Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday, CR North/Bensalem photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson; PW/Upper Moreland photos provided by Larry Small; CB South/North Penn provided courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography; HH/Abington provided by Geanine Jamison. CLICK HERE for the galleries.
SOL National Conference
Pennsbury 64, Harry S. Truman 42
Pennsbury captured the conference title in style Tuesday night with a solid effort against Harry S. Truman, turning a 13-10 first-quarter lead into a 34-22 halftime advantage.
“I’m so happy for this group of kids,” Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. “Of all the successful teams we’ve had in the past with maybe a Division I basketball player and kids that are playing all over the place, we were never able to win a league title. The rivalry turned out to be us and Abington.
“In the past, it used to be Council Rock North, Neshaminy and all that, but Abington and us were battling head to head for years. They always were on top.
“We had our chance to shine this year in the league, and we were able to capture it. I’m so happy for all the guys – they worked so hard. This was one of our major goals heading into the year. Winning the conference is just great for the kids and the school.”
Gary Francis led the Falcons with 20 points and Kyrie Miller had 14 as he went 7-of-7 from the field. Collin Connor had eight points.
“It’s everybody,” Coleman said. “They all contributed in their own little way. We had another little change in point guards, so Collin (Connor) was running point. Evan Reichard, who was a jayvee player at the beginning of the year, has worked his way into the starting lineup, and he’s contributed a lot on the defensive side. Xavier Barron – the same thing. He wasn’t really playing a lot off minutes, and he’s worked his way into the lineup. Luke Della Grotte, a senior, has started the last two games for Charlie (Nuschke). He’s stepped up. I know some of these guys – they just want to play. It shows you if you work in practice, you work on the things we tell you to work on – you earn your playing time. These guys did, and we have a completely different starting lineup than from the beginning of the year. I’m just happy for the guys."
Jordan Fant’s 15 points led the Tigers.
The Falcons are No. 19 in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings.
Pennsbury (13-8, 10-1 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Thursday, and Harry S Truman (5-14, 4-7) will be on the road at William Tennent Thursday.
Pennsbury 13-21-13-17 64
Harry S Truman 10-12-9-11 42
Pennsbury (64) – Kyrie Miller 14, Dakota Kitchen 6, Collin Connor 8, Gary Francis 20, Amir Johnson 6, Xavier Barron 6, Evan Reichard 4.
Harry S Truman (42) – Donald Imo 5, Jon Maloney 2, Snelling 4, Javeer Peterson, TJ Rogers 6, Jordan Fant 15, Treszon Chapman 2, Michael Leonhauser 6.
Council Rock South 85, William Tennent 63
Council Rock South came out flying on Senior Night and never came down on the way to a big win over William Tennent.
The Golden Hawks started four seniors, Derek White, Brian Schwartz, David Loving and Connor Lewis along with junior point guard Jack Rebholz.
“They got us off to a great – they were tremendous,” Council Rock South coach Chris Clark said. “All four of them were tremendous."
Schwartz had nine assists, which Clark believes tied a school record.
Council Rock South led 38-25 at the intermission and increased its advantage to 66-45 after three quarters.
“The third quarter we really came out strong,” Clark said. “We shot the ball well, we moved the ball. We got out in transition. Everybody shot the ball well, and I think the reason we shot it so well was we passed it really well. Good passing leads to good shooting.”
Clark praised the play of his entire squad.
“Jack (Rebholz) has been consistent,” the Golden Hawks’ coach said. “Michael Stewart had a lot of energy. Luke Meakim did a great job running the point. Teams try to take Jack away, so Luke brings it up and gets us into things. He guards really well – he’s a really good on-ball defender.
“I thought Kevin McNamee again played some good post defense. He took another charge. Everybody who came in played well. We still have games to go. Thursday (against Council Rock North) is a big one. We would like to finish with another league win. Each game we’re just trying to get better at both ends. That will lead us into the offseason and next year. We’ll just keep trying to get better."
Rebholz finished with a team-high 19 points and Stewart netted a dozen.
Seniors David West (18 points) and Kip Mooney (13) led the way for the Panthers.
Council Rock South (7-13, 6-5 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Thursday, and William Tennent (4-17, 3-8) will host Harry S Truman.
William Tennent 16-9-20-18 63
Council Rock South 23-15-28-19 85
William Tennent (63) – Michael Mulville 7, Alex Wadsworth 3, Daulton Zeaman 2, Kip Mooney 13, David West 18, Derrik Cosenza 8, Brett Hanssens 6, Del Matunda 2.
Council Rock South (85) – Jack Rebholz 19, Jack Seigafuss 5, Luke Meakim 8, Kevin McNamee 5, Michael Stewart 12, Derek White 7, Brian Schwartz 12, David Loving 6, Purcell 6, Connor Lewis 5.
Bensalem 67, Council Rock North 65 (OT)
Bensalem and Council Rock North needed overtime before the Owls were able to pull out a critical win.
“We played hard,” Bensalem coach Mike McCabe said. “We made it interesting. It looked like we had the game won. They missed a shot with four seconds left – we had four guys around the ball. Everyone thought the game was over, and nobody picked it up.
“(Council Rock North’s) DJ (Mischak) picks it up, throws it up, it goes around the rim and in to tie it and send it to overtime.I thought, ‘Oh boy, here we go – now we’re in trouble,’ but we came out, got a five-point lead and we led the whole way in the overtime.”
The Owls placed four players in double figures with Lamont Hasker leading the way with 21 points. Shane Simmons added 14 in the win while Nasir Williams had 13 and Reuben Jean-Phillips had 11.
“Lamont played like a guy possessed,” McCabe said. “I thought it was a really good team effort. It was a great game, but we made it a little more difficult. We shot 21-for-35 from the line, but Jerry Alexander made some big ones down the stretch for us.
“Shane Simmons really played well for us. He shot the ball well, took the ball to the basket. He really helped us out tonight. He’s very athletic, and he mixed the game up well. He played well."
Mischak had 21 points for the Indians, who are No. 17 in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings, and James Duffy had 17. Bernie Parent was next for Council Rock North with 11 points.
The Owls sit at No. 21 in the power rankings (the top 24 teams qualify for the district tournament).
“It was a huge win for us,” McCabe said. “We needed it. This is a win we’re hoping takes us over the hump."
Bensalem (13-8, 8-4 SOL) will host Central Bucks East in a non-league game Friday, and Council Rock North (14-7, 7-4) will be on the road at Council Rock South Thursday.
Council Rock North 16-13-10-14-12 65
Bensalem 14-9-18-12-14 67
Council Rock North (65) – DJ Mischak 21, Bernie Parent 11, Luke Vliet 3, Hunter Wan 7, Mikey Sylvester 3, James Duffy 17, Josh Fisher 3, Zach Saifer 2.
Bensalem (67) – Nasir Williams 13, Reuben Jean-Phillips 11, Jeremiah Alexander 6, Shane Simmons 14, TJ Igielski 2, Lamont Hasker 21.
SOL Continental Conference
Pennridge 89, Central Bucks East 60
Surging Pennridge captured sole possession of the conference title by thumping visiting Central Bucks East on Tuesday. The title was the first for the Rams since 2009.
“It was Senior Night, and we have six seniors,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “I had to make a decision on who not to start. John Dominic – the consummate team guy – didn’t start.
“It was like a blitzkrieg. It just seemed like we hit every shot. Jack Gillespie had five threes and everybody just contributed.
“I’m really proud of these guys. This has just been a great group to coach. There hasn’t been any kind of problems or anything. The biggest thing we have to worry about is replacing the net on the basket because we cut it down.”
The Rams, who are fifth in the latest PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings, have won 15 straight games since losing their conference opener to Quakertown in December.
“We started 0-1 in the conference and CB South got off to a 2-0 start and you start to wonder about how things will turn out,” Behrens said. “But these kids just kept working and working and have really been playing well.
“Tonight it was just one of those things where everything we did went in, everything we did went right, every bounce went our way, everything went our way. I think we’re a good. I don’t think we’re as good as the outcome was. If we had to play them again, I’m sure it would be a very tight one or two possession game.”
United States Naval Academy-commit Sean Yoder led the Rams with 19 points and Jon Post and John Dominic had 16 each. Jack Gillespie had 15 and Pat Gillespie had nine.
“Sean Yoder is having as good a year as I’ve ever seen,” Behrens said. “We put him against the other team’s best player and he shuts them down and he does so much on offense, too. He’s just really been something.”
Nick Roggio led the Patriots, who sit at No. 13 in the power rankings, with 19 points and Jack Hamilton had 15.
Pennridge (19-2, 10-1 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Thursday, and Central Bucks East (14-7, 6-6) will be on the road at Bensalem for a non-league game Friday.
