Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday. Pennsbury/CB West photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. PW/North Penn photos courtesy of Larry Small. Check back for galleries from both games.
Non-league
PENNSBURY 50, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 43
Aidan McCormack scored 16 points while teammate Evan McNeely had 14 to lead the Falcons to the non-league win on Saturday. The win was the first of the young season for the Falcons..jpg)
“We’re searching for an identity,” Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. “I’m sure everyone is saying the same thing – you haven’t really had a lot of time with the guys.
“As coach (Adam) Sherman and I were talking before the game, you’re trying to put in the basic stuff that we usually do in the summertime and trying to get some new things in so it’s tough.
“We’re still really trying to figure out our personnel and what they’re capable of doing and how far on our bench we can go. We changed it up and went really, really hardcore focused on our defensive side today, and it helped translate, especially in the first half.”
The bounce-back win came on the heels of Friday night’s disappointing loss to archrival Neshaminy that saw the Falcons’ lead disappear in a 24-4 third quarter by the Redskins.
“The last two games when you really look at it – against Bensalem, we had 22 turnovers and we missed 11 or 12 free throws,” Coleman said. “Last night, we had 17 turnovers, about nine (missed) free throws. In the third quarter, we went 1-for-13, but then our defensive intensity picked up the pace. We were able to cut it to five, but we didn’t have enough legs left to get back in it.”
In Saturday’s win, the Falcons’ focus on defense paid immediate dividends as they jumped out to a 23-10 lead after one quarter.
“We really, really dug in defensively – we picked up the pace, and they had quite a few turnovers in the beginning,” Coleman said. “We knew we had to take care of (Teddy) Spratt and (John) Lee.
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“Lee got away from us a little bit in the first half. He ended up with 24, but Aidan McCormack did a fantastic job on Spratt. He limited him to six. That was a very good job by Aidan.”
The Bucks battled back with a 14-6 second quarter to pull to within five points at the intermission, 29-24. West stayed within striking distance, but the Falcons would not let this one slip away.
“I’m going to probably say this a lot this year – all the guys (contributed),” Coleman said. “If you look at what we ask them to do defensively and how we were going to defend them, everyone bought in, everyone brought the effort.
“Even though the score doesn’t indicate it, the pace was pretty high the entire game. It was a fun game to watch and play in.”
McCormack also had a team high 12 rebounds to finish with a double-double. McNeely had eight rebounds and a team high five steals. He also had a pair of assists. Evan Reichard also was a force under the basket, pulling down 10 rebounds while also contributing four assists and two steals.
In addition to scoring a game-high 24 points – which included three 3-pointers, Lee also had eight rebounds. Spratt had a team high nine boards.
Pennsbury (1-2, 0-2 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Tuesday, and Central Bucks West (0-3, 0-2) will host Pennridge on Tuesday.
Central Bucks West 10-14-9-10 43
Pennsbury 23-6-12-9 50
Central Bucks West (43) – Joey Gallagher 1 0-0 3; Nick Martino 1 0-0 2; Teddy Spratt 1 4-8 6; Max Slaymaker 1 0-1 2; Donte Mancini 2 2-3 6; John Lee 10 1-1 24; TOTALS 16 7-13 43.
Pennsbury (50) – Aidan McCormack 6 2-2 16; Kennan Taddei 2 2-2 8; Evan Reichard 1 1-2 3; Evan McNeely 5 3-6 14; Craig Stargell 1 0-0 3; Aiden Bartuski 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 17 8-13 50.
3-point goals: CBW – John Lee 3, Joey Gallagher, Pennsbury – Aidan McCormack 2, Taddei Kennan 2, Aiden Bartuski 2, Evan McNeely, Craig Stargell.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 90, NORTH PENN 44
Luke DiCianno and Zende Hubbard both scored 15 points before halftime, leading the charge in a remarkable 60-point first half for the Colonials, who took a commanding 60-24 lead into the intermission.
“I told the kids – I’ve done this a while and certainly seen moments where you have great halves, but 60 is a big number,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “I don’t know how many 60s we’ve put up. Forty is a big number in a half in high school.”
The Colonials were an uncharacteristic 12-13 last season, and if it’s the killer instinct the Colonials’ veteran coach is looking for, he’s certainly seen it in his squad in its first two games.
“I think it’s the old adage – never underestimate the time you spent in the trenches,” Donofrio said. “That’s what last year was. It was so many years in a row of just high expectations. Naheem McLeod’s senior year, and (Anthony) Straface goes down with an ankle injury. The personality of that team was not quite angry enough. Last year’s team was Caelin Peters surrounded by a lot of young players.
