Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action.
SOL American Conference
Cheltenham 61, Upper Moreland 37
The Panthers lost Jack Clark for the season and found themselves down another starter on Friday with Kyin Healey out battling an illness.
Cheltenham proved its resiliency, winning for the fourth time in its last five games since Clark was injured with a balanced effort. Amir Lewis paced the Panthers with 13, Tim Myarick continued his strong spell as a starter with 12 points and Ahmad Bickely spread 11 assists to complement his seven points.
“We got out to a pretty good lead in the first quarter," Cheltenham coach John Timms said. "I think we’re starting to figure some things out. We’re 4-1 without Jack, and we don’t think our season is over.”
The Panthers led by 13 points after the first frame and their defense kept the Golden Bears in check most of the way. Ryan Coyle led UM with 13 points, the only Bear in double figures.
Cheltenham is still in good position for the District I 6A playoff picture but will need players to continue playing with more confidence in their increased roles.
“Most of the guys are stepping up. Tim Myarick had 12 points. He’s been inserted into the starting lineup, and in those five games, he’s been in double figures four times," Timms said. "It has helped him as a junior moving forward because we’re going to be counting on him to do a lot of scoring next year, so if he gets in the mindset now, it’s a great transition."
Cheltenham (12-3, 8-1 SOL) will host Quakertown on Monday, and Upper Moreland (8-9, 4-6) will travel to Springfield Township.
Cheltenham 20 12 19 12 63
Upper Moreland 7 10 13 7 37
C: Amir Lewis 13, Zahree Harrison 3, Ahmad Bickley 7, Tim Myarick 12, Brandon Scott 2, David Pope 3, Dominick Pope 8, Jaelen Mclone 4, Lonce Scott 7.
UM: Ryan Coyle 13, Tyler Ibbotson 8, Brett Brossman 6, Christian O’Donnell 3, Johnson 3, Beau Woolens 2, Nick Donovan 1, Ryan Schernecke 1.
Hatboro-Horsham 55, Quakertown 21
The Hatters put the clamps down defensively as they picked up a home court win over the Panthers.
Quakertown scored six points in the first quarter and none in the second as the Hatters raced out of the gate to a 25-6 lead.
None of Quakertown’s players scored more than four points.
“We played great defense. We held them to six points in the first half and that kind of put the game away at that point. It was a really good defensive effort tonight on our part," Hatters coach Ed Enoch said. “Kyle Hogan and Erick Dixon played very, very well for us."
Hogan led the Hatters with 14 points while Dixon contributed nine. Chris Edwards and Khalid Johnson each netted 10 points.
Hatboro-Horsham (8-8, 5-5 SOL) will host Souderton on Monday in a non-league game, and Quakertown (5-12, 3-6) will be on the road at Cheltenham on Monday.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 11 14 17 13 – 55
QUAKERTOWN 6 0 6 9 – 21
HH: Erick Dixon 9, Chris Edwards 10, Solomon McNair 6, Khalid Johnson 10, Kyle Hogan 14, Josh George 2
Q: Sam Rice 4, Jon Rey 3, Eli Ortiz 2, Grey Mitchell 2, Matt Lucas 3, Matt Catalino 3, Nick Mestayer 2, Nate Besch 2
Plymouth Whitemarsh 95, Springfield Twp 33
The Colonials have a 7-foot-2 center in Naheem McLeod. The Spartans do not have anyone like that.
McLeod pretty much did what he wanted in a 32-point effort as the Colonials romped to a victory on Friday. The junior center did all of his scoring in the first three periods.
Ahmad Williams scored 15, Ahmin Williams had 10 and Ish Horn scored 11 for PW, which led 23-1 after one quarter and took a 48-14 lead into the intermission.
Springfield was led by Wilson Krewson’s 13 points.
PW (16-0, 10-0 SOL) hosts Neshaminy at 5 p.m. Saturday to make up a game that was postponed from Jan. 13. Springfield Township (2-13, 0-11) will host Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 23 25 30 17 – 95
SPRINGFIELD TWP 1 13 7 14 – 33
PW: Naheem McLeod 32, Ish Horn 11, Dan Farrer 2, Caelin Peters 8, Danny Cooper 5, Anthony Straface 6, Ahmin Williams 10, Brendan Sullivan 3, Ahmad Williams 15, Alan Glover 1, Jordan Evans 2
ST: Wilson Krewson 13, DeJaun Waters 3, Ben Rittenhouse 4, Quentin Johnson 5, Ethan Hamilton 4, James Joseph 4
Wissahickon 79, Upper Dublin 53
The Trojans rolled to a big win over their neighboring rival, thanks to the stellar play of their starting backcourt – senior Max Rapoport and junior Eddie Fortescue. The duo combined for 52 points, or about 66 percent of Wissahickon's offensive production.
