By Scott Huff
There is absolutely no doubt that Central Bucks South (5-15 overall, 4-8 SOL Continental Conference) is the very best five-win team in the Suburban One League.“I have heard a lot from other coaches, and the players have heard a lot from other players, that teams really don’t look forward to playing us,” said Central Bucks South head coach Jason Campbell. “We may not have the best record, but we have the strongest strength of schedule the any team I know.”
No kidding.
The Titans have played Upper Darby (19-0), Council Rock North (17-1), Norristown (16-2), Plymouth Whitemarsh (15-4), and Father Judge (14-4) in its non-league schedule. Those teams have a staggering collective record of 81-11 – a winning percentage of 88 percent.
Toss in SOL Continental Conference opponents Pennridge (15-5) and North Penn (15-4) – twice each – and the Titan schedule has been more than formidable this season.
“There were obvious pros and cons to playing a schedule that difficult,” said Campbell. “Playing games like that can get you ready for competing in the playoffs, but you have to be able to win enough of them.
“We could have scheduled easier teams to try and build up our winning percentage,” added Campbell. “But we want to continue to build a good basketball program, and that involves playing the best teams.”
Not only has CB South played the very best around, but also the Titans have lost some extremely close games.
Included in that list were excruciating losses to North Penn (43-42), Central Bucks East (50-48), Central Bucks West (46-43), and Souderton (45-44).
“We really weren’t that many plays away from being around .500,” said Campbell. “But we lost some very tough games to some good basketball teams.”
The Titans have played well recently, winning three of their last five conference games.
The victories have come over Pennridge (55-41), Quakertown (52-42), and Central Bucks East (53-47). The losses were to North Penn (55-45) and to Souderton (45-44).
“We still have meaningful games to play this year,” said Campbell as the Titans face both Hatboro-Horsham and Central Bucks West to close out their season. “We have played the game with integrity, and my players have worked very hard all season. They have never quit on themselves or the coaching staff.
“Steve Schneider has had a great season individually and has improved his game tremendously,” added Campbell of his senior captain. “And (junior captain) Matt Johns has a great basketball IQ and has such great character.
“This is a team with seven juniors on the roster,” continued Campbell. “And now they know what it takes to compete at a high level.”
Colonials Earn Split on National Stage
Plymouth Whitemarsh (15-4) earned an impressive split of games played at the prestigious
Battle of the Bay showcase played in Atlantic City High School.
The Colonials – the defending PIAA Quad-A state champions - avenged a loss last season to St. Benedict’s Prep (Newark) with a 59-56 victory.
PW senior guard Stephon Baker fired home a 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left in the game to break a 56-56 deadlock and secure the win for the Colonials.
“It wasn’t the most organized delay offense that we have run,” said PW head coach Jim Donofrio who had called timeout with 36 seconds left in the game to set up the final shot. “But we made the shot, and we won the game.”
Baker finished with a game-high 19 points for the Colonials. Jaylen Bond had his usual double/double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Sam Pygatt scored in twin digits with 10 points.
“Obviously we wanted to win both games this weekend,” said Donofrio. “With the talent we see here, it gives us a great chance to grow as a team and get ready for the both the district and state playoffs.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh opened the weekend with a 66-46 loss to powerful Quality Education from North Carolina.
“Their starting lineup has two players going to St. John’s, one going to Arizona, one going to Wake Forest, and one going to DePaul,” said Donofrio. “That’s a lot of basketball talent.”
The only Division One answer the Colonials had was 6-foot, 7-inch Jaylen Bond , who is committed to the University of Pittsburgh.
St. Benedict’s 9 17 14 16 * 56
Plymouth Whitemarsh 13 18 14 14 * 59
Penn Wood chops down Neshaminy
Neshaminy (16-3) faced defending PIAA District One champion Penn Wood (12-5), and the Skins were handed an 85-49 loss by the Patriots.
The game was played at Philadelphia University and was a showcase game in the Hakim Warrick Classic.
“We have to forget this game and get ready for Truman on Tuesday,” said Neshaminy head coach Jerry Devine as the Redskins. “And we have to root for Bensalem to be beat Council Rock North on Tuesday.”
The top of the Suburban One League National standings has CR North [12-0], Bensalem [10-2], and Neshaminy [10-2].
Neshaminy will close out is season with a visit to Council Rock North on Friday, while Bensalem is on the road against Council Rock South.
“We struggled somewhat with Penn Wood’s size,” said Devine. “This is one game, and we have to get ready for what we have ahead of us.”
Neshaminy had three players reach double digits against Penn Wood. Tyler Katz led the Skins with 11 points, while Ryan Arcidiacono and Dwight Williams added 10 markers.
Aaron Brown scored a game-high 29 points for the Patriots, while Shawn Oakman (Penn State football recruit) and Darian Barnes each scored 15 points for the ‘other’ PW.
Neshaminy 13 14 9 13 * 49
Penn Wood 21 24 14 26 * 85
SOL Weekend Update
Bensalem (16-4, 10-2) put another notch in its SOL National Conference belt as the Owls flew to a 61-48 conference victory over William Tennent (6-14, 1-11).
