Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday. CR South/Lower Moreland photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL National Conference
Neshaminy 57, Harry S Truman 54
The Redskins needed some late-game heroics from senior captain Kyle Saglimben – who buried a three at the buzzer – to escape with a win over a pesky Tiger squad that rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to knot the score.
“It was 54-54 – we had the ball with 45 seconds left and we held it for one shot,” Neshaminy coach Mark Tingle said. “Our guard, Damon McGovern, went in to penetrate, took a shot, the ball was loose.
“It was kind of like a broken play. We kicked the ball out. Kyle caught the ball and shot it at the buzzer.”
Saglimben finished with 15 points, and his performance loomed especially large since he was just returning to action after breaking his shooting hand.
“He came back last game, but he literally was cleared that day, so he didn’t really practice,” Tingle said. “He did play against (Council Rock) South on Tuesday, but he came off the bench, and it was one of those things – kind of getting his feet wet in that game.
“He had a really good practice yesterday, and today he played very well. At one point, he had an alley-oop two-handed dunk, so he got right back in the groove because he had a really good offseason. It was nice to see him get back into it after being out six-seven weeks.”
McGovern scored a team-high 16 points, and Jimmy McDonald (10 points) also finished in double figures. Mike Murray added eight points.
“It was a good game – kudos to Truman, they played very hard,” Tingle said. “We were up 11 and it looked like it could have gotten extended even more, but they fought really hard and made it a game.”
McGovern (eight points) and Saglimben (eight points) led the first-half charge as Neshaminy opened up a 30-19 halftime lead. Ethan Flail’s seven points led the Tigers in the opening half.
“In the third quarter, they started hitting a whole bunch of threes on us – it didn’t matter what kind of defense we ran,” Tingle said. “It was back-to-back-to-back.
“We let them back in the game. They hit their foul shots – they were 9-for-10 from the foul line, and they hit timely shots to get back in the game.”
The Tigers connected on five threes in the third quarter – seven in the second half. Michael Leonhauser led the Tigers’ third-quarter charge with eight points, which included a pair of threes. Fernando Vargas, Jordan Fant and Terrence Roger each had a three in the quarter.
Despite the Tigers’ 21-point third quarter, the Redskins still took a 42-40 lead into the final frame.
“Towards the end, we started exchanging buckets in the fourth quarter,” Tingle said. “They made free throws on a technical foul to tie the game.”
Vargas (15 points) and Flail (12 points) led the Tigers. Roger and Leonhauser each added eight points.
Neshaminy (2-3, 1-2 SOL) will travel to New Hope-Solebury Monday for a non-league game. Harry S Truman (0-6, 0-3) will compete in the Holy Ghost Prep Holiday Tournament next Friday.
Harry S Truman 5-14-21-14 54
Neshaminy 16-14-12-15 57
Harry S Truman (54) – Robert Winton 2 0-0 4; Fernando Vargas 6 2-2 15; Jordan Fant 1 0-0 3; Terrence Roger 3 0-0 8; Michael Leonhauser 3 0-0 8; Ethan Flail 3 5-6 12; Carr 0 2-2 2; Clark 1 0-0 2; Totals 19 9-10 54.
Neshaminy (57) – Jimmy MacDonald 5 0-0 10; Kyle Saglimben 6 2-3 15; Matt Drapkin 1 0-0 3; Damon McGovern 4 7-11 16; Mike Murray 4 0-0 8; Tom Mullin 1 0-0 3; Jake Mcginty 1 0-0 2; Totals 22 9-14 57.
3-point goals: HST – Terrence Roger 2, Michael Leonhauser 2, Fernando Vargas, Jordan Fant, Ethan Flail, Neshainy – Kyle Saglimben, Matt Drapkin, Damon McGovern, Tom Mullin.
Bensalem 51, Pennsbury 39
The Owls took a tenuous 16-13 lead into halftime and then blew the game open with a 21-10 third-quarter burst. James Ashford scored nine points in the third quarter to lead the Owls.
“We were able to finish at the rim,” coach Ron Morris said of his team’s third-quarter surge. “In the first half, we missed a ton of layups, and we were still able to get to the rim in the third quarter, and we were finishing.”
Travis Robinson (12 points), Aaron Sanders (12 points) and Ashford (11 points) all finished in double figures to lead a balanced Owls attack. Jeremiah Alexander added six points.
“Across the board, we got a lot of good (things),” Morris said. “Travis Robinson was good again off the bench.
“Blaise Unger, who’s a starter, gave us great minutes tonight. We finally got someone – Justin Johnson – to take a charge for once. We’ve been trying to get them to do that all year. Justin has been a solid contributor. He doesn’t always score a lot, but he does a lot of incidentals – plays great defense, rebounds all the time.
“Jeremiah (Alexander) had another good game. He’s the type of player that can control a game without even scoring that much. He causes so much havoc just being in there rebounding, changing shots, blocking shots. He does a lot for us.”
