Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Truman/Faith Christian photos courtesy of Greg Lindsay, and Pennsbury/Bensalem photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
SOL Patriot Division
PENNSBURY 59, BENSALEM 36
The Falcons opened up a 16-9 lead after one quarter with each starter scoring and led wire to wire. They took a 30-14 lead into halftime and never looked back. Max Manga’s eight points led a balanced Falcon attack in the opening half.
The Falcons were 12-for-13 at the foul line.
Key players: Max Manga (14 points 7 rebounds), Brayden Clark (13 points 6 rebounds 3 steals 3 assists), Sean Breslin (5 blocks)
Aidan Mayfield (12 points) and MJ Ellzy (11 points) led the Owls.
Pennsbury coach Wes Emme:
“We’re playing well. We played well the last week. I don’t think we played our best in our season opening event at Bensalem, but I thought that we played well in stretches. And the last two (games), we’ve put together some really, really strong starts. Teams are always going to make a run. Especially when it’s a league rivalry matchup, they’re going to make a run. Both times, we were able to extend and extend and hold them off.
“The best thing that I can say is that 14 guys have played in every game. That feels good to reward the kids that really work hard at practice every day and get them some minutes on the floor because you walk into the locker room at the end, you’ve got the guys that played well, the guys that didn’t play well, the guys that played okay, and then you’ve got the guys that didn’t play. You never want that to be the case. You want to have everybody get their opportunity to get some film.”
–Props: “Max Manga is a unique player in the league right now. Back in the day of traditional big men, you think of all the really good players that have come through the league that were big guys. I’m thinking back to the early 2000s with Trevor Deeter at Neshaminy, Brian Romig, Kurt Bergmann and LaVoy Allen, and the group of guys that came through Council Rock North. We’ve had a couple of pretty good players the last couple of years, but Max is unique to the league right now – a 6-5 guy that can dominate around the rim and own the backboard. He only had eight rebounds tonight, but he was guarding Aidan Mayfield, who’s a Division 1 football player, out on the perimeter. So, it speaks to the versatility of his game.
“I thought Brayden Clark, our sophomore point guard, really got us going. He had some incredible slashes to the rim in transition and in the half court. He was really exceptional for from the free throw line. He had struggled at the line coming into tonight. We only missed one on the night, so that feels good.
“Patrick Jajua only ended up with nine points. He was dealing with some foul trouble and ended up fouling out midway through the fourth quarter, but his impact is just felt all over the floor with the gravity he creates. The other team just has to guard him – they have to guard him the length of the floor, so it just creates some bigger spacing for the other guys to really make plays.
“Sean Breslin finished with five blocked shots in the game. For a guy that’s a big perimeter player, that’s a pretty unique skill. He only had two baskets on the night, but that’s some rim protection from a guard. We have a unique lineup where these guys can really impact the game in a positive way without scoring.”
Up next; Pennsbury will travel to Conestoga for a non-league game Saturday (2:30pm). Bensalem will be on the road at Harry S Truman Tuesday.
Bensalem 9-5-12-10 36
Pennsbury 16-14-20-9. 59
Bensalem (36) – Aidan Mayfield 5 1-3 12; JJ Bourelly 1 1-2 3; Juel Nimely 1 0-0 2; Rishvi Patel 1 0-0 2; Naman Parmar 1 0-0 2; Michael Levister 0 0-2 0; MJ Ellzy 4 2-2 11; Karter Richard 1 0-2 2; Jacob Eberhard 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 15 4-11 36.
Pennsbury (59)- Brayden Clark 4 5-5 13; Brady Kent 3 2-2 9; Owen Hogancamp 1 0-0 3; Liam Wasylak 1 0-0 2; Sean Breslin 1 0-0 2; Pat Jajua 4 1-2 9; Max Manga 5 4-4 14; James Achuff 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 22 12-13 59.
3 point goals: B – Mayfield, Ellzy; P – Kent, Hogancamp, Achuff.
HARRY S TRUMAN 64, FAITH CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 44
The Tigers needed a bounce-back win after Tuesday’s disappointing loss to Pennsbury. They got the job done.
After battling to a 15-15 tie after one quarter, the Tigers took a 27-24 lead into halftime and added to that with a 15-7 third quarter.
