Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday. Wissahickon/PW photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos. CB West/CB East photos provided courtesy of Marge Bullock Photography. To view the game photos, please visit her web site at the following link: http://www.margebullock.com
SOL Continental
Central Bucks East 61, Central Bucks West 58 (OT)
They’re usually wild when these two meet. And close. That was again the case Friday night when the two archrivals hooked up in front of a packed house at Central Bucks East.
But this time, and for the first time in a long time, it was the Patriots coming out on top – and it took overtime to do it.
The victory was the first for the Patriots over the Bucks since Jan. 29, 2014 (45-42), or, when the seniors in this game were seventh graders.
“It was a great team effort,” Central Bucks East coach Erik Henrysen said. “We got beaten on the boards in the fourth quarter and West started to pull away.
“But then Ben made those big plays (and forced the overtime).”
The Bucks, who were led by Jack Mulhearn’s game-high 21 points, held a seven-point lead with 90 seconds remaining in regulation before East senior Ben Markowitz quickly changed things.
Markowitz, who had 17 points on the night, drilled a 3-pointer to pull East within four and then nailed another trey, and was fouled on the play. He made the free throw to tie the game and bring on the overtime.
In the overtime, the Patriots Leo Masterson made 3-of-4 foul shots in the final 23 seconds to ultimately give East the victory.
Joe Jackman led the Patriots with 18 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers. Nick Roggio led the Patriots under the backboards with eight rebounds to go along with seven points. Markowitz – who had three 3-pointers in his 17 points – also had five rebounds.
East helped itself at the foul line, connecting on 18-of-21. West was 14-of-22 at the charity stripe.
In addition to Mulhearn, the Bucks received 12 points from Reed Zerweck and 11 each from Mika Munari and Jack Neri.
Central Bucks East (2-0, 1-0 SOL) is back in action in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at Council Rock South. The Patriots will face Council Rock North at 3 p.m. Central Bucks West (2-1, 0-1) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh to take on the Colonials at 7 p.m. as part of the SOL Challenge.
Central Bucks East 6-10-19-17-9 61
Central West 8-10-16-18-6 58
Central Bucks East (61) – Nick, Roggio 7, Ben Markowitz 17, Leo Masterson 8, Joe Jackman 18, Jason Markowitz 2, Jacob Rotondo 7, Brendan Harte 2.
Central Bucks West (58) – Connor Briece 3, Jack Mulhearn 21, Reed Zerweck 12, Mika Munari 11, Jack Neri 11.
Central Bucks South 41, Quakertown 38
The defense didn’t rest in this one, it just flipped sides.
In the first half, Quakertown held Central Bucks South to only 12 points before the Titans returned the favor in the second half by limiting the Panthers to just 16 points.
Ultimately, it was the Titans who came away with the win.
“It was a physical battle and the game was all defense,” South coach Jason Campbell said.“It was our fourth game in eight days, but credit to (Quakertown) Coach (Mike) DeCarolis and his team for bringing a lot of energy and executing a solid game plan.
“I told my players that Quakertown has always been a tough place to play for us and once again it was.We challenged our players to step up and execute our game plan in the second half and they came through.”
Tom Kuypers, Alex Dietz and Ian McCaw combined for 31 points for the Titans with Kuypers leading the way with a game-high 12. Dietz added 10 and McCaw had nine.
Bobby Rosenberger led the Panthers with 8.
Central Bucks South (2-2, 1-0) will face Neshaminy in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at Central Bucks West at 1 p.m. Quakertown (0-2, 0-1) will take on Springfield Township on Saturday at Pennridge at noon.
Central Bucks South 7-5-18-11 41
Quakertown 10-12-9-7 38
Central Bucks South (41) – Cole Prezelski 1, Brady Prezelski 3, Alex Dietz 10, Mark Kannengieszer 6, Tom Kuypers 12, Ian McCaw 9.
Quakertown (38) – Matt Catalano 5, Sean Harrison 2, Matt Tuley 4, Jimmy Casey 6, Nick Mestayer 3, Bobby Rosenberger 8, Matt Lucas 3, Al Amadou 2, Eli Oritz 5.
SOL American
Cheltenham 66, Upper Moreland 46
Poor start, strong finish for Cheltenham.
The Panthers managed only six points in the first quarter, but put up 60 the rest of the way en route to an American Conference victory over Upper Moreland.
Cheltenham, which trailed the Golden Bears 8-6 after eight minutes, led 19-15 at halftime and 43-32 after three quarters.
“In the first half, we were a little bit stagnant, and we were missing the open man,” Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury said. “In the second half, we were definitely more assertive. When the shots were there, the kids were taking them or making plays for others.
“The team started to pick their energy up, and they found joy in the successes of others and that propelled them to victory.As a team defensively in the second half, I think they realized that’s our staple. The energy as a whole – we as coaches continuously talk about – is what’s going to help us win in the long run."
Junior Zahree Harrison paced the Panthers with a game-high 31 points (six assists, three steals). Fellow-junior Kyin Healey added 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
“We were talking as coaches, we have known him (Harrison) a very long time,” Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury said. “He’s come up through our school. To see him have a performance like tonight was just like a culminating activity for us. He had 31 points, but to his credit, he also had six assists, so he didn’t have a one-track mind. He took what was there."
Jalen Mickens (seven points, four steals), Tim Myarick (seven points, six rebounds) and Brandon Scott (four steals) also made important contributions for the Panthers.
Christian O’Donnell (13 points) and Jourdan Gregg (11) led the way for the Golden Bears.
