Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Wednesday. PW/Hatboro-Horsham photos provided courtesy of Larry Small. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Colonial Division
PENNRIDGE 63, NORTH PENN 59
Dean Behrens wasn’t sold on the idea of playing an important league game after three days away from the basketball court. The Rams’ coach undoubtedly had to rethink his position after the Rams put four players in double figures and pulled off the big win.
“Obviously, it’s COVID and we got a lot of snow – no one practiced, so both teams were on even keel,” Behrens said. “If you can get a game in now, you get a game in, so we snuck the game in.
“I was really proud of how the boys played in regards to their effort, how they stuck together. We didn’t practice for three days, and we come out and score 63 points. It was nice to have that balanced scoring.”
Luke Yoder’s 15 points led the Rams, who got 14 from Colin Post, 13 from Justin Nichols and 12 from Colin Monahan.
For the Knights, Billy Coley turned in a monster 26-point effort, which included six 3-pointers. Josh Jones added 22 and Ryan Zeltt had eight.
“The whole idea was to stop Jones – he had torched us for 34 last game,” Behrens said of the Ram’s 64-56 overtime win in the initial meeting. “I thought we did a really good job in the first half. Matt Campione did a great job coming off his man, and we doubled him right away. We made it hard.
“Colin Monahan, who didn’t play the first time because of health reasons, played this game, which I thought made a difference in this game. He did a nice job on Jones as well – he got the matchup.”
The Rams trailed 34-31 at halftime. Jones had just six points in the opening half, but Coley was all but unstoppable.
“Billy Coley just went off,” Behrens said. “This kid is hitting 3s like it’s nothing, and he knew they were going in. The ball’s halfway out, and he’s running back on defense. He’s good, but I didn’t think he’d have 26 on us. I was hoping we could hold him to maybe 14 and keep Jones under 20.
“I thought what helped us – defensively at the end, we did a better job on Billy, closing out more.”
The Rams still trailed by one heading into the final quarter when they outscored their visitors 17-12.
“TJ Grenda did a nice job coming off the bench – he hit a big three in the fourth quarter, Luke Yoder had a couple of buckets in the fourth quarter,” Behrens said. “Defensively, we did a better job of limiting them to one shot and done, and they weren’t as hot.”
Justin Nichols was a late-game hero at the foul line, burying 4-of-4 down the stretch to seal the Knights’ fate.
“We’re up three, they’re trying to foul us,” Behrens said. “Justin has struggled a little bit from the foul line this year, and son of a gun, he goes 4-for-4. They were both one-and-ones. If he misses the first one, it’s a one-possession game, and with those guys – Jones and Coley can hit 3s and Zeltt can hit 3s.
“Once Justin hit the first one, I thought, ‘All right, it’s a two-possession game’ and then he hit the second one. They missed, and they fouled Justin right away, and he hits both of them. They hit a bucket with three seconds left, and the game was over.”
Also for the Rams, Grenda added seven points off the bench.
“Luke Yoder got in foul trouble in the second quarter, and he had to sit,” Behrens said. “Greg Stumpo came in and gave us good minutes in the second quarter.
“Monahan and Post really stepped up their games in the second quarter. Colin Post probably had 10 points in the second quarter, which really helped us offensively make up for Luke being on the bench.
“Justin Nichols with 13 was huge – he’s playing with confidence. He’s a bulldog. He’s not very tall, but he’s got a big heart. That kid loves to play. I don’t think we took him out.
“There’s 28 days until the district seeding committee. I keep telling the boys, ‘We have 28 days, let’s go all in and see where we are.’”
Pennridge (5-4, 4-3 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Friday, and North Penn (7-3, 5-2) will travel to Souderton Friday for an 8 p.m. contest.
North Penn 17-17-13-12 59
Pennridge 15-16-15-17 63
North Penn (59) – Josh Jones 10 2-3 22; Billy Coley 9 2-2 26; Ryan Zeltt 4 0-0 8; Terhan Wright 0 1-2 1; Milind Pulugura 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 24 5-7 59.
Pennridge (63) – Justin Nichols 3 6-6 13; Luke Yoder 7 0-0 15; Colin Post 7 0-0 14; Matt Campione 1 0-0 2; TJ Grenda 2 2-2 7; Colin Monahan 5 2-2 12; TOTALS 25 10-10 63.
3-point goals: NP – Billy Coley 6; Pennridge – Justin Nichols, Luke Yoder TJ Grenda.
SOL Liberty Division
ABINGTON 55, WISSAHICKON 46
The Ghosts found themselves on the short end of a 27-21 score at halftime but then played some lockdown defense in the third quarter, limiting the visiting Trojans to seven points – two of those at the buzzer. A 10-0 run in the quarter gave Abington a lead it would not lose.
“It was effort,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said of the key to the turnaround. “Our guys have to understand that once they play with a lot of effort – if we can put it together, we could be a really good team, but right now we’re just playing in spurts.
“That third quarter was really impressive. I told the guys, ‘I’m not just a basketball coach, I’m a basketball fan. I want to see good basketball.’ We turned them over a couple of times, we made the right passes, we beat their zone a little bit, and we were able to get some stops in the halfcourt. We shared the ball, and I thought that was key to making that 10-0 run, and then we just played a lot harder.”