In the first half, the Tigers received big performances from Jaden Luchansky (12 points), Shawn Parker (12 points) and Adul Diallo (11 points). 
Luchansky scored six in the 15-point third quarter while Diallo had five. Davae Vaughn had five points in the fourth quarter.
Key players: Jaden Luchansky’s 21 points led the Tigers while Adul Diallo and Shawn Parker both added 17.
Harry S Truman assistant coach Mike Rongione:
–Bouncing back: “We were very disappointed on how we handled our loss on Tuesday night to Pennsbury. They are an extremely talented and well-coached team. They always are. But we worked and talked all offseason, preseason, and daily on controlling our emotions. “Unfortunately, we didn’t do that Tuesday, and due to that fact, we were down several guys tonight. That ultimately falls on us as a staff, and we have to do better.”
–Props: “We were able to bounce back tonight and had several guys step up. Senior Jaden Luchansky really has stepped up as leader. He had a big scoring night, but what was more impressive was his seven rebounds.
“Junior Sean Parker gave us a huge spark off the bench which we desperately needed. Davae Vaughn did some really nice work on the defensive end of the floor for us. We ask a lot from him and he never complains.”
Up next: Harry S Truman will host Council Rock South Friday.
Faith Christian 15-9-7-13 44
Harry S Truman 15-12-15-12 64
Faith Christian (44) – TJ Banks 7 2-2 18; Carter Glass 2 0-0 6; Raschard Buie 1 0-0 2; J.Verbit 4 2-4 10; Caleb Hughes 2 1-4 5; Garrett Grant 1 0-0 2; Aaron Hughes 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 17 6-12 44.
Harry s Truman (64) – Adul Diallo 6 3-3 16; Jaden Luchansky 8 4-4 21; Davae Vaughn 2 2-2 7; Juliun Rogers 1 0-0 2; Shawn Parker 6 4-6 16; Julian Adams 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 24 13-15 64
3-point goals: FCA – Banks 2, Glass 2; HST – Diallo, Luchansky, Vaughn.
CHICHESTER 70, HATBORO-HORSHAM 61 (OT)
For four quarters, the Hatters and Eagles exchanged baskets and found themselves deadlocked at 55 at the end of regulation.
The Hatters could not keep up with Chichester in the overtime when they were outscored 15-6.
Making the loss especially disappointing was the fact that the Hatters, who trailed by three at halftime, took a 42-38 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We lost our defensive principles in quarter four, which allowed both their shooter to get open and get to the free throw line,” HH coach Bill Coleman said. “But it was good to see our guys fight.”
Four Hatters finished the game in double figures. Kevin Stroup’s 14 points led the way while Jayden Thompson added 13. Shane Phillips had 12 points – nine in the first half, and Nate Glenn had 10, which included three 3-pointers. Kenny Lutz added nine points.
For Chichester, Nasir Robinson had the hot hand, connecting on three of his seven 3-pointers in the pivotal fourth quarter. The Eagles took 12 trips to the foul line in OT, connecting on eight shots. For the game, they were 17-for-27 from the line while the Hatters were 11-for-19.
The two teams combined for 17 3-pointers.
Up next: Hatboro-Horsham will travel to Quakertown Friday.
Chichester 12-19-7-17-15 70
Hatboro-Horsham 13-15-14-13-6 61
Chichester (70) – Will Bronson 2 6-8 10; Nasir Robinson 8 2-4 25; Kayron Kinney 3 5-8 12; Jockquil Brightwell 2 0-2 4; Alim Harris 6 4-5 16; Haji Clark 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 22 17-27 70.
Hatboro-Horsham (61) – Trevor Williams 1 0-0 3; Kenny Lutz 3 2-3 9; Nate Glenn 3 1-2 10; Jaden Thompson 4 5-8 13; Kevin Stroup 6 1-2 14; Shane Phillips 4 2-2 12; Devin Tercha 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 21 11-19 61.
3-point goals: C – Robinson 7, Kinney, Clark; HH – Glenn 3, Phillips 2, Lutz, Stroup, Williams..
ABINGTON 60, FRANKFORD 48
Xander Grasty’s 23 points led the Ghosts in Thursday’s non-league win.
Up next: Abington will travel to Upper Dublin for a key division battle Friday.
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