Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Friday. Wissahickon/UD photos provided courtesy of Kim Supko, and Bensalem/CR North photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of both games.
SOL National
William Tennent 58, Council Rock South 45
William Tennent trailed by three at halftime, but revved it up a notch to win its sixth game in a row and this one moved the Panthers into sole possession of second place in the conference. They remained one game behind first-place Bensalem in the loss column.
“It felt good,” Tennent coach Robert Mulville said. “We had a couple of days to prepare, and our guys are pretty familiar with some of those guys. One of our guys plays AAU with a few of their guys, and our JV coach is the AAU coach. They were pretty amped up for this game. I’m sure CR South was too.”
Tennent had four players in double figures offensively, but defensively it played very well all game.
“Mike Scheller played really well,” Mulville said. “His assignment in man (to-man defense) was (CR South point guard Jack) Rebholz, who had a pretty decent first half with 11 points, but he didn’t get any in the second half. Mike is really long and gets deflections. He disrupts other teams’ offenses just by being so long and bothering them. He makes it difficult to shoot over him and passing too. He probably has four or five deflections a game.”
Sean Haus led the Panthers with 14 points, while Bryce Lockett had 13, Derrik Cosenza 11 and Josiah Johnson 10.
“We’re getting contributions from everybody up-and-down the lineup,” Mulville said. “Tonight is a good example. We’re playing different facets of the game pretty well and we’re not relying on one thing or one player.”
CR South was led by Michael Stewart’s 20 points, while Rebholz had 11.
Tennent (8-3, 4-1 SOL) has a nonleague game Saturday (1 p.m.) at home against New Foundations Charter. The Golden Hawks (8-5, 3-2) next play Tuesday at rival CR North.
CR South (45): Jack Rebholz 5 0-0 11; Luca Baratta 1 0-0 3; Luke Meakim 0 2-2 2; Michael Stewart 6 4-6 20; Kevin McNamee 3 1-1 7; Stephen Dosa 1 0-1 3.
William Tennent (58): Jay Stanfield 1 0-0 3; Daulton Zeaman 2 0-0 5; Josiah Johnson 4 2-2 10; Sean Haus 5 0-0 14; Mike Scheller 1 0-0 2; Derrik Cosenza 5 1-2 11; Bryce Lockett 6 1-1 13
Bensalem 46, Council Rock North 35
Bensalem kept its grasp of the first place secure with a strong second half to put away CR North on Friday night. Trailing 13-5 after one quarter and on the short end of a 23-22 score at the half, the Owls – who trailed by as many as 11 – outscored the Indians 13-3 in the third quarter and only allowed 12 points total in the second half.
“We had another hard-fought league game,” said Owls coach Ron Morris. “(CR North coach Jesse Krasna) does a really nice job. They have guys that play really hard and shoot the ball really well.
“North was hot early. We made some defensive adjustments in the game and the boys responded. We held them to three points in the third quarter.”
James Ashford had 17 points to lead Bensalem, while Aaron Sanders had 11 including three 3-pointers.
“We struggled offensively, but our defensive intensity made up for a tough shooting night,” Morris said. “This week, our team really came together as a family and it was great to see. We have a group of guys who are playing together.
“Justin Johnson took another charge (offensive foul) tonight. Jeremiah Alexander had some nice blocks and his presence altered many shots as well.
“Aaron Sanders had his best all-around performance tonight. He really controlled the game from the point guard position (and) had some huge ‘3s’ throughout the game. We ask a lot out of him for being a sophomore but he’s been a great student of the game and works really hard at his craft.
“James Ashford had another good scoring performance making some tough baskets and foul shots down the stretch. Overall, another team victory.”
CR North was led by Hunter Wan, who scored 16 points. The Indians had just 13 field goals in the game and were 0-for-2 from the free throw line.
Bensalem (11-1, 6-0 SOL) has a nonleague game at Central Bucks East on Tuesday. CR North (3-9, 1-4 SOL) hosts its rivalry game Tuesday against Council Rock South.
Bensalem 5 17 13 11-46
CR North 13 10 3 9-35
Bensalem (46): Travis Robinson 2 1-2 5; Justin Johnson 2 0-0 4; Aaron Sanders 5 0-0 11; Jeremiah Alexander 2 2-6 6; James Ashford 7 2-3 17; Luke Zeidler 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 6-13 46.