Central Bucks East 14-8-21-17 60
Pennridge 20-22-31-16 89
Central Bucks East (60) – Nick Roggio 19, Leo Masterson 9, Jack Hamilton 15, Jason Markowitz 1, Joe Jackman 5, Anthony Giordano 2, Chris Charlton 2, Ben Markowitz 6, Jacob Rotondo 1.
Pennridge (89) – Sean Yoder 19, Jon Post 16, Jack Gillespie 15, Pat Gillespie 9, Trent Fisher 2, John Dominic 16, Anthony Phillips 2, Christian Guldin 4, Nick Dunn 6.
Central Bucks South 50, North Penn 47
Central Bucks South put together a solid and consistent effort to post a much-needed win over visiting North Penn on Tuesday that was quite interesting at the very end.
“It was our Senior Night, so it was a nice night,” Central Bucks South coach Jason Campbell said. “Our seniors played well. Even though some of them didn’t score, they contributed in many ways. There was big energy in the building between the student section coming out, the families coming out for all the senior players and cheerleaders.”
The Knights, though, nearly made everybody hang around for a few extra minutes by almost forcing overtime.
“It got crazy at the end,” Campbell said. “With about three-and-a-half to four seconds left, we inbounded. It hit off of (one of our player’s) hands, rolls out towards the three-point line. I don’t know who picked it up, but somebody fired it up. It didn’t go in, and I’m not sure the officials were going to count it, but I’m like, ‘I’m going to lose my hair on this one.’"
With the win, the Titans are 10th in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings while the Knights are in a precarious spot at No. 24 considering only the top 24 teams will qualify for the upcoming district tournament.
Ian McCaw led the Titans with 14 points and Tommy Kuypers had 13.
“We got off to a pretty good start,” said Campbell, whose team led 28-21 at halftime. “It was a good game, it was pretty close. It was within 10 the whole game, and as it was the first time we played them, with four minutes left or maybe less, North Penn is relentless, and they kept playing. We turned the ball over a few times, and they were able to get some scores off of it, some looks.
“We should have played a little bit stronger and tougher. They were letting us play with some contact, and we didn’t adjust right away to it. Brady Prezelski had a good fourth quarter for us, and (Tommy) Kuypers and (Ian) McCaw were solid. Justin Rieber did a really nice job tonight.”
A.J. Mitchell led the Knights with 14 points.
Central Bucks South (16-5, 8-3 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Friday, and North Penn (9-12, 4-7) will host Pennridge on Thursday.
North Penn 6-15-10-16 47
Central Bucks South 11-17-11-11 50
North Penn (47) – Tali McIver 2, AJ Mitchell 14, Chris Caputo 8, Joe Larkins 9, Mike Chaffee 5, Rob Carangi 2, Matt Swanson 7.
Central Bucks South (50) – Brady Prezelski 7, Justin Rieber 4, Alex Dietz 6, Mark Kannengeiszer 6, Tommy Kuypers 13, Ian McCaw 14.
Central Bucks West 61, Quakertown 52
The Bucks found themselves trailing by one at halftime, 29-28, but they came out of the intermission and outscored the Panthers 33-23 to earn the important win. The Rams are ranked 23rd in the latest District One 6A power rankings.
Owen Haney had the hot hand for the Bucks, burying five three-pointers and scoring a team-high 19 points. Jack Mulhearn collected a double-double, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists. Jack Neri added 12 points and eight rebounds. Mika Munari added eight points and five rebounds while Connor Briece had four points and four assists.
For the Panthers, senior Eli Ortiz led the way with 23 points, which included four threes. Sophomore Jimmy Casey had 12 points and freshman Bobby Rosenberger had nine.
Central Bucks West (10-11, 5-6 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Friday, and Quakertown (5-15, 3-8) will will travel to Souderton on Thursday.
Central Bucks West (61) – Connor Briece 4, Jack Mulhearn 13, Mika Munari 8, Jack Neri 12, Reed Zerweck 5, Owen Haney 19.
Quakertown (52) – Eli Ortiz 23, Matt Tuley 2, Jimmy Casey 12, Bobby Rosenberger 9, Matt Lucas 6.
SOL American Conference
Abington 81, Hatboro-Horsham 54
The steamroller that is Abington continued to roll on Tuesday as the Ghosts dispatched Hatboro-Horsham to set up a huge game at archrival Cheltenham on Thursday.
