Jarrad Saffren recaps all of Monday’s games featuring SOL boys’ basketball teams. UD/Wisssahickon photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos…CLICK HERE to go directly to the BOYS BASKETBALL GALLERY.
By Jarrad Saffren
All eight Suburban One League American Conference boys’ basketball teams were in action Tuesday night, as the high school season resumed in the new year. There was also an SOL Continental game, between North Penn and William Tennent.
All five results and recaps are below.
SOL American
Wissahickon 65, Upper Dublin 51
In the last 11 minutes of the first half, Wissahickon outscored Upper Dublin 39-18, overcoming an early 10-2 hole. The Trojans led by 13 at halftime and cruised through the second half, improving to 1-1 in league play.
Max Rapoport (19), Zach Reiner (13), Eddie Fortescue (12), Seth Compas (10) and Donovan Oliphant (8) all scored at least eight points for Wissahickon. The Trojans connected on 29-of-59 shots from the floor.
“We started off sluggish but grabbed momentum. We weren’t breaking or making shots. We were in a bit of a funk,” said Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson. “Then the kids started making plays. The guys just got a spark when they needed to.”
“When you only score two, it’s tough to get into your press. When we started scoring, we got into our pressure,” Wilson added. “We like up-tempo more than the half court set. We have a fairly deep bench and are at our best when everybody’s getting involved.”
Wissahickon really controlled the paint, outscoring UD 46-34 in that area, and out-rebounding UD 35-30, with the five-board difference coming on the offensive end. Anthony Lawrence had seven rebounds for the Trojans. Carmen Ostroski had six boards and two blocks.
“Seth Compas and Donovan Oliphant really wreaked havoc, and Carmen Ostroski. They have been coming off the bench and don’t care who starts,” Wilson said. “They just want to find a way to contribute and win, and they are finding ways to do that.”
Cory Stover led Upper Dublin with 15 points. Michael Ryan (12) and Jason Williams (10) both scored in double figures as well.
Wissahickon (6-1, 1-1 SOL) plays Hatboro-Horsham on Friday night at seven. Upper Dublin (1-7, 0-2 SOL) battles PW on the same night and time.
Wissahickon 18-23-14-10 65
Upper Dublin 17-11-10-13 51
Wissahickon (65) – Max Rapoport 19, Zach Reiner 13, Eddie Fortescue 12, Seth Compas 10, Donovan Oliphant 8, Carmen Ostroski 3.
Upper Dublin (51) – Jason Williams 10, Malik Bootman 5, Nyjee Scott 4, Cory Stover 15, Brian McCarry 5, Mike Ryan 12.
Hatboro-Horsham 60, Quakertown 40
Hatboro-Horsham won the second half 40-24, pulling away from Quakertown and improving to 4-3. Khalid Johnson (17), Solomon McNair (14), Jake Schalki (10) and Kyle Hogan (10) all scored in double figures for the Hatters, who also played great defense, holding Quakertown under 10 in three of four quarters.
“I was very happy with the way we defended. They had 40 and one kid made five threes. Even those were all contested,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Ed Enoch. “We played good defense and rebounded well. All the kids on Quakertown can shoot and we didn’t want to play zone and let them get their feet set.”
“Chris Edwards did a really nice job guarding and he had six key defensive rebounds at crucial times,” Enoch added.
Hatboro-Horsham’s offensive attack was efficient, which was an improvement from previous games.
“We moved the ball around and made some shots. We only had seven turnovers, which is the thing we are really trying to work on,” Enoch said. “They played a lot of zone against us in the first half. Our patience improved after four early turnovers. We got more comfortable as the game went on.”
Matt Lucas (18) and Eli Ortiz (13) combined for 31 points for Quakertown. Lucas scored his 18 on six threes.
Hatboro-Horsham (4-3, 2-1 SOL) hosts Wissahickon on Friday night at seven. Quakertown (3-6, 1-2 SOL) plays Cheltenham on the same night and time.
Hatboro-Horsham 8-12-22-18 60
Quakertown 8-8-17-7 40
Hatboro-Horsham (60) – Erick Dixon 1, Chris Edwards 6, Solomon McNair 14, Khalid Johnson 17, Kyle Hogan 10, Jake Schalki 10, Dylan Schmucker 2.
Quakertown (40) – Jon Rey 3, Eli Ortiz 13, Kevin Juszynski 3, Grey Mitchell 3, Matt Lucas 18.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 88, Springfield Township 31
Plymouth Whitemarsh improved to 8-0 with a dominant performance. The PW starters, fresh off two impressive showcase tournament wins over Bonner Prendergast and Archbishop Wood, were a little sluggish out of the gate on Tuesday night. But they settled in with a little help from some new contributors, bench players Anthony Strayface, Kaelin Peters and Kyree Pendleton.
“We are trying to get them to play at a consistently high level. It’s tricky when you go from these big showcases over the break to your first home game after the break. No disrespect to Springfield but it’s just different,” said PW coach Jim Donofrio. “It was good to see the bench kids have some moments to figure it out. They can play but they had to stare at Bonner and Wood. Those types of games you have to go with your experienced guys.
