Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday. Upper Dublin/Neshaminy photos courtesy of Greg Lindsay, Wissahickon/Methacton photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography, and Cheltenham/Reading photos courtesy of Mark Allen. Check back for galleries of all three games. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
Non-league
HARRY S TRUMAN 51, ABRAHAM LINCOLN HIGH SCHOOL 46
The Tigers – who trailed 16-9 after one quarter – found themselves on the short end of a 24-16 score at halftime. In the third quarter, they outscored Lincoln 14-10, propelled by seven points from Jaden Luchansky. The Tigers buried 6 of 8 foul shots in the quarter after connecting on just one 1 of 10 in the second quarter.
In the fourth quarter, Luchansky buried a pair of 3-pointers and had nine total points. Davae Vaughn added seven points. 
The Tigers connected on 9 of 13 foul shots in the frame.
Key players: Jaden Luchansky – who earned game MVP honors – scored a game-high 21 points, which included five 3-pointers. He scored. 16 of his 21 points in the second half. Terrell Edwards also finished in double figures with 10 points. Davae Vaughn added eight points.
Harry S Truman assistant coach Mike Rongione:
“It was a great team victory tonight on the road in a hostile environment. Rebounding was a serious point of emphasis going into this one. Lincoln has size and athleticism.”
–Props: “Our guys really responded. Especially Juliun Rogers and Terrell Edwards on the backboards. Senior Jaden Luchansky hit some really big shots for us as he has all year. Davae Vaughn did a great job tonight on both ends of the floor as well. It was a really nice team victory for us.”
Up next: Harry S Truman will return to action on Tuesday, Jan. 6, when the Tigers will travel to Council Rock North.
Harry S Truman 9-7-14-21 51
Abraham Lincoln 16-8-10-12 46
Harry S Truman (51) – Adul Diallo 7, Jaden Luchansky 21, Davae Vaughn 8, Terrell Edwards 10, Shawn Parker 3, Brian McCloskey 2.
3-point goal: HST – Luchansky 5.
Upper Dublin Holiday Tournament
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 59, CONESTOGA 45
The Bucks led 16-9 after one quarter, took a 30-18 lead into halftime and never looked back on their way to the decisive win. Max Milillo had a pair of first-quarter 3s while Daniel Pellegrini’s nine points led the Bucks in the first half while Melo 
Aylmer had eight, including two 3s.
The Bucks were 12-for-14 from the foul line, which included 4-for-4 efforts from both Milillo and Pellegrini.
Key players: Four West players finished the game in double figures with Max Milillo leading the way with 14 points, which included eight points in the third quarter. Daniel Pellegrini added 12 points while John Vrettos and Melo Aylmer both had 10 points.
Central Bucks West assistant coach Sherrod Higginbotham:
–Props: Senior Max Milillo and sophomore Melo Aylmer did a great job controlling the pace of the game.
“Returning from injury: Sophomore John Vrettos was a huge piece to get back. His shot making and defensive of presence on the ball was key to our success.
“Dan Peligrinni’s ability to play inside/out as an undersized forward really unlocks our offense.”
Up next: Central Bucks West will face Upper Dublin in Monday’s title game at 3 pm.
Central Bucks West 16-14-20-9 59
Conestoga 9-9-9-18 45
Central Bucks West (59) – Max Milillo 14, Malore Aylmer 10, John Vrettos 10, Daniel Pellegrini 12, Colin Burkholder 2, Isaiah Rubenstein 6, Gavin Reichner 5
Conestoga (45) – Tygee Clark 12, Sol Onwubuariri 7, Shane O’Brien 6, Jack Kosmin 6, Cory Hogan 10, Logan Straub 4.
3-point goals: CBW – Milillo 2, Aylmer 2, Pellegrini 2, Reichner; C – Clark 2, Kosmin 2, Onwubauriri, O’Brien.
UPPER DUBLIN 77, NESHAMINY 43
If Upper Dublin coach Derek Brooks was concerned about his team’s energy heading into Saturday’s game, he needn’t have worried.
The Cardinals were on fire out of the gate and led 23-8 after an inspired opening quarter. Noah Cohen led the offensive onslaught with seven points while Kobe Bazemore had six and Justin Ragsdale had five.
The Cardinals, who led 33-15 at halftime, scored 25 points in an explosive third quarter. Ragsdale’s seven points led the way.
Key players: Justin Ragsdale led four UD players in double figures with 16. Horace Jackson contributed 14 points – 12 in the second half. Kobe Bazemore and Luke Caron both added 12 points.
Upper Dublin coach Derek Brooks:
–The game: “We got off to a very hot start. I think it was actually 16-1 to start the game. I loved our energy to start, which I thought was important because the energy can be a little flat in the gym for these holiday games. Everyone’s busy, it’s an afternoon game, and there’s usually not big crowds at these holiday games, so it can be a little flat. So we preach trying to bring it. I call it BYOE – bring your own energy because you’re not going to have a crowd do it for you. So, fortunately, we responded well, and we had a good first quarter. That really set the tone for the rest of the game.”
–Props: “I thought Brandon Altman was very important in the game. He only scored three points in the first quarter, but he got us a bunch of extra possessions with some rebounds and some good defense, and he had some big plays throughout the game that don’t show up in the box score.
“Noah Cohen’s passing was fantastic today. He had a bunch of good assists. Kobe Bazemore was a blur getting to the rim and was able to finish at the rim.
“Justin Ragsdale had just a great game start to finish, inside and outside. He was one of our focal points offensively, and Luke Caron gave us a nice spark off the bench tonight.”
Up next: Upper Dublin will face Central Bucks West in Monday’s championship at 3 pm Neshaminy will play Conestoga in Monday’s consolation game at 1 pm.
Neshaminy 8-7-18-10 43
Upper Dublin 23-10-25-19 77
Neshaminy (43) – Jason Leiva 1 1-1 3; Luke Amrhein 1 0-0 3; Kenny McCarthy 2 1-1 5; Logan Gale 2 3-4 7; Eriq Gold 2 0-0 5; Joey Laukaitis 1 0-0 3; Cadenn Amati 2 3-5 7; Marion Yon 3 2-5 8; TOTALS 14 10-16 43.
Upper Dublin (77) – Kobe Bazemore 5 2-4 12; Brandon Altman 2 4-4 9; Noah Cohen 3 0-0 7; Horace Jackson 6 1-2 14; Justin Ragsdale 7 0-0 16; Jake Scherzer 1 3-6 5; Luke Caron 5 1-2 12; Benji Ravitz 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 30 11-18 77.
3-point goals: N – Gold, Laukaitis, Amrhein; UD – Ragsdale 2, Caron, Jackson, Cohen, Altman.
Garnet Valley Holiday Tournament
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 48, WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 35
The Golden Hawks threw some serious defense at Rustin, allowing just 10 first-half points while opening up a 20-10 lead. Ray Haglund’s six points led the Hawks in the half.
The Hawks put the game out of reach, erupting for 21 points in the third quarter and taking a 41-17 lead into the final quarter. Ryan Delp scored eight of his 10 points in the quarter while Joey Madara had seven points.
Key players: Ryan Delp’s 10-point effort led a balanced Rock South attack. Joey Madara added nine points, and Ray Haglund had eight.
Council Rock South coach James Cassidy:
–The game: “Our defense was really outstanding, held them to 10 points in the first half and 17 through three quarters. We’ve played a little more zone than normal recently, but not tonight. We played good solid man defense almost exclusively, and our guys really responded.”
–Props: “Joey Madara has been huge for us for the past few weeks and today was no exception. Gave us nine points and nine rebounds and got their big man into foul trouble.
