Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday.
QUAKERTOWN 67, PENNRIDGE 34
On Feb. 2, 2010, Quakertown defeated Pennridge 59-48. It was the last time the Panthers walked off the court winners in the battle of neighboring rivals.
Until, that is, Saturday night when the Panthers turned in a gem that brought an emphatic end to that string of losses.
“It was probably one of the best total games this program has put together in a couple of years,” coach Kevin Keeler said. “From start to finish, it was a great win.”
In front of all full house, the Panthers put on a defensive clinic, limiting the visiting Rams to a season low 34 points.
“Forty-four was the least points they scored all year,” Keeler said. “We’ve played some really good defense.
“We held Hatboro to 46 points, and we actually played Plymouth Whitemarsh tough for a while. Our defense, at times, has been unbelievable, and tonight we just played four great quarters. I was very proud of the boys.”
The Panthers’ defensive strategy was simple.
“We decided to go after their point guard, Sean Yoder – he just sort of runs the show for them,” Keeler said. “We started off with Jash Rodriguez, who in the box score didn’t score a point, but it shows you that you don’t have to score points to have an effect.
“He picked him up full court and worked him, and I think (Yoder) got a little frustrated. Then we brought in Kevin Juszynski, and that set the tone, and we just shot the ball really good on offense too.”
The Panthers led 15-10 after one quarter and then seized control with a 17-6 second quarter to go into halftime with a 32-16 lead.
“We sort of ran a delay and made them chase us a little bit,” Keeler said. “They came in with a better record, and they’ve stomped us for the last six years.
“Dean (Behrens) does a great job, they run a great program. They’re playing solid, and we’ve been struggling. The kids were hungry.”
While Rodriguez and Juszynski were leading the defense, Nick Drosnock was on an offensive tear, burying six three-pointers and finishing with a game-high 23 points.
“Nick Drosnock must have been 6-for-7 from threes,” Keeler said. “Ryan Howard had three threes.
“It was a total team (effort). As a coach, you sit back and say, ‘That’s what I teach at practice.’ These are things we teach, and it’s nice to see them accomplished on the court. It was a great overall win – offense, defense, everything.”
The Panthers, who took a 50-38 lead into the final quarter, put an exclamation point on the win with a 17-4 fourth quarter tear.
“It was a big house, as always,” Keeler said. “I saw a lot of old players there. It felt good. We have a lot of respect for Dean (Behrens) and Pennridge, so that was a nice win.”
While Drosnock led the Panthers, JR Grimmage added 17 points and Ryan Howard had 12 in a contest that saw the Panthers bury 10 three-pointers.
Sean Yoder led the Rams with 11 points while Tyler Lewis-Eutsey had eight and Kyle Yoder, six points.
Interestingly, Keeler coached the father of Kyle and Sean Yoder – Dave Yoder – in the Keystone Games in 1981.
Quakertown (5-13, 3-7 SOL) will host Springfield Township on Tuesday, and Pennridge (9-10, 4-6 SOL) will travel to William Tennent.
Pennridge 10-6-12-4 34
Quakertown 15-17-18-17 67
Pennridge (34) – Sean Yoder 2 6-8 11; Ryan Kinky 1 2-2 4; Kyle Yoder 2 2-2 6; Tyler Lewis-Eutsey 3 2-2 8; Ryan Cuthbert 1 0-0 3; Jon Post 1 0-0 2; Totals 10-12-14 34.
Ryan 4 1-1 12; Kevin Drosnock 7 3-4 23; Dakota Suchanec 2 2-2 6; Kevin Juszynski 1 0-0 2; JR Grimmage 8 1-2 17; Grey Mitchell 1 2-2 5; Eli Ortiz 1 0-0 2; Totals 24 9-11 67.
UPPER MORELAND 69, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 63
Matt Heiland knew his team would be in for a battle when it faced a red hot Titan squad that boasted a six-game winning streak.
“You see records of opponents,” the Golden Bears’ coach said. “Three weeks ago CB South was 3-9, and the next thing you know they’re 9-9 and coming off a six-game winning streak.
“You look at some of the teams they beat – they beat Pennridge by 14, they beat a really good CB West team by eight, they beat CB East, and you’re like, ‘These guys are good. They’re playing a good brand of basketball.’
“Jason (Campbell) is a great coach. They do their homework, and they know exactly what we’re going to do. I told the guys before the game, ‘This is not going to be about x’s and o’s, this is going to be about which guys have the intensity, the focus and the energy for a Saturday noon game after playing on Friday night.’ You know what, the guys responded.”
The Golden Bears sprinted out of the gate to a 17-7 lead after one quarter and took a 28-19 lead into halftime.
