Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday. CB East/CB West photos provided courtesy of Tracy Valko. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Colonial Division
Central Bucks East 53, Central Bucks West 36
Coming off of its first loss of the season, CB East went on the road for another intense rivalry game, and this time came out with a win, leading CB West from start to finish
“(Tuesday) was kind of like a dress rehearsal for tonight,” Patriots coach Erik Henrysen said about Tuesday’s loss to CB South. “We took our lumps on Tuesday, but at the same time, it was an awesome experience playing in front of a great crowd. It was an awesome atmosphere. Tonight, was the same thing.
“It felt good. I think for the kids on both teams, both East and West, last year we were unable to play in front of a ton of fans, just some parents. This almost felt like everything was back to normal, even though there’s still a lot of caution going on right now. But it was nice to see the gym just about full.”
On the court, East went up 8-2 after one quarter, but it was still just a four-point game at the half. In the third, sophomore Jacob Cummiskey hit three 3-pointers, scoring 11 of his team-high 13 points, as the Patriots broke the game open. He also had six rebounds in the contest.
“I think we’re real happy with where he’s at,” Henrysen said about Cummiskey, who started as a freshman on last year’s league championship team. “He’s taking on a lot more responsibility, and we’re challenging him not to just be a scorer, you have to rebound and 
defend too. He’s taking on that added responsibility.”
He had a lot of help too, as Nick Rivera had 11 points, Brett Young 10 points, and Liam Cummiskey finished with eight rebounds.
For the Bucks, John Lee led the way with 14 points, and Nick Tenaglia added nine.
CB East (5-1, 3-1 SOL) is now in a first-place tie in the Colonial Division with CB South and North Penn. It plays next week in the Boardwalk Basketball Classic in Wildwood (N.J.), with an opening round game against Ocean City (N.J.) on Wednesday.
CB West (1-5, 1-3 SOL) was led by John Lee’s 14 points, while Nick Tenaglia added nine. The Bucks will play in a holiday tournament at Winter Mills High School in Westminster, Md., with their first game on Tuesday.
CB East (53)
Jacob Cummiskey 13, Liam Cummiskey 4, Brett Young 10, Tyriq Toney-Bailey 3, Nick Rivera 11, Kyle Berndt 3, Joshua Lyzinski 4, Aidan Weaver 1, Joey Giordano 4
CB West (36)
Donte Mancini 4, John Lee 14, Charlie Cashman 3, Michael Fountain 2, Colin McKenna 3, Bowen Gugger 1, Nick Tenaglia 9
CB East 8 12 21 12 – 53
CB West 2 14 9 11 – 36
3-point goals: CBE-J. Cummiskey 3, Young 2, L. Cummiskey 1, Rivera 1, Toney-Bailey 1; CBW-Tenaglia 2, Lee 1, Cashman 1
North Penn 73, Central Bucks South 63
It had been three days since North Penn last played – a disappointing loss to rival Souderton, but it used that time wisely and Thursday night bounced back with a huge win over the visiting Titans to pull into a three-way tie atop the Colonial Division.
“It was huge for us,” said Knights coach John Conrad. “Coming off of Souderton, we knew CB South was tough, they’re big and they’re well-coached. Tuesday and Wednesday we prepared, and they were focused and locked in. We played well tonight.”
Conrad’s squad also did a good job defensively, holding talented CB South big men Michael Farley and Tyler Meinel to 21 points.
“I think (size and inside play) was the secret in Souderton beating us with their size,” Conrad said. “South had that advantage too. But our guys dug in and made it difficult when they were able to enter the ball into the post, and our guards did a nice job of helping out.”
Milind Pulugura started quickly and had a big night for the Knights, as he hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 10 points in a 21-point first quarter. He finished with 20 points, including 8-for-8 from the free throw line and he also grabbed nine rebounds. Norm Gee and Duece Dorsey both had 12 points. As a team, North Penn was 19-for-23 on the line.
The Knights (4-2, 3-1 SOL) are scheduled to play Tuesday and Wednesday at the Perkiomen Valley Holiday Shootout, starting with a Tuesday game against Methacton.
CB South started slowly and fell behind 10 in the first quarter, only to battle back in the second and third quarters, before North Penn was able to pull away. Joe Rooney led the Titans with 18 points, while Tyler Meinel added 12 points.
