nine points off the bench.
The Panthers, according to Timms, also may have been in awe of the setting as well as their opponent.
“For our guys being young and being on this stage at Widener University – being on a college court, I think we had to warm up to all that and realize it’s still a basketball court,” Timms said. “We were in awe of 6-8, 6-7. Looking at those guys in warm-ups, I was like, ‘Wow, this is a big high school team.’ We got off to a slow start, and Pennsbury is a well-balanced team.
“What they did was they pressed us and got us out of our offensive rhythm, so we weren’t really able to get into offensive sets because they extended their defense. I thought that was a great coaching move on our behalf to extend their defense.
“Last year’s team had an acronym called ICE – intensity, communication and energy. We didn’t have the proper intensity to start the game, we didn’t communicate on defense, and we lacked the energy it takes to beat a team like Pennsbury. You have to really play well to beat Pennsbury. We played good. We just didn’t play well in long enough stretches. We had too many bad stretches to beat a team like Pennsbury.”
Addison Howard led the Falcons with 17 points while Flagg had 13. For the Panthers, Pitts led the way with 19 points. Ahmad Bickley added 12, and Tim Spencer, nine points. Rodney Carson had six.
Pennsbury will return to Widener University on Friday for a 7 p.m. matchup against Chester while Cheltenham (4-2, 3-0 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Tuesday.
Cheltenham 7-11-14-21 53
Pennsbury 12-15-19-16 62
Cheltenham (53) – Trevonn Pitts 19, Ahmad Bickley 12, Jack Clark 2, Tim Spencer 9, Tim Myarick 5, Rodney Carson 6.
Pennsbury (62) – Addison Howard 17, Vaughn Ward 5, Gary Francis 5, Mark Flagg 13, Josh Arruda 4, Billy Warren 4, Tyler Sessa-Reeves 5, Joey Monaghan 9.
Palm Beaches National Basketball Classic
DWYER (Fla.) 66, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 53
Coach Jim Donofrio knew a talented Dwyer squad would pose a difficult challenge, and although the Colonials hung tough, they never could get over the hump after falling behind early.
“We faced a team very similar to us,” Donofrio said. “Dwyer is a very proud school, very athletic and guys who are football and basketball guys. They’re seriously athletic football guys who are wide receiver, running back guys.”
The Colonials found themselves staring at a 15-5 deficit after one quarter, but the score doesn’t tell the whole story.
“We played a very good first quarter, but we had trouble making shots,” Donofrio said. “For all we did right, we couldn’t score.”
By halftime, PW had trimmed Dwyer’s lead to five (28-23) and still remained within striking distance in the game’s closing minutes.
“With three minutes to go in the game, it’s 52-47, and we have the ball in our hands twice in a row,” Donofrio said. “I told the guys, ‘Out of 32 minutes, we played 11 minutes really, really well as far as the energy needed for that game.’ You come to a tournament like this with a bit of a risk to really, really test yourself and that is what that was.
“Hopefully, this is very good for us in the future because it’s a standard we almost figured out. The kids aren’t happy, and that’s what you want. If you were to win them all, I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”
Donofrio lauded the play of several players.
“Ahmin Williams literally took over the game during the fullcourt barrage and was just brilliant,” the Colonials’ coach said. “A lot of kids contributed. Devon Lawrence contributed when he had a chance.
“We played some interesting combinations. It’s kind of humbling for some of the starters. It’s that time of year where some of those who were starting have to raise their game on the offensive end because there are people on the bench who can make shots, so we’re going to create a little inter-squad competition right now. You’re in there for a reason – don’t assume you’ll own it.”
Ahmin Williams led the Colonials with 15 while Lawrence added 10. Naheem McLeod added seven and Ahmad Williams, six points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-1, 2-0 SOL) is back on the court on Friday at 2 p.m. when the Colonials will take on a Southwest Atlanta Christian squad that is led by Florida commit DeAundrae Ballard, a 6-6 forward.
“It’s a very tough tournament – three games in a row the way we play with the up-tempo stuff is a challenge, so I hope we’re in the right frame of mind,” Donofrio said.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-18-9-21 53
Dwyer 15-13-19-19 66
Plymouth Whitemarsh (53) – Ish Horn 5, Kevin Tilghman 7, Naheem McLeod 7, Danny Cooper 3, Ahmin Williams 15, Cheo Houston 3, Ahman Williams 6, Jason Paul 3, Devon Lawrence 10.
