Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday. (Team photos provided courtesy of Pennridge & CB South basketball)
PENNRIDGE 60, BOYERTOWN 53
The Rams threw some serious defense at the Bears, limiting them to just nine points in the first half of Saturday’s title game of the Boyertown Holiday Tournament. The Rams took a seemingly commanding 36-20 lead into the final quarter when the Bears staged a furious rally, but the Rams would not be denied, holding on to capture the tournament crown.
“Our defense was stellar tonight,” coach Dean Behrens said. “In the fourth quarter, they had 33. They’re a good shooting team, and they started hitting shots, and we started putting them on the foul line.
“They were 15-for-16 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. We’re trying not to foul, but we did. We always seemed to have a double-digit lead until the end when they hit a shot with two seconds left. They’re a good, young team. They had just beaten North Penn, and they were 5-3 coming into tonight.”
Sean Yoder led all scorers with 22 points, and Jon Post came up huge for the Rams, finishing with 20 points. He scored all eight of his team’s points in the opening quarter, and by halftime, he had 14 points.
“Jon Post had an explosion tonight,” Behrens said. “They zoned us, and we put Jon at the high post, and he really set the tone early that he was going to hit that 15-footer. He moved the ball from the high post to the low post, kicked it out to the guards to hit some threes. He really was like a point forward for us tonight.
“Not only did he score, but his assist total was very high. Jon was key offensively for us. We always think Sean is going to be the one because he’s the point guard, but because they zoned, it was more Jon distributing the ball as well as taking good shots from 15 feet and in.
“I don’t think Jon felt like he played real well last night – he was 0-for-6 from the foul line. I think he wanted to step up, and he was more aggressive offensively. They’re big. He had his hands full, but Jon gave them fits tonight. He really set the tone for us early.”
The Rams’ coach also credited the defensive effort of several players.
“I thought a guy like John Dominic did an outstanding job on their shooter (Tre Diguglielmo),” Behrens said. “I thought Sean Yoder did an outstanding job on their point guard (Aarick Salata).”
Trent Fisher added eight points for the Rams.
The Rams have won four in a row since dropping back-to-back games to Abington and Quakertown.
Pennridge (8-2, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South for a key conference showdown on Friday.
Pennridge 8-15-13-24 60
Boyertown 6-3-11-33 53
Pennridge (60) – Luke Yoder 2, John Dominic 4, Sean Yoder 22, Trent Fisher 8, Pat Gillespie 4, Jon Post 20.
Boyertown (53) – Aarick Salata 17, Mason Marinello 14, Alex Obarow 3, Chris Kiefer 2, Hunter Borgmann 9, Tre Diguglielmo 8.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 43, HOLY GHOST PREP 37
The Titans – who lost their first two games of the season – have won seven straight to close out the month of December, capping a successful opening month with a win over the host team in the Jack Schott Holiday Tournament.
“It’s nice,” coach Jason Campbell said. “We could be 9-0, but those first couple of games we lost helped us to focus more on the little things we need to do and be more consistent each quarter.
“The guys have all bought into our offensive system and what we’re trying to do on defense. When there’s adversity like today or in the Bartram game when we were down 16-8, we could have easily folded our tent, and we didn’t. We fought back, and that’s what I like. They’ll kick each other in the butt a little bit, but they’re never arguing with one another, so that’s what’s really solid about this team.”
The Titans led 13-6 after one quarter and took a 24-18 lead into halftime. Alex Dietz accounted for 11 of those points while Tommy Kuypers added eight and Mark Kannengieszer had seven. They took a 34-25 lead into the final quarter and then withstood a Firebird rally, scoring all nine of their points in the frame at the foul line where they were 9-of-15.
“It was a pretty physical game,” Campbell said. “More fouls were being called as the game went on, and rightfully so. We had chances to pull away and get a nine or 10-point lead, and Holy Ghost would chip away at it. At one point, they tied it.
“In the second half, we did not shoot the ball well from the free throw line. At one of our timeouts, I said, ‘We have a minute 50 left. The slate is clean on the free throws, and the percentages are on our side to make the rest of them down the stretch.’ We were good down the stretch, and in the last 1:50 made our free throws. We played some good defense and rebounded down the stretch.”
Dietz, whose 15 points led the Titans, was named MVP of the tournament.
“Alex Dietz is a kid that plays every second of the game, he plays both ends of the court,” Campbell said. “You love to have a player like this. It’s not to say other guys don’t – they do, but he’s just so consistent.
“He steps in and takes a charge at a great moment to change momentum that was happening for Ghost in the first half. That’s just the kind of kid he is. He takes the challenge of guarding some of the top players, he’s good at getting to the rim, and he’s just a coachable kid with a positive attitude. I don’t think anything can shake the kid.”
