Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. CR North/Upper Dublin photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Non-league
Bensalem 46, Wissahickon 42
Bensalem didn’t let a slow start hinder its effort on Tuesday night as the Owls rallied for a dramatic 46-42 non-league win.
Bensalem trailed 14-5 after one quarter and 30-17 at halftime before flipping the script in the second half by outscoring the Trojans 29-12 over the final 16 minutes
“They were up 14 (in the third quarter), and you’re thinking, ‘Oh boy, what are we going to do,’” coach Mike McCabe said. “We got aggressive and started going to the basket. We locked it down defensively – we only gave up five points in the fourth quarter.
"We showed a lot of heart tonight, and that’s the one thing I said to the kids, ‘You could have packed it in really easily, but we didn’t.’ We just kept battling and once we got that lead, we didn’t relinquish it.”
Making the comeback even more impressive is the fact that the Owls lost eight seniors to graduation and are playing with a brand new lineup.
“Even though we have some seniors, we’re not really a very experienced varsity team,” McCabe said. “We only have one returning starter and a bunch of guys with really limited experience at the varsity level. It’s going to take us some time, no doubt about it.”
Senior Adam Beck hit a three-pointer with a minute to go to give Bensalem its first lead of the night, 44-42. Nasir Williams hit two foul shots with 9.7 seconds to ice it.
“It was a nice exciting win for us after a pretty ugly game on Friday,” McCabe said of the Owls’ 57-46 loss to Penn Wood. “This was huge. It’s only the second game of the season, and you can say how big that win was – if you lose, you have an 0-2 start and you’re going into your league opener on Thursday versus Neshaminy. Now instead, you’re 1-1, and you’re coming off a big win against a very, very good team. They’re well coached, they do a nice job. This is a big win for us. We still have a lot of work ahead of us, but that’s the fun of it.”
Lamont Hasker led the Owls with 13 points and Jeremiah Alexander added 11.
“Lamont Hasker played really well for us and Jeremiah Alexander and Nasir Williams did, too,” McCabe said.“Jeremiah Alexander (who is 6-4) had eight blocked shots. He’s our equalizer. We got beat on a couple of beautiful backdoor cuts, and he equalized it by swatting it in the stands.”
Eddie Fortescue had 22 points for the Trojans. Harrison Williams added six.
Bensalem (1-1) will travel to Neshaminy for Thursday’s SOL opener. Wissahickon (1-2) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh for Friday’s SOL opener.
Wissahickon 14-16-7-5 42
Bensalem 5-12-16-13 46
Bensalem (46) – Nasir Williams 4, Reuben Jean-Philippe 4, Jeremiah Alexander 11, Shane Simmons 6, TJ Igielski 5, Lamont Hasker 13, Adam Beck 3.
Wissahickon (42) – D’Shan Love 3, Eddie Fortescue 22, Harrison Williams 6, Maurice Willis 2, Tyler Caso 2, Cole Hirsch 3, Compas 3, Carmen Ostroski 1.
Abington 74, Harry S Truman 46
Abington’s Eric Dixon was honored before the game and then went out and put on a show during the game to help the Ghosts ease past Harry S Truman 74-46 in a non-league game Tuesday.
The Villanova University-bound senior was recognized prior to the game for becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer in Sunday’s championship game of the Gonzaga DC Classic.
Dixon entered Tuesday with 1,706 career points, besting the mark of 1,681 held by Richard Wright.
Dixon added to those totals by netting a game-high 24 points (to go along with 15 rebounds, three blocks and four assists) against the Tigers.
Additionally, Abington coach Charles Grasty, who is in his ninth season, became the program’s second all-time winningest coach with 172 wins (he passed Dave Torresani who had 171). Grasty was 9-13 his first season and is 163-41 since then (172-54 overall). The Ghosts’ coach was presented a Kansas City Chiefs helmet autographed by Tyreek Hill.
Lucas Monroe was next for the Ghosts with 12 points (seven rebounds) and Darius Brown had eight points, three steals and two assists. Manir Waller had five points, three rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Robert Bell had three assists in the final quarter. Joey Brusha and Nick Zappone scored their first varsity points
T.J. Rodgers led Truman with 13.
Abington (3-1) will travel to Springfield Township for Friday’s SOL opener, and Harry S Truman (0-3) will host Council Rock South in Thursday’s SOL opener.
Harry S Truman 10-13-4-19 46
Abington 16-22-17-19 74
Harry S Truman (46) – Imo 11, Mabrey 3, Snelling 2, Holden 2, Fernando 6, TJ Rodgers 13, Treson 2, Gimli 5, Marquise 2.
Abington (74) – Darius Brown 8, Lucas Monroe 12, Eric Dixon 24, Manir Waller 5, Derek Sussman 3, Jason Scott 2, Oreck Frazier 2, Joey Brusha 3, Maurice Henry 3, Jack Moynihan 5, Nick Zappone 5, Robert Bell 2.
Central Bucks South 57, Father Judge 52 (OT)
Central Bucks South shrugged off a soaring third-quarter start by Father Judge and, after taking the Crusaders to overtime, prevailed 57-52 in a non-league game Tuesday.
Judge opened the second half with a 9-0 run to grab a 30-21 advantage before the Titans worked their way back into the game.
“We called timeout and my players came out of the timeout and played with mental and physical toughness,” South coach Jason Campbell said. “It was a game that had plenty of competitive heat between opponents.”
The two sides ended regulation tied at 45 before the Titans were able to pull away in the extra session, outscoring Father Judge 12-7. All 12 of those points came at the foul line. Cole Prezelski and Alex Dietz were both a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe in the overtime.
Tom Kuypers paced the Titans with a game-high 22 points.
“Kuypers led the way in scoring, but it was a great team effort in other areas of our game,” Campbell said. “And we went 12-of-14 from the foul line (down the stretch) which was clutch for us.”
Dietz added a dozen points in the victory. Ian McCaw had eight and Prezelski, six.
Central Bucks South (1-2) will travel to Harry S Truman for a non-league game Thursday.
Central Bucks South 11-10-10-14-12 – 57
Father Judge 8-13-11-13 7 – 52
Central Bucks South (57) – Cole Prezelski 6, Brady Prezelski 3, Brock D’Arterio 2, Alex Dietz 12, Tom Kuypers 22, Ian McCaw 8, Mark Kammengeiser 4.
Father Judge (52) – Jamison 7, Dudley 3, Chie 7, Minich 3, Blythe 6, Shaw 4, Dooley 18, Boyle 9.
Pennridge 60, Lansdale Catholic 23
Pennridge stayed perfect on the young season with a 60-23 drubbing of Lansdale Catholic in a non-league game Tuesday.
The Rams, 3-0, took control early by building a 14-4 lead after one quarter and taking a 31-10 lead to halftime.
Sean Yoder led Pennridge with 24 points, which included six baskets from beyond the arc. Nine other Rams scored points including nine from Jon Post and seven from Trent Fisher.
The Crusaders fell to 1-2 with the loss.
Up next for the Rams (3-0) will be an away game against William Tennent on Friday (7 p.m.).
Lansdale Catholic 4-6-6-7 – 23
Pennridge 14-17-19-10 – 60
Lansdale Catholic (23) – McDonald 2, Kane 2, Gibbons 2, Ward 2, Romeo 8, Healy 7.
Pennridge (60) – Pleibel 2, L. Yoder 2, Dominic 3, S. Yoder 24, Dunn 2, Croyle 2, Guldin 6, Fisher 7, P. Gillespie 3, J. Post 9.
North Penn 56, Council Rock South 39
North Penn took control in the third quarter on the way to a 56-39 victory over visiting Council Rock South.
The Knights led just 24-20 at halftime before utilizing a 16-point third quarter to start pulling away. They added another 16 points in the final eight minutes to account for the final margin.
North Penn did most of its damage behind the arc as it converted a dozen 3-pointers to go along with just four 2-point field goals.
“Tali McIver played great tonight, and he was able to penetrate and probe the defense,” North Penn coach John Conrad said. “That really helped a lot. He did a great job of jump stopping and kicking the ball out, and we shot the ball well tonight from beyond the arc."