Both guards were also remarkably efficient, with Fortescue scoring 28 on 12-of-17 shooting and Rapoport pouring in 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor and 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point line. Fortescue added five assists and three steals while Rapoport notched four helpers and four steals.
Zach Reiner had just five points but filled up the rest of the stat sheet, pulling down seven rebounds, assisting seven shots, stealing the ball twice and blocking a shot. Anthony Lawrence had nine rebounds and three assists to go with his six points.
Wissahickon assisted on a staggering 27 of its 33 made field goals.
Brian McCarry led Upper Dublin with 13 points and scored all of them in the fourth quarter. Cory Stover added eight.
WISSAHICKON 15 23 25 16 – 79
UPPER DUBLIN 7 12 12 22 – 53
W: Eddie Fortescue 28, Max Rapoport 24, Donovan Oliphant 7, Anthony Lawrence 6, Zach Reiner 5, Catterton 5, Carmen Ostroski 2, T Caso 2
UD: Brian McCarry 13, Cory Stover 8, Corby Watkins 7, Najee Scott 6, Malik Bootman 6, Brian Klammer 5, Jason Williams 2, Mike Slivka 2, Bazel Brady 2.
SOL Continental Conference
Pennridge 63, Central Bucks East 54
The Rams only had four players score, but all four hit double figures as Pennridge topped the visiting Patriots.
Sean Yoder led the way with a career-high 27 points, scoring 12 in the final frame. Pennridge, which won its sixth straight game, also got 14 points from Tyrese Lewis, 12 from Jon Post and 10 from Mike Molettiere.
"“The game was probably in doubt with 30 seconds left. The score is not an indication how close the game was," Rams coach Dean Behrens said. "East really runs their offense well. They got some real clean looks at the basket in the fourth quarter in the last three minutes and the shots didn’t fall. We rebounded well at the end. We hit our foul shots at the end."
Yoder, the team's junior point guard, delivered when his team needed him the most.
“Sean Yoder had a monster game,” Behrens said. “We put the ball in his hands. We ran the pick-and-roll tonight in the second half with him and Jon Post. He put us in a great position to win the game."
Pennridge built a nine-point edge after the first quarter, but struggled offensively in the second frame.
“Sean was a little frustrated in the second quarter – he was taking good shots and they weren’t falling,” Behrens said. “I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. That’s going to happen.’ I was pleased with us as a team offensively – we took good shots, we moved the ball well.
"Defensively, we got a little out of sorts, and their big kid (Nick) Roggio probably had the game of his life. He played very, very well. I was very impressed. He had 21 points and played a heck of a game.”
Once East cut the Rams lead to 25-20 in the second, Behrens knew his team was in for a battle.
The game hung in the balance until the final few minutes when Yoder helped turn the tide.
“I can vividly see it – with three minutes left, they were up one and called a timeout,” Behrens said. “They run a play, and I have to look at this on film – Sean Yoder just stick his hand out on the wing, picked if off and went to the races.
"He went to the basket and we go up one. They turned the ball over, and we got an and-one, and all of a sudden, we’re up four within about 15 seconds left."
CB East was led by 21 points from Nick Roggio. Ben Markowitz added 11.
In addition to the basketball, the teams held a fundraiser to go with the game.
“It was a good cause,” Behrens said. “We had a fundraiser for both teams for the MiniThon both schools do. We had black t-shirts that said CB East/Pennridge, and they had white t-shirts that said the same thing.
“It was kind of cool – the two schools coordinated it. It was good fundraiser as well, so that was a positive.”
