Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Pennsbury/Souderton photos courtesy of Greg Lindsay & Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to view Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
Non-league
PENNSBURY 53, SOUDERTON 44
The Falcons found themselves in a 7-0 hole before fans had settled in their seats but answered with a 21-6 tear, closing out the half on top 21-13. In the second half, Pat Jajua dominated the game, scoring 17 points to lead the Falcons to the big win.
Key players: Pat Jajua scored a game-high 19 points, which included three big 3-pointers and a 6-for-6 effort from the free throw line. Mike Roccograndi added 11 points in the second half, including a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line. Max Manga owned the backboards, finishing with 14 rebounds to go along with eight points. Grayson Gozum had seven points, five rebounds and five assists and also had an impact on defense.
For the Indians, three players finished in double figures – Nate Rusike (14 points), Chanse Salone (12 points) & Thaddeus Hunter (10 points).
Pennsbury coach Wes Emme on the game: “Souderton scored seven points in the first two minutes, and then we really did a nice job defensively. They were playing with a lot more pace in the fourth quarter. Credit to our guys. We made some adjustments personnel-wise that allowed our guys to have a little more success guarding the ball. They’ve got some really good guards in Chanse Salone and Nate Rusike. (Nolan) Watkins is an excellent player, and I like Trey Bui. They have a lot of good players.
“It’s a challenge to guard them because they have so many sets that just force you to guard actions as opposed to guarding plays and guarding how one player is successful. Credit to our guys for being really, really scout report disciplined.
“That’s a win for February right there. They’re really good, and they’re going to keep winning. That’s going to help us come district seeding time. We’re right back at it tomorrow at Holy Ghost.
–Props: “Max Manga was a monster on the backboards. We had him down for 14 rebounds, and he probably had one or two more.
“Grayson Gozum on the defensive end of the floor really did a nice job adjusting between their two best perimeter players.
“But offensively, the star of the night goes to Patrick Jajua, who hit a couple of big 3s in the second half to extend the lead when they made a little run. He had some clutch free throws down the stretch as well. He had double figures in the second half.”
Next up: Pennsbury (8-5, 4-1 SOL) will travel to Holy Ghost Prep for a non-league game Friday, and Souderton (9-4, 4-1) will host Upper Moreland in a non-league game Tuesday.
Souderton 11-2-16-15 44
Pennsbury 13-8-11-21 53
Souderton (44) – Chanse Salone 5 0-0 12; Trey Bui 2 0-0 4; Nolan Watkins 1 0-0 2; Nate Rusike 5 1-1 14; Thaddeus Harter 5 0-0 10; Grady Kovach 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 18 3-3 44.
Pennsbury (53) – Mike Roccograndi 3 4-4 11; Connor Tyrrel 0 1-1 2; Grayson Gozum 3 1-2 7; Mitch Primola 1 2-3 4; Sean Breslin 1 1-2 3; Pat Jajua 5 6-6 19; Max Manga 4 0-2 8; TOTALS 17 15-21 53.
3-point goals: S – Nate Rusike 3, Chanse Salone 2; P – Pat Jajua 3, Mike Roccograndi.
UPPER DUBLIN 74, WILLIAM TENNENT 52
The Flying Cardinals led 17-12 after one quarter and extended that lead to 36-24 at halftime on their way to the non-league win. Ryan Mulroy’s nine points led the Cards in the first half. Horace Jackson had a pair of 3s.
Key players: Ryan Mulroy and Horace Jackson both had 14 points to lead a balanced UD attack. Justin Ragsdale and Brandon Altman each had 13 points. In a game that saw the two teams combine on 20 shots from beyond the arc, Jackson had four 3-pointers and Altman had two.
The Panthers also had four players in double figures. Ryan Bula and Jayden Bright both had 13 points while Tony Pople had 12 on four 3-pointers, and Tre Stracuzzi added 11, which included three 3s. As a team, the Panthers connected on 11 3-pointers and just six shots from inside the arc.
Upper Dublin coach Derek Brooks on the game: “We started off a little slow. I thought we struggled, adjusting to the energy from Tuesday night’s game to the energy that was in the gym for tonight. It was a much smaller crowd, and it was hard at first to get ourselves going.
“Credit to Tennent, they jumped out to a decent lead. They handled our press well and shot well. We had a nice run at the end of the first quarter that got our mojo back a bit, and then we also closed out the second quarter the same way.