“(Damian) Washington hit a three right off the bat to put us up 3-0, and we never trailed the whole game,” Heiland said. “We got off to a real good start.
“We knew it was going to be a battle, and we said, ‘We just have to win the second half and we win.’”
Foul calls played a major role in a second half that saw the Golden Bears outscore the Titans 53-44, although the Titans did answer with a run after coach Jason Campbell was ejected for drawing his second technical.
“It was bizarre – we were up 11, 12 or 13 when all that happened,” Heiland said. “It was the ninth team foul for them, which turned into the 10th with the technical.
“We had Washington at the line for his two-shot foul, and he missed both. I kept him on the line for the first technical, and he went 1-of-2. Then I put (Ryan) Coyle on the line, and he went 1-of-2. It was weird because that kind of changed the momentum in favor of them.
“I feel like if we had knocked down those six foul shots, we could have really put a stamp on the game, but I feel like going 2-of-6 kind of gave them a little bit more life, and obviously, they wanted to play hard for their coach, who they respect a lot. They really fought, they battled, and the good thing for us was they were in the penalty that early.
“We were shooting foul shots for most of the second half. The refs kind of tightened the game down. It was a physical game on both aspects. They started pressuring us. They have a hard 1-3-1 to beat because they do have some length and some speed. If you settle for threes, you’re in trouble. Next thing you know, we settled for quick three after quick three, and 14 goes to 10. All of a sudden, we’re making one-of-two foul shots, and they’re making layups.”
The Golden Bears knocked down their foul shots and made some defensive stops down the stretch to go up 69-60 before the Titans buried a three at the buzzer.
“They did a great job fighting and battling,” Heiland said. “They have really good players.
“Those seniors have really stepped up and taken ownership of that team, and I expect them to come back. Trust me, they’re not happy with the way that game ended up today.”
Three Golden Bears accounted for 65 of the team’s points. Shane Stone led the way with 23 points, which included a 7-for-8 effort at the foul line. Washington added 22, and point guard Ryan Coyle added 20.
“Coyle was 10-for-14 from the foul line,” Heiland said. “Washington and Stone – the last three games those two have been averaging close to 40 points for us. Damian has been 21, 22 and 20 and Stone has been 19, 17 and 24, so getting close to 48 points a game out of those two has really helped us in this three-game winning streak.”
The Titans were led by the double-digit efforts of Alex Karras (17 points), Andrew Dietz (15 points) and Nate Robinson (10 points). Danny Tecce and Nate Johnston both had eight points.”
Upper Moreland (11-8, 5-6 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon on Tuesday, and Central Bucks South (9-10, 5-4) will be on the road at North Penn.
Upper Moreland 17-9-15-28 69
Central Bucks South 7-12-9-35 63
Upper Moreland (69) – Damian Washington 7 6-10 22; Ryan Coyle 5 10-14 20; Brett Brossman 0 2-2 2; Shane Stone 8 7-8 23; Jake Villanueva 1 0-0 2; Totals 21 25-34 69.
Central Bucks South (63) – Alex Karras 7 2-2 17; Nate Robinson 4 0-0 10; Danny Tecce 3 0-0 8; Nate Johnston 3 2-4 8; Colin Sauers 1 1-1 3; Andrew Dietz 5 5-6 15; Ian McCaw 0 2-2 2; Totals 23 12-15 63.
WILLIAM TENNENT 58, TELECOM 56
Pat McCauley knocked down six three-pointers in the second half, but he saved his best for last – burying the go-ahead three-pointer with 13 seconds remaining to propel the Panthers to the heartstopping win.
“It was a good come-from-behind win,” Mulville said. “(McCauley) caught fire over the last 12 minutes of the game.”
McCauley scored 20 of his team high 21 points in a dazzling second half, and according to the Panthers’ coach, the junior shooting guard needed a little encouragement to pull the trigger when he had the open shot.
“We actually pulled him out with about six minutes left to go in the third quarter because he didn’t take a couple of open shots,” Mulville said. “We said, ‘You have to shoot the ball when you’re open. That’s your job.’ He regrouped, took a two-minute break, got in there and just caught fire.”
The Panthers were less than 24 hours removed from a big overtime win over Central Bucks East, and they found themselves staring at a 25-9 deficit at the end of one quarter.
“We came out a little tired,” Mulville said. “We had a big game last night, and one of our players – Jorge Soto – got hurt last night and wasn’t able to make the game today.
“He’s really the heart and soul of our energy. He just plays so hard. Not having him in the starting lineup slowed us down, and they really got out quick on us.”
