By Scott Huff 
Ghosts win Track Meet with Pennsbury
Abington (7-11, 3-7) kept up with the frenetic pace of Pennsbury (4-12, 3-7) and defeated the Falcons – 75-73 – in a Suburban One National Conference game.
“Pennsbury really likes to get up and down the floor,” said Abington head coach Charles Grasty. “They really made us play their style of game, and I was comfortable with that.
“We aren’t a team that scores 75 points a game,” added Grasty. “But we took good looks, and we made some shots.”
Nobody made more shots that Ghost sophomore Jordan Simmons who scored a game-high 26 points. Included in that total were four field goals from beyond the three-point arc.
“Jordan was actually a very unselfish player tonight,” said Grasty. