Jarrad Saffren recaps Saturday’s boys’ basketball games featuring SOL teams. Quakertown/Freedom photos provided courtesy of Sharon Shipe. Check back for a gallery of photos.
By Jarrad Saffren
Ten Suburban One League boys basketball teams played non-league games on Saturday. Two—Council Rock North and Upper Dublin—played each other. Saturday, for the most part, concluded the non-league portion of the schedule, as league play opens this week.
Saturday’s results and recaps are below.
Non-League
Central Bucks West 47, Methacton 42
CB West won its second straight game since starting 0-1 on Dec. 8. The Bucks trailed by three going into the fourth quarter, but won the fourth 16-8. Jake Reichwein had 16 points and eight rebounds for CB West. Shane McCusker had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists. Collin MacAdams corralled 10 boards.
“A big part of the game in the fourth quarter, defensively, Mika Munari and Shane McCusker, actually, all of our guys did a really good job defensively,” said West coach Adam Sherman. “To hold a big kid like (6-8) Jeff Woodward to one point and even David Duda (Methacton’s leading scorer), I thought we did a good job with him.”
“Shane McCusker had responsibilities on him (Duda), and Shane did a really nice job of taking away a lot of the looks that he likes to get,” Sherman added. “Jack Neri and Jake Reichwein took turns covering Woodward, and I thought they did a really good job on him.”
The win was typical CB West: Balanced scoring, strong defense.
“Methacton is a young team, but Dave Duda is dynamite shooter and Woodward is a big kid inside and he causes a lot of problems,” Sherman said. “We’re excited to get the win. We’re happy to be where we are.”
CB West (2-1, 0-0 SOL) opens SOL Continental play on Tuesday night at seven, against William Tennent.
Methacton 5-10-19-8 42
Central Bucks West 3-14-14-16 47
Methacton (42) – Woodward 1, David Duda 14, Eberlly 4, Kropp 8, Kitaw 8, Brown 1, Hazlett 2, Girardo 4.
Central Bucks West (47) – Shane McCusker 13, Jack Mulhearn 8, Collin MacAdams 5, Jake Reichwein 16, Jack Neri 5.
Abington 63, Bethlehem Catholic 53
Abington built a 31-16 halftime lead and held it through the second half, improving to 2-0. Eric Dixon led the Ghosts with 25 points and nine rebounds. Robbie Heath added 17 points and six boards. Lucas Monroe dropped 19.
“Eric was a monster tonight. He willed his way because they were double and triple teaming him,” said Abington coach Charles Grasty. “And I still don’t understand how kids around here are getting DI offers but Robbie isn’t. He’s just as good if not better than those guys. He’s just as good or better than every guard in this area. He has some interest. He’ll start to get more too I think.”
Monroe, a junior, is a natural talent, but he was inconsistent in his first two high school seasons. He appears to be coming into his own.
“Lucas has his confidence. Teams are backing off of him, he’s shooting threes, getting a ton of rebounds,” Grasty said. “He has some Ivy and Patriot League offers. His ceiling is super high. He rebounds, plays point, plays good defense on some of the best players. That’s what we need because teams will key on Eric.”
Bethlehem Catholic, like Abington’s first opponent, Valley Forge Military Academy, is a quality opponent. Yet the Ghosts have beaten both by a combined 37 points.
“Bethlehem Catholic is very good. They do a lot of things really well. They have really good guard play and their bigs are really good,” Grasty said. “One big is going to Northwestern.”
Abington is clicking, but Grasty is still using non-league play to figure out the rest of his rotation. He has plenty of options.
“Brandon Coffman got a big rebound. A lot of guys had a chance to get a good feel for what’s going to happen this year,” Grasty said. “Xavier Crawford came off the bench and gave us a lot of energy. Maurice Henry did too. We are trying to get these guys minutes slowly because they didn’t get varsity minutes last year. They grew up tonight.”
Abington (2-0) will host Council Rock South in its SOL opener on Tuesday.
Abington 16-15-11-21 63
Bethlehem Catholic 10-6-20-17 53
Plymouth Whitemarsh 66, Archbishop Carroll 53
Plymouth Whitemarsh improved to 3-0, winning by 30, 18 and now 13 points, respectively. The Colonials, like the Ghosts of Abington, are rolling early. Their coach is even saying so, which is how you know, because he usually prefers to measure his words at this point in the season.