The Titans (4-2, 3-1 SOL) will play in the Spring-Ford Tournament on Tuesday against Upper Darby.
CB South (63)
Jay Macalindong 3 0-0 6; Adam Van Zanten 1 0-0 3; Joe Rooney 7 2-2 18; Chris Granito 3 2-2 8; Bryan Delara 2 2-2 7; Tyler Meinel 5 2-4 12; Michael Farley 4 1-4 9. Totals 25 9-14 63.
North Penn (73)
Mario Sgro 2 1-2 6; Norm Gee 4 2-2 12; Ryan Zeltt 3 1-1 7; Joey Larkins 2 2-2 7; Ryan Deininger 3 0-0 7; Duece Dorsey 3 5-8 12; Milind Pulugura 5 8-8 20. Totlas 23 19-23 73.
CB South 11 21 16 15 – 63
North Penn 21 16 12 21 – 73
3-point goals: CBS-Rooney 2, Van Zanten 1, Delara 1; NP-Gee 2, Pulugura 2, Dorsey 1, Deininger 1, Larkins 1, Sgro 1
Souderton 64, Pennridge 42
A shorthanded Pennridge squad started quickly and went up early. The Rams led 14-10 after one quarter, but Souderton turned it on in the second and third quarters, outscoring the Rams 40-17. The Indians shot the ball well from outside and used a balanced effort to put away its rival by 22 points in the second half.
It was the second big win of the week for the Indians, coming off of Monday’s win over North Penn.
“We got off to a slow start tonight,” said Indians coach Okoteh Sackitey. “But we settled in nicely. We handled the run that they made in the first quarter, responded well and stuck together. It was good to see us stay poised.”
Once again, center Aleks Smith led the way with 17 points, but he had a lot of help.
“The scoring is really balanced,” Sackitey said. “That’s what I like so much about this team. We have a bunch of guys that put up points. It was a balanced attack. James Blair scored nine really big points for us. Paul Vince had 11.
“We wanted to get Aleks going because we knew he had a size advantage and he’s talented at finishing around the basket. We got him some looks.”
Jay Bonnet 13 for Souderton, while Levi John added seven. Overall, the Indians connected on 11 3-pointers.
Pennridge (1-5, 0-4 SOL), which played without two starters, was led by Tyler Johnson with 10, and Matt Campione and Xavier Peters with nine points each. The Rams next play Tuesday against Governor Mifflin in the opening round of the Boyertown Holiday Tournament.
Souderton (5-2, 2-2 SOL) plays at the Bayard Rustin Tournament next week, opening with Strath Haven on Tuesday.
Pennridge (42)
Caden Fisher 1 0-0 2; Matt Campione 1 6-8 9; Xavier Peters 3 1-2 9; Gannon Perlini 4 0-0 8; Tommy Cramer 1 0-0 2; Tyler Johnson 5 0-0 10; Ryan Hass 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 7-10 42.
Souderton (64)
Jay Bonnet 4 2-4 13; Chris Towsen 2 0-0 5; James Blair 3 0-0 9; Devang Bhandari 1 0-0 2; Aleks Smith 5 7-8 17; Paul Vince 4 0-0 11; Levi John 3 0-0 7. Totals 22 9-12 64.
Pennridge 14 9 8 11 – 42
Souderton 10 21 19 14 – 64
3-point goals: P-Peters 2, Campione 1; S-Bonnet 3, Blair 3, Vince 3, Towsen 1, John 1
SOL Liberty Division
Hatboro-Horsham 54, Quakertown 43
Like many teams these days, Hatboro-Horsham was short-handed going into Thursday’s SOL Liberty home game against Quakertown, but anxious for their first win, the Hatters were not about to be denied.
Spurred by a strong defensive effort in the third quarter, the Hatters jumped up and pulled away from the visiting Panthers for the 11-point win.
“We started out in the 3-2 zone and (Quakertown was) getting easy looks,” said H-H coach Rick Fedele. “We went to man-to-man in the second quarter, put pressure on their points, then struggled and we were able to get some turnovers and easy baskets.”
It definitely wasn’t easy, even to start the game. The Hatters were without a starter due to COVID-19 protocols, two players were out with the flu, two were suspended after ejections from their previous game against Plymouth Whitemarsh and another player left the team.
“We played with our four starters, two sophomores and a senior, who are basically bench guys,” Fedele said. “We’ve been struggling offensively the first five games. We played a great game against PW for three quarters.