“Our point guard Ray Haglund really controlled the game, kept their point guard in check and got us into our stuff, which we ran effectively once our legs woke up from a long bus ride. “
Up next: Council Rock South will return to action Sunday at 7 pm in the tournament’s title game.
West Chester Rustin 6-4-7-18 35
Council Rock South 11-9-21-7 48
West Chester Rustin (35) – Michael Jaross 2, Zabot 2, Washington 2, Kyle Kraft 2, Michael Roccio 8, Bradley 9, Timmy Batchelor 8, Crane 2.
Council Rock South (48) – Ray Haglund 8, Ryan Delp 10, Lucian Mirc 4, Brendon Balmer 4, Joey Madara 4, Owen McLean 3, Aiden Lydon 6, Spencer Edelman 2, Anthony Sestito 2.
3-point goals: WCR – Bradley 2; CRS – Delp, Balmer, Madara, Lydon.
Severa Park Winter Jam
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 52, ANNAPOLIS AREA CHRISTIAN 51
The Patriots have shown a flair for the dramatic, winning in the closing minutes for the second time in as many games on Saturday.
Keegan Marascio found teammate Henry Bartchak for an easy bucket on a backdoor cut to give the Bucks a 52-51 lead with 19 seconds remaining. Quinn Slack and Bartchak forced a turnover for the final stop.
Connor Mekanik delivered a big 3-pointer and two backdoor layups in the fourth quarter.
Brady Colbert drew three charges in the contest.
Colbert, Mekanik and Bartchak were named to the all-tournament team.
The Patriots connected on 5 of 6 at the foul line while AAC buried 12 of 18.
Key players: Connor Mekanik had another big game with 15 points, eight rebounds and two steals. Henry Bartchuk had 15 points and five assists. Keegan Marascio had nine points, four assists and four rebounds. Brady Colbert had four points, four rebounds and four assists.
Central Bucks East Erik Henrysen:
“We were able to grind out two wins on this trip. They were both tough battles.
“Being away from home and playing against teams from the local Severna Park/Annapolis area was a challenge. I’m super pleased with how we stayed together and stayed connected.
“We definitely faced some adversity, but we figured out how to get it done. Our mentality at the end of games has been great. The guys believe in one another and that is carrying us.
“We will get back to East late tonight and then the guys can get some much needed rest.”
Up next: Central Bucks East will host Pennsbury in a non-league SOL crossover game on Saturday at 12 noon.
Central Bucks East 13-13-11-15 52
Annapolis Christian 19-9-9-14 51
Central Bucks East (52) – Connor Mekanik 15, Henry Bartchuk 15, Keegan Marascio 9, Quinn Slack 4, Alex Lemaire 5, Brady Colbert 4.
Annapolis Area (51) – Kolade Adeyemo 2, Chase Collier 13, Kendrick Tche-Tafon 10, Ian James 9, Zane Arrey 4, Jonah Jones 3, Max Leeman 10.
3-point goals: CBE – Bartchak 2, Mekanik; AAC – Leeman 3, Jones, James.
Surf ‘N Slam Classic (San Diego, CA)
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 56, HELIX (CA) 37
The Colonials rebounded from Tuesday’s disappointing loss to West Catholic and showed no ill effects from the long flight and time change, leading wire to wire in Saturday’s early morning opener.
Sparked by eight points – including two 3s – from Mani Sajid, the Colonials raced to a 16-7 lead after one quarter. They took a 29-18 lead into halftime and never looked back.
“We really needed a win,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had a schedule where I’ve seen the team get put up against so many emotional, fatiguing challenges.
“All you can do in the offseason when you watch your team play is get a feel for how good they might be, and we did a lot of really, really good things in the offseason, enough to justify – ‘Okay, we might have a bit of a bumpy December, but I think it’s worth it.’ What I didn’t take into account is how much emotional energy the kids were going to put into the Friday night games, followed by a big Saturday game.”