“We played a grown-up game. We are becoming what I’d like us to become. We play with poise,” said PW coach Jim Donofrio. “It’s a team that was hard-headed a year ago. They understand that (Center) Naheem McLeod is the key this year. We put a lot of emphasis in the preseason on how a lot goes through him. We’ve gone from always trying to get out in transition to being a poised half court team.”
Archbishop Carroll packed its defense into the paint on Saturday, in an effort to slow down McLeod, but he still had 14 points. His teammates also hit open jumpers in the extra space.
Ahmin Williams led the Colonials with 17 points. Alan Glover had 16 (and 10 rebounds). Danny Cooper and Ahmad Williams had eight and seven points, respectively, combining for three threes.
“Three in double figures and two more close is kind of the goal,” Donofrio said. “We were clicking. We defended well in the first half and scored well throughout the game.”
Glover buried a pair of threes and scored eight first-quarter points to lead PW to a 20-13 lead. The Colonials, who led 33-21 at halftime, never looked back.
PW (3-0, 0-0 SOL) hosts Upper Moreland on Tuesday night at seven, in its SOL American opener.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 20-13-18-15 66
Archbishop Carroll 13-9-15-16 53
Plymouth Whitemarsh (66) – Ish Horn 4, Naheem McLeod 14, Danny Cooper 8, Ahmin Williams 17, Ahmad Williams 7, Alan Glover 16.
Archbishop Carroll (53) –
Council Rock North 50, Upper Dublin 45
Council Rock North built a 15-point halftime lead and held on in the second half, earning its first win of the season. Harry Wyatt led CR North with 19 points. Connor O’Donnell made seven free throws down the stretch to keep Upper Dublin at a distance.
The Indians have been playing well despite losing their first two games. They lost to good teams—Central Bucks South and West—by four and three, respectively, and were bound to win if they continued to play good defense.
“Our first two games we were very competitive and in the game against two really good teams. Tonight we played a little bit more of a complete game. We had a lot of foul trouble but our reserves really stepped up and steadied the ship,” said North coach Jesse Krasna. “We were really able to get out on the break and turn it into easy offense. We played mostly man because we thought we had some quicker guards who could defend them. We reached and gambled early but then we settled in. Once we stopped fouling, we got steals and ran.”
North got contributions from plenty of bench players, too, on Saturday.
“DJ Mischak and James Duffy came in and defended and rebounded well,” Krasna said. “Angad Ahluwalia also came in and really defended.”
CR North (1-2, 0-0 SOL) plays Harry S. Truman on Tuesday night at seven. Upper Dublin (0-4, 0-0 SOL) battles Cheltenham on the same night and time.
Neshaminy 48, Holy Ghost Prep 45
Neshaminy trailed by five at halftime and by six after three quarters. It mounted a comeback in the fourth by attacking the basket, winning the quarter 20-9. Chris Arcidiacono led the comeback, dropping 10 points in the fourth and 31 overall. Anthony Papeo and Danny Bodine both added six points.
With Neshaminy down by one late in the fourth, Arcidiacono drove to the basket and scored, putting Neshaminy up by one. After a defensive stop, Neshaminy built its lead by making free throws.
“Chris did a really good job attacking,” said Neshaminy coach Mark Tingle. “We pressured a little more since we were down five. Zone and man press, which changed the tempo.”
Arcidiacono (8-of-9), Papeo (3-of-4) and Bodine (2-of-2) combined to shoot 13-of-15 from the line in the fourth. That was how Neshaminy pulled away.
Neshaminy (3-0, 0-0 SOL) plays Pennridge on Tuesday night at seven. The two teams are a combined 7-0. With many of the same players on both teams, Pennridge beat Neshaminy by double digits last season, in the regular season finale for both squads. “We’ll see where we’re at,” Tingle said.
Neshaminy 13-4-11-20 48
Holy Ghost Prep 11-11-14-9 45
Neshaminy (48) – Chris Arcidiacano 31, Anthony Papeo 6, Mike Murray 2, Danny Bodine 6.