CR North (35): Bernie Parent 2 0-0 6; Luke Vliet 1 0-0 3; Sean Mealey 2 0-0 5; Hunter Wan 6 0-2 16; Connor Rushing 2 0-0 5. Totals 13 0-2 35.
SOL American
Cheltenham 71, Springfield Township 63
Senior David Pope scored a career-high 17 points, with four 3-pointers, as Cheltenham remained unbeaten and maintained its grasp of first place in the SOL American with the win on Friday.
“David Pope had his breakout moment,” coach Patrick Fleury said. “He had a great week of practice, and he’s one of our seniors, along with Brandon Scott, that really is charged with keeping the pulse of the team.
“Tonight, he was nothing short of spectacular. He really was the difference for us. We believe he’s a college basketball player, and it was great to see him bounce back from injury and just show what exactly he is. He was amazing.”
Justin Moore added 15 points for the Panthers, while Sean Emfinger and Jaelen McGlone had 10 points each.
Springfield, which hung tough most of the game and trailed 34-28 at halftime, was led by Jay Joseph with a game-high 21 points, while Gabe Harris had 15 and Ethan Hamilton 12.
“Defensively, we gave up 63, so that’s not something we’re happy about but the opposing team played well,” Fleury said.
Cheltenham (11-1, 6-0 SOL) plays three out of the next four days, including Saturday at Downingtown West, Monday at Malvern Prep and then Tuesday’s showdown at home against second-place Abington. Springfield (5-8, 1-5 SOL) plays at Upper Dublin on Tuesday.
Cheltenham 15 19 22 15-71
Springfield 12 16 16 19-63
Cheltenham (71): Rasheem Dearry 2 0-0 5; Travis Coleman 3 0-0 6; Brandon Scott 1 4-6 6; Justin Moore 5 5-6 15; Saleem Payne 1 0-0 2; David Pope 6 1-2 17; Jaelen McGlone 5 0-1 10; Sean Emfinger 5 0-0 10; Totals 28 10-15 71.
Springfield (63): Amir Williams 2 0-0 4; Jay Joseph 8 2-3 21; Ethan Hamilton 5 2-2 12; Austin 1 1-2 3; White 1 1-2 3; Gabe Harris 4 7-11 15; Jamies Heath 1 0-0 3.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 76, Upper Moreland 33
It was the Caelin Peters show at PW on Friday night.
Plymouth Whitemarsh’s 6-foot-2 senior point guard started strong in the first quarter with 10 points and never let up, pumping in 33 points with seven 3-pointers as the Colonials won this one easily.
“He had a little bit of an injury to start the season, and I think when you’re told you’re in a star position, you personally have to learn how to embrace that,” coach Jim Donofrio said. “In games where we have the athletic advantage Caelin is fine, but obviously the pressure was on him, coming from both us and himself. You’re talked about being one of the top returning guys in District One and the Philadelphia area. There was something different about him Sunday when we practiced. We had a really harsh film session, and he just had a different pop in his step starting with practice on Monday.
“I’m really happy for him. The way he played tonight – it’s his responsibility to play that way. He has to embrace that challenge. You’re in a world of competition, so embrace it. He’s capable of so much. He scored 470-some points last year, and that’s not a joke. He has a wonderful personality, and he has to mesh it with – it’s okay to wear the Superman cape. Wear it, and whatever happens, the guys will be behind you.”
It was only a 10-6 game after one quarter, as all 10 of the Colonials’ points were by Peters, but they exploded with 30 points in the second quarter and Upper Moreland was in for a rough end of the night.
Luke DiCianno added 12 points, while David Harris and Jaden Pryce both chipped in with 10 points.
“We changed the lineup, we have sophomores and freshmen starting. What really wins is when you find a steady six or seven. It’s a very unique year.”
PW (4-8, 3-2 SOL) had a game cancelled on Tuesday, so it ended up with five straight days of practice.
“It was very, very detailed,” Donofrio said. “These kids have been very young in retaining information in all kinds of ways, not just in how hard to play but how to execute things, so we just have been staying humble.