Alexander dominated the backboards with 12 rebounds. Ashford had six while Robinson and Unger both had four. Robinson and Ashford both had a pair of steals.
“We’re trying to keep working hard,” Morris said. “Different people step up every night. It’s a fun group to coach, and it’s truly a good team.
“We’ve played a lot of games already – seven games in 12 days, so it’s nice to be 6-1. We’re happy with where we’re at, we’ve got a long way to go and just keep getting better every day. Our identity is at the defensive end. We can switch up defenses, put different guys in, and just play with a lot of intensity.”
For the Falcons, Kyrie Miller and Collin Connor led the way with eight points each. Shane Simmons had seven. Connor and Simmons both had a pair of threes. Simmons led the Falcons on the boards with five rebounds. Evan McNeely and Evan Reichard both had four rebounds. Connor had two steals.
Bensalem (6-1, 3-0 SOL) returns to action next Friday when it hosts the Dick Dougherty Memorial Tournament. The Owls will face Ben Franklin in an opening round game. Pennsbury (1-3, 1-1) will take on the School of the Future at Jefferson University next Friday.
Pennsbury 6-7-10-16 39
Bensalem 6-10-21-14 51
Pennsbury (39) – Shane Simmons 2 1-2 7; Kyrie Miller 2 4-8 8; Collin Connor 3 0-0 8; Christian Bond 1 0-0 2; Amir Johnson 2 2-2 6; Cooper Arnold 1 1-2 4; Evan Reichard 1 0-0 2; Brendan McCormack 0 2-2 2; Totals 12 10-16 39.
Bensalem (51) – Travis Robinson 6 0-2 12; Justin Johnson 1 0-0 2; Aaron Sanders 5 0-3 12; Jeremiah Alexander 2 2-3 6; James Ashford 4 3-6 11; Blaise Unger 2 0-0 4; Luke Zeidler 2 0-0 4; Totals 22 5-14 51.
3-point field goals: Pennsbury – Shane Simmons 2, Collin Connor 2, Cooper Arnold, Bensalem – Aaron Sanders 2.
Non-league
Council Rock South 65, Lower Moreland 51
The Golden Hawks erupted for 27 second-quarter points, turning a 13-7 deficit into a 34-17 halftime lead. They exchanged baskets with the visiting Lions in the second half.
“We were able to pressure them and cause some turnovers, and that got us going a little bit,” Rock South coach Chris Clark said. “They’re very well coached, very smart. They play every possession hard, and they certainly outplayed us in the first quarter.
“We were fortunate to ramp up our energy to match their energy.”
Jack Rebholz and Joe Purcell led the second-quarter charge. Rebholz had eight points in the quarter while Purcell had seven. Luke Meakim added five points.
“Most of it was off of turnovers, defensive rebounds and fast breaks,” Clark said. “That was the only quarter that we won.
“We’re trying to become a defensive-minded team, and we’re getting better at it. I thought the first half we played good defense, even the first quarter we played good defense, but they played really good offense. We missed some shots early and got behind 13-7, but it was more about them than us.”
Rebholz led the Golden Hawks with 18 points and Purcell had 14. Kevin McNamee also finished in double figures with 12. Michael Stewart added nine.
“Michael Stewart is always sound in all phases – defense, passing, rebounding, making some shots,” Clark said. “Kevin McNamee did a good job getting out in transition, playing post defense. He was able to get 12 points.
“Luke Meakim guarded their best player, John Przybylinski, really well. Luca Baratta just plays so hard on the defensive end. He’s hustling. It’s everybody. Obviously, Jack with his scoring – he’s really trying to incorporate everybody and take good shots and have a feel for the flow of the game. I’m really happy with where we’re all at.”
Council Rock South (4-3, 2-0 SOL) is off until next weekend’s Haverford Tournament.
“We’ve got eight days before our next game, and now it’s time for us to grow as a basketball team – try to add some things and get better at some things we already do,” Clark said. “
Lower Moreland 13-4-20-14 51
Council Rock South 7-27-20-11 65
Lower Moreland (51) – John Przybylinski 5 4-6 16; Justin Sandler 4 0-0 9; Jack Doneker 3 4-4 11; Tim Kroll 1 0-0 2; Joe Morozin 1 2-2 4; Jared Shein 0 2-2 2; Braden Alicea 1 0-0 2; Andrew Ung 1 1-2 3; Ray Shimon 1 0-0 2; Totals 17 13-16 51.
Council Rock South (65) – Jack Rebholz 7 2-3 18; Joe Purcell 4 5-7 14; Luca Baratta 1 0-0 3; Luke Meakim 3 0-0 7; Michael Stewart 3 2-4 9; Kevin McNamee 6 0-0 12; Alec Borofsky 1 0-0 2; Totals 25 9-14 65.
3-point goals: LM – John Przybylinski 2, Justin Sandler, Jack Doneker, CRS – Jack Rebholz 2, Joe Purcell, Luca Baratta, Luke Meakim, Michael Stewart.
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