The Ghosts put up 41 first-half points and led by 19 at intermission.
University of Pennsylvania-commit Lucas Monroe did plenty of damage for Abington as he netted a career-best 31 points to pull within 18 points of 1,000 for his career.
Villanova University-commit Eric Dixon provided another double-double as he delivered 17 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five assists and two blocked shots. Dixon now has 2,230 career points and passed former Ohio State quarterback and Jeannette High star Terrelle Pryor on the state’s all-time point list.
Dixon also eclipsed the 600-point mark for a season for the second-straight year. Only five players in Abington history have reached that mark.
The Ghosts (20-1) head into their game against Cheltenham (7 p.m.) at 13-0 in the conference while the Panthers are 12-1 and looking to get a share of the conference crown if they can upset Abington.
Khalid Johnson, who drilled four 3-pointers, paced the Hatters with 21 points while Solomon McNair had nine.
Hatboro-Horsham (7-14, 3-10) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday.
Hatboro-Horsham 10-12-15-17 54
Abington 22-19-20-20 81
Hatboro-Horsham (54) – Khalid Johnson 21, Solomon McNair 9, Jake Shalki 6, Zeheir Cheeze 5, Jack Marvin 8, N’Gianni Cerisier 2, Josh George 2, Logan Fischer 1.
Abington (81) – Darius Brown 6, Lucas Monroe 31, Eric Dixon 17, Manir Waller 5, Jason Scott 2, Justin Brooks 4, Joey Brusha 3, Jack Moynihan 2, Maurice Henry 11.
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Cheltenham 74, Springfield Township 46 |
Cheltenham 22-17-16-19 74
Springfield Township 13-9-13-7 46
Cheltenham (74) – Zahree Harrison 17, Jalen Pickens 5, Tim Myarick 20, Justin Moore 6, Brandon Scott 6, Jaelen McGlonne 4, Mike McClain 3, Ian Marquette 3, Lance Tolliver 4, Kyin Healey 6.
Springfield Township (46) – Jordan Pauls 13, Max Perry 1, Wilson Krewson 11, DeJaun Waters 4, Ben Rittenhouse 8, Zach Edmonds 4, Paul Asman 3, Max Perry 4.
Upper Dublin 51, Wissahickon 42
In a game where both sides started slowly, it was Upper Dublin picking up the pace in the second half en route to a win over host Wissahickon which earned the Cardinals – who trailed 7-6 after one quarter – a season sweep over the Trojans.
“It was a slow start to the game offensively for both teams,” Upper Dublin coach Chris Monahan said. “I was pleased that we kind of stayed the course. It was a close game, and we built it a little bit in the second quarter.”
The Cardinals took a 19-11 lead into halftime and led 31-26 after three quarters before pulling away over the final eight minutes.
“Corby (Watkins) had nine points in the fourth quarter,” Monahan said. “Jason Williams was very good with the ball late when they were pressing. He made good decisions. Those two guys kind of carried us in the fourth, but as is usual for us, it was a team win. We had balanced scoring, we had balanced rebounding, and that’s what we’ve done all year."
The Cardinals, who converted 12 free throws in the fourth quarter, received 13 points from Watkins and 11 apiece from Drew Stover and Brian Klammer.
Wissahickon’s Eddie Fortescue led all scorers with 21 points.
“Eddie Fortescue is a tough cover for us,” Monahan said. “He ended up having 21 points, and he had 18 of those in the second half, but we were able to get scores when we needed to. We got a lot of stops when we needed to. I’m not sure we played our best for 32 minutes, but we were solid. The game got close late, but we were smart with the ball and made a lot of free throws in the fourth quarter.
Upper Dublin (12-8, 6-7 SOL) will host Springfield Township on Thursday, and Wissahickon (8-13, 4-9) will be on the road at Upper Moreland on Thursday.
Upper Dublin 6-13-12-20 51
Wissahickon 7-4-15-16 42
Upper Dublin (51) – Drew Stover 11, Corby Watkins 13, Bezel Brady 2, Jason Williams 4, Brian Klammer 11, Mike Slivka 2, Micah Bootman 2, Will Mead 2.
Wissahickon (42) – Eddie Fortescue 21, Harrison Williams 5, Maurice Willis 5, Cole Hirsh 2, Matt Compas 5, Carmen Ostroski 4.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 71, Upper Moreland 49
Non-league
Coatesville 62, Neshaminy 51
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