“A lot of those guys are a hair away from figuring it out. You could see the frustration in their faces not getting in at Philly U (site of the showcase tournament). I give them credit for being patient. They actually sparked us because the starting five was in a jogging mode to start. When you’re on the bench for a while, you come in with a lot of energy, and they did.”
Naheem McLeod led PW with 21 points.
“He started off by making four fouls in a row, so I knew he was focused,” Donofrio said. “Springfield didn’t have a lot of size, so we did a good job getting the ball inside.”
Ish Horn (15), Danny Cooper (14) and Ahmin Williams (11) also scored in double figures for the Colonials.
“We had four guys in double figures, so that was good,” Donofrio said. “We started out and it was Ahmin, Ahmad, Ish, Naheem. Now we have a little more and hopefully by February we go 8-9 deep.”
The Colonials are not yet thinking about their undefeated start.
“It’s just about getting better every day and being capable of winning every day,” Donofrio said. “It is an interesting trick though. Are you a team that can handle winning a bunch in a row? I think it becomes mental at 11, 12, 13. If you can push past that, you’re in a different place. I’m just worried about the next game.”
PW (8-0, 3-0 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin on Friday night at seven. Springfield (2-4, 0-3 SOL) plays Upper Moreland on the same night and time.
Cheltenham 65, Upper Moreland 50
Cheltenham won the fourth quarter 25-10, turning a tie game into a double-digit win. Jack Clark (18), Kyin Healey (16), Amir Lewis (15), Zahree Harrison (7) and Ahmad Bickley (7) all scored at least seven for the Panthers. Clark also had 15 rebounds. Healey put up eight boards and three blocks.
“Upper Moreland looked like the best team for three-and-a-half quarters. Our on-ball defensive intensity was not good tonight. We were playing lethargic,” said Cheltenham coach John Timms. “We haven’t had a chance to practice since our last game, which was (Dec.) 29th, and it showed. Thank god there’s four quarters because that Upper Moreland team came to win.”
Cheltenham allowed 33 points in the first half but just 17 in the second half.
“If you look at the second half, we picked up our defensive intensity,” Timms said. “I think we came out lethargic without being able to practice. Those guys brought a lot of fight and literally looked like the better team for three-and-a-half quarters.”
Ryan Coyle (12), Brett Brossman (11), Jake Villanueva (9) and Christian O’Donnell (7) paced a balanced offensive effort for the Golden Bears.
Cheltenham (6-1, 3-0 SOL) plays Quakertown on Friday night at seven. Upper Moreland (3-5, 1-2 SOL) battles Upper Merion on Wednesday night at seven.
Cheltenham 16-14-10-25 65
Upper Moreland 17-16-7-10 50
Cheltenham (65) – Zahree Harrison 7, Ahmad Bickley 7, Jack Clark 18, Lonce Scott 2, Kyin Healey 16, Amir Lewis 15
Upper Moreland (50) – Beau Woolens 5, Christian O’Donnell 7, Ryan Coyle 12, Brett Brossman 11, Tyler Ibbotson 6, Jake Villanueva 9.
SOL Continental
North Penn 85, William Tennent 77 (OT)
North Penn earned its first league win (1-2) and improved to 4-4. The Knights led 56-48 going into the fourth quarter, but lost the fourth 16-8. But North Penn won overtime 21-13, hitting nine free throws. David Robinson, who led the Knights with 38 points, scored 11 points in OT. Chris Coleman (22) and AJ Mitchell (13) combined for 35. Coleman buried three 3-pointers.
“We got the ball inside to David. We did a good job in our zone execution. Chris Coleman was good on the perimeter, getting into the lane against the zone,” said North Penn coach John Conrad. “We were teasing David. It could have been a lot more. He missed a lot early but to his credit, he stayed positive and got hot in the second half. Our guys were unselfish in getting him the ball in spots he can score.”
North Penn needed multiple experienced players to play well on the same night.
“AJ Mitchell and Coleman are returning starters with a ton of varsity experience. Going into the year we thought we’d have to hang our hats on those two. Tonight was the first night we got good production out of both of them,” Conrad said. “We have to find a way to make that consistent.”
Conrad was not as pleased with his team’s defensive effort on Tuesday night.
“We executed well on the offensive end but had some major letdowns defensively,” the Knights’ coach said. “We lost guys on the arc, they got a lot of uncontested threes and made them.”
Pat McCauley led William Tennent with 22 points, drilling five threes. Markeith Baxter added 14. Dave West had 12, including three threes.
North Penn (4-4, 1-2 SOL) plays Upper Merion on Saturday at noon. William Tennent (4-4, 0-2 SOL) plays Central Bucks South on Friday night at seven.
William Tennent 14-14-20-16-13 77
North Penn 13-18-25-8-21 85
William Tennent (77) –
North Penn (85) – AJ Mitchell 13, Joey Lindsay 2, AJ Catanzaro 6, David Robinson 38, Chris Coleman 22, Solomon Robinson 4.
William Tennent (77) – Ben Satz 7, Pat McCauley 22, Michael Mulville 7, Markeith Baxter 14, Kip Moooney 7, Nick Meltzer 2, Dave West 12, Derrick Cosenza 6.
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