“We scouted Quakertown, we knew they were young, physical and aggressive. We struggled in the first half, but we came out in the third quarter and scored 24 points.”
Kyle Dittus led the Hatters with 23 points, 11 of which came in that critical third quarter. Noah Schlosser had 17 points, 11 in the third quarter.
With a short bench, the team had and needed contributions up and down the lineup.
“Our point guard, Jack Grier had seven assists, two steals and five rebounds,” Fedele said. “He’s turning into a good floor leader for us. He got them together in that third quarter and made a lot of things happen.
“We’re undersized. Our big man, Matt Wingen is 6-1, but he battled all night.”
For the Panthers, Tyler Wilkin’s 13 points led the way while Brendon Ruzicka and Miles Longacre added 10 points each.
H-H (1-5, 1-3 SOL) plays host Garnet Valley in a two-day Holiday Tournament starting Monday.
Quakertown (1-6, 0-4 SOL) plays Northampton on Tuesday in an opening round game of the Salisbury Tournament.
Hatboro-Horsham (54)
Jake Grier 1 4-8 6; Noah Schlosser 8 0-3 17; Kyle Dittus 7 6-8 23; Matt Wingen 1 0-0 2; Cole Jackson 0 0-2 0; Sam Sanford 1 0-0 2; Anthony Dumilia 0 0-1 1. Totals 19 12-24 54.
Quakertown (43)
Sam Wilkins 3 1-2 8; Ethan Tomlinson 1 0-0 2; Ty Wilkin 4 5-6 13; Brendon Ruzicka 4 0-2 10; Stephen Frumuselu 0 0-1 0; Miles Longacre 4 2-2 10. Totals 16 8-13 43.
Hatboro-Horsham 6 14 24 10 – 54
Quakertown 11 12 11 9 – 43
3-point goals: Q-Ruzicka 2, S. Wilkins 1; HH-Dittus 3, Schlosser 1
SOL Cross-over
Wissahickon 50, New Hope-Solebury 32
Wissahickon hit four 3-pointers in the first quarter, scoring 22 points in the quarter, and never looked back on the way to the 20-point win over New Hope-Solebury in a cross-over divisional game on Thursday.
“The kids got out to a great start,” said Trojans’ coach Kyle Wilson. “We were up 20 at halftime. It was our last game before three days off, and nobody wants to go in (to the holiday break) with a loss.
“And our next three games are really tough ones – Perk Valley, Methacton and PW. We wanted to take care of the games where we’re the stronger team, and the kids came out with a lot of energy. It was 28-9 at one point. In the second quarter, we held them to two points. The kids just played really good defense.”
Wissahickon was without starter Earl Stoudt due to an injury but didn’t miss a beat.
“It’s a letdown that he wasn’t playing, but there wasn’t a drop off in play,” Wilson said. “They put it together. It was an impressive start.”
Dom Vacchiano led a balanced scoring effort with 12 points, while Josh Twersky added 11. Rondale Stewart and Morgan Wilson scored seven points each.
Sophomore Miles Demby was the high scorer for New Hope with 11 points, while junior Jon Wilson had nine. The Lions (0-7, 0-3 SOL) will play in the Dock Mennonite Holiday Tournament next week, opening with the host team on Tuesday night.
Wissahickon (4-2, 2-1 SOL) plays at Perkiomen Valley in Tuesday night as part of Perk Valley’s Holiday Tournament.
New Hope (32)
Jon Wilson 4 0-0 9; Dylan Hildebrandt 1 1-2 4; Charlie Albano 1 0-0 2; Miles Demby 4 0-2 11; Justin Lehman 2 2-4 6. Totals 12 3-8 32.
Wissahickon (50)
Gabe Lassiter 1 0-2 2; Rondale Stewart 3 0-0 7; Josh Twersky 4 2-4 11; Braden Ryan 1 0-0 3; Kevin Cupid 1 0-0 3; Jaylon Williams 1 0-0 2; Morgan Wilson 3 1-2 7; Phil Dias 1 0-0 3; Dom Vacchiano 5 0-0 12. Totals 20 3-8 50.
New Hope 8 2 9 13 – 32
Wissahickon 22 9 12 7 – 50.
3-point goals: NHS-M. Demby 3, Wilson 1, Hildebrandt 1; W-Stewart 1, Twersky 1, Ryan 1, Dias 1
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