Junior Kolby Barrow paced the Knights with 19 points (including four 3-pointers).
“He doesn’t start for us, but he came off the bench and knocked down three (3-pointers) in the first quarter and four in the first half,” Conrad said. “He came off the bench and just took advantage. He shot the ball really well. That was huge.”
Barrow’s night actually started on a bit of a shaky note.
“He was late getting over to the gym on time because he locked his keys in the car when it was running,” Conrad said. “We were teasing him about that, and now the joke is he’s got to do that every game.”
Mike Chaffee, who also had four 3-pointers, added 13 points with 10 of them coming after intermission. Chris Caputo was next for the Knights with nine points on three 3-pointers.
Shawn Blank (13 points) was the only Golden Hawk in double figures. Kevin McNamee was next for the visitors with seven points.
North Penn (2-1) will host Souderton in the SOL opener for both squads on Thursday at 8 p.m. Council Rock South (0-3) will travel to Harry S Truman on Thursday.
CR South 11-9-10-9 39
North Penn 14-10-16-16 56
Council Rock South (39) – Jack Rebholz 6, Luke Meakim 3, Michael Stewart 6, Kevin McNamee 7, Luca Baratta 2, Brian Schwartz 1, Shawn Blank 13, Connor Lewis 1.
North Penn (56) – Tali McIver 6, Kolby Barrow 19, Chris Caputo 9, Mike Chaffee 13, Rob Carangi 3, Solomon Robinson 6.
Souderton 59, William Tennent 51
Souderton overcame a slow start to notch a 59-51 win over William Tennent in a non-league game Tuesday.
The Indians managed just four first-quarter points (the Panthers had 11) and trailed 23
19 by halftime.
However, a 22-point third quarter put Souderton in control as they led 41-33 entering the final eight minutes.
“We had 40 in the second half after scoring 19 in the first,” Souderton coach Tim Brown said. “It was not our best defensive effort yet, but a great team performance.”
Junior Andrew Vince led the Indians with a game-high 18 points and was aided by Kyle Walker with 15 and Mekhi Williams with 13.
“Andrew Vince had 18 points and 11 rebounds and controlled the paint and Kyle Walker added a great boost in the second half,” Brown said. “He made nine of out 10 free throws to close out the game.”
Sophomore Derrik Cosenza paced the Panthers with a team-high 13 points and Michael Mulville was next with 10.
Souderton (1-2) will be on the road at North Penn for Thursday’s SOL opener at 8 p.m. William Tennent (1-2) will host Pennridge in a non-league game on Friday.
Souderton 4-15-22-18 – 59
William Tennent 11-12-10-18 – 51
Souderton (59) – Andrew Vince 18, Kyle Walker 15, Mekhi Williams 13, Sam Chouiraf 7, Jack Towsen 3, Zach Thatcher 3.
William Tennent (51) – Derrik Cosenza 13, Michael Mulville 10, Dave West 8, Jay Stanfield 7, Dell Mutunda 5, Ryan Savage 4, Josiah Johnson 2, Kip Mooney 2.
Council Rock North 46, Upper Dublin 41
Council Rock North notched its third win in as many games Tuesday.
“Our boys came ready to play tonight,” Rock North coach Jesse Krasna said. “They were fired up to have a home game, and we started off the game with a lot of energy. We had back-to-back charges on our first two defensive possessions and jumped out to a 9-0 lead after three threes in a row, two from Luke Vliet and a third from Josh Fisher.
“The boys did a nice job with our press and we were able to get some easy baskets because they were flying around, especially in the second half.”
Vliet (12 points) and James Duffy (11) were the only Indians in double figures, but five other players scored in the victory.
“Parker Ehlin only scored two points but wreaked havoc with his pressure on the ball and his activity in the passing lanes,” Krasna said. “Luke Vliet led us in scoring and hit some big shots when Upper Dublin was cutting into our lead in the fourth quarter.
“James Duffy also scored in double figures and led us with three charges. DJ Mischak put the game away with a huge steal and by drawing a foul on a box out late in the fourth quarter.”