“We’re playing against the game of basketball right now. The game is harder than the opponent. We have to focus on the definition of playing hard every possession because they don’t. We have to learn what we’re capable of every possession on defense and offense. There’s a lot of pressure on them at PW. It’s unacceptable in some ways to not compete with incredible energy. Wake up, let’s do it. Maybe tonight is a little start of that, but we’re going one game at a time.”
Beau Woolens was the leading scorer for the Golden Bears with seven points, all from the free throw line. As a team, UM managed just 10 field goals in the game and one 3-pointer.
The Bears (8-3, 3-3 SOL) host Wissahickon on Tuesday night.
Upper Moreland 6 11 12 4-33
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10 30 20 16-76
Upper Moreland (33): Byron Hopkins 2 0-2 5; Beau Woolens 0 7-8 7; Jourdan Gregg 2 1-2 5; Jahire Johnson 3 0-0 6; Jake Tiernan 0 1-2 1; Jeremy Hermer 0 2-2 2; Matt Tiernan 2 0-2 4; Chance Byrd 0 2-6 2; Tyler Ibbotson 1 0-0 2.
PW (76): Caelin Peters 13 0-0 33; Ray Tomassetti 0 2-2 2; Luke DiCianno 2 8-9 12; David Harris 3 2-2 10; Zuri Jerman 1 0-0 2; Jaden Pryce 5 0-0 10; Trey Jones 1 0-0 3; Teddy Rinck 1 2-4 4.
Wissahickon 44, Upper Dublin 33
In what has been an up-and-down season from the start, Wissahickon followed up on his huge win over Abington on Tuesday with a solid home win on Friday, which was celebrating its annual “Silent Night” game.
“I’m very happy for them,” coach Kyle Wilson said. “After starting 0-5 with four games that we played better than the other team but just didn’t play better in the last three or four minutes, it’s nice to see these kids start to trust each other and believe in themselves.
“I’m sure a couple of kids tonight were like, ‘I didn’t score as many points’ or ‘I didn’t play as well.’ I told them, ‘Look, it’s your rival. You have to throw records out the window. They know us, we know them. If we eke out a one-point win, that’s great. If we get a 10- or 11-point win, that’s a good thing. That’s what you have to walk away excited about.’”
Offensively, the Trojans were led by Matt Compas’ 16 points, while Andrew Buck was also in double figures with 12.
Upper Dublin was led by Drew Stover, who scored 15 points.
“Drew Stover is just a tough, tough player,” Wilson said. “I think he’s one of the top big men in the area other than the kid at Methacton. To be able to contain him and not let him have a monster night, I thought at the end of the game he didn’t have over 10 points, but that kid finds a way to score.”
Wilson credited the defensive play of Stefan Lowry against Stover.
“He had to guard Drew Stover, who he’s giving up four inches to,” Wilson said. “Alex Richman, who we had penciled to start next to Carmen Ostroski, has been out 13 weeks and just started practicing this week. Josh Twersky ended up being the kid who started, a nice 6-2 athletic kid, and he broke his wrist the third game of the season.
“Stef plays soccer and we didn’t see him as much, so it was, ‘Maybe he’ll swing – play JV and varsity – but he’s been one of our most consistent forwards all season long.
“We gave him the task to guard Stover. ‘You guard him and Carmen will help you,’ and Stef just did an amazing job of playing solid defense. Stover got 15, but we didn’t give him the 25-30, so I give a lot of credit to Stef Lowry for playing solid defense and giving us a chance to let our offense do what it needed to do but not let them because a lot of their offense runs through Stover, and if he gets going, they’re just such a tough team to stop.”
Wissahickon (6-8, 4-2 SOL) plays at Upper Moreland on Tuesday. Upper Dublin (5-5, 1-4 SOL) has a nonleague game Saturday at home against Council Rock South.
Wissahickon 15 10 14 5-44
Upper Dublin 11 5 12 5-33
Wissahickon (44): Andrew Buck 5 0-0 12; Harrison Williams 1 1-2 3; Jackson Intrieri 3 0-0 7; Stefan Lowry 3 0-2 6; Matt Compas 6 0-2 15; Carmen Ostroski 0 1-2 1.
Upper Dublin (33): Jason Williams 2 0-0 5; Bazel Brady 2 1-2 5; Drew Stover 7 1-3 15; Will Mead 1 0-0 2; Aidan Pullian 1 0-2 2; Tim Boutilier 1 0-0 2.