“Tennent shot well all game, and we couldn’t quite really put them away until late. We eventually got the lead over 20 in the fourth quarter, and that was able to secure us the win. We got another balanced effort across the entire stat sheet.”
–Props: “Ryan Mulroy was a little under the weather but still gave the energy he always brings. Justin Ragsdale did a great job maximizing his scoring opportunities, and he was very efficient today. Reilly McLaughlin brought a lot of energy as well, getting other guys shots. Horace (Jackson) and Brandon (Altman) gave us a big scoring punch off the bench. I loved how aggressive they were. They were looking for their shot, but not forcing it. We’re gonna need to get off to a better start on Saturday because we travel to a good Spring-Ford team.”
Next up: Upper Dublin (13-1, 5-0 SOL) will travel to Spring-Ford for a non-league game Saturday (4 pm), and William Tennent (6-6, 3-2) will be on the road at North Penn for a non-league game Tuesday.
William Tennent 12-12-10-18 52
Upper Dublin 17-19-17-21 74
William Tennent (52) – Tre Stracuzzi 4 0-0 11; Ryan Bula 5 1-1 13; Jayden Bright 3 6-10 13; Bra den Goldberg 1 0-0 3; Tony Pople 4 0-0 12; TOTALS 17 7-11 52.
Upper Dublin (74) – Kobe Bazemore 2 0-0 4; Ryan Mulroy 6 1-1 14; Idris Rines 6 1-1 14; Justin Ragsdale 6 0-0 13; Reilly McLaughlin 1 0-0 3; James Castronuovo 2 0-0 4; Brandon Altman 4 3-3 13; Horace Jackson 5 0-0 14; Benji Ravitz 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 29 7-10 74.
3-point goals: WT – Tony Pople 4, Tre Stracuzzi 3, Ryan Bula 2, Jayden Bright, Braden Goldberg; UD – Horace Jackson 4, Brandon Altman 2, Reilly McLaughlin, Justin Ragsdale, Ryan Mulroy.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 59, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 49
The Patriots bounced back from Tuesday’s disappointing loss to North Penn to notch an important non-league road win Thursday.
East – sparked by four 3-pointers – opened up a 14-11 lead after one quarter and upped that to 32-25 by halftime. The Patriots took a 48-43 lead into the fourth quarter when they sealed the Golden Hawks’ fate with an 11-6 quarter to close out the game.
For the game, the Patriots buried 12 of 17 from the foul line. The Golden Hawks were 6-for-12.
Key players: Nolan Behm (17 points, 8 rebounds), AJ Molnar (12 points, 4 assists), Graham Smith (6 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds) & Henry Bartchak (9 points, 4 steals) led the Patriots.
For the Golden Hawks, MJ Thompson had a game-high 21 points & Ray Haglund added 12 points.
Central Bucks East coach Erik Henrysen on the game: “I thought it was a really good win. We were on the road against a team that we knew was only a few plays away from being 9-1 or 8-2 on the season. They execute on offense at such a high level, so our focus was on defending.
“We were out of sorts Tuesday against North Penn and had a tough practice Wednesday that focused on embracing individual responsibility on defense. We were focused from the start tonight. It was the response we needed.
“We have a tough three-game week next week with Cheltenham, Neshaminy and PW. It will be a great test for us.”
Next up: Central Bucks East (11-3, 2-3) will host Cheltenham in a non-league game Monday, and Council Rock South (5-6, 2-3) will host Central Bucks West Friday in a non-league contest.
Central Bucks East 14-18-16-11 59
Council Rock South 11-14-18-6. 49
Central Bucks East (59) – Nolan Behm 17, AJ Molnar 12, Henry Bartchak 9, Shane O’Hara-Jamison 8, Graham Smith 6, Quinn Slack 5, Connor Mekanik 2.
Council Rock South (49) – Ryan Delp 7, Joey Madara 2, MJ Thompson 21, Ryan Wekluk, Ray Haglund 12, Owen McLean 1, Pat Malone 4.
3-point goals: CBE – AJ Molnar 2, Shane O’Hara-Jamison, Henry Bartchak, Graham Smith, Nolan Behm, Quinn Slack; CRS – MJ Thompson 2, Ray Haglund 2, Ryan Delp.
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