CB East and Pennridge were winners in SOL boys’ basketball action on Wednesday. CB East/CR South photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of game photos.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 49, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 45 (OT)
The Patriots and Golden Hawks apparently have a penchant for overtime. In last year’s opening round of districts, the Patriots edged the Hawks 39-36 in double overtime. In Wednesday’s non-league battle, they once again needed overtime to determine a winner.
South senior Christian Jabbar sent the game into OT when he buried a three at the buzzer ending regulation to knot the score 43-43. The Patriots held a 6-2 edge in the overtime period with Kyle Cassidy accounting for four of East’s points.
The Patriots – who led 21-19 at halftime – took a 34-30 lead into the final quarter when the Golden Hawks rallied to knot the score.
Cassidy led a balanced East attack with 15 points, which include a pair of 3-pointers. He was one of three Patriots in double figures. Nick Roggio added 12 points and eight rebounds, and Ben Markowitz had 11 points and six rebounds.
For the Golden Hawks, Jabbar led the way with 20 points while Jack Rebholz added eight and Simon Magidenko, six points. Both Jabbar and Rebholz had a pair of 3-pointers.
The Patriots – who connected on 17-of-35 field goals – converted 12-of-18 at the foul line while the Hawks were just 2-of-2.
Central Bucks East (3-0) will host Wissahickon on Friday at 7 p.m., and Council Rock South (0-3) will be on the road at the Steel City Challenge on Saturday.
Central Bucks East 5-16-13-9-6 49
Council Rock South 7-12-11-13-2 45
Central Bucks East (49) – Kyle Cassidy 15, Collin Stein 4, Nick Roggio 12, Ben Markowitz 11, Jesse Rivera 3, Collin Wright 4.
Council Rock South (45) – Christian Jabbar 20, Simon Magidenko 6, Jack Rebholz 8, Kyle Meakim 3, Kevin McNamee 2, Esteban Gomez 6.
PENNRIDGE 52, METHACTON 51
The Rams needed some late-game heroics from Jon Post – who scored in the game’s final seconds – to escape with a win in the title game of its own tournament, the Pennridge Memorial Tipoff Tournament.
“It was pretty much nip and tuck the whole way,” coach Dean Behrens said. “With about four minutes left, they were up 42-36.
“We changed up a little bit. We kind of went to more of a fullcourt up-tempo style of play. We had a couple of things go our way. They got a five-second call, and they had a turnover. Mike Molettiere, in one of those sequences, hit a three. Ryan Warner hit a three, and they were still scoring. It came down that we hit one more shot than they did.”
Equally impressive as Post’s game-saving shot was the defense the Rams threw at the Warriors when they inbounded the ball with just seconds remaining in regulation.
“We got the ball inside and we finished,” Behrens said. “They rushed the ball up with about six seconds left and called a timeout.
“We really did a nice job on their inbounds. They really didn’t get a good look. It was a heck of a game. It was the same way we beat them last year. Two years in a row against Methacton, we got a stop (in the closing seconds). A couple of bounces went our way at the end. We maybe in that game had the lead for maybe a minute.”
The Rams trailed by one at halftime (21-20) and still found themselves down by one heading into the final quarter.
With Jake Pestrak under the weather, Behrens had a short bench in the win, but his players delivered. Post led the Rams with 17 points.
“He had a big game,” Behrens said. “They have a good player inside, 6-9 sophomore Jeff Woodward.
“We got him in a little bit of foul trouble in the first half, and we went right at him in the beginning of the second half. We held him in check with seven points.”
Methacton’s Dave Duda led all scorers with 21 points, which included four 3-pointers.
“Believe it or not, we were guarding him,” Behrens said. “We were tied 48-48, and he hit a 30-footer.
“I was like, ‘There’s no way this is going in,’ and boom, it goes down.”
Tyrese Lew added 10 points for the Rams.
“I thought Tyrese Lewis played his best game of the three games,” Behrens said. “He had 10 points, and he really contributed on the boards.
“In the second half, he was able to hit a couple of key buckets inside, so that was effective.”
Warner added nine points on three 3-pointers. Sean Yoder and Molettiere both had eight points.
“It was a team effort tonight,” Behrens said. “We were down to six guys in the second half because Jake Pestrak just couldn’t go.”
Pennridge (3-0) will host Quakertown in a battle of neighboring rivals on Friday at 7 p.m.
“This was a big win for us,” Behrens said. “I’m not sure I thought we’d be 3-0 at this point, but beating a good Methacton team I thought was impressive, and beating a well-prepared, hard-nosed Lansdale Catholic team in their gym (on Monday) was a big win too.”
Methacton 13-8-14-16 51
Pennridge 9-11-14-18 52
Methacton (51) – Kupp 2, Everly 5, Dave Duda 21, Kitawa 5, Christian 9, Hazlett 2, Jeff Woodward 7.
Pennridge (52) – Ryan Warner 9, Sean Yoder 8, Mike Molettiere 8, Tyrese Lewis 10, Jon Post 17.
ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 76, CHELTENHAM 62
Call it a lesson learned for the Panthers, who found themselves deadlocked with the Patriots midway through the fourth quarter when they were whistled for a bench technical that forever changed the course of the game.
“A bench technical was assessed, and I had to sit down,” coach John Timms said. “I don’t think we scored another basket.
“I’m an energy guy who walks the sideline. I don’t even have a chair to sit in, so my team was on an island. We both were. I was sitting on a chair saying, ‘I don’t know what to do.’ I can’t really project from the bench like I normally do, so we all learned.
“That bench technical hurt us because it took me out of the game. It was a tough-fought contest, and the one thing I can say is they showed some fortitude and fight.”
The Panthers, who trailed 22-8 at the end of one quarter, were down by as many as 16 points in the first half but used a 23-11 burst in the second quarter to pull to within two at halftime, 33-31. It was still anybody’s game until the fourth quarter.
“We have to learn how to win on the road against real good teams,” Timms said. “Until we learn how to do that, we’re going to be an average to good team.
“You turn that corner as a program and as a team when you’re able to beat good teams on the road. We’re still learning how to do that. I thought we fought hard tonight. They showed some fortitude and fight. We exercised a lot of fight and will.”
Amir Lewis led all scorers with an impressive 28-point effort. Jack Clark added 11 points and Ahmad Bickley 10. Zahree Harrison had seven points, and Brandon Scott added six to close out the scoring for the Panthers.
“Those guys did a great job on Ahmad (Bickley) and Jack (Clark),” Timms said. “They were held to 11 and 10. In the last game, they had 28 and 21, so they had 49 points last game to only combine for 21 this game. They weren’t hitting shots, but Carroll did a pretty good job of keying in on those two seniors, and I think that was the difference in the game.”
Cheltenham (2-1) will travel to Roman Catholic for a non-league contest Friday at 7 p.m.
Cheltenham 8-23-19-12 62
Archbishop Carroll 22-11-23-20 76
Cheltenham (62) – Amir Lewis 28, Zahree Harrison 7, Ahmad Bickley 10, Jack Clark 11, Brandon Scott 6.
Archbishop Carroll: Luke House 12, Justin Anderson 21, airi Ketner 4, Kiyl Mack 6, Little 4, Keyon Butler 16, Devon Ferrero 13.
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