Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Photos of Neshaminy’s Senior Night game against CR North provided courtesy of Jesse Garber (https://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p213809338)
SOL Patriot Division
NESHAMINY 58, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 36
The Redskins notched their fourth win without a loss, this one a no-doubt-about-it win over the Indians. They took a tenuous one-point lead into halftime and then blew the game wide open with a 22-5 third quarter.
Not a bad way to celebrate the team’s eight seniors – Matt Drapkin, Hammed Fofana, Mason Getz, Miles Jones, Jimmy MacDonald, Jake McGinty, Tom Mullin and Mike Murray – on their Senior Night.
“We start five seniors, and the others that come in really contribute,” Neshaminy coach Mark Tingle said. “It was really the perfect storm. We played well the whole second half, and we were able to get more people in and give them minutes.”
The Redskins took a 17-16 lead over the Indians into halftime.
“Early on, we had great looks, but we just weren’t making anything,” Tingle said. “We had missed a good seven opportunities right underneath the basket in the first half. Our defense has been really good this year, and holding any team to 16 is a really good first-half score.
“We held them to five in the third quarter, and we didn’t miss any shots in the third quarter, so that was huge.
In the pivotal third quarter, MacDonald and Murray both had six points for Neshaminy while Mullin had five. All told, the Redskins outscored their visitors 41-20 in the second half.
“Defensively, Jake McGinty and Tom Mullin really set the tone for us,” Tingle said. “We always put them on the other team’s best guards or players.
“But it’s everybody, it’s whoever we put in the game. We had a kid (Nunzio Zydzik) dive into our bench for a loose ball when we were up 20. He saved it, and we got possession. They just play hard. It’s great.”
Murray led a balanced attack with 12 points while MacDonald and Drapkin each had 10. Mullin finished with seven, McGinty and Sean Curley both had six points.
“We had four starters returning from last year, so that helps,” Tingle said. “We had six rotation players that played a ton of minutes last year return.
“We preach that this is day by day, especially with everything that’s going on – let’s just live for the moment, play as hard as we can, and we’re really doing that. It’s probably one of my most fun teams to coach right now, so it’s definitely going to be a fun ride.”
Connor Rushing’s 13 points led the way for the Indians. Bernie Parent added eight points and Garrett Gromlich had six.
Neshaminy (4-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland on Saturday for a non-league game at 1:30 p.m. Council Rock North (2-1) will host Pennsbury on Tuesday.
Council Rock North 5-11-5-15 36
Neshaminy 9-8-22-19 58
Council Rock North (36) – Garrett Gromlich 2 0-0 6; Bernie Parent 3 0-1 8; Adam Mahtat 2 0-1 4; Jack Blum 1 1-2 4; Logan Saifer 0 1-2 1; Connor Rushing 3 6-7 13; TOTALS 11 8-13 36.
Neshaminy (58) – Jimmy MacDonald 4 2-2 10; Jake McGinty 3 0-0 6 Matt Drapkin 4 0-0 10; Evan Esposito 1 0-0 3; Miles Jones 2 0-0 4; Mike Murray 5 2-2 12; Tom Mullin 3 0-0 7; Sean Curley 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 24 4-4 58.
3-point goals: Garrett Gromlich 2, Bernie Parent 2, Jack Blum, Connor Rushing, Neshaminy – Sean Curley 2, Matt Drapkin 2, Evan Esposito, Tom Mullin.
SOL Freedom Division
WILLIAM TENNENT 65, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 46
The Panthers used a balanced scoring attack and some serious defense to earn a convincing win over the Spartans.
“I was pretty happy with our defense through three quarters,” Tennent coach Robert Mulville said. “We gave up maybe a little too much in the fourth quarter, but we were able to get our hands in some passing lanes and get some deflections and get some easy buckets at the other end.”
The Panthers, who led 37-24 at halftime, outscored the Spartans 15-7 in the third quarter to go into the final frame with a 52-31 advantage.
“I thought we did a pretty good job of getting to the foul line, and overall, we’re doing a pretty good job of sharing the ball,” said Mulville, whose team was 22-for-32 from the charity stripe. “As a group offensively, they don’t rush things, they don’t force many shots, so we’re getting high percentage shots. It’s a very unselfish team. They’re very willing to make the extra pass.”
The Panthers had three players in double figures, led by the 13-point efforts of Walter Young and Jay Stanfield. Derrik Cosenza had a double-double with 12 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Mike Scheller, Dom Sulpizio and Matt Miller each added seven points.
“It won’t show up the box score, but I thought Matt Miller played a great game,” Mulville said. “He wasn’t the high scorer, he wasn’t the high rebounder, but his motor is always going. He plays really, really good defense, and his energy tonight – he was able to turn that energy into some points on the offensive end because he was doing it on the defensive end.”
For the Spartans, Austin Maggioncalda had 13 points. Ben Cooney turned in a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, and Dylan McKenzie added eight points and three rebounds.
William Tennent (2-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South for a non-league game Monday, and Springfield Township (0-3, 0-2) will host Cheltenham on Tuesday.