The Panthers trimmed Telecom’s lead to 36-24 by halftime and then controlled the second half, outscoring their visits 34-20 to earn the dramatic win.
In addition to McCauley, Joe Shannon scored a season-high 11 points. Brendan Carter had seven points, six assists and two steals, and Markeith Baxter led the Panthers under the backboards with seven boards to go with his nine points.
“Brendan Carter just played a solid game,” Mulville said. “Markeith was huge on the boards for us.
“They gave good energy after being down so much in the first quarter. I was really happy with the way they responded over the last three.”
William Tennent (5-12, 1-8 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Tuesday night.
Telecom 25-11-9-11 56
William Tennent 9-15-16-18 58
William Tennent (58) – Pat McCauley 21, Joe Shannon 11, Brendan Carter 7, Markeith Baxter 9, Nick Meltzer 3, David Gassanova 1, David West 6.
PENNSBURY 55, DOWNINGTOWN EAST 39
In a battle of teams vying for position in the power rankings, it was the Falcons –fifth in last week’s rankings – putting on a defensive clinic in their win over the Cougars, the 10th seed in last week’s rankings.
It’s not a coincidence that the Falcons turned in their best defensive effort of the season. Defense, according to coach Bill Coleman, was the singular point of emphasis at Friday’s practice.
“I kind of did something yesterday that I normally wouldn’t do at this time of year, but we needed it,” the Falcons’ coach said. “We’ve been practicing a little bit shorter, but we had a very solid two-and-a-half-hour practice yesterday completely focusing on the defensive end, and it translated today.”
It wasn’t just one player that ignited the Falcons defensively.
“It has to be everybody the way we want to play,” Coleman said. “If everyone is engaged, if everyone is giving the effort, it’s fun to watch and today was fun to watch.
“That’s what I said to these guys – if you guys give the effort, the game just flows. It doesn’t matter – you could be playing anybody if you give the effort. Today was fun.”
The fun started early for the Falcons, who allowed just four points in the first quarter and opened up a seven-point lead. Addison Howard, in a preview of things to come, led the way with seven points. Raylil Winton had a pair of and-ones in the second quarter while Howard buried his second of five threes to send the Falcons into halftime with a 24-13 lead.
Two more Howard threes sparked a 14-point third quarter that saw the Falcons stretch their lead to 38-21 on their way to the no-doubt-about-it win.
“It was good,” Coleman said. “Everyone was engaged, we were sharing the ball, and Addie (Howard) was the benefactor of that with 21 points, but everyone touched the ball and the ball has energy.
“When we’re sharing the ball, the ball’s working inside-out, hitting the paint, and the more paint touches we get with either dribble penetration or the pass, our guards will be open.”
In addition to Howard’s 21-point effort, Mark Flagg added nine points while Winton had eight. Tyler Sessa-Reeves and Joey Monaghan both scored six.
Saturday’s contest capped a grueling stretch of five games in eight days for the Falcons that included Thursday’s loss to Council Rock South in four overtimes.
“This was a big game for both teams,” Coleman said. “First of all, we’ve had a very long week, a very long eight days.
“It was a good win. Our guys played hard. They played very, very solid defensively. This truly was a team win, especially on the defensive side of the floor. The effort was fantastic from the starters to the people off the bench.”
Pennsbury (13-5, 6-3 SOL) will be on the road at Council Rock North on Tuesday.
Downingtown East 7-6-8-18 39
Pennsbury 11-13-14-17 55
Downingtown East (39) – Malik Slay 14, Corey Hernandez 4, Jarred Desrocher 3, Nick Domeier 1, Andrew King 9, Ryan Cahill 8.
Pennsbury (55) – Raylil Winton 8, Addison Howard 21, Gary Francis 2, Billy Warren 2, Tyler Sess-Reeves 6, Joey Monaghan 6, Mark Flagg 9, Ladi Bangbose 1.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 53, METHACTON 40
The Bucks used a strong second half to turn a seven-point halftime deficit into the double-digit win, capping a perfect 3-0 week. All three of West’s wins were on the road with Saturday’s victory on the heels of wins at Central Bucks East and Pennridge.
This one didn’t come easily as the Warriors opened up a 14-8 lead after one quarter and took a 23-16 lead into halftime.
Things changed in a hurry in the second half as the Bucks found their rhythm at both ends of the court, outscoring the Warriors by 10 in both the third and fourth quarters to win going away.
Shane McCuskled led a balanced attack with 15 points, which included three three-pointers. Liam Cooney and Jack Reichwein both contributed 12 points, and Collin MacAdams added nine points.
