Check out the preview capsules for the nine SOL boys’ basketball teams that will be in action Tuesday in the District One Tournament. The schedule includes four all-SOL games.
Eight SOL teams will be in action Tuesday in four all-SOL second round games of the District One 6A Tournament. Three of the games will be the third meeting between conference rivals. Upper Moreland will begin play in the District One 5A tournament.
Class 6A
#16 BENSALEM at #1 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH (Tuesday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m.)
Plymouth Whitemarsh
- 24-0 overall
- 14-0 SOL American Conference champion
- Defeated #4 CB West 62-41 in SOL Tournament title game
- No. 23 in the latest USA Today rankings
- Defeated #6 Pennridge 79-55 in SOL Tournament semifinals
- Led by senior guards Ahmad and Ahmin Williams, Ish Horn and Danny Cooper, as well as senior forward Alan Glover and 7-foot-3 junior center Naheem McLeod
- Of PW’s 24 victories, only four have come by a margin of under 10 points
- Regular season wins over #18 Neshaminy (88-54) and #19 Cheltenham (88-65 & 77-57). The Colonials swept PCL powers Neumann-Goretti (66-57), Bonner Prendergast (64-60), Archbishop Carroll 66-53 and Archbishop Wood (55-43).
- The Colonials have won 49 straight games at home
How they got here: Opening round bye.
Bensalem
- 15-8 overall
- 7-5 SOL National Conference, third place
- Led by Ward Roberts (14.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 spg) and James Leible (11.4 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
- Split two regular season meetings with #17 Pennsbury (51-49 win, 61-51 loss)
- Regular season wins over #15 CB South (59-53), #18 Neshaminy (69-53) and #21 Penn Wood (49-42)
- Won eight of last nine games after starting the season 7-7
How they got here: In Friday’s opening round, Bensalem defeated 17th-seeded Pennsbury 58-55 in overtime, thanks to a Kris Shields 3-pointer at the buzzer of OT. Shields scored a game-high 22 points while Ward Roberts (14 points) and James Leible (11 points) also finished in double figures. The Owls connected on 16-of-20 from the foul line.
#18 NESHAMINY at #2 ABINGTON (Tuesday, Feb. 20, 7:30 p.m.)
Abington
- 18-5 overall
- 12-0 SOL National Conference champion
- Defending District One 6A champion
- Lost to #4 CB West in SOL Tournament semifinals (with Eric Dixon sidelined), snapping a six-game win streak
- Led by junior forward Eric Dixon (24.0 ppg, 9.3 rpg), senior point guard Robbie Heath (18.5 ppg) and junior G/F Lucas Monroe (13.1 ppg)
- Heath (1,491 career points) and Dixon (1,450) are the third- and fourth-leading scorers in school history
- Dixon returned to practice on Tuesday after missing team’s previous two games with a finger injury
- The Ghosts are looking to capture their third district title in the last four seasons
- Regular season wins over #16 Bensalem (68-51 & 65-56) #17 Pennsbury (82-60 & 51-45), #18 Neshaminy (72-49 & 82-60), #19 Cheltenham (74-54), #20 Central Bucks East (74-47) and #22 North Penn (81-62)
How they got here: Opening round bye
Neshaminy
- 14-9 overall
- 7-5 SOL National Conference, tied third place
- Led by Division-I recruit senior Chris Arcidiacono (25.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 4.0 apg), senior Anthony Papeo (10.0 ppg, 3.0 apg, D-III recruit), Danny Bodine (8.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, D-III recruit) and senior Charles Dominick (8.0 ppg)
- Regular season wins over #6 Pennridge (72-68), #16 Bensalem (56-42) and #17 Pennsbury (62-51)
- Redskins finished the regular season with a winning record for the first time since 2011
- Arcidiacono, younger brother of former Villanova University star and current Chicago Bulls guard Ryan, reached the 1,000-point club earlier this season. He also scored a school-record 43 points in a 71-70 overtime win over Truman on Feb. 6.
How they got here: In an opening round game Friday, Neshaminy edged 15th-seeded Central Bucks South 50-47, staging a late rally for the come-from-behind win. Chris Arcidiacono led the ‘Skiins with 25 points, connecting on 15-of-16 from the foul line. Anthony Papeo added 10 and Charles Dominick had nine.
#20 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST at #4 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST (Tuesday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m.)
Central Bucks West
- 19-5 overall
- 10-2 SOL Continental Conference champion
- Lost to #1 PW 62-41 in SOL Tournament title game
- Defeated #2 Abington 53-43 in SOL Tournament semifinals
- Led by senior G/F Collin MacAdams (14.0 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.1 apg), senior G Shane McCusker (8.9 ppg), senior F Jake Reichwein (8.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg) and junior G Jack Mulhearn (7.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 3.3 apg)
- MacAdams will miss Tuesday’s second-round game due to mononucleosis, the same illness that kept him out of the SOL Tournament title game vs. PW
- Bucks have won 11 of their last 12 games
- Regular season wins over #6 Pennridge (51-29 & 57-36), #10 Methacton (47-42), #15 CB South (56-38), #20 CB East (50-43 & 65-55) and #22 North Penn (67-51 & 58-43)
- Winner will face the winner of the #5 Coatesville vs. #12 Downingtown East game.
