CR North & Bensalem were winners in SOL boys’ basketball action Wednesday. Bensalem/CR South photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Patriot Division
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 47, NESHAMINY 36
The Indians responded to their first division loss on Monday with a win over the Redskins, turning a one-point halftime deficit into a double-digit win with a strong second-half showing. Neshaminy and Rock North are two of four teams with just one loss in division play.
“Tonight was a nice bounce-back win,” Rock North coach Jesse Krasna said. “Neshaminy is a really good team, and we knew they would present a challenge because they have so many skilled players and coach (Mark) Tingle always has them playing at a high level. They are the defending champs for a reason.
“Their two young guards Emeer Coombs and Nate Townsend can create their shot whenever they want. Evan Esposito is a super athlete and shot maker, they have good size at the forward position in Kade Benjamin and Joey Zack, and Sean Curley is as skilled of a player there is in the league.
“One of the things I love about our team is our boys are so receptive to coaching and they are willing to do whatever it takes to help the team. We played a decent first half, but at halftime, we challenged them to win the 50-50 balls and take better care of the ball — the boys really responded and did those two things exceptionally well in the second half.”
Neshaminy – sparked by eight points from Kade Benjamin – took an 18-17 lead into halftime. Bernie Parent had eight points to lead the Indians.
Rock North outscored Neshaminy 16-6 in the third quarter. Adam Mahtat was the offensive catalyst, scoring eight points in the frame. The Indians won the final quarter by two. Jack Blum scored eight of his team’s 14 points in the frame. Included in those eight points was a perfect 6-for-6 effort at the foul line.
“Adam Mahtat was excellent scoring inside and attacking the hole from the perimeter,” Krasna said. “Jack Blum used his size really well to finish at the rim tonight and I loved his attacking mindset.”
Parent and Blum led a balanced Rock North attack with 14 points each. Mahtat added 11 points.
“The ball was popping around the perimeter, and we moved it well, which was a big part of having scoring balance tonight,” said Krasna. “Logan Saifer is playing the best basketball in his career, he is an absolute monster defensively and on the glass, but he also really helped our offense flow tonight.
“Shane Anhalt was all over the floor and backboard, and he did a great job moving without the ball. Bernie was terrific guarding the perimeter on defense. Offensively, Bernie is starting to realize no one can stay in front of him, and I thought he made great plays in traffic throughout this game.”
For Neshaminy, Esposito led the way with 11 points, and Benjamin added 10. Nate Townsend had six points.
Council Rock North (5-2, 3-1 SOL) will host Conwell-Egan in a non-league game on Wednesday, and Neshaminy (3-2, 2-1) will take on Holy Ghost Prep on Tuesday (6:30 p.m.) as part of the Jack Schott Basketball Tournament at Holy Ghost.
Neshaminy 8-10-6-12 36
Council Rock North 7-10-16-14 47
Neshaminy (36) – Joey Zack 0 0-4 0; Evan Esposito 3 4-9 11; Emeer Coombs 1 0-0 2; Kade Benjamin 5 0-0 10; Nunzio Zydzik 1 0-0 3; Sean Curley 2 0-0 4; Nate Townsend 3 0-0 6; TOTALS 15 4-8 36.
Council Rock North (47) – Shan Anhalt 1 1-2 3; Bernie Parent 4 6-8 14; Adam Mahtat 3 4-8 11; Jack Blum 4 6-6 14; Ryan Burkett 0 1-2 1; Logan Saifer 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 13 20-28 47.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Evan Esposito, Nunzio Zydzik; CRN – Adam Mahtat.
BENSALEM 80, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 51
The Owls’ offense was operating on all cylinders from the opening tap as they raced out of the gate to a 27-9 lead after one quarter. Early in the third quarter the mercy rule went into effect, and the Owls had 70 points on the board heading into the final quarter.
“It was a great victory,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “You don’t know what to expect when you go against a new staff. I know coach (Andrew) Rogers is a great coach. He’s well prepared, and you just never know what’s going to happen.
“Our guys responded real well. We came out fast, we hit shots. Eric (Gonzalez) started the game with a three, and then Aaron (Sanders) followed it up with another one. When you make shots, it makes the game a little bit easier.”
Sanders scored 10 of his game high 20 points in the opening quarter, igniting the Owls. He buried three 3-pointers.
“Aaron started really fast,” Morris said. “When Aaron gets in those grooves, you just let him go because he can pour it in quick.”
Tra Edwards added 18 points, which included a pair of 3’s. Jeremy Rodriguez and Antonio Morris also finished in double figures, scoring 13 and 11 points respectively.
“Tra Edwards came off the bench and gave us a spark,” Morris said. “He had 13 points in the first half. He played well.
“Jeremy (Rodriguez) got in foul trouble, and in the third quarter, he caught fire. He was getting to the basket. Antonio (Morris) came in in the second half, and his pull-up jump shot looked really good tonight. He was hitting that.”
Allen Myers was a presence in the paint, adding nine points.
“In the second half, we tried to establish Allen (Myers) down low, and we did that. He made a couple of layups. He’s starting to learn how to post up, and he just keeps getting better and better. He’s a sponge when we talk to him, and he just keeps getting better.
“Jack (Wineburg) fills up (a stat sheet) across the board. He may not score a lot, but he affects the game. Matt Ebner came off the bench, and he gave us a spark. He was solid. We have depth – that’s one of our strengths. We try to wear teams down. We can sub and play fast and keep going.”
For the Golden Hawks, Anthony Burns led the way with 17 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers. Gavin Holloran added 10, and Zach Schwartz had six points.
Bensalem (4-2, 3-1 SOL) will host Lower Moreland on Tuesday at 7:30 in the Dick Dougherty Memorial Tournament. Council Rock South (2-4, 0-4) will be competing in the Haverford Tournament on Tuesday.
Council Rock South 9-15-13-14 51
Bensalem 27-19-24-10 80
Council Rock South (51) – Gavin Holloran 3 4-5 10; Anthony Burns 5 5-9 17; Shane Dawson 2 1-1 5; Matt Robinson 2 1-1 5; Zach Schwartz 2 2-2 6; Chase Littig 1 0-0 2; Aiden Wallace 1 0-0 3; Justin McCloskey 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 17 13-18 51.
Bensalem (80) – Jeremy Rodriguez 6 0-0 13; Tra Edwards 7 2-2 18; Allen Myers 3 3-4 9; Eric Gonzalez 2 0-0 5; Aaron Sanders 5 7-8 20; Matt Ebner 1 0-0 2; Antonio Morris 5 0-0 11; Sadeq Wahab 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 30 12-14 80.
3-point goals: CRS – Anthony Burns 2, Aiden Wallace, Justin McCloskey; Bensalem – Aaron Sanders 3, Tra Edwards 2, Jeremy Rodriguez, Eric Gonzalez, Antonio Morris.
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