Abington 70, Hatboro-Horsham 39
This one was close for a quarter, as Abington led 20-18 after one, but the Ghosts made easy work of the Hatters over the next two quarters, including 16-2 second quarter to put the game out of reach.
The Ghosts shots 54.3 percent (25-for-46) from the field and had four players in double figures, led by Joey Brusha, who had four 3-pointers and 14 points.
Manir Waller had 11 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Robert Bell had 11 points and four assists, and Kyle Wilson-Bailey had a career-high 10 points as well as three steals and two rebounds.
The Hatters (1-11, 0-6 SOL) were led by Jack Marvin, who had 21 points. They hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday night.
Abington (6-5, 5-1 SOL) had lost four of its previous five games going into Friday. It will play at rival and first-place Cheltenham on Tuesday night.
Hatboro-Horsham 18 2 8 11-39
Abington 20 16 16 18-70
Hatboro-Horsham (39): N’Gianni Cersier 2 0-0 4; Logan Fischer 1 0-0 2; Simpson 1 0-0 2; Schlosser 3 0-0 7; Jack Marvin 7 1-2 21; Pitts 1 0-0 3; Totals 15 1-2 39.
Abington (70): Manir Waller 3 5-6 11; Oreck Frazier 2 0-0 4; Robert Bell 4 2-3 11; Kyle Wilson-Bailey 3 3-4 10; Joey Brusha 5 0-0 14; Caleb Baker 2 0-0 4; Yashawn Watts 1 1-1 3; Connor Fields 1 1-2 3; Karim Boyd 2 0-0 4; Adam Shinn 1 0-0 3; Zyeir Olaswere 1 1-2 3; Totals 25 13-18 70.
SOL Continental
Pennridge 54, Central Bucks East 47 (OT)
Pennridge’s unbeaten record in the SOL Continental was in jeopardy as visiting CB East led by six with two minutes to play, only to see the Rams rally to send the game into overtime where they pulled away for the seven-point win.
“They had a tough turnover and Colin Post had a nice steal and we converted,” said Pennridge coach Dean Behrens. “We had a tough time putting the ball in the basket all night. We were missing chippies, some drives and were frustrated. But the kids kept their composure and kept believing. It was tough sledding.
“We scored to tie it with 25 seconds left and then executed defensively really well. We had two fouls to give and we took them, we made it hard for them to in-bound the ball. They got a last shot off, but it was a tough shot.
“Then, once we got to overtime, and we hit the first bucket, it took the air out of (CB East).”
Joe Jackman scored 25 points for the Patriots, including five 3-pointers, and a half-courter at the end of the half that gave East a 24-19 lead at halftime.
“He hit some ridiculous ‘3s’,” Behrens said. “First of all, he hit one from half court that was an amazing shot. He had step-back ‘3s’ with a hand in his face. But he’s athletic and can get to the basket. He’s just a really good player. He’s tough to stop.”
Christian Guldin was the high scorer for the Rams with 22 points, as he shook off some early misses and made some big shots, and foul shots, down the stretch.
“I know Christian was having a tough time putting the ball in the basket early,” Behrens said. “I thought he handled the game great. And he hit some big shots for us. He went 9-for-10 from the foul line.”
Trent Fisher scored 13 for the Rams (10-2, 5-0 SOL), who play Liberty in a nonleague game as part of a showcase event at Parkland on Sunday.
As well as Jackman’s 25, Jack Hamilton added 17 for the Patriots (9-6, 3-3 SOL), who next play a nonleague game Tuesday against SOL National-leading Bensalem.
CB East 13 11 4 10 9-47
Pennridge 4 15 7 12 16-54
CB East (47): Anthony Giordano 1 0-0 2; Chris Charlton 1 0-0 3; Jack Hamilton 5 5-7 17; Joe Jackman 9 2-2 25. Totals 16 7-9 47.
Pennridge (54): Connor Pleibel 2 1-1 5; Ryan Benscoter 2 0-0 4; Luke Yoder 3 0-2 6; Christian Guldin 5 9-10 22; Colin Post 2 0-0 4; Trent Fisher 5 3-4 13. Totals 20 13-17 54.
North Penn 69, Central Bucks South 48
Senior Mike Chaffee went 6-for-8 from 3-point range as North Penn picked up its biggest win of the season on the road at CB South.
