Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Friday. Abington/UD photos provided courtesy of Geanine Jamison. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL American Conference
Abington 79, Upper Dublin 53
Abington showed its depth on Friday night as nine players scored points in the Ghosts’ win over visiting Upper Dublin.
Abington, which improved to 10-0 and remained in first place in the conference and 16-1 overall, held its Senior Night, and coach Charles Grasty did not start his usual lineup, instead, he went with five other seniors and they all contributed.
The Ghosts led 17-15 after one quarter and then blew the game open with a 21-8 second quarter to go into halftime with a 38-23 lead on their way to the big win.
The Ghosts, who entered the night second in the PIAA District One Class 6A power points behind Coatesville, shot a sizzling 55 percent from the field (32-of-58) and had just seven turnovers.
Senior Lucas Monroe, a University of Pennsylvania commit, came off the bench and contributed 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. The 18 points pushed his career total to 901.
Villanova University-commit Eric Dixon, who also came off the bench, dropped in a game-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks while shooting 9-for-13 from the field. Senior Derek Sussman added six assists while Maurice Henry had five.
Brian Klammer led the Cardinals with 12 points while Cory Ladov added 10 and Jason Williams nine. Ladov and Williams each nailed three 3-pointers in a contest that saw UD bury 10 shots from beyond the arc.
Abington (16-1, 10-0 SOL) will take on Sankofa Freedom Academy in a non-league game on Saturday (2:45 p.m.) at the All-City Classic at Bishop McDevitt. Upper Dublin (10-7, 4-6) – 16th in the District One 6A rankings entering Friday’s game – will host Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 15-8-13-17 53
Abington 17-21-19-22 79
Upper Dublin (53) – Drew Stover 8, Corby Watkins 3, Bazel Brady 9, Jason Williams 9, Brian Klammer 12, Cory Ladov 10, Mike Slivka 2.
Abington (79) – Howie Barell 3, Jack Moynihan 8, Jason Scott 6, Darius Brown 10, Lucas Monroe 18, Eric Dixon 21, Maurice Henry 4, Justin Brooks 5, Manir Waller 4.
Hatboro-Horsham 58, Upper Moreland 44
Surging Hatboro-Horsham picked up its fourth win in six games as this time the Hatters knocked off visiting neighborhood-rival Upper Moreland.
The Hatters, currently No. 34 in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings (the top 24 teams will make the district playoffs), need to continue their run if they hope to qualify for the tournament. And, if they keep playing like they have been lately, they’ll make a run at it.
Against the Golden Bears, they led just 32-26 after three quarters, but put the game away from the foul line over the final eight minutes.
Khalid ‘Lid’ Johnson, who led Hatboro-Horsham with 18 points, converted all six of his fourth-quarter free throws while teammate Solomon McNair (14 points) drilled all 10 of his fourth-quarter foul shots to keep Upper Moreland at bay.
Jack Marvin also had 14 points for the Hatters, including four 3-pointers. Jake Schalki added nine points.
Upper Moreland’s Tyler Ibbotson led all scorers with 19 points while Christian O’Donnell, who had missed a handful of games for the Golden Bears, returned against the Hatters and had 13 points. The Golden Bears are 12th in the latest District One 5A power rankings. Sixteen teams will earn district berths.
Hatboro-Horsham (6-12, 2-8 SOL) will host Springfield Township on Tuesday, and Upper Moreland (8-8, 3-7) will travel to Interboro for a non-league game on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Upper Moreland 4-10-12-18 44
Hatboro-Horsham 11-7-14-26 58
Upper Moreland (44) – Byron Hopkins 8, Beau Woolens 2, Christian O’Donnell 13, Jake Tiernan 2, Tyler Ibbotson 19.
Hatboro-Horsham (58) – Khalid Johnson 18, Solomon McNair 14, Jake Schalki 9, Zeheir Cheeze 3, Jack Marvin 14.
Wissahickon 58, Springfield Township 46
Wissahickon rallied from a sluggish start to pull out a much-needed victory over visiting Springfield on Friday night.
The Trojans entered the night at No. 27 in the latest PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings (the top 24 teams will make the field) and a loss would have been very costly.