Kuypers, who added nine points, also earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
“Tommy is consistent,” Campbell said. “He has such a good inside-out game, mid-range game. He’s good at creating a shot for himself, whether it’s getting to the basket and making a nice little move or a hook shot.
“He works really well with our post players, Ian McCaw and Mark Kannengieszer. All three of those guys do a good job in our offense, finding one another, they’re sharing the ball. It’s a nice group of seniors that have a lot of chemistry together.”
McCaw added eight points, which included a 4-for-5 effort at the foul line.
“I told (Holy Ghost Prep) athletic director Jim Stewart – ‘If I could buy a third all-tournament team, I’d give it to Ian McCaw, and I’d pick up the cost of the medal.’ He had a good couple of games and rebounded the ball really well and scored some points. I had Ian pick up the championship trophy because he did mean that much to us today.”
Kannengieszer added seven points for the Titans.
Central Bucks South (7-2, 3-0 SOL) will host Pennridge on Friday night.
Central Bucks South 13-11-10-9 43
Holy Ghost Prep 6-12-7-12 37
Central Bucks South (43) – Cole Prezelski 1, Brady Prezelski 3, Alex Dietz 15, Mark Kannengieszer 7, Tommy Kuypers 9, Ian McCaw 8.
Holy Ghost Prep (37) – Matt Sobon 3, Tyler Mish 3, Jack Rittenmeyer 11, Greg Calvin 14, Steve Cianci 1, Sean Elliott 4, Kevin Morrison 1.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 61, UNIONVILLE 49
Naheem McLeod and Caelin Peters combined for 42 points, leading the Colonials to a win over the Indians at the Pete & Jameer Nelson Classic at Widener University. McLeod led all scorers with 26 points while Peters added 16 – which included three 3-pointers.
The win came on the heels of the Colonials’ conference loss to Cheltenham.
“I just keep forgetting how young they are in terms of experience outside of Naheem, who has two solid seasons under his belt,” coach Jim Donofrio said. “This was an important game because we haven’t played in eight days.
“The Cheltenham game – the kids played young mentally. The biggest fear I have and a lot of coaches have is that winter break game. They were in holiday mode, they were relaxed, and you play a good Cheltenham team in a rivalry game. Hopefully, they learned some kind of a lesson, so this was a really big game for us. I don’t know what kind of team we have right now, and that’s what it is like when you’re kind of new.”
The Colonials – behind six points from Peters – opened up a 15-8 lead after one quarter and took a 27-24 lead into halftime. Peters led PW with 11 points in the half. McLeod’s six points highlighted a 15-point third quarter, and the Colonials took a 42-37 led into the final frame that saw McLeod dominate play, scoring 12 points to put the finishing touches on the important win.
“Naheem was terrific with his energy,” Donofrio said. “Sometimes there’s too much looking at Naheem, and they forget. They have to do it off the dribble. If they attack, it breaks everything up.
“We played eight or nine kids. We had a freshman – Ray Tomassetti – go into the game, and he hit two threes for us. He’s a great shooter.”
Tomassetti, Kyrie Pendleton and Luke Dicianno each chipped in six points.
“This was a very good Unionville team,” Donofrio said. “They’re very similar to CB West’s style. They play well together, they play hard, and they have a lot of backdoor cut offense.
“The kids went through three or four days of a lot of intense expectations at practice. I was very concerned about this game. It’s a nice early speed bump – you’re looking at Bonner-Prendergast tomorrow and Abington on Friday. There are two major roads this year that are pretty tough. This is the first one. To lose down at Cheltenham – if you would have come out and not won this one, it would be a really tricky run. We’ll see what happens tomorrow night.
“Our goal the first half of the season is to at least be in the plus column with wins and maybe learn a few things. It’s a long learning curve right now.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-2, 2-1 SOL) returns to Widener University on Sunday to take on Bonner-Prendergast at 7 p.m. as part of the Pete & Jameer Nelson Classic.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 15-12-15-19 61
Unionville 8-16-13-12 49
Plymouth Whitemarsh (61) – Ray Tomassetti 6, Caelin Peters 16, Naheem McLeod 26, Kyrie Pendleton 6, Luke Dicianno 6, Jason Cherry 2.
Unionville (49) – Bo Furey-Bastian 17, Connor Ash 11, Logan Shanahan 5, Wyatt hockenberry 9, Drew Lenkaitis 7.
LOWER MORELAND 54, UPPER MORELAND 34
The Golden Bears fell to their neighboring rival in Saturday’s title game of the Robert Hopf Tournament at Jenkintown High School.
The Lions took a 30-21 lead into halftime and then held the Golden Bears to just 13 second-half points.
Jahaire Johnson – whose 16 points led the Golden Bears – was named to the all-tournament team.
Upper Moreland (5-3, 1-2 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Friday night.
Upper Moreland 10-11-4-9 34
Lower Moreland 12-18-15-9 54
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