Cheltenham (3-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury for a SOL Challenge game on Saturday at 12:45 p.m. Upper Moreland (3-1, 0-1) will travel to Abington on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 8-7-17-14 46
Cheltenham 6-13-24-23 66
Upper Moreland (46) – Byron Hopkins 9, Beau Woolens 5, Christian O’Donnell 13, Jourdan Gregg 11, Tyler Ibbotson 8.
Cheltenham (66) – Zahree Harrison 31, Jalen Mickens 7, Tim Myarick 7, Brandon Scott 2, Seth Arinsberg 3, Mike McClain 1, Dom Vazquez 2, Kyin Healey 13
Abington 88, Springfield Township 50
Fourteen players scored points as Abington rolled to a win over the Spartans.
The Ghosts, one of the top teams in District One and in the state, were able to build a 15-point advantage by halftime and increased their advantage to 70-33 by yielding only nine points in the third quarter.
Abington was paced by 21 points and nine rebounds from Villanova University-commit Eric Dixon and 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from University of Pennsylvania-commit Lucas Monroe. Maurice Henry contributed eight points, and Darius Brown added seven points and seven assists.
The Ghosts connected on 34-of-46 field goals (53 percent), the first time they’ve shot over 50 percent this season. They connected on nine 3-pointers.
Ben Rittenhouse led the Spartans with a team-high 15 points.
The Ghosts (4-1, 1-0 SOL) head to unbeaten Pennridge (4-0) on Saturday (1:30 p.m.) in a Coaches vs. Cancer SOL Challenge matchup. Springfield Township (2-2, 0-1) will take on Quakertown at Pennridge in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at noon.
Springfield Township 12-12-9-17 50
Abington 16-23-31-18 88
Springfield Township (50) – Austin Maggioncalda 4, Jordan Pauls 5, Wilson Krewson 8, Ryan Deal 2, Zach Evans 9, Max Parry 7, Ben Rittenhouse 15.
Abington (88) – Darius Brown 7, Lucas Monroe 15, Eric Dixon 21, Manir Waller 6, Maurice Henry 8, Derek Sussman 5, Jason Scott 2, Zyeir Olasewere 2, Justin Brooks 2, Oreck Frazier 2, Joey Brusha 3, Jack Moynihan 5, Nik Zappen 6, Robert Bell 4.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 63, Wissahickon 47
A strong second half lifted Plymouth Whitemarsh past Wissahickon on Friday night.
The Trojans and Colonials were separated by only four points at halftime (27-23) before Plymouth Whitemarsh exploded for 36 second-half points to put the game away.
“We hit a gear tonight that I wasn’t sure we were able to reach in terms of pace,” Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Jim Donofrio said.“That’s a very good sign for us.
“It was also great to see Jason Terry grab 16 rebounds and Caelin Peters control the game at the point with 13 assists and Kyree Pendleton step up with 17 points in the fourth quarter.”
Pendleton would finish with a game-high 21 points and Naheem McLeod was close behind with 19. Cherry chipped in with 11 points.
Eddie Fortescue and Harrison Williams combined for 27 points for the Trojans with Fortescue netting 14.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-1, 1-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks West in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at 7 p.m. Wissahickon (1-3, 0-1) will take on William Tennent at PW on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 18-9-14-22 63
Wissahickon 14-9-19-5 47
Plymouth Whitemarsh (63) – Jaden Pryce 2, Ray Tomasetti 2, Caelin Peters 6, Naheem McLeod 19, Kyree Pendleton 21, Jordan Evans 2, Jason Cherry 11.
Wissahickon (47) – D’Shan Love 3, Eddie Fortescue 14, Harrison Williams 13, Maurice Willis 8, Matt Compas 5, Carmen Ostroski 4.
Non-league
Pennridge 79, William Tennent 53
Unbeaten Pennridge used a stingy defense and a career-high 32 points from senior SeanYoder to collect the win over William Tennent.
“Our defense is improving and that’s what you want to see,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said.“There will be times when your offense is inconsistent, but you can always play good defense.
“We faced a little adversity for the first time tonight when Tennent went ahead 24-20, but our guys were able to bounce back.”
The game was tied at 35-35 at halftime before the Rams blitzed the host Panthers by outscoring them 28-5 in the third quarter to blow the game open.”
In addition to the 32 from Yoder, Pennridge received 11 points apiece from Jon Post and Pat Gillespie.
“Yoder was just a monster,” Behrens said. “And we had a lot of guys get involved.”
All told, Pennridge had 12 players score points.
“We have some depth,” Behrens said. “And all of the kids are working hard.”
Pennridge is right back at it Saturday afternoon when it hosts powerful Abington (1:30 p.m.).
“It’s a great cause (Coaches vs. Cancer) and we’re playing a great team in Abington,” Behrens said. “We’re looking forward to it.”
Dave West led the Panthers with a team-high 13 points.
William Tennent (1-3) will face Wissahickon in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at Plymouth Whitemarsh at 4 p.m.
Pennridge 18-17-28-16 79
William Tennent 10-25-5-13 53
Pennridge (79) – Luke Yoder 3, John Dominic 5, Sean Yoder 32, Nick Dunn 7, Trent Fisher 2, Pat Gillespie 11, Jon Post 11, Ryan Benscoter 2, Paul Croyle 2, Christian Guldin 1, Connor Pleibel 1, Colin Post 2.
William Tennent (53) – Stanfield 2, Wadsworth 1, Johnson 9, Mooney 3, Savage 8, West 13, Cosenza 12, Lavell 3, Del Matunda 2.
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