Pennridge (13-4, 6-2 SOL) will travel to Souderton on Tuesday, and Central Bucks East (10-8, 3-6) will be at Central Bucks West for a 6:30 p.m. contest.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 14 14 13 13 – 54
PENNRIDGE 23 6 15 19 – 63
P: Sean Yoder 21, Tyrese Lewis 14, Jon Post 12, Mike Molettiere 10
CBE: Nick Roggio 21, Ben Markowitz 11, Jesse Rivera 4, Kyle Cassidy 5, Collin Stein 8, Leo Masterson 5
North Penn 52, William Tennent 51
The first time these teams met, the Knights needed an overtime and a career game by David Robinson to emerge with a win.
Robinson didn't get close to his 38-point scoring effort from the last time, notching nine points, and the game didn't go to an extra period but it still came down to the wire. And it was Robinson notching the winning point, as his pair of foul shots with 19 seconds left was enough to propel North Penn to the win.
Chris Coleman led the Knights with 15 points and Nathan Hartman had 10 to lead a well-balanced North Penn effort.
The Knights led after each quarter but were never able to put away a Panthers team that kept coming after them. Markeith Baxter and Pat McCauley each had 13 to lead Tennent.
NORTH PENN 18 11 15 8 – 52
WILLIAM TENNENT 15 9 12 15 – 51
NP: Chris Coleman 15, Joey Lindsay 2, AJ Catanzaro 8, David Robinson 9, Nathan Hartman 10, Solomon Robinson 8
Wt: Pat McCauley 13, Markeith Baxter 13, Ben Satz 3, Michael Mulville 4, Kip Mooney 6, Ryan Savage 2, Dave West 2, Derrik Cosenza 8.
SOL National Conference
Harry S Truman 39, Council Rock South 25
It was far from pretty, but Truman will certainly take the win.
“We just challenged our guys,” coach Byron Conover said. “We said, ‘Listen, we have seven games left. We’ve got to play desperation basketball. We’re not looking for style points here. Just get the W. It doesn’t matter if you win by one or win by 40. Just get the W. Do whatever it takes,’
“Everybody is in the same boat. Seniors are realizing the sand is coming out of the hourglass. Everybody is fighting for district playoff berths. You have to scrap and claw. You have to find a way.”
That didn't mean it was fun to watch.
“We set basketball back about 10,000 years," Conover said. "“I can only speak to my team, and we’ve been having trouble putting the ball in the basket. We’re right at the basket, and we can’t put the ball in the hoop."
Council Rock South has proved a tough foe for the Tigers in the past and Conover knew if his team wasn't focused defensively, it wasn't going to win.
Conover challenged his team to rise to the challenge, play with pride and defend their home court.
"I have a tremendous amount of respect for coach Wright. He runs a great program. We were a little nervous coming in because they dropped 70 on Wednesday, and their kid (Shawn) Blank goes for 31, and we already know what (Christian) Jabbar can do," Conover said. "We were kind of focusing on Blank and Jabbar. Our game plan was to try to get them off the 3-point line. They didn’t hit one three tonight."
Truman’s Carter Kelley led all scorers with 13 points.
"It’s weird because we were in the same situation last year when we came to Council Rock South on a Friday night and we scored 30, and I’m ready to jump off the Burlington-Bristol coming back to Levittown," Conover said. "I tell my kids – 10 o’clock practice on Saturday morning. We practice hard for two hours. We hop on the school bus nice and sweaty and go out to Pottstown for a four o’clock game and we score 70. High school kids will do it to you.”
Harry S Truman (7-9, 2-5 SOL) will host Bensalem on Tuesday, and Council Rock South (4-12, 2-6) will host North Penn in a non-league game on Tuesday.
HARRY S TRUMAN 12 8 5 14 – 39
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 4 6 4 11 – 25
HST Jeff Nixon 6, Carter Kelley 13, Kashun Hoden 6, Javier Peterson 5, TJ Rogers 7, Gabe Gigli 2
CRS Kyle Meakim 2, Christian Jabbar 8, Shawn Blank 4, Esteban Gomez 6, Zach Schade 5.
Non-league
Westminster (FL) 82, Abington 80
The Galloping Ghosts have more than acquitted themselves well so far in Florida.
Playing against the top-ranked 4A team in the Sunshine State, the Ghosts had two chances to tie or win the game. They came up a little bit short, but once again proved Abington doesn't back down from anyone.