Key players: Mani Sajid’s 19 points – 10 in the first half – led the Colonials. Michael Pereira added 15.
Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Jim Donofrio:
“We had a heck of a challenge today with – like a lot of the teams – a lot of kids this time of year get sick. My guys want to tough it out, so they don’t say a word to me, and Tuesday night (in the loss to West Catholic) when I’m watching the energy drain out of their bodies, it was like – what is going on? We cancelled practice on Wednesday (Christmas Eve), which would give them two days off and would technically be three days off, which makes me very nervous.
“Then you’re going on West Coast time, and you have to get acclimated to that, and then you have a 9 a.m. basketball game today. They’re beyond giddy – like little kids because they’re in San Diego, and it’s beautiful and just the good feeling of traveling. We searched for outdoor basketball courts and finally found one at 4 p.m., and I had to play the Grinch and say, ‘Okay, I’m killing all your fun. We’re going to practice outside.’ So we practiced for about an hour hard. We had to because we couldn’t afford to lose to (Helix).”
–The game: “We did a lot of good things coming out. The rest helped, but as usual, if you take three days off from basketball, you’re going to be rusty on offense. And even the one referee said to me, ‘I expected you guys the way you were going to have a 50-point half, but you missed a lot of chippies and we missed eight foul shots – eight foul shots and 10 layups, and we still had a 20-point win.
“Not to be disrespectful to the other team, but this is almost like a practice – just get your legs back and hope you pull out a win because it’s hard to get on the guys. There’s no rhythm, and between all those factors, we went on a defensive stop in the fourth quarter of maybe six straight possessions they didn’t score, and there’s a shot clock out here.
“So, we had to deal with the shot clock, and we held our opponent to like four straight stops and then a 35-second shot clock stop, so there was a whole lot of good going on with the core guys, who found their rhythm.
“We survived the flight, the time difference, the giddiness, three days off and the sickness. Now, luckily, we have off tomorrow, which is nice. It gives a little more acclimating.
“We’re taking everybody and the parents out to dinner tonight, and then we’ll do some fun things tomorrow and find that outdoor court again, so the timing works well. We just had to win a 9 a.m. game – I felt like I was coaching in the youth league again.”
Up next: Plymouth Whitemarsh will return to action Monday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 16-13-12-15 56
Helix (CA) 12-7-12-6 37
Plymouth Whitemarsh (56) – Jack Hayes 1 0-4 2; Luca Taormina 1 0-0 2; Terron Davis 1 1-4 3; Eric Conicello 1 0-0 3; Mani Sajid 7 3-4 19; Michael Pereira 6 3-6 15; Buddy Denard 3 0-0 7; Zhaiden Gray 1 0-0 3; Micah Thompson 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 22 7-18 56.
Helix (CA) – (37) – Trey Cavazos 3 1-2 9; Sergio Vazquez 0 1-2 1; Jaden Harden 3 0-0 7; Brian Hammerstrand 7 0-0 16; Kie Smith 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 12 1-2 37.
3-point goals: PW – Sajid 2, Conicello, Denard, Gray; H – Hammerstrand 2, Harden.
Modie Risher Classic (S.C.)
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 63, PHILIP SIMMONS (S.C.) 32
The Titans took care of business in a hurry in Saturday’s opener.
Davis Van Zanten scored seven points and Shane Farrell had five, propelling the Titans to an 18-8 lead after one quarter, and they were just getting started. Kayode Adebayo scored seven points in a 24-point second quarter that saw seven different players contribute scoring in a frame that included three 3s.
South took a 42-17 lead into halftime on their way to the decisive win that saw 11 South players put their names in the scoring column. Six different players contributed 3-pointers.
Key players: Davis Van Zanten scored 13 points to lead a balanced Titan attack. Kayode Adebayo added 11, and Shane Farrell had eight points.
Up next: Central Bucks South will face Burke High School (SC) on Monday (8pm).