How they got here: Opening round bye
Central Bucks East
- 13-10 overall
- 5-7 SOL Continental Conference, fifth place
- Led by Kyle Cassidy (DeSales commit — 14.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg) and Nick Roggio (12.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 bpg)
- Twelve of the team’s 13 wins have come when holding its opponent to 50 points or less.
- Fourth trip to district playoffs in the last five years
- Regular season wins over #15 CB South (58-47), # 17 Pennsbury (56-41) and #22 North Penn (62-45)
- Third time in as many years the Patriots have advanced to the second round.
- Lost both regular season match-ups vs. Central Bucks West (50-43 and 65-55).
How they got here: In Friday’s opening round, Central Bucks East upset #13 Owen J. Roberts, earning a 52-50 overtime win when Nick Roggio turned a pass from Jesse Rivera into the game winner. Roggio led the Patriots with 15 points while Kyle Cassidy added 13 points. Rivera had 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
#22 NORTH PENN at #6 PENNRIDGE (Tuesday, Feb. 20, 7 p.m.)
Pennridge
- 17-6 overall
- 9-3 SOL Continental, second place
- Lost to #1 PW 79-55 in SOL Tournament semifinals
- Led by junior G Sean Yoder (16.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.0 apg), senior F Tyrese Lewis (11.0 ppg), junior PF/C Jonathan Post (11.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg), sophomore F Jake Pestrak, senior Mike Molettiere (leading three-point shooter)
- Sean Yoder’s younger brother, Luke, is a freshman for the Rams
- Pennridge has won 10 of its last 12 games
- Regular season wins over #10 Methacton (52-51), #15 CB South (63-56), #20 CB East (63-54 & 52-51) and #22 North Penn (66-57 & 57-43)
How they got here: Opening round bye
North Penn
- 13-10 overall
- 6-6 SOL Continental, fourth place
- Led by David Robinson (12.8 ppg), Chris Coleman (11.5 ppg) and AJ Mitchell (10.0 ppg)
- Regular season wins over #15 CB South (47-44), #20 CB East (61-49) and #23 Perkiomen Valley (42-41)
- North Penn is 8-3 in its last 11 games
How they got here: In Friday’s opening round, North Penn rallied from a seven-point deficit with five minutes remaining to upset 11th-seeded Spring-Ford 52-50. Chris Coleman (17 points), Joey Lindsay (16 points) and David Robinson (11 points) all finished the game in double figures. Robinson scored the go-ahead basket with a feed from Coleman.
Class 5A
16 UPPER MORELAND AT #1 PENNCREST (Tuesday, Feb. 20)
Upper Moreland
- 9-13 overall
- 5-9 SOL American Conference, fifth place
- Led by senior G Ryan Coyle, senior G/F Brett Brossman, senior F/C Jake Villanueva and junior G Christian O’Donnell
- Lost six of last seven regular season games
- This Upper Moreland senior class has been to the playoffs in each of their four seasons in the program
- Head coach Sean Feeley says: “What I’ve been telling my kids this week is simply don’t be satisfied.”
Penncrest
- 21-3 overall
- 14-2 Central Athletic League, first place
- Led by senior Tyler Norwood (21 ppg, 7.0 apg), Malcolm Williams (9.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg), Chris Mills (7.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg), Matt Arbogast (9.7 ppg, 8.0 rpg) and Justin Heidig (8.2 ppg, 38 3’s)
- Norwood is the school’s all-time leading scorer
- Penncrest is the defending district champion in 5A
- Regular season wins over #3 Chester, #8 Upper Darby (6A), #9 Garnet Valley (6A) and #14 Conestoga (6A)
- Lost most recent game 52-48 to #11 Marple Newtown
- Head coach Mike Doyle says: “Upper Moreland will be an extremely difficult opponent. They have played one of the toughest schedules in 5A and their seed and record does not reflect how good they are.”
WEDNESDAY: #13 STRATH HAVEN AT #4 WISSAHICKON (Wednesday, Feb. 21)
Wissahickon
- 16-6 overall
- 11-3 SOL American Conference, second place
- Led by senior G Max Rapoport (16.0 ppg), junior G Eddie Fortescue (15.0 ppg) and senior G/F Zach Reiner (11.0 ppg, 10.0 rpg, 7.0 apg)
- Regular season wins over #7 Norristown (6A), #15 Bensalem (6A), #10 Methacton (6A), #23 Perkiomen Valley (6A), #19 Cheltenham (6A) and #16 Upper Moreland (73-56 & 75-54)
- Came closest to knocking off 24-0 Plymouth Whitemarsh on Dec. 22, falling by a score of 67-66
- Has won seven of its last 10 games heading into the playoff
- Head coach Kyle Wilson says: “Strath Haven is a solid team that moves the ball around. They have a strong big guy in the middle and a solid cast of guards, so we’re excited to play a formidable opponent on our home court. Our trio of Max, Eddie and Zach have set the tone all year long and played unselfishly together as a team. It’s a group of hungry guys, and that starts with the leadership at the top. We’ve played some of the top teams in 6A to prepare ourselves for this 5A postseason.”
Strath Haven
- 10-12 overall
- 6-10 Central Athletic League, tied for eighth
- Led by Cooper Driscoll (leading scorer), Ryan Morris (leading three-point shooter) and Jordan Graves
- Won most recent game heading into the playoffs, a 59-49 win against Harriton on Feb. 9
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