Calvin Brown continued to add to his impressive resume as the 6-foot, 8-inch senior had a triple/double in the victory. Brown scored a game-high 14 points, hauled in 10 rebounds, and rejected 11 Panther shots.
Alex Agyedu and Julian Hayden each scored 12 points for the Owls, while Leo Vincent was in twin digits with 10 points.
The lone scorer in double figures for William Tennent was Mike Wasserleben who led the Panthers with a team-high 10 points.
William Tennnet 8 9 14 17 * 48
Bensalem 13 20 18 10 * 61
Cheltenham (13-7) lost its second straight overtime game as the Panthers fell to Glen Mills (12-6) – 59-55.
Aaron McGlawn scored a basket in the final minute to force the overtime for Cheltenham. McGlawn finished with 12 points.
The Panthers – who lost to Norristown in overtime the night before – were led in scoring by Jerrell Haywood with 14 points. Nafis Walker and Lamont McLaurin each scored 11 points for the Panthers.
Glen Mills 11 8 16 15 9 * 59
Cheltenham 9 18 6 17 5 * 55
Truman (8-11) cruised to a 65-36 non-league victory over visiting Upper Merion (9-11).
The Tigers featured a superlative performance from Shaun Miller. Miller scored a game-high 19 points, collected 10 rebounds, snatched five steals, and blocked two shots.
Merdic Green scored 14 points for Truman, while Mike McGuire added 10 points for the Tigers.
The lone twin digit scorer for the Vikings was James Mobley who scored a team-high 10 points.
Upper Merion 7 15 9 5 * 36
Truman 14 12 19 20 * 65
Hatboro-Horsham (8-11) poured in 14 shots from beyond the 3-point arc as the Hatters collected a 79-55 non-league victory over rival Upper Moreland (2-17).
The Hatters showcased four players in double figures. Mike Brown scored a game-high 16 points, while Ryan Kelly (14), Travis Bryan (12), and Zach Quattro (10) also scored in twin digits.
Matt Worley led all scorers in the game as he poured in 24 points for Upper Moreland. Matt Kohn had a 17-point performance for the Golden Bears.
Upper Moreland 12 7 10 26 * 55
Hatboro-Horsham 20 19 15 25 * 79
Monday Night Basketball
Wissahickon (11-8) jumped out to an early lead and held on for a 59-52 non-league victory over visiting Central Bucks East (9-10).
The Trojans were led in scoring by Anthony McKie, who scored a game-high 17 points. Jordan Reed added 15 points for Wissy, while Tanoh Kpassagnon scored in double figures with 12 points.
CB East was led in scoring by junior Ryan O’Neil who scored a game-high 17 points. Matt Stauffer added 12 points for the Patriots.
CB East 9 9 12 22 * 52
Wissahickon 17 10 15 17 * 59
Norristown (18-2) needed to go into overtime to defeat visiting Methacton (14-8) in a non-league game.
The Eagles were led in scoring by Aaron Webb with a team-high 17 points. Rasheed Johnson had a 13-point performance for the Eagles, while Maleek Williams added 11 points for the winners.
Methacton 8 11 16 14 5 * 54
Norristown 10 8 22 9 6 * 55
“On Tap” in the SOL This Week
Tuesday – February 8, 2001
National Conference
William Tennent Panthers @ Abington Ghosts – 7 pm
Council Rock South Golden Hawks @ Pennsbury Falcons – 7 pm
Truman Tigers @ Neshaminy Redskins – 7 pm
Council Rock North Indians @ Bensalem Owls – 7 pm
Continental Conference
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ Central Bucks South Titans – 7 pm
Central Bucks West Bucks @ Pennridge Rams – 7 pm
Quakertown Panthers @ Central Bucks East Patriots – 7 pm
Souderton Indians @ North Penn Knights – 7 pm
American Conference
Upper Moreland Golden Bears @ Cheltenham Panthers – 7 pm
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials @ Upper Merion Vikings – 7 pm
Wissahickon Trojans @ Upper Dublin Flying Cardinals – 7 pm
Friday – February 11, 2011
National Conference
Abington Ghosts @ Truman Tigers – 7 pm
Bensalem Owls @ Council Rock South Golden Hawks – 7 pm
Pennsbury Falcons @ William Tennent Panthers – 7 pm
Neshaminy Redskins @ Council Rock North Indians – 7 pm
Continental Conference
Central Bucks South Titans @ Central Bucks West Bucks – 7 pm
North Penn Knights @ Hatboro-Horsham Hatters – 7pm
Pennridge Rams @ Quakertown Panthers – 7 pm
Central Bucks East Patriots @ Souderton Indians – 7 pm
American Conference
Cheltenham Panthers @ Wissahickon Trojans
Upper Merion Vikings @ Upper Moreland Golden Bears – 7 pm
Norristown Eagles @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials – 7 pm
Suburban One Sports. com **Super Seven**
1. Council Rock North Indians [17-1]
2. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials [15-4]
3. Neshaminy Redskins [16-3]
4. Norristown Eagles [16-2]
5. Bensalem Owls [16-4]
6. Pennridge Rams [15-5]
7. North Penn Knights [15-4]
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