The Ghosts – more specifically Rob Bell and Caleb Baker – were clutch at the foul line down the stretch, burying 6-of-6 in the final 1:14 to ice the win. Bell twice connected on both ends of a one-and-one and Baker also sank a pair.
“That’s impressive,” Grasty said. “I know we struggled earlier this season at the line, and the guys are using some down time to practice their foul shots. Apparently it paid off.”
Rob Bell turning in a dazzling all-around effort, leading all scorers with 26 points – a career high. Included in those 26 points were four 3-pointers, also a career high, four rebounds, two steals and four assists. Oreck Frazier added 13 points and, according to his coach, important leadership.
“Not just his scoring – I thought he was a good leader tonight, picking his teammates up and giving them confidence to make shots,” Grasty said. “I told the guys, ‘Think about how many shots you’ve taken over the course of your life, think how many 3-pointers you’ve taken over the course of your 16-17 years. Right now it’s just confidence. No one is changing your shot, not one is trying to make you an NBA shooter. If you’re open, shoot it with confidence,’ and now I think we’re getting a little bit of confidence and knocking some down.”
Baker added eight points, six rebounds and one block. Connor Fields was 2-for-2 at the line, but his foul shots capped a strong sequence that began with Fields tying up a Trojan player for a jump ball that gave the Ghosts possession. On that possession, Fields – who had five rebounds in the third quarter – came up with an offensive rebound, was fouled and buried both shots.
Sam MacFarlane added six points on a pair of 3-pointers, including a trey that ignited the Ghosts’ 10-0 run.
The win avenged a 51-38 loss to the Trojans in their season opener. Abington connected on 20-of-43 shots from the floor (46.5 percent), and they made 7-of-17 from beyond the arc (41.1 percent).
For the Trojans, Matt Compas turned in a glittering performance, sharing game scoring honors with 26 points. No other Trojan had more than five points.
Abington (4-2 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday, and Wissahickon (7-4, 3-3) will be on the road at Cheltenham on Thursday.
Wissahickon 9-18-7-12 46
Abington 9-12-17-17 55
Wissahickon (46) – Matt Compas 8 8-8 26; Josh Twersky 2 0-0 4; Jackson Intrieri 2 0-0 4 Stefan Lowry 1 0-0 2; Phil Dias 1 0-0 3; Earl Stout 20-0 5; Will Kunzier 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 17 8-8 46.
Abington (55) – Sam McFarlane 2 0-0 6; Oreck Frazier 7 0-0 15; Rob Bell 8 4-4 24; Connor Fields 0 2-2 2; Caleb Baker 3 2-2 8; TOTALS 20 8-8 55.
3-point goals: Wissahickon – Matt Compas 2, Phil Dias, Earl Stout; Abington – Sam McFarlane 2, Oreck Frazier, Rob Bell 4.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 76, HATBORO-HORSHAM 30
The Colonials are on a roll, notching their ninth win in as many games. Wednesday’s win was the sixth straight that saw PW score 60 or more points with their average margin of victory 24 points in those wins.
Making Wednesday’s win especially impressive is that it came immediately on the heels of a rare – or in the case of PW – unprecedented three-day layoff before a game day.
“I was worried about where our heads would be after three days off with no practices or games,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “In 29 years, I can’t recall our teams ever taking three days off and then just showing up and playing. It’s been a weird experience so far, so why not just continue it with a 15-inch snowstorm? Nice to see we were able to pick the energy right back up.”
The Colonials – showing absolutely no ill effects from the layoff – sprinted to a 20-9 lead after one quarter. Jaden Colzie’s two 3-pointers ignited the offense. In the second quarter, the Colonials erupted for 30 points and took a 50-12 lead into halftime.
Luke DiCianno’s 19 points led PW – he scored 13 in the opening half. Colzie and Stephen Forchielli also finished in double figures with 10 points each. Taji Hubbard had eight points and Qudire Bennett, seven points. Eleven players put their names in the scoring column for PW.
Noah Schlosser’s six points led the Hatters.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-0, 7-0 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (2-4) will be on the road at Abington Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 20-30-14-12 76
Hatboro-Horsham 9-3-7-11 30
Plymouth Whitemarsh (76) – Zende Hubbard 1 3-4 5; Jaden Colzie 3 2-2 10; Marshall Baker 1 1-2 3; Jake West 1 0-0 2; Taji Hubbard 3 2-2 8; David Harris 1 1-2 3; Luke DiCianno 7 4-5 19; Stephen Forchielli 4 0-1 10; Qudire Bennett 3 1-2 7; Jalen Harris 1 1-2 4; Zuri Jerman 2 1-1 5; TOTALS 27 16-23 76.
Hatboro-Horsham (30) – Eric Butler 0 1-2 1; Kyle Dittus 2 2-2 7; Sam Fink 2 1-3 5; Noah Schlosser 3 0-0 6; Zehier Cheeze 2 0-0 4; Sam Smith 2 0-1 4; Jack Joyce 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 12 4-8 30.
3-point goals: PW – Jaden Colzie 2, Stephen Forchielli 2, Luke DiCianno, Jalen Harris, HH – Kyle Dittux, Jack Joyce.
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