William Tennent 17-20-15-13 65
Springfield Twp 11-13-7-15 46
William Tennent (65) – Dom Sulpizio 1 4-6 7; Walter Young 4 3-4 13; Matt Miller 3 1-2 7; Jay Stanfield 2 8-12 13; Mike Carr 1 0-0 2; Mike Scheller 3 0-0 7; Derrik Cosenza 4 4-6 12; Ryan Emmerich 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 19 22-32 65
Springfield Twp (46) – Finn Coll 11-3 3; Dylan McKenzie 2 3-5 8; Andrew Kennedy 0 2-2 2; Harry Rittenhouse 2 0-0 4; Kyle Smythe 1 1-2 4; Austin Maggioncalda 4 1-2 13; Ben Cooney 5 2-4 12; TOTALS 15 10-18 46.
3-point goals: WT-Walter Young 2, Jay Stanfield, Mike Scheller, DomSulpizio, Springfield – Austin Maggioncalda 4, Dylan McKenzie, Kyle Smythe.
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 64, WISSAHICKON 63
The box score will show that Matt Robinson had just two points in Thursday’s non-league thriller, but no basket loomed larger than the sophomore’s floater with 4.5 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Golden Hawks the lead and the impressive win.
“It went back and forth the last few minutes, and they scored with 19 seconds left to take a one-point lead,” Rock South coach Chris Clark said. “We took the ball across half court and called timeout.
“We were able to get into the paint, and Matt Robinson, our sophomore, shot a little floater from about seven feet, and that put us up one with four seconds to go. They had a half court shot to try and win.”
The shot fell short, and the Trojans absorbed their first loss of the young season.
“Wissahickon is a very good team,” Clark said. “They’ve played well to start the season, so for us to be able to hang with them and show toughness at both ends, I was really happy for the kids. They did great.”
The Golden Hawks, who trailed 14-10 after one quarter, found themselves on the short end of a 31-30 halftime score. Matt Compas and Josh Twersky had eight points each to lead the Trojans. Stefan Lowry had six. For the Golden Hawks, Gavin Holloran led the way with 10 points in the half while Joey Purcell had eight.
“At the defensive end, we struggled to try to stay with Compas and to try to block them out, but we hung with them as much as we could,” Clark said. “I thought we got in front of them a little bit better in the second half.
“Offensively, we have continued to share the ball with each other. We had nine players score tonight, and that’s how it has to be for us. We had three kids in double figures, but nine kids scored. The more we can share the ball, push the ball, move the ball side to side – that makes us tough to guard because all of our kids are confident in their ability. I think we’re starting to understand our roles which is important too.”
In the third quarter, the Golden Hawks – sparked by seven points from Colin Martin and six from Purcell – outscored the Trojans 19-16 to go into the final quarter with a two point advantage, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
Martin’s 18-point effort, which included a pair of three’s, led the Hawks. Holloran added 16, and Purcell finished with 14.
“It was definitely a team effort,” Clark said. “Scoring-wise, we had those three double-figure kids, and they kept us in it because they can score. For us to be able to match their scoring helped us.
“Ultimately, like Tuesday, it was all about all the kids who played. Everybody who played gave a positive contribution. It was just really good to see. We talked at halftime about – this game was going to be about mental and physical toughness. It was going to be about the physical toughness at the defensive end – blocking out and taking charges – and the toughness mentally on offense to share the ball, take good shots and not turn the ball over.”
Compas led all scorers with 28 points, which included a 6-for-7 effort at the foul line. He scored 20 of those points in the second half. Lowry finished with 12 and Intrieri added 11. Twersky had eight points.
“(We) took a solid seven- or eight-point lead in the third, but South came storming back to keep it close through the fourth period and closed it out with a shot to take the lead with 4. 5 seconds left,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said. “(We) had a toss at the rim across half court, but it never came close.”
Council Rock South (2-2, 1-2 SOL) will travel to Bensalem on Friday, and Wissahickon (5-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Upper Dublin Friday. Both games are key conference battles.
Wissahickon 14-17-16-16 63
Council Rock South 10-20-19-15 64
Wissahickon (63) – Matt Compas 11 6-7 28; Josh Twersky 3 1-2 8; Jackson Intrieri 5 0-0 11; Stefan Lowry 6 0-1 12; Morgan Wilson 1 0-0 2; Will Kunzier 2-0-0 2; TOTALS 28 7-10 63.
Council Rock South (64) – Zach Schwartz 2 0-0 4; Stephen Dosa 1 0-0 2; Joey Purcell 4 6-6 14; Colin Martin 7 2-2 18; Matt Robinson 1 0-0 2; Gavin Stock 1 0-0 3; Joseph Venuto 0 1-6 1; Shane Dawson 2 0-0 4; Gavin Holloran 7 2-2 16; TOTALS 26 11-16 64.
3-point goals: Wissahickon – Josh Twersky, Jackson Intrieri, CRS – Colin Martin 2, Gavin Stock.
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