“The teams of the last two seasons did not quite understand the killer mentality we came to love and expect. You never know. I’m a little jaded from the last couple of years. I told these guys, ‘I can’t be sure if I trust you or not just yet.’ I’m not sure. I like to think it’s real, but I’ve been spoiled for a lot of years with one great player after another just showing up at a game time.
“In all fairness to the kids, the schedule last year was not a joke. We didn’t ease it back, and they got the game handed to them a lot of nights. Pandemic or not, they seemed to buy into that message, and a whole lot of them love the game, and a whole lot of them chase the game, so that does feel like home again.”
DiCianno led all scorers with 19 points.
“Luke was with us for three years, and he’ll admit it himself – he was a deer in the headlights his sophomore year,” Donofrio said. “He loves playing for PW, and he went through two years where I think it benefits him to say this is not happening again. Anything you do in life that’s a challenge – you’re going to have an edge about you when you get the opportunity.”
Hubbard, who was coming off a 23-point effort in Friday’s opener, added 17 points in a contest that saw 13 Colonial players put their names in the scoring column.
“If you look at the box score today – you’ve got 13 people scoring and you play 15,” Donofrio said. “Again, you don’t know if it’s always going to be that way. I don’t know where everyone else’s program is, but we’re talented, we’re good.”
“If you’re going to shoot the way we’re shooting the first two nights, that’s going to take me some getting used to that again. I told them I’ll take it, but I’m still distrusting.”
As good as the Colonials were on the offensive end, they were equally impressive on the defensive end.
“Our defensive energy is just like our old school teams, and it’s popping,” Donofrio said. “We have all pure basketball guys, and they found their ways to keep playing the game outside in the cold. We did whatever we could have done, and they did whatever they could on their own to keep playing the game. I just think a lot of things are coming together. I think they’re excited to prove they’re one of our better teams, and it’s always fun to have that history to draw on.
Freshman Jaden Colzie added 13 points – eight in the first half, which included a pair of threes. Qudire Bennett had eight first half points, including two 3-pointers. Senior Zuri Jerman chipped in seven points, which included a 5-for-5 effort at the charity stripe.
“I’m so happy for our seniors to be able to get games in,” Donofrio said. “Zuri Jerman is just a relentless worker on the floor. We’re fortunate to have some depth, so if we’re playing a certain style and there’s some foul trouble, we can replace two or three and maintain that, and that’s different.”
All told, seven seniors put their names in the scoring column.
“I like our approach this year,” Donofrio said. “They’re playing seriously hard. They’re listening, and they’re executing as soon as you tell them to do something, and that is important. What’s happening this year is – they’re changing defenses much better than the last couple of years. They’re in spots where they need to be, and they’re reading each other on offense where I don’t have to control it as much. That’s like 2010 type stuff. That was more intuitive.”
If this year’s team has a new approach, they aren’t alone. Donofrio said he has changed his as well.
“I think I’m coaching more like when I was a young coach which is – give your best effort every night and see what happens and take the pressure off,” the Colonials’ coach said. “I think the last couple of years the kids had to deal with me putting serious pressure on them to maintain a standard, and that can make it miserable for everybody.
“This season is literally a one game at a time season. That’s all this is. If all the teams can survive this until March, good for everybody.”
For the Knights, Josh Jones – on the heels of a 34-point effort in Friday night’s game against Pennridge – led the way with 10 points. Joey Larkins and Terhan Wright both had eight while Billy Coley and Milind Pulugura each scored six.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-0 SOL, 2-0) will be on the road at Upper Dublin on Tuesday. North Penn (1-2, 1-1) will host Souderton on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
North Penn 13-11-5-15 44
Plymouth Whitemarsh 28-32-10-20 90
North Penn (44) – Levi Carroll 2 0-1 4; Joey Larkins 3 1-2 8; Billy Coley 3 0-0 6; Milind Pulugura 3 0-0 6; Josh Jones 3 4-5 10; Ryan Zeltt 1 0-0 2; Terhan Wright 1 6-9 8; TOTALS 16 11-17 44.