Dwyer (66) – Luke 17, Anders 3, Quince 7, Evans 13, Ged. Germinial 4, Get. Germinial 4, Williams 2, Ingrahm 5, Goulbourne 2, Davis 9.
Athletes Helping Athletes Tournament
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 46, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 23
The Patriots won every quarter of Thursday’s contest against the Indians, opening up a 10-6 lead after one quarter and outscoring their hosts 11-3 in the second to go into halftime with a 21-9 advantage.
Junior Collin Stein led a balanced Patriot attack with 15 points. Elijah Seger notched a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Matt Pattyson filled the stat sheet with nine points, seven assists and 10 rebounds. Cooper Fink added seven points.
Central Bucks East (5-4, 1-2 SOL) will host William Tennent on Tuesday, and Council Rock North (3-8, 0-3) will host Neshaminy Tuesday.
Central Bucks East (46) – Matt Pattyson 9, Elijah Seger 10, Cooper Fink 7, Collin Stein 15, Nick Roggio 2, Ryan Callaghan 1.
Council Rock North (23) – Tyan Costello 1, Eric Levine 4, Drew Burton 2, James Kosyla 4, Noah Ehlin 9, Angad Ahluwalia 2.
HAVERFORD 63, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 58
The Fords raced out to a 25-11 lead after one quarter, and the Titans, who trailed 33-23 at halftime, spent the rest of the game playing catch up. They closed out the game with a 21-point fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough.
The Titans were led by the 16-point efforts of Alex Karras and Nate Robinson. Andrew Dietz also finished in double figures with 10 points.
Central Bucks South (3-5, 2-1 SOL) will host Bensalem in a non-league game on Tuesday.
Central Bucks South 11-12-14-21 58
Haverford 25-9-13-16 63
George Long Holiday Hoops Tournament
CHANTILLY (Va.) 51, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 48
The Bucks fell behind 13-4 after one quarter but erased that deficit with a 20-7 second quarter surge to go into halftime with a 24-20 lead. They still led by two heading into the final quarter when Chantilly closed out the game with a 23-14 tear.
Collin MacAdams, who led the Bucks with 18 points, was named to the all-tournament team. He averaged 19.3 points a game over the three-game tournament.
Jake Reichwein added 13 points while Shane McCusker had nine and Jack Mulhearn added six.
Central Bucks West (4-4, 2-1 SOL) will resume league play on Tuesday when the Bucks host Pennridge.
Central Bucks West 4-20-10-14 48
Chantilly 13-7-8-23 51
Central Bucks West (48) – Shane McCusker 9, Liam Cooney 2, Collin MacAdams 18, Jack Mulhearn 6, Jake Reichwein 13.
Chantilly (51) – McHugh 16, Caslauka 6, Carmichael 8, Parana 10, Nas 2, Ford 7, Chudasama 2.
Boyertown Hoiday Tournament
GOVERNOR MIFFLIN 63, PENNRIDGE 53
The Rams found themselves trailing 15-8 after one quarter but outscored the Mustangs 13-7 in the second quarter to make it a 22-21 game at the intermission. Governor Mifflin looked the part of the undefeated squad it is in the third quarter, turning on the afterburners and outscoring the Rams 24-14 to stretch their lead to 11 on their way to the win in Thursday’s title game.
Once again, the Rams were led by the Yoder brothers with Sean scoring a team high 19 while Kyle added 18, which included an 8-for-9 effort at the charity stripe. Mike Molettiere added eight points.
Pennridge (4-5, 1-2 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Tuesday.
Pennridge 8-13-14-14 53
Governor Mifflin 15-7-24-17 63
Pennridge (53) – Sean Yoder 19, Ryan Kinky 2, Kyle Yoder 18, Tyrese Lewis-Eutsey 2, Jon Post 4, Mike Molettiere 8.
Governor Mifflin (63) – Mojica 4, Tisdale 7, Patton 1, Bubba Peters 18, Wamer 11, Shepard 14, Harmon 3, Klahr 6.
Jack Schott Holiday Tournament
LINCOLN 60, HARRY S TRUMAN 49
The Tigers fell to a strong Lincoln squad in Thursday’s title game.
Harry S Truman (5-2, 1-1 SOL) will be on the road at Abington on Tuesday.
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