“We were just very fortunate,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said. “Springfield played us tough. We grinded it out, and we got a win where we needed to get a win. Hopefully, we’ll carry some momentum into our game with PW tomorrow night."
Wissahickon was down by as many as 15 points in the first half and went to intermission trailing by nine, 29-20.
In the second half, though, the Trojans limited the Spartans to just 17 total points while they scored 38 to secure the win.
“We actually had a four-point lead with a minute forty-something left in the fourth quarter,” Wilson said. “I’m telling my guys to spread the floor, we don’t need a shot, they’ve got to come and foul – wait for a good shot.
“Maurice Willis, who hasn’t hit a three in his career, decides to put a three up from the corner. It was one of those moments, ‘No, no, no,’ and swish it goes in. They come down miss a shot. We come down spread the floor – let’s work it, we don’t need a shot. He hit another deep two-pointer. He scored seven or nine points in the fourth quarter, and we walked away with it.”
Harrison Williams led the Trojans with 16 points and Ed Fortescue had 14. Willis finished with nine in the win. Carmen Ostroski led the Trojans under the boards with seven rebounds to go along with seven points. Tyler Caso handed out four assists and also had four rebounds.
Jordan Pauls had a team-high 13 for the Spartans and Wilson Krewson netted 10.
The Trojans connected on 20-of-40 shots from the field (50 percent) while the Spartans made 15-of-48 shots (31 percent).
Wissahickon (8-9, 4-5 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Saturday for a 7 p.m. contest. Springfield Township (6-11, 1-9) will host Church Farm School in a non-league game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
Springfield Township 15-14-8-9 46
Wissahickon 11-9-17-21 58
Springfield Township (46) – Jordan Pauls 13, Jay Joseph 2, Wilson Krewson 10, Ben Rittenhouse 15, Ethan Hamilton 2, Zach Edmonds 4.
Wissahickon (58) – Harrison Williams 16, Eddie Fortescue 14, Maurice Willis 9, Carmen Ostroski 7, Matt Compas 4, Justin Rappaport 3, D’Shan Love 3, Tyler Caso 2.
SOL Continental Conference
Central Bucks South 51, Souderton 47
A big win and a big loss.
That was the case Friday night as Central Bucks South, in need of a victory to stay near the top in the conference and to keep its place in the latest PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings, got just that over Souderton.
For the Indians, though, who are on the outside looking in at the 24-team district field, every loss stings a little more as their playoff hopes take a hit.
Souderton gave the Titans, now 13-4 overall and 7-2 in conference, all they wanted as the visiting Indians led 21-16 at halftime before things swung the other way after intermission. The Indians are 30th in the latest District One 6A power rankings.
Central Bucks South came out roaring in the third quarter, outscoring Souderton 23-7 to snare a 39-28 lead entering the final quarter.
“It’s never easy,” Central Bucks South coach Jason Campbell said. “We were down at halftime and only scored three points in the second quarter. We couldn’t make shots – putbacks we couldn’t put in, our shot selection wasn’t the best a few times. Souderton was playing pretty physical. We kind of got into the guys at halftime about what we needed to do on offense, and we had a huge spark from Brock D’Aulerio. He was fantastic.
“It felt like he pulled a Reggie Miller where he scored all these points in a minute-and-a-half. He scored all 10 of his points in the third quarter, and I think seven of them came on three possessions where he hit a pull-up two, he hit a three, and then he hit another pull-up two. He was amazing. It was a close game, and he reeled off seven straight, and the next thing you know we’re up nine, 10, 11 points from him making buckets.”
Tommy Kuypers and Ian McCaw, who have led the charge for Central Bucks South all season, provided a combined 27 points – 16 for Kuypers and 11 for McCaw – while teammate Alex Dietz netted 10 points.
The Titans (13-4, 7-2 SOL) – ninth in the latest District One 6A power rankings – trail Pennridge by half-a-game in the standings and play at the Rams on Tuesday night.
“We need to take care of business on Tuesday at Pennridge and try to tie this thing up,” Campbell said. “Anyone in our conference can step up on any given night. I tell my guys – when you’re in first place or second place, teams are going to play up a level, so you have to be able to match their intensity and how they’re playing, so it’s hard, it’s real hard."
Andrew Vince led the Indians with 10 points while Mekhi Williams and Dom Natale added nine points each.
Souderton (6-12, 3-6 SOL) will travel to Boyertown for a non-league game on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Souderton 12-9-7-19 47
Central Bucks South 13-3-23-12 51
Souderton (47) – Andrew Vince 10, Jack Towsen 1, Sami Chouriaf 3, Zach Thatcher 9, Mekhi Williams 7, Com Natale 9.
Central Bucks South (51) – Cole Prezelski 5, Brady Prezelski 2, Brock D’Aulerio 10, Alex Dietz 7, Tommy Kuypers 16, Ian McCaw 11.
Pennridge 51, Central Bucks West 50
Pennridge captured a see-saw affair against visiting Central Bucks West that kept the Rams in first place in the conference.
“This game could have gone either way,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “They had the ball last, but we were able to prevail. No game in this conference is ever easy and anybody can beat anybody.”
The Rams, who entered the night as the No. 4 team in the latest PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings, improved to 7-1 in the conference (15-2 overall). Central Bucks South, whom the Rams host on Tuesday (7 p.m.), also won Friday and is 7-2 in the conference.
“We know that every game is huge for because we want to try and win the conference,” Behrens said. “We received pretty balanced scoring tonight and we played really good defense at the end.
“West had the ball at 51-50 with 23 seconds left and they tried to run a play for Jack Mulhearn, who destroyed us all night (game-high 28 points), but we were able to force him into a bad shot.”
Senior Jon Post led the Rams with 18 points and Sean Yoder had 13.
“Jon Post really took the game over,” Behrens said. “He hit shots, got to the basket and really played well and Luke Yoder also hit two big threes for us.”
Central Bucks West (7-10, 3-6 SOL) will host Academy Park in a non-league game on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Central Bucks West 13-10-10-17 50
Pennridge 11-12-11-17 51
Central Bucks West (50) Connor Briece 3, Jack Mulhearn 28, Mika Munari 6, Jack Neri 6, John Murnen 2, Danny Miller 5.
Pennridge (51) – Luke Yoder 10, John Dominic 8, Sean Yoder 13, Trent Fisher 2, Jon Post 18.
North Penn 89, Central Bucks East 85 (2 OT)
Both teams were in crucial need of a win, but it was North Penn that finally prevailed over visiting Central Bucks East in double overtime Friday night.
The victory snapped a six-game losing streak for the Knights (a streak that included two losses by one point and another by two points) and should help them improve from their No. 21 ranking in the latest PIAA District One Class 6A power ratings.
“The kids played hard and this was the ultimate team win,” North Penn coach John Conrad said.“The game was back and forth the whole way and our guys found a way to win in the end.”
The game was tied at 29-29 at halftime before the Patriots, who entered the game at No. 12 in the district power ratings, grabbed a 48-46 lead after three quarters. The Knights – propelled by 10 points from AJ Mitchell – rallied in the fourth quarter to force overtime, and, after each team scored 10 points in the first extra session, it was the Knights ultimately picking up the win by outscoring their guests 18-14 in the second overtime. Tali McIver accounted for seven of those points, which included a 5-for-7 effort at the foul line. The Knights were 10-for-11 at the charity stripe in the second overtime, 20-for-23 in the game.
Mitchell poured in a career-best 37 points in the win while McIver had 14. Sophomore Rob Carangi contributed a dozen points for the Knights, and junior Matt Swanson had eight.
Seniors Nick Roggio and Leo Masterson and sophomore Jack Hamilton combined for 63 points for the Patriots with Roggio leading the way with 24. Masterson finished with 22 and Hamilton had 17.
“I was proud of their effort and perseverance,” Conrad said. “This was a really good win for us against a tough East team.”
North Penn (9-9, 4-4 SOL) will host Quakertown on Tuesday, and Central Bucks East (11-6, 4-5) – 13th in the latest District One 6A power rankings – will be on the road at Souderton on Tuesday.
Central Bucks East 12-17-19-13-10-14 85
North Penn 14-15-17-15-10-18 89
Central Buck East (85) – Nick Roggio 24, Ben Markowitz 10, Leo Masterson 22, Joe Jackman 4, Anthony Giordano 1, Jack Hamilton 17, Tyler Young 4, Jason Markowitz 3.
North Penn (89) – AJ Mitchell 37, Tali McIver 14, Kolby Barrow 6, Chris Caputo 7, Joe Larkins 2, Mike Chaffee 4, Matt Swanson 8, Rob Carangi 12.
SOL National Conference
Council Rock North 46, William Tennent 32
Council Rock North wants to improve on its PIAA District One Class 6A power points ranking, and the Indians took a step in the right direction with a win over visiting William Tennent on Friday.
The Indians, who entered the night at No. 15 in the power points, had the lead on the Panthers after one quarter (at 11-8) and didn’t look back.
“We got off to a really good start,” Council Rock North coach Jesse Krasna said. “We were really committed to the defensive end like we’ve been all year. I thought our guys were really fired up because in our first match with Tennent we lost at their place (46-41 on Dec. 21). I know our guys really wanted to win this game.
“It was about the intensity. We had it from the start. We did a great job controlling the backboards. James Duffy and Josh Fisher, who are both under six feet, were really physical and did a great job boxing out. Not only were they getting defensive rebounds, but we also got in there and got a lot of second chance points because those two as well our guards just hit the offensive glass really hard as well.”
The Indians limited William Tennent to just three points in the second quarter (while scoring 19 of their own) and led 30-11 at halftime and were not threatened the rest of the way.
Seniors James Duffy (game-high 18 points) and D.J. Mischak (11 points) powered the offense for the Indians.
“(Duffy) just plays so much bigger than he is,” Krasna said. “He had some really tough, crafty, physical finishes around the rim over bigger guys.
“I thought our guards did a really nice job of finding shooters and especially finding our big guys on drives. DJ Mischak from the guard spot really controlled the game at the end. He’s been such a great leader for us all year, and his offense has really come a long way. He’s playing great basketball right now.”
David West led the Panthers with eight points while Derrik Cosenza and Kip Mooney each contributed six points in the loss.
“I think the key to this game was our defensive effort,” Krasna said. “David West really hurt us the first game, hitting four threes, so we tried to limit his touches. We threw a bunch of different guys on him, but Hunter Wan was assigned him from the start. Hunter’s been a big time scorer for us all year, and I thought this was one of his best defensive games in terms of following the game plan and following David West everywhere he went, kind of being that annoying gnat that nobody likes to play against.
“On the season, we’re giving up just a shade over 30 points a game, and that’s actually a school record so far. That’s something that our kids have in the back of their heads – holding teams to less than 40, and they’re doing a great job of really challenging themselves on that side of the floor, and it’s paying dividends for them."
Council Rock North (13-5, 6-3 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Tuesday, and William Tennent (3-13, 2-6) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Council Rock North 11-19-6-10 46
William Tennent 8-3-10-11 32
Council Rock North (46) – DJ Mischak 11, Luke Vliet 3, Hunter Wan 6, Parker Ehlin 2, James Duffy 18, Josh Fisher 4, Zach Saifer 2.
William Tennent (32) – Michael Mulville 5, Daulton Zeamon 3, Kip Mooney 6, Ryan Savage 4, David West 8, Derrik Cosenza 6.
Non-league
Downingtown West 70, Council Rock South 52
Council Rock South hung with Downingtown West most of the way before falling in a non-league affair Friday night.
The Golden Hawks were down by just two points after one quarter (21-19) and trailed by only four at halftime (36-32) before the Whippets, who entered the night at No. 19 in the latest PIAA District One Class 6A power ratings, were able to pull away as they limited Council Rock South to four points in the fourth quarter.
Michael Stewart paced the Golden Hawks with a team-high 18 points and Jack Rebholz had 15.
Council Rock South (5-11, 5-4 SOL) will host Bensalem on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 19-13-14-4 52
Downingtown West 21-15-20-14 70
Council Rock South (52) – Jack Rebholz 15, Michael Stewart 18, Kevin McNamee 5, Luca Baratta 2, Brian Schwartz 6, Connor Lewis 6.
Downingtown West (70) – Naseem Roberson 10, Sean Kaiser 14, Hunter Blair 8, Griffin Hillsinger 4, Cam McCole 21, Will Howard 13.
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