Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Monday. Pennsbury/CR South photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Patriot Division
PENNSBURY 50, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 35
It was an unusual night for the Falcons and an especially long day for coach Bill Coleman, who accompanied his wife to the ER and was not on the sidelines for Tuesday’s contest.
“Obviously, it was a little bit different situation than what they were used to,” Coleman said. “I didn’t tell them what was going on, so when I had our freshman coach, coach Nick (Ruggeri), take the bus with the guys, I’m sure they figured something was up because I usually do that.
“They came out a little bit uncertain with what we were going to do. I feel we have one of the best coaching staffs in Lower Bucks. We’re all on the same page, but it’s a little different feel.”
The Falcons led 22-17 at halftime after battling the Tigers to an 11-11 tie at the end of one quarter.
“They came out a little bit sluggish,” said Coleman, who watched the live stream of the contest. “You could see we were starting to get our legs underneath ourselves in the second and third quarters.
“At one point in the fourth quarter, Connor Taddei got loose and hit two 3’s, and that helped us build up a lead. We’ve been waiting for him to start shooting the ball. He can shoot, no doubt about it. People are sagging off him right now, which is good for us because I know what kind of capable shooter he is. He just needs a little confidence, and he’ll also be contributing like the other guys.”
Evan McNeely led the Falcons with an impressive double-double – 16 points and 12 rebounds. Aidan McCormack stuffed the stat sheet with 10 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists. Taddei finished with eight points and four boards while Justin Hedges and Ty Kocak both chipped in with six. Hedges was credited with five rebounds, two steals, one assist and one block. Kocak had three steals.
Anthony Burns scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds to lead the Golden Hawks. Gavin Holloran added nine points and five rebounds. Shane Dawson shared the team lead with six rebounds.
For the Falcons, Monday’s win was a nice bounce-back win after falling to Neshaminy in triple overtime last Thursday
“Those guys battled that game for three overtimes,” Coleman said. “We had a few opportunities to win, but we just weren’t able to convert. It’s a learning experience definitely.”
The Falcons were happy to play on Monday after seeing their game against Chichester on Saturday cancelled and Wednesday’s upcoming game against Harry S Truman postponed.
“Truman didn’t play tonight, and we’re not playing on Wednesday,” Coleman said. “I feel bad for the guys. Obviously, we see everything that’s going on across the country in the NBA, the NFL, especially with the Eagles. It’s starting to tiptoe its way into high school athletics.
“I feel bad for the seniors again, given what they played through last year. I just want them to try to have some sort of normalcy, so hopefully, we get through that. We’re trying to stay healthy.”
Pennsbury (3-1, 2-1 SOL) is off until next Monday when the Falcons will face Hamilton West.
Council Rock South (2-3, 0-3) will travel to Bensalem on Wednesday.
Pennsbury 11-11-11-17 50
Council Rock South 11-6-12-6 35
Pennsbury (50) – Justin Hedges 3 0-0 6; Aidan McCormack 4 0-1 10; Chris Terry 1 0-0 2; Connor Taddei 3 0-0 8; Evan McNeely 7 1-2 16; Teddy Mangan 1 0-0 2; Ty Kocak 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 22 1-3 50.
Council Rock South (35) – Zach Schwartz 1 1-2 3; Anthony Burns 5 2-5 12; Matt Robinson 2 0-0 5; Shane Dawson 2 0-0 4; Gavin Holloran 4 0-0 9; Chase Littig 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 15 3-7 35.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Aidan McCormack 2, Connor Taddei 2, Evan McNeely; CRS – Matt Robinson, Gavin Holloran.
BENSALEM 49, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 41
Rock North’s Bernie Parent scored 23 points in a glittering offensive effort, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Owls, who received a much-needed boost after dropping two of three games last week.
“It was such a fun game to be part of,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “Coach (Jesse) Krasna does an awesome job with that team. They play really good defense, they’re very disciplined.
“It’s a tough matchup all the time. They’re a good well-rounded team, and Bernie (Parent) is an all-league player, and he showed why tonight. We weren’t hitting shots from the outside. North plays awesome defense in the half-court set, and they make you work. It was a good battle. It always is against them.”
The Owls raced out of the gate to a 17-6 lead after one quarter. Jeremy Rodriguez and Allen Meyers each had five points.
“We got after it on the defensive end, and we got some good stops, got out in transition, and when we were in the half court, we were patient and able to get some easy buckets,” Morris said. “Allen had an awesome game. This was back-to-back games for him – he played really well against Judge (in a 63-59 loss on Saturday).