Bazel Brady had 12 points to lead the Cardinals and Drew Stover was next with 10.
Council Rock North (3-0) will travel to Pennsbury for Thursday’s SOL opener at 5 p.m., and Upper Dublin (2-1) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Upper Dublin 10-10-12-9 41
Council Rock North 19-5-13-9 46
Upper Dublin (41) – Drew Stover 10, Corby Watkins 5, Bazel Brady 12, Jason Williams 2, Brian Klammer 2, Micah Bootman 8, Mike Slivka 2.
Council Rock North (46) – DJ Mischak 7, Bernie Parent 5, Luke Vliet 12, Hunter Wan 4, Parker Ehlin 2, James Duffy 11, Josh Fisher 5.
Sankofa Freedom Academy 84, Plymouth Whitemarsh 61
Plymouth Whitemarsh hung with tough Sankofa Freedom Academy for a half before the hosts were able to pull away for an 84-61 non-league victory Tuesday.
The Colonials trailed by six after one quarter and 13 at halftime. However, in the second half, Sankofa Academy outscored the Colonials 36-26 to pull away for the win.
Naheem McLeod led Plymouth Whitemarsh with 29 points and Carlin Peters was next with 22.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-1) will travel to Wissahickon for Friday’s SOL opener.
Sankofa Freedom Academy 23-25-15-21 – 84
Plymouth Whitemarsh 17-18-14-12 – 61
Sankofa Freedom Academy (84) – Savage 13, Spaun 5, Priest 5, Turner 19, Boswell 4, Devine 9, Dernesh 29.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (61) – Carlin Peters 22, Naheem McLeod 29, Kyrie Pendleton 6, Mark Kalala 2, Cody Carmini 2.
Mastery Charter North 79, Cheltenham 55
Cheltenham never got on track in what turned out to be a 79-55 loss to Mastery Charter North in a non-league game Tuesday.
The Panthers were down seven at 30-23 at halftime before Mastery North all but sealed things by outscoring the hosts 28-9 in the third quarter.
“Turnovers and the fact that we did not rebound well at all led to a lot of extra possessions for them where we were one and done,” Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury said. “They got multiple shots at the basket, which allowed them to control the game pace, so we were never really able to get out and run much because we were either taking it out of the net or they were taking it sideline out of bounds.”
Zahree Harrison led the Panthers with 14 points and Tim Myarick had 10. Jalen Mickens
“We need to do a much better job of attacking,” Fleury said. “But it was a very good team that we played, taking no credit away from them."
Cheltenham (2-1) will travel to Upper Moreland for its SOL opener on Friday.
Mastery Charter North 17-13-28-21 79
Cheltenham 11-12-9-23 55
Mastery North (79) – Crowmartie 5, Carpenter 6, Reed 12, Knight 4, Nyankun 11, Battle 2, Campbell 15, Jones 2, Mccauley 22.
Cheltenham (55) – Zahree Harrison 14, Jalen Mickens 8, Tim Myarick 10, Brandon Scott 8, Seth Arnsberg 3, Mike McClain 1, Sean Emfinger 3, Dominick Vazquez 6, Lance Tolliver 1, Kyin Healey 1.
Archbishop Ryan 61, Pennsbury 46
Pennsbury fell behind early and couldn’t recover in a 61-46 loss to Archbishop Ryan in a non-league game.
The Falcons were down nine after a quarter and eight at halftime before the Raiders pulled away in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Collin Connor led the Falcons with a team-high 18 points and Gary Francis chipped in with 17 points and nine rebounds. Cooper
Pennsbury (0-2) will host Council Rock North in Thursday’s SOL opener at 5 p.m.
Pennsbury 11-12-11-12 46
Archbishop Ryan 20-11-23-7 61
Pennsbury (46) – Kyrie Miller 2, Collin Connor 18, Gary Francis 17, Cooper Arnold 9.
Archbishop Ryan (61) – Stone 2, Weiss 2, Reed 10, Oseckas 20, Robbins 1, Lemon-Warren 18.
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