Chaffee finished with 18 points. As a team, the Knights had eight 3-pointers.
“We shot the ball really well tonight, which we have not done consistently well all year,” said North Penn coach John Conrad. “Obviously, it gets you going. We always talk to our kids and tell them, ‘If you get a little bit of a lead, it makes it easier to make those shots.’
“You get good stops, you can out in transition and tonight, Mikey had the hot hand?”
Chaffee is normally North Penn’s defensive stopper and Friday he was matched up with Central Bucks South’s Andrew Dietz.
“Tonight was his biggest output offensively,” Conrad said. “But he’s been really solid for us defensively. Tonight, he had a really tough assignment in Dietz, and he’s just been so solid. He was able to get open looks and cash in.”
A strong first quarter put North Penn (4-8, 2-3 SOL) in front from the start, and it was able to put the game away and push the lead into double figures in the second half.
Joey Larkins added 15 points, Matt Swanson had 12 and Josh Jones was also in double figures with 11.
“We’ve played better of late,” Conrad said. “We’ve been more consistent. We had a competitive chance to win against (CB West on Tuesday), but didn’t finish. We’ll see what happens. We play Pennridge Tuesday and they’re a phenomenal basketball team. We’ll see how that goes, but I feel like we’re playing better.”
Dietz and Michael Farley had 15 points each for the Titans. CB South (8-5, 3-2 SOL) – which is minus several players due to injury – hosts rival CB West on Tuesday (8 p.m.).
North Penn 18 12 16 24-69
CB South 10 11 11 16-48
North Penn (69): Carter Houlihan 1 1-1 3; Kolby Barrow 1 0-0 2; Josh Jones 4 2-4 11; Joey Larkins 4 6-6 15; Michael Chaffee 6 0-0 18; Rob Carangi 2 0-0 4; Matt Swanson 3 6-8 12. Totals 21 15-19 69.
CB South (48): Mike Waltrich 2 1-1 6; Evan D’Orazio 3 0-0 6; Josiah Harrison 0 0-2 0; Alex Dietz 6 2-3 15; Colin Mauz 1 0-0 2; Jay Macalindong 2 0-0 4; Michael Farley 5 4=5 15. Totals 19 7-11 48.
Central Bucks West 67, Quakertown 59
Defense was the difference in critical spots, as CB West forced turnovers and created easy baskets, going up 41-30 at halftime and then pushing that led to as high as 19 in the third quarter.
Quakertown, which shot 8-for-14 from 3-point range, managed to get it as close as the eight-point final margin in the fourth but never again was in striking distance after the third quarter.
Offensively, West had seven 3-pointers of its own, including two each for Teddy Spratt and Joe Monahan off the bench.
Mika Munari finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Spratt had 16 points and six rebounds. Danny Miller and Andrew Lindenmuth had seven points each.
“It was good to see Teddy and Mika have good games,” said West coach Adam Sherman. “We were able to push the ball up the court.
“(Quakertown) really shot the ball well. We had them shooting 8-for-14. You’ve got to give them a lot of credit for shooting the ball that well.”
Quakertown had three players in double figures, led by Matt Tuley with 14 points, Kayden Roley with 13 and Jack Gordon with 10. Luke Bauer added nine points.
West (9-4, 3-2 SOL) has a road nonleague game scheduled for Saturday (4:30 p.m.) against Crestwood High School in Mountain Top, near Wilkes Barre in District Two. Still searching for its first win, Quakertown (0-11, 0-5 SOL) hosts Souderton on Tuesday (8 p.m.).
CB West 20 21 15 11-67
Quakertown 12 18 9 20-59
CB West (67): Teddy Spratt 7 0-0 16; Mika Munari 5 5-7 16; Danny Miller 2 3-4 7; Andrew Lindenmuth 3 2-2 7; Owen Haney 2 2-2 6; Jack Neri 2 2-2 6; Joe Monahan 2 0-0 6; Jack Slaymaker 1 0-0 3. Totals 23 14-17 67.
Quakertown (59): Matt Tuley 5 2-2 14; Kayden Roley 6 0-0 13; Jack Gordon 4 1-1 12; Luke Bauer 3 2-2 9; Matt Catalano 2 2-2 7; Jake Hallowell 2 0-0 4. Totals 22 7-7 59.
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