Philip Simmons 8-9-9-6 32
Central Bucks South 18-24-14-7 63
Philip Simmons (32) – Palmer Driggers 0 0-2 0; Montrell Mungin 1 0-0 2; Dylan Morris 1 1-6 3; Hopper Afman 3 2-2 9; Aston Kellerman 0 0-2 0; Hayes Goddard 0 1-2 1; TJ Collins 1 0-0 3; Josiah Young 0 1-2 1; Gavin Johnson 1 2-2 5; Matthew Crook 4 0-0 8; TOTALS 11 7-18 32.
Central Bucks South (63) – Kayode Adebayo 5 1-3 11; David Montes Jr 0 1-2 1; Alex Shahin 2 0-0 4; Christian Zakrzewski 1 0-0 3; Shane Farrell 3 0-0 8; Brayden Barrett 2 0-0 4; Davis Van Zanten 6 0-0 13; Joseph Senneff 1 0-0 2; Chase Ross 2 0-0 5; Leo Medwid 3 2-3 9; TOTALS 26 4-8 63.
3-point goals: PS – Afman, Collins, Johnson; CBS – Farrell 2, Shahin, Zakrzewski, Van Zanten, Ross, Medwid.
Perkiomen Valley Holiday Tournament
METHACTON 51, WISSAHICKON 33
The Trojans should be forgiven if they suffered a letdown playing less than 24 hours after an emotionally charged win over Perkiomen Valley just over 12 hours earlier.
Methacton opened up a 15-6 lead after one quarter and extended that to 30-12 by halftime on its way to the big win.
Nico Vacchiano and Owen Haughey both scored nine points and Zach Schwartz had eight to lead the Trojans.
Up next: Wissahickon is off until Tuesday, Jan. 6, when they will travel to Hatboro-Horsham.
Wissahickon 6-6-9-12 33
Methacton 15-15-14-7 51
Wissahickon (33) – Zach Schwartz 3 2-2 8; Owen Haughey 4 0-0 9; Nico Vacchiano 3 3-4 9; Jack Weiss 0 1-2 1; Logan Hiebert 0 0-2 0; Jona Sellenriek 1 0-0 2; Delmar Taliaferro 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 13 6-10 33.
Methacton (51) – Ben DePaul 2 2-2 6; Henry Goldstein 1 2-2 4; Mason Conrad 1 2-2 4; Cole Cebb 1 0-0 2; John Leet 3 0-0 8; Micah Cherion 1 0-0 3; Jahmir Carter 4 2-2 10; Wes Robinson 5 2-4 14; TOTALS 18 10-12 51.
3-point goals: W – Haughey; M – Leet 2, Robinson 2, Cherion.
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 62, NORTH PENN 46
All-City Classic (at Widener University)
READING 73, CHELTENHAM 64
The Panthers, who trailed 19-12 after one quarter, found themselves on the short end of a 34-23 score at halftime. Reading added to its lead in the second half until the fourth quarter when the 
Panthers erupted for 29 points.
Chris Harmon’s 19 points – 15 in the second half – led the Panthers. Mark Hill added 16 – eight in the third quarter. Isaiah Dill also finished in double figures with 13.
Up next: Cheltenham will host Upper Dublin next Friday in a non-league SOL crossover game at 1:30 pm.
Cheltenham 12-11-12-29 64
Reading 19-15-20-19 73
Cheltenham (64) – Chris Harmon 19, Mark Hill 16, Isaiah Dill 13, Micah Millis 6, Tyree Martin 2, Peyton McClendon 8.
Reading (73) – Mikel Portalatin 2, Javon Merriweather 13, Jones 6, Khaliq Weaver 10, Jostin DeCastro 22, Jamier Jacob 5, Weshly Rosario 13, TaiJe Slaughter 2.
3-point goals: C – Harmon 3, Hill, Dill, Millis; R – Merriweather 2, DeCastro, Rosario.
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