“We got a steal with 20 seconds left. It was a 2-on-1 fast break, and we didn’t get what we wanted out of it and took a quick one, missed it. They got the long rebound, they pushed it and they got a basket," Abington coach Charles Grasty said. "We had to call something with 11 seconds left and didn’t get it off. We got a really good look with 1.9 left – we went for the three, and we missed it.”
Eric Dixon led Abington with a 31-point effort. Robbie Heath scored 20 and Lucas Monroe contributed 12 as the Ghosts' power trio proved their mettle against yet another squad loaded with future college players.
“They could play. Every shot that they needed to hit, they hit," Grasty said of Westminster. "We went up five with 1:40 left. They came down and got a layup. We were up three with 54 seconds left and got a steal. We’re going on a break and we turned it over. They went bang-bang and they hit a three to tie it. It was just one of those games.
“It’s good basketball down here, that’s for sure.”
Even though Abington's main three had good scoring games, they battled foul trouble most of the way. Given the high profile of the teams in the tournament, Grasty said the referees have been letting a lot more go and it's something the Ghosts have had to deal with.
Abington's bench was starting to play well prior to leaving for Florida. The reserves came to the Ghosts' aid on Friday.
“It’s a different style of basketball down here,” Grasty said. “They let them get beat up down here. It’s a big-time tournament, and they don’t want to call that stuff. I thought overall as a team – we had guys who didn’t even play when we were at home that were searching, and they came in and gave us good minutes.
"We had a sequence where we had probably four guys on the floor at the end of the half that hardly ever play. We were in foul trouble, so we had to take Dixon, Heath, Monroe and Brown out. We had to go with four guys who hardly play. It was their ball, we got a stop, we got a steal and then JP Nolan got a three at the buzzer. The kids were excited. We’re having fun."
Nolan’s three sent the Ghosts into halftime with a 39-35 lead. The two teams were deadlocked 61-61 heading into the final quarter.
While the Ghosts would have rather won both their games, it hasn't been all bad.
“It’s one of those things – we do appreciate the support and the love, especially from our community,” Grasty said. “We’ve been getting text messages, and they’re on social media all night and just saying ‘wonderful job,’ but that only goes so far. We have to start winning these types of games.
“They know how I feel, but after we lost last night, we went to Sky Zone, we had some fun, we played dodge ball, and we went back to the school and watched (top-ranked) Montverde play. They sell out every home game. They have six floor seats where they sell the chairs for $5,000 a game. That’s how crazy it is down here. It’s definitely another level. Grant Hill was at the game last night. It’s a great experience, and they’re just loving it."
Abington (12-4, 8-0 SOL) has one more game in Florida, facing Villages Charter School at noon on Saturday.
“They were a little sad today, but on the way home on the van, I said, ‘Yo guys, what’s the problem? It’s 74 degrees and we’re in Florida in January.’ But they’re still disappointed,” Grasty said. “They wanted to put on a better show.
“As a coach, you’re disappointed because you didn’t win, but I can’t be that disappointed. We’re in Florida having fun.”
WESTMINSTER 22-13-26-21 82
ABINGTON 18-21-22-19 80
Abington (80) – Darius Brown 7, Bryan Coffman 3, Xavier Crawford 4, Eric Dixon 31, Robbie Heath 20, Lucas Monroe 12, JP Nolan 3.
Central Bucks West 60 Boys Latin 41
The Bucks stepped out of the conference and took on a Philadelphia Public League opponent.
Collin MacAdams rebounded from an off-night Thursday in a big way, pouring in 23 points and chipping in nine rebounds and three assists. Shane McCusker didn't play at all Friday after leaving Thursday's game early due to injury, but Jack Mulhearn helped pick up the slack again with an 11-point outing.
CB West dominated in the first and third quarters, winning the opening period 13-4 and taking the third 18-6. The second quarter was much tighter and Boys' Latin won the final frame, but the Bucks were up comfortably by then.
Defensively, the Bucks were solid and no Boys' Latin scorer reached double digits.
Central Bucks West (14-4, 7-2 SOL) will travel to Pottstown for a non-league game Saturday at 2 p.m.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 13 17 18 12 – 60
BOYS LATIN CHARTER 4 15 6 16 – 41
CBW: Collin MacAdams 23, Jack Mulhearn 11, Jake Reichwein 8, Mika Munari 6, Jack Neri 5, Davis Zerweck 4, Chase Heller 3
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