Holy Ghost (45) – Greg Sylvester 14, T. Mish 2, Jack Rittenmeyer 6, Greg Calvin 7, Sean Elliott 8, Sean Sylvester 8.
Quakertown 51, Freedom 39
Quakertown earned its first win of the season, pulling away with a 23-12 second quarter win.
Matt Lucas (12) and Eli Ortiz (10) scored in double digits for the Panthers. Kevin Juszynski, Grey Mitchell and Catalano all pitched in six.
Quakertown (1-3, 0-0 SOL) hosts Wissahickon on Tuesday night at seven.
Quakertown 6-23-10-12 51
Freedom 6-12-10-11 39
Quakertown 6-23-10-12 51
Freedom 6-12-10-11 39
Quakertown (51) – Jon Rey 4, Eli Ortiz 10, Sam Rice 4, Kevin Juszynski 6, Grey Mitchell 6, Matt Lucas 12, Catalano 6, Harrison 3.
Freedom (39) – Arnold 8, M.Mims 5, Muniz 10, Soto 5, Scafano 2, Biery 7, Harrington 2.
Neumann-Goretti 61, Cheltenham 51
Cheltenham nearly pulled off an upset over the Philadelphia Catholic League’s premier program. The Panthers were down four with about three minutes left, but could not complete the comeback.
“We gave a gallant effort. I was very proud of our guys. There’s a continuous theme with our team. We will fight until that last buzzer sounds,” said Cheltenham coach John Timms. “I can’t say enough. They played real hard.”
“Jack Clark played a balanced game, given that they were keying on him,” Timms added. “Zahree Harrison gave us a big boost with 16 points.”
Timms believes this game will be a building block.
“These are the games that prepare you for the state playoffs and districts. We want to play the best teams we can get on our schedule, and we are pleased with how we’re playing,” Timms said. “We want to show that Suburban One teams can compete with Catholic League teams.”
Cheltenham (2-1, 0-0 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin on Tuesday night at seven.
Wayne Hills, NJ 60, Council Rock South 46
Council Rock South fell to 0-4, with three losses by nine or more. Offense was again the problem on Saturday.
“We played pretty well. We played a really good team and had the lead in the second quarter,” said CR South coach Derek Wright. “We just had a two-three minute stretch where we couldn’t score and turned the ball over. It went from two to nine real quick and we were playing catch up the rest of the game.”
Wright was pleased with two of his players.
“Christian Jabbar has been great on both ends, his attitude, his effort,” Wright said. “And Kyle Meakim played one of his best games. He was in double figures.”
CR South (0-4, 0-0 SOL) plays Abington on Tuesday night at seven.
Coatesville 52, Pennsbury 42
Pennsbury lost for the third time in four games, but the Falcons competed, even tying the game with 3:53 left. After a tough non-league schedule, they are set up to improve as the season goes along.
“I am happy with part of our performance, and again we’re just learning. It’s been a meat grinder of a schedule. Two years ago, when Cam Jones, Mekhi Bryant and Derek Woods graduated, we started 7-1 and everyone thought everything was good. We knew we had some flaws but no one exposed them until the middle of our season, the competitive part,” said Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman. “Now we are exposing the flaws at the beginning in the hopes of correcting them. So the schedule is helping us. These guys are competing against the better teams in District One and District 12.”
Besides Abington, Pennsbury will see more manageable teams in the SOL National. “You’re not going to see a Coatesville, an Archbishop Ryan or a West Catholic in the SOL,” Coleman said. “Today we took a big step forward even though we lost. We just couldn’t get a stop at the end today but the guys are getting better, which is fantastic to see.”
Three guys in particular got better on Saturday.
“We got a consistent effort defensively by Chad Weldon and Josh Arruda,” Coleman said. “And Colin Connor carried us offensively.”
Connor led the Falcons with 18 points.
Pennsbury (1-3, 0-0 SOL) plays Bensalem on Tuesday night at seven.
Coatesville 11-10-15-16 52
Pennsbury 12-8-11-11 62
Coatesville (62) – Young 11, Brickus 21, Bryant 7, Bladen 3, Holmes 4, Pittman 6.
Pennsbury (52) – Collin Connor 16, Raylil Winton 4, Josh Arruda 10, Chad Weldon 2, Gary Francis 8.
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