Wissahickon’s boys and girls basketball teams swept Wednesday night’s games against Hatboro-Horsham.
BOYS
WISSAHICKON 53, HATBORO-HORSHAM 36
The Hatters – behind seven points from Erick Dixon – raced out of the gate to a 22-13 halftime lead. The Trojans came to life in the second half. Eddie Fortescue buried three 3-pointers in a third quarter that saw the visiting Trojans outscore the Hatters 17-8 to knot the score 30-30.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Trojans, who closed out the game with a 23-6 tear. Zach Reiner’s 10 points – which included a 6-for-6 effort at the foul line – led the way. The Trojans outscored the Hatters 40-14 in the second half.
Reiner turned in a stellar outing for the Trojans, collecting an impressive double-double with 15 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. Fortescue and Max Rapoport both finished with 13 points. The duo combined for seven 3-pointers with Rapoport burying four – one in each quarter.
For the Hatters, Dixon’s 17-point effort led the way. He was 6-for-7 from the foul line.
Wissahickon (7-3, 3-2 SOL) will host Upper Moreland on Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham 5-5, 2-3) will travel to Upper Dublin on Friday.
Wissahickon 7-6-17-23 53
Hatboro-Horsham 11-11-8-6 36
Wissahickon (53) – Donovan Oliphant 3, Eddie Fortescue 13, Seth Compas 4, Max Rapoport 13, Cole Hirsch 2, Anthony Lawrence 1, Ostroski 2, Zach Reiner 15.
Hatboro-Horsham (36) – Erick Dixon 17, Chris Edwards 4, Brandon Hooks 4, Khalid Johnson 4, Kyle Hogan 5, Jake Schalki 1, Dylan Schumaker 1.
GIRLS
WISSAHICKON 49, HATBORO-HORSHAM 24
Brianna Tilghman turned in a glittering all-around effort to lead the Trojans to the convincing win, the team’s second in as many days. The junior guard finished the game with 17 points, eight rebounds, five steals and a blocked shot.
“Tonight was hopefully Brianna Tilghman’s breakout game,” coach Rodney Cline said. “Last night she had a double-double.
“She’s all over the court – she’s so fast. Our philosophy is get out in transition. The first eight seconds – if we don’t get a bucket in eight seconds, we’ll come out and we’ll set it up. With our pressure, we scored a lot in transition. When we get out in transition, she leads the break. A lot of times she scores in transition. In our system, she gets a chance to penetrate if people play up, or she’ll attack the gaps in the zone.”
The Trojans, who opened up an 11-6 lead after one quarter, allowed just one point in the second quarter and took a commanding 28-7 lead into halftime.
“Defense was the story again,” Cline said. “We forced 22 turnovers, and we shot the ball well.
“We shot high percentage shots – we shot 40 percent from the field, and we just executed. The girls are executing, they have confidence in themselves, and they have confidence in each other.”
Sydney Ott also finished in double figures for the Trojans with 10 points while Victoria Selverian added seven.
“It’s a blessing to see the way the girls are playing with each other and for each other,” Cline said. “The biggest thing I try and tell these girls – you put in all the work in the offseason, and sometimes you expect it to happen right away.
“It’s a life lesson – it happens when it’s supposed to happen. Now it’s starting to happen. When you put in the time, you’re going to reap the benefits. You just have to be patient and believe in yourself and believe in each other. I’m proud of them.”
Sydney Kemp led the Hatters with nine points.
Wissahickon (3-5, 3-2 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (4-7, 3-2) will host William Penn Charter on Thursday at 6:30 in a non-league contest.
Hatboro-Horsham 6-1-7-10 24
Wissahickon 11-17-17-4 49
Hatboro-Horsham (24) – Lexie Brett 5, Cam Ryan 3, Kylie Halko 4, Sydney Kemp 9, Grace Griffis 3.
Wissahickon (49) – Victoria Selverian 7, Sydney Ott 10, Carly Fadel 5, Brianna Tilghman 17, Anna Schools 3, Macey Segal 3, Rebecca Selverian 2, Lauren Fadel 2.
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