Check out the recaps of SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Upper Moreland/William Tennent photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL National Conference
BENSALEM 63, HARRY S TRUMAN 53
Aaron Sanders and James Ashford combined for 42 points and keyed a strong second half for the Owls, who went into halftime deadlocked with the Tigers but outscored their visitors 38-28 after the intermission.
“Truman has definitely improved over the year – Tyrone (Lewis) does a good job over there,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “It’s a rivalry game, so it’s always the type of game you have to throw the records away. It’s going to be a battle. They know our personnel, we known their personnel. We’ve worked out in the offseason before.
“It was a good team victory. Coming off the emotional game Tuesday of winning the Suburban One (National) championship, it’s tough to get back up emotionally, and the boys did a good job. We found a way to win the game.”
The Owls and Tigers were deadlocked 25-25 at halftime. Aaron Sanders buried three 3-pointers in a third quarter that saw the Owls open up a 41-35 lead. Bensalem closed it out with a 22-point fourth quarter that featured nine points from James Ashford.
“It was one of those battles – we got up early, they shot the ball well, came back and tied it at halftime,” Morris said. “The third quarter Aaron (Sanders) had three 3s, which kind of separated us. That gave us a boost.
“Defensively, we were able to get steals. Justin Johnson had a couple of good steals, got out in transition. James (Ashford) was able to get to the rim in transition.”
Sanders led all scorers with 23 points, which included five 3s, and Sanders had 19 points. Jeremiah Alexander also finished in double figures with 12 points.
“Jeremiah had another good offensive game. He was finishing around the basket, and he’s always a threat on defense,” Morris said. “He got a bunch of rebounds.”
For the Tigers, Fernando Vargas (13 points) and Kayshawn Clark (11 points) led the attack. RJ Winton added eight points.
The Owls are sixth in the latest District One 6A power rankings.
“Every win matters,” Morris said. “We have Ridley Saturday, and we just have to get prepared tomorrow and ready to go to battle again. We’re everybody’s playoff game right now.
“You can’t look at records because a lot of these teams are good teams, and they’re sitting at 17, 18, 22. Everybody’s good. There are no cupcakes.”
Bensalem (17-3, 11-0 SOL) will host Ridley in a non-league game on Saturday at 3:45 p.m., and Harry S Truman (4-14, 2-8) will travel to Norristown Saturday for a non-league game at 1 p.m.
Harry S Truman 10-15-10-18 53
Bensalem 12-13-16-22 63
Harry S Truman (53) – RJ Winton 3 2-3 8; Kayshawn Clark 4 1-1 11; Kashun Holden 2 0-0 4; Fernando Vargas 6 0-1 13; TJ Rogers 1 1-2 3; Makai Jackson 2 1-3 5; Mike Leonhauser 0 2-3 2; Tariq Montgomery 1 0-0 2; Evan Profy 1 0-0 3; Tarnue Collins 1 0-0 2; Totals 21 7-13 53.
Bensalem (63) – Travis Robinson 2 0-0 4; Justin Johnson 1 1-2 3; Aaron Sanders 8 2-2 23; Jeremiah Alexander 4 4-5 12; James Ashford 9 1-2 19; Blaise Unger 1 0-0 2; Totals 25 8-11 63.
3-point goals: HST – Kayshawn Clark 2, Fernando Vargas, Evan Profy; Bensalem – Aaron Sanders 5.
Non-league
UPPER MORELAND 53, WILLIAM TENNENT 50
The Golden Bears found themselves on the short end of a 27-20 score at halftime. Byron Hopkins decided to do something about it, scoring 16 of his 20 points after the intermission and leading the Golden Bears to the come-from-behind victory over their neighboring rivals.
“William Tennent did a ton of things right the whole game – they were well prepared,” UM coach Sean Feeley said. “We preach playing hard, and 
I felt we could have played harder in the first half. I preached that at halftime, and I thought we played really hard in the second half, made a little adjustment.”
The Panthers buried three 3-pointers in a first quarter that saw the visitors outscore the Golden Bears 15-13. They added to that lead in the second quarter. Derrik Cosenza led the Panthers with 11 first-half points.
In the third quarter, Hopkins stepped to the fore, scoring nine points. Tyler Ibbotson added a pair of 3s in the 20-point quarter, and the Golden Bears led 40-38 heading into the final quarter.
Hopkins scored seven big points in the fourth quarter, which included a 3-for-4 effort at the foul line.
“He’s playing really, really well,” Feeley said of his sophomore point guard.
The Golden Bears’ coach went on to relay an amusing story about Hopkins.
“It makes me look bad as a coach, but I actually didn’t start him in the beginning of the year,” Feeley said. “I think what happened – I challenged him to make me regret it, and, of course, I regret it. We laugh about it now because he’s playing some really good basketball.
“I know coaches around are saying, ‘What was he thinking?’ Obviously, he’s very good. He loves the moment, he has a ton of confidence, and most importantly, he’s a really, really good kid.”
Ibbotson also finished in double figures with 10 points, which included three 3s.
“Tyler’s been so steady,” Feeley said. “Since Beau (Woollens) went down, he’s kind of the senior captain, taking leadership. He grabbed a ton of rebounds in the second half, and he hit those big 3s.
“Jake and Matt Tiernan are playing above their age right now. They’re both sophomores, and they’re playing good.”
Jake Tiernan and Jourdan Gregg both scored eight points. Matt Teirnan added six points.
For the Panthers, Cosenza had another big game, leading all scorers with 22 points. Josiah Johnson added 10 points, and Sean Haus had eight – both had a pair of 3-pointers.
Upper Moreland (13-5, 6-5 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township on Friday at 7 p.m., and William Tennent (11-8, 5-4) will be on the road at Neshaminy at 6 p.m.
William Tennent 15-12-11-12 50
Upper Moreland 13-7-20-13 53
William Tennent (50) – Brett Hanssens 0 0-2 0; Jay Stanfield 1 0-0 3; Daulton Zeaman 1 0-0 3; Josiah Johnson 4 0-1 10; Sean Haus 3 0-0 8; Michael Scheller 1 0-0 2; Derrik Cosenza 9 4-6 22; Bryce Lockett 1 0-0 2; Totals 20 4-8 50.
Upper Moreland (53) – Byron Hopkins 8 3-4 20; Jourdan Gregg 4 0-0 8; McKie Walker 0 1-3 1; Jake Tiernan 3 0-0 8; Matt Tiernan 3 0-1 6; Tyler Ibbotson 3 1-2 10; Totals 21 5-10 53.
3-point goals: WT-Josiah Johnson 2, Sean Haus 2, Jay Stanfield, Daulton Zeaman, UM –Tyler Ibbotson 3, Jake Tiernan 2, Byron Hopkins.
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