Zende Hubbard 7 2-2 17; Jaden Colzie 5 0-0 13; Marshall Baker 3 0-0 6; Taji Hubbard 2 1-1 5; David Harris 0 2-2 2; Teddy Rinck 2 0-0 5; Leonard Benson 1 0-0 2; Luke DiCianno 7 3-4 19; Stephen Forchielli 0 2-3 2; Quidire Bennett 3 0-0 8; Jalen Harris 1 0-0 1; Pat Flynn 0 2-2 2; Zuri Jerman 1 5-5 7; TOTALS 32 17-19 90.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 70, QUAKERTOWN 43
The Patriots enjoyed life beyond the arc in Saturday’s non-league win, connecting for 11 3-pointers. Coach Erik Henrysen wasn’t sure he wanted his team spending quite so much time taking shots from long range.
“We settled early for too many threes without really finding our way into the lane,” the Patriots’ coach said. “We were also fouling too much. Brett Young settled us down. He had the hot hand for the second night in a row and his defensive effort has been awesome.”
Young led the Patriots from beyond the arc, finishing with four three’s and 13 points on the heels of burying three 3-pointers one night earlier. He also had five rebounds. Joe Jackman led the Patriots with a game-high 17 points and also had three steals.
The visiting Patriots jumped out of the gate to a 16-9 lead after one quarter and took a 33-22 lead into halftime. They outscored their hosts 37-21 in the second half.
“We adjusted a little at halftime and reinforced how important it was to get touches in the lane,” Henrysen said. “We thought playing inside out would get us better looks. Defensively, we did a far better job of moving our feet and playing less with our hands in the second half.”
Also for the Patriots, Brendan Harte contributed 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Jacob Commiskey was the fourth Patriot in double figures with 10. He also had five assists. Jason Markowitz added seven points. Jack Hamilton was a force in the paint with six rebounds and seven blocked shots.
“We are building some momentum,” said Henrysen whose team won for the third time in as many games. “We are off to a good start but know that this week is a huge week for us.”
Central Bucks East (3-0, 2-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Tuesday. Both teams are 3-0.
For the Panthers, Kayden Roley and Luke Bauer each had 11 points to lead the way. Jack Gordon added nine. The Panthers connected on just 4-of-12 from the foul line while the Patriots buried 17-of-24.
and Quakertown (0-4, 0-2) will host Wissahickon on Tuesday.
Central Bucks East 16-17-19-18 70
Quakertown 9-13-8-13 43
Central Bucks East (70) – Jacob Cummiskey 10, Liam Cummiskey 3, Jason Markowitz 7, Brendan Harte 12, Brett Young 13, Aidan Weaver 3, Joe Jackman 17, Jack Hamilton 4, Shane Kennedy 1.
Quakertown (43) – Ty Wilkin 2, Kayden Roley 11, Matt Catalano 5, Jack Gordon 9, Luke Bauer 11, Zach Fondl.
3-point goals: CBE – Brett Young 4, Joe Jackman 2, Brendan Harte, Jacob Cummiskey, Liam Cummiskey, Aiden Weaver, Quakertown – Kayden Roley, Matt Catalano, Jack Gordon.
WISSAHICKON 62, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 36
Matt Compas had himself quite a week, capping the Trojans’ three-game sweep with a glittering 27-point effort. In three games, the senior standout is averaging close to 26 points a game.
Compas wasn’t the only player to come up big for the Trojans. Jackson Intrieri added 12 points, Josh Twersky had 11, and Earl Sout – who had a pair of three’s – chipped in with eight.
Trojan coach Kule Wilson called the Trojans’ win a team effort.
For the visiting Lions, Philip Weinseimer had 11 points while Alex Walinski had 11.
The Trojans, who had a tenuous 8-6 lead after one quarter, took a 24-16 lead into halftime and then outscored the Lions 38-20 in the second half.
Wissahickon (3-0, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Tuesday, and New Hope-Solebury (0-2, 0-0) will host William Tennent Tuesday in the SOL opener for both squads.
New Hope-Solebury 6-10-7-13 36
Wissahickon 8-16-19-19 62
New Hope-Solebury (36) – Charles Albano 2 0-0 6; Kyle McLaughlin 1 0-0 2; Alex Alinski 3 3-5 9; Philip Weinseimer 5 1-2 11; Bryan Dougherty 1 0-0 3; Chris Kolen 1 2-2 5; TOTALS 13 6-9 36.
Wissahickon (62) – Matt Compas 12 3-3 27; Josh Twersky 3 4-7 11; Jackson Intrieri 5 1-1 12; Stefan Lowry 2 0-0 4; Earl Stout 3 0-0 8; Will Kunzier 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 25 8-13 62.
3-point goals: NHS – Charles Albano 2, Bryan Dougherty, Chris Kolen, Wissahickon – Earl Stout 2, Jackson Intrieri, Josh Twersky.
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