“He’s doing a good job being able to finish around the rim, he’s making some foul shots, and he just keeps getting better and better each game.”
The Indians – behind nine points from Parent – outscored the Owls 15-8 in the second quarter, trimming Bensalem’s lead to four at halftime, 25-21. The Owls led by five entering a fourth quarter that saw them outscore the Indians 14-9. Myers scored 10 points in the final frame.
“We’re learning,” Morris said. “The first couple of games, we would get up, and we would lose our lead. We had growth tonight by slowing the game down – once we had the lead, we were very patient, which was good, and we were able to close out the game with Allen making some layups. He made foul shots. Aaron (Sanders) made foul shots. Jeremy (Rodriguez) was 8-for-9 from the line. He had a good all-around game as well.”
Bensalem (3-2, 2-1 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Wednesday, and Council Rock North (4-2, 2-1) will travel to Neshaminy on Wednesday.
Council Rock North 6-15-11-9 41
Bensalem 17-8-10-14 49
Council Rock North (41) – Shane Anhalt 1 0-0 3; Bernie Parent 8 7-7 23; Adam Mahtat 2 0-2 6; Jack Blum 1 1-1 3; Ryan Burkett 1 0-1 2; Logan Saifer 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 15 8-11 41.
Bensalem (49) – Jeremy Rodriguez 2 8-9 12; Tra Edwards 3 0-0 8; Allen Myers 7 5-9 19; Aaron Sanders 2 3-5 7; Jack Wineburg 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 15 16-23 49.
3-point goals: CRN – Shane Anhalt, Jack Wineburg; Bensalem – Tra Edwards 2, Jack Wineburg.
SOL Colonial Division
SOUDERTON 63, NORTH PENN 49
Aleks Smith had himself a night, scoring a game high 25 points to lead the Indians to the impressive road win. Jay Bonnet added 16 points in a contest that saw the Indians – who led 14-13 after one quarter – open up a 31-23 halftime lead.
“We got off to a good start, we were ready to handle their pressure and execute on offense,” Souderton coach Okoteh Sackitey said. “We took care of the ball for the most part.
“North Penn is a good team with really good defense, and they’re really tough to handle, but the kids did a great job, and we were fortunate to come away with a win.”
Smith set the tone, scoring five points in the first quarter and six more in the second. His 10 third-quarter points spearheaded a 17-10 quarter that put the Indians on top 48-33 on their way to the win.
“Aleks had a great game, and obviously, we’re happy to see that,” Sackitey said. “He was being really physical, he got some offensive rebounds and used his size really well in the post. That was very helpful for us tonight.
“We had guys knocking down shots from the outside. Levi John hit a big shot and had a nice backdoor cut. Jay Bonnet contributed on offense.”
John finished with nine points – all in the second and third quarters. Bonnet scored nine of his 16 points in the fourth quarter.
“Jay Bonnet had another great game,” Sackitey said. “Chase Scheuren gave us extremely valuable minutes and helped us end the first half on a strong note, so it was a nice team win.
“We were excited to get our first win in the Colonial. This should provide some momentum to us moving forward. Coming off a tough loss to CB East (on Friday), this meant a lot.”
For the Knights, Joe Larkins led the way with 15 points while Mario Sgro and Milind Pulugura each had 10 points. Ryan Zeltt chipped in with seven.
Souderton (4-2, 1-2 SOL) will host Pennridge on Thursday, and North Penn (3-2, 2-1) will host Central Bucks South on Thursday.
Souderton 14-17-17-15 63
North Penn 13-10-10-16 49
Souderton (63) – Jay Bonnet 6 3-3 16; Chris Towsen 2 1-4 5; James Blair 0 1-2 1; Aleks Smith 11 3-5 25; Levi John 3 1-2 9; Paul Vince 2 0-0 5; Chase Scheuren 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 25 9-16 63.
North Penn (49) – Mario Sgro 3 2-2 10; Norman Gee 1 1-2 4; Ryan Zeltt 3 0-0 7; Joe Larkins 5 5-6 15; Ryan Deininger 1 0-0 3; Milind Pulugura 3 4-5 10; TOTALS 16 12-15 49.
3-point goals: Souderton – Levi John 2, Jay Bonnet, Paul Vince; NP – Mario Sgro 2, Norman Gee, Ryan Zeltt, Ryan Deininger.
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