Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Friday. Bensalem/Truman photos provided by Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Abington/Wissahickon photoes courtesy of Geanine Jamison. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL National Conference
William Tennent 65, Neshaminy 63 (2 OT)
It had been a long time since William Tennent had won, and it took two overtimes to do it Friday night, but the Panthers outlasted Neshaminy in a thriller.
The victory ended a nine-game skid for Tennent. The Panthers’ last win came on Dec. 21 and the last time they faced Neshaminy, Neshaminy won by a point (56-55).
This time around, senior David West, fittingly on Senior Night, scored the game-winner at the buzzer of the second extra session to seal the win.
“The play kind of broke down a little bit – we didn’t execute it the best we could, but the ball ended up in the hands of David West, and he was able to break his man down, got to the rim and scored on a drive to the basket as time expired,” Tennent coach Robert Mulville said. “He also hit a three in regulation with about seven seconds left to tie the game. It was a good Senior Night for David West."
The Panthers rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit to pull out the win.
West had 11 points after intermission while sophomore Derrik Cosenza had eight after the break.
Mulville also praised the play of Ryan Savage.
“Ryan Savage got in foul trouble in the first half, and if you look at his stat line, the only thing he really did was hit that three,” Mulville said. “But defensively, I thought he was awesome. He just made it very difficult for their inside guys to score.
“Unfortunately, we just couldn’t keep (junior Kyle) Saglimben down, although he had 21 points in the second half (29 for the game) and we shut him down a little bit. Again, Savage is a senior. You’ll look at the stat line and not see much, but man, did he come up with a big shot in the fourth quarter, and his defense was just great, especially on their last possession in regulation. He stepped up and we were able to get a defensive stop there.”
Tennent was coming off a tough last-second loss to Central Bucks South on Wednesday.
“We had a five-game stretch in the beginning of (January) where we lost by five points or less and then again the other night against CB South,” Mulville said. “They’ve really kept a great attitude to get back up and keep fighting, and that’s what senior leadership will do.
“Those guys aren’t looking towards next year. They want to do the best they can right now. They’ve just had a great attitude throughout the whole time because it’s difficult to keep coming back and being so close and not getting what you want. I was real happy for them tonight."
West led the Panthers with 29 points, Derrik Cosenza had 16 and Kip Mooney added 15. Michael Mulville had eight.
In addition to Saglimben’s 29, Neshaminy received 17 points from Damon McGovern.
William Tennent (3-14, 2-6 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Saturday in a non-league game at 3 p.m., and Neshaminy (3-15, 1-9) will host Coatesville on Tuesday in a non-league contest.
Neshaminy 15-15-11-10-3-9 63
William Tennent 16-7-15-13-3-11 65
Neshaminy (63) – Kyle Saglimben 29, Brandon Belton 6, Damon McGovern 17, Deval Glover 2, Mike Murray 5, Andrew Mays 2, Evan Brooks 2.
William Tennent (65) – Michael Mulville 8, Kip Mooney 15, Ryan Savage 3, David West 21, Derrik Cosenza 16, Del Matunda 2.
Bensalem 53, Harry S. Truman 42
Bensalem needs to keep winning, and the the Owls did just that on Friday by knocking off host Harry S. Truman.
The win has the Owls at No. 25 in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings, just one spot away from making the district field.
“We’re in a fight for our lives to make it,” Bensalem coach Mike McCabe said. “It’s one game at a time. We played well. We knew they were shooting the ball well, and we got out and defended the three. They were 4-for-24 from three.”
Bensalem, which had its five-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday by Council Rock South, received a game-high 26 points from Nasir Williams.
“Nasir Williams had an unbelievable game,” McCabe said. “He just took it to the basket, he handled the ball so well, he mixed his game up. That’s the best I’ve seen him play all year. He really, really played well.
“Our big guys – Jerry Alexander, TJ Igielski and Lamont Hasker – they all fought on the glass. They were rebounding well. It was a fight all night.”
The Owls, who received a dozen points from Hasker, allowed the Tigers only 25 points through three quarters. They led 28-17 at halftime and 38-25 heading into the final frame.
"You throw the records out the window with Truman and Bensalem, you really do, because it’s always a scrappy fight,” McCabe said. “We got off to a good start, and that’s what we really wanted tonight. We were able to hold on and get a good win. I was just really happy how we responded after that tough loss on Wednesday.”
Bensalem (11-8, 6-4 SOL) has two games remaining – Senior Night against Council Rock North on Tuesday and Central Bucks East on Friday at Bensalem.
“We said tonight was playoff game number one,” McCabe said. “We’re fighting for our lives."
T.J. Rogers, with 12 points, was the only Tiger to reach double figures.
Harry S Truman (5-11, 4-5) will travel to Upper Moreland on Saturday for a non-league game at 7 p.m.
Bensalem 13-15-10-15 53
Harry S Truman 8-9-8-17 42
Bensalem (53) – Nasir Williams 26, Reuben Jean-Phillips 6, Jeremiah Alexander 2, TJ Igielski 7, Lamont Hasker 12.
Harry S Truman (42) – Jon Maloney 5, Robert Winton 4, Javeer Peterson, 8, Fernando Vargas 2, TJ Rogers 12, Jordan Fant 8, Michael Leonhauser 3.
SOL Continental Conference
Central Bucks East 69, Quakertown 59
Central Bucks East only has three seniors, but the trio of Leo Masterson, Nick Roggio and Ben Markowitz, made the most of Senior Night as they combined for 55 points and 22 rebounds in the Patriots’ win over Quakertown.
“I thought our three seniors really carried us tonight,” Central Bucks East coach Erik Henrysen said. “They did a great job and filled up the stat sheet.
“When things got tough – we stretched the lead and Quakertown made a run at us – our seniors all made big plays during that stretch.”
Masterson poured in a team-high 24 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals while Roggio had 19 points and 10 boards. Markowitz netted 12 points and seven rebounds. He also had four assists.
The Patriots, who are No. 15 in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings, also shot a superb 17-of-20 from the foul line.
“We’ve done a good job from the line over the course of the year,” Henrysen said. “It helps you close games out."
Quakertown, which was coming off a 92-70 win over North Penn on Thursday, received a career-best 27 points from freshman Bobby Rosenberger. Senior Eli Ortiz added 15.
“They’re dangerous,” Henrysen said. “They have a lot of youth, but they can shoot the ball from the outside. They’re athletic, and they just played fearlessly.”
The Patriots, who led 20-16 after a quarter, seized control of the game with a 19-8 second quarter to go into halftime with a 39-24 lead.
“Coming out in the second half, Ben’s brother, Jason Markowitz – we had him guard (Bobby) Rosenberger a little bit,” Henrysen said. “I thought he did a great job, doing the best that he could do because Rosenberger is a problem for defenses, and he’s a talent.”
Central Bucks East (12-6, 5-5 SOL) will travel to New Hope-Solebury Saturday for a non-league game at 6 p.m. Quakertown (5-13, 3-6) will host Central Bucks West on Tuesday.
Quakertown 16-8-14-21 59
Central Bucks East 20-19-11-19 69
Quakertown (59) – Bobby Rosenberger 27, Tyler Merwarth 5, Jimmy Casey 6, Matt Lucas 6, Eli Ortiz 15.
Central Bucks East (69) – Nick Roggio 19, Ben Markowitz 12, Leo Masterson 24, Jack Hamilton 3, Jason Markowitz 5, Tyler Young 5, Anthony Giordano 1.
Central Bucks West 64, North Penn 56
Central Bucks West picked up a crucial win by topping host North Penn on Friday night.
“We’re fighting to stay alive,” said Central Bucks West coach Adam Sherman, whose team moved to No. 24 in the in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings (the final spot in the tournament).“It was a good win. We definitely needed it. We’re just trying to live another day.
“There’s a nice bunch there (in the rankings), and a lot can happen in a week. Right now we’re in a position where we just have to focus on what we’re doing and hope everything will work out. We had a stretch (this season) where we weren’t shooting the ball well and we weren’t finding ways to win. You’ve got to be hot at the right time, and hopefully, we’ll be hot at the right time and we’ll see what happens.”