Although it won’t show up in the box score, senior Jack Traina made important contributions in the second half, delivering several hustle plays and burying five foul shots down the stretch to seal the win.
Central Bucks West (12-7, 7-3 SOL) will host Souderton on Tuesday.
Central Bucks West 8-8-17-20 53
Methacton 14-9-7-10 40
Central Bucks West (53) – Jack Traina 5, Shane McCusker 15, Liam Cooney 12, Collin Mac Adams 9, Jake Reichwein 12.
Methacton (40) – David Duda 7, Andrew Pisano 11, Greg Woodard 6, Patrick O’Neill 14, Brett Marberger 2.
TRINITY 70, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 64
The Colonials –seventh in the latest PennLive 6A state rankings – saw their seven-game winning streak snapped in a classic battle against the 3A power out of Camp Hill. PW raced out of the gate to a 13-4 lead, but Trinity closed out the quarter with a 17-4 tear and went into halftime with a 37-35 advantage.
It was anybody’s game until the closing moments as the two teams were deadlocked 64-64, but the Colonials did not score the rest of the way.
Sophomore Naheem McLeod had a big game for the Colonials, scoring a team-high 19. Ahmad Williams (13 points) and Ahmin Williams (12 points) combined for 25 points. Cheo Houston added nine, and Ish Horn had eight.
Trinity was led by the duo of Tim Edwards (25 points) and Austin Gilbertson (23 points).
Plymouth Whitemarsh (16-3, 11-0 SOL) will be on the road at Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (64) – Ish Horn 8, Naheem McLeon 19, Ahmin Williams 12, Cheo Houston 9, Ahmad Williams 13, Jason Paul 3.
Trinity (70) – Austin Gilbertson 23, Marcus Hall 2, Tim Edwards 25, Mike Scarpelli 2, Sean Good 4, Jack Bucher 8, Matt Long 6.
LIBERTY 79, WISSAHICKON 71
Jeremy Johnson spent the second half taking one trip to the foul line after another. And converting on those opportunities. After torching the visiting Trojans for 14 points in the first half and propelling Liberty (10-8) to a 37-30 lead, Johnson was a perfect 16-for-16 at the line in the second half en route to a career high 37-point effort. Johnson – who buried a pair of threes – finished the game a perfect 19-for-19 at the charity stripe.
On the heels of an emotional win over Cheltenham on Friday night, the Trojans opened up a 19-16 lead after one quarter, but they were outscored 21-11 in the second quarter. Liberty took a 58-44 lead into the final quarter when the Trojans closed it out with a 27-21 frame.
Max Rapoport’s 17 points led three Trojan players in double figures. Chaz Owens added 14, and Shane Ford had 10. Donovan Oliphant and Zach Reiner both added nine points in a contest that saw the Trojans connect on 25-of-43 shots from the floor (57 percent).
Also for Liberty, Alex Serrano (18 points) and Cameron Hoffman (16 points) also finished in double figures.
Wissahickon (10-9, 7-4 SOL) will host Council Rock South in a non-league game Monday.
Wissahickon 19-11-14-27 71
Liberty 16-21-21-21 79
Wissahickon (71) – Max Rapoport 17, Chaz Owens 14, Shane Ford 10, Donovan Oliphant 9, Zach Reiner 9, Zach Gelman 5, Marlyn Johnson 4, Matt Graeff 3.
Liberty (79) – Alex Serrano 18, Jeremy Johnson 37, Todd Erney 3, Jon Heess 2, Anthony Zabala 3, Cameron Hoffman 16.
JOHN BOWNE HS 63, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 52
The Golden Hawks opened up a 21-10 lead after one quarter of Saturday’s PA/NY Challenge contest. Alex Nordenholt and Christian Jabbar both drilled a pair of three-pointers to lead the Hawks in the frame.
John Bowne – out of Flushing, N.Y. – came back to outscore the Hawks 17-12 in the second quarter, but the Hawks still led 33-27 at the intermission. The second half belonged to the visitors, who outscored the Hawks 36-19.
Nordenholt led the Hawks with 20 points, which included three three-pointers. Jabbar finished with nine points on three threes. Austin Thomas added six.
Council Rock South (12-7, 6-3 SOL) will host Bensalem on Tuesday night.
John Bowne 10-17-20-16 63
Council Rock South 21-12-11-8 52
Council Rock South (52) – Austin Thomas 6, Shaun Smith 2, Christian Jabbar 9, Trey Irvin 3, Alex Nordenholt 20, Ryan McNamee 5, Ryan Boyd 5, Kenny Brightcliffe 2.
GLEN MILLS 71, BENSALEM 69
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