The Bucks led by just a point at 28-27 at halftime before they were able to pull away in the third quarter, outscoring the Knights 21-17.
Jack Mulhearn led Central Bucks West with 20 points and seven rebounds Jack Neri had 18 points.
“They both played well offensively,” Sherman said. “Neri had a nice inside-out game. He was able to score inside, and he had two three balls as well. We were able to make some shots when we needed to. We got a 10-point lead at the end of the third and early fourth, and it was a better position to be in at the end.We were able to hit free throws and not shoot ourselves in the foot.”
Reed Zerweck added seven points and five rebounds, and Owen Haney had three assists.
“I thought Mika Munari did a solid job defensively,” Sherman said. “He was responsible for AJ Mitchell. AJ scored some points, but Mika did a good job of making him work really hard.”
Mitchell led the Knights with 14 points while Tali McIver (11 points), Kolby Barrow (10) and Mike Chaffee (10) also finished in double figures. Matt Swanson added eight.
Central Bucks West (7-11, 3-6 SOL) will travel to William Tennent for a non-league game on Saturday at 3 p.m. North Penn (9-10, 4-5) will be on the road at Central Bucks South on Tuesday.
Central Bucks West 19-9-21-15 64
North Penn 16-11-14-15 56
Central Bucks West (64) – Connor Briece 4, Jack Mulhearn 20, Mika Munari 9, Jack Neri 18, Reed Zerweck 7, Owen Haney 3, Danny Miller 2.
North Penn (56) – Tali McIver 11, AJ Mitchell 14, Kolby Barrow 10, Mike Chaffee 10, Rob Carangi 3, Matt Swanson 8.
Pennridge 68, Souderton 40
Pennridge showed its depth in a win over Souderton on Friday as 10 Rams scored points to keep them atop the conference standings with an 8-1 mark (Central Bucks South is second in the conference at 7-2).
Pennridge, which is ranked No. 5 in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings, led 35-21 by halftime and increased its edge to 51-28 after three quarters en route to the rout.
Sean Yoder led the way with 15 points while Trent Fisher and Jon Post each had 11 for the Rams. John Dominic added eight.
Andrew Vince paced the Indians with a dozen points, and Tommy Doughty contributed nine.
Pennridge (15-2, 7-1 SOL) will host Reading on Saturday in a non-league game at 4:30 p.m. Souderton (6-14, 3-7) will host Quakertown on Thursday.
Pennridge 21-14-16-17 68
Souderton 10-11-7-12 40
Pennridge (68) – Luke Yoder 2, John Dominic 8, Sean Yoder 15, Paul Croyle 2, Christian Guldin 5, Anthony Phillips 3, Trent Fisher 11, Ryan Benscoter 5, Jack Gillespie 6, Jon Post 11.
Souderton (40) – Andrew Vince 12, Jack Towsen 1, Tyler Roth 6, Sami Chouriaf 2, Mekhi Williams 3, Zach Thatcher 4, Kutzler 1, Dom Natale 2, Tommy Doughty 9.
SOL American Conference
Upper Moreland 64, Springfield Township 41
Upper Moreland placed four players in double figures and cruised to a victory over Springfield Township on Friday night.
The Golden Bears, who are 12th in the PIAA District One Class 5A power rankings, led 34-20 at halftime before expanding their advantage to 53-29 after three quarters.
Jahire Johnson led the way with a game-high 20 points followed by 16 from Tyler Ibbotson, 12 from Beau Woolens and 11 from Christian O’Donnell.
Wilson Krewson had 17 for the Spartans and teammate Jordan Pauls netted 10 points.
Upper Moreland (9-9, 3-8 SOL) will host Harry S Truman Saturday in a non-league game a 7 p.m. Springfield Township (7-12, 1-10) will host Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Upper Moreland 14-20-19-11 64
Springfield Township 10-14-5-12 41
Upper Moreland (64) – Beau Woollens 12, Christian O'Donnell 11, Jourdan Gregg 1, Jahire Johnson 20, Harmer 2, Jake Tiernan 2, Tyler Ibbotson 16
Springfield Township (41) – Jordan Pauls 10, Jay Joseph 8, Wilson Krewson 17, Zach Edmonds 4, Amie Williams 2
Cheltenham 64, Hatboro-Horsham 40
Cheltenham’s offense was flying in the first half, and the Panthers clamped down on defense in the middle two quarters. It added up to an impresive victory over Hatboro-Horsham on Friday night.
Cheltenham, which is eighth inthe PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings, jumped out to a 36-18 advantage at halftime and was never threatened the rest of the way. The Panthers held the Hatters to just 12 points combined in quarters two and three.
“It was a team effort across the board,” Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury said. “It was just a good game, the kids were excited for this game.”
Zahree Harrison led Cheltenham with 21 points and also dished out five assists.
“He shot well and was efficient,” Fleury said.
Jalen Mickens and Kyin Healey (eight rebounds) also received praise from Fleury as did freshman Justin Moore.
“Jalen Mickens with great, great defensive pressure – he set the tone for us,” Fleury said. “He’s our spark plug. He didn’t necessarily have a large scoring night, but as a two-way player, he didn’t let it affect his defense, and we were grateful for that.
“Justin Moore, our ninth grader, had eight points and a quick six to stop Hatboro-Horsham’s run in the fourth quarter when they were starting to make a push.”
Also for the Panthers, Jaelen McGlone had nine points.
Jack Marvin led the Hatters with a dozen points and Khalid Johnson was next with 11.
Cheltenham (13-5, 10-1 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township on Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (7-12, 3-8) will be on the road at Abington on Tuesday.
Cheltenham 19-17-7-21 64
Hatboro-Horsham 10-8-4-18 40
Cheltenham (64) – Zahree Harrison 21, Jalen Mickens 2, Tim Myarick 5, Justin Moore 8, Brandon Scott 6, Jaelen McGlone 9, Seth Arinsberg 2, Lance Tolliver 1, Kyin Healy 2, Coleman 7.
Hatboro-Horsham (40) – Khalid Johnson 10, Solomon McNair 4, Jake Schalki 2, Jack Marvin 12, Jackson Treski 2, N’Gianni Cerisier 8, Fink 2.
Abington 81, Wissahickon 51
If it seems like every time Abington plays a game the Ghosts match or break another team record, it should because that’s what the Ghosts have been doing.
On Friday night, they pasted Wissahickon 81-51 to improve to 19-1, marking the first time since the 1959-60 season that the team has reached that mark (that year, the Ghosts lost in the district semifinals and ended up 20-2).
Nine players scored points for the Ghosts, who are No. 2 inthe PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings. The Ghosts led from wire to wireagainst the Trojans with all-everything big man Eric Dixon netting a game-high 29 points to go along with 15 rebounds. Lucas Monroe (a University of Pennsylvania commit) had 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists while Maurice Henry contributed 10 points. Zyeir Olasewere contributed five rebounds off the bench.
Abington was 29-for-56 from the field.
Eddie Fortescue and Maurice Willis combined for 28 points for Wissahickon with Fortescue leading the way with 15.
Abington (18-1, 11-0 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday, and Wissahickon (8-11, 4-7) will host Upper Dublin on Tuesday.
Abington 22-17-21-21 81
Wissahickon 15-12-10-14 51
Abington (81) – Darius Brown 7, Lucas Monroe 17, Eric Dixon 29, Manir Waller 8, Maurice Henry 10, Jason Scott 3, Zyeir Olasewere 2, Joey Brusha 3, Howie Burell 2
Wissahickon (51) – Eddie Fortescue 15, Maurice Willis 13, Carmen Ostroski 9, Matt Compas 4, Justin Rapport 4, Harrison Williams 3, Tyler Caso 2, Andrew Buck 1.
Non-league
Pennsbury 76, Frankford 69 (2 OT)
Senior Gary Francis poured in a school-record 47 points to boost Pennsbury to a wild double-overtime win over Frankford on Friday night.
It was the second straight double overtime game for the Falcons, who were coming off a win over Council Rock South on Thursday.
Francis, who scored 34 of his points after halftime (10 in the two overtimes), broke the school record of 41 points that had been held by former standout Dalton Pepper.
“He was 15-for-22 from the field and 15-for-16 from the free throw line, so it was just efficient,” Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. “Just watching, it was unbelievable. He just had a fantastic game."
Against Frankford, the Falcons were down 39-28 at halftime before rallying.
“We were down by as many as 16, and at halftime, I just really laid it all out for the guys – ‘It’s been a really up and down year, and here we are again, playing a non-league opponent, and it seems like you guys are not really interested,’” Coleman said. “(Collin) Connor had one point at halftime, and I told him, ‘In order for us to win, you’ve got to get to 18.’ He ended up with 16.
“We switched up our defense a little bit in the third quarter, which caught them off guard and really limited their ability to drive to the rim. We were able to get both Gary (Francis) and Collin (Connor) going. It was just a complete team effort.”
Connor hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
“He’s been struggling a little bit with some of the shot making, and those two threes opened up everybody,” Coleman said. “We rely on Gary (Francis), but we’re looking for other scorers. Everyone was kind of uptight until Collin hit those two threes, so that was big."
Francis and Connor had 10 points each in the two overtimes, accounting for all of Pennsbury’s points.
“We went back and forth in the first overtime with no one taking charge,” Coleman said. "In the second overtime, Gary and Collin lived on the free throw line."
The Falcons lost 6-4 center Charlie Nuschke to a sprained ankle in the first half.
“We switched up our defense and changed up our personnel,” Coleman said. “We tinkered with an idea that we’d been playing with and were able to roll it out today. It really settled down our defense and our rotation, and we were able to keep Frankford out of the paint. It was a very good team win, especially for us being down 16.
“Frankford was at our place last year, and we won at the buzzer with Gary Francis making a layup. I didn’t have a good feeling going into the second half today, but we changed it up defensively, and we were able to stay in front much better than we were. It helped us out a lot.”
Pennsbury was 1-7 in non-league games prior to Friday’s win and 8-1 in the conference. The Falcons hold the conference lead but are only 18th in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings..
“We’ve been struggling with our non-league games,” Coleman said. “I do schedule up a lot for our non-league just to get us ready for our league and playoffs.
“Frankford was very aggressive, very handsy, very up in our faces. It was good to see our guys were able to fight and tough it out and flip a game today. We’ve had a couple of games flipped on us, so it was good."
Pennsbury (10-8, 8-1 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Tuesday.
Frankford 9-21-15-14-4-6 69
Pennsbury 11-6-19-23-4-13 76
Frankford (69) – Ndiaye 16, West 22, Cruz 4, Faue 5, Williams 22.
Pennsbury (76) – Kyrie Miller 8, Collin Connor 16, Gary Francis 47, Amir Johnson 1, Evan Reichard 4.
Central Bucks South 53, Council Rock South 40
Central Bucks South pulled away from Council Rock South after halftime to net a critical win on Friday night.
The victory has the Titans as the No. 10 team in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings.
Central Bucks South led by just four points (22-18) at halftime before increasing its edge to 10 after three quarters.
The Titans spent a good bit of time in the second half at the foul line – 17 of their points after the intermission came at the charity stripe. For the game, the Titans were 23-of-29 from the foul line.
Mark Kannengeiszer was the only Titan in double figures as he scored 11 points, including going 7-of-8 from the foul line. Tommy Kuypers had nine in the win while Alex Dietz had eight.
Jack Rebholz and Michael Stewart each had nine points for the Golden Hawks.
Central Bucks South (14-4, 7-2 SOL) will be on the road at Pennridge for a key conference showdown on Monday. Council Rock South (6-12, 5-5) will host William Tennent on Tuesday.
Central Bucks South 11-11-15-16 53
Council Rock South 8-10-9-13 40
Central Bucks South (53) – C. Prezelski 7, B. Prezelski 5, Rieber 2, D’Orazio 2, D’Aulerio 2, Dietz 8, Kannengeiszer 11, Kuypers 9, McCaw 7.
Council Rock South (40) – Rebholz 9, Meakim 3, McNamee 5, Stewart 9, Baratta 2, Schwartz 2, Loving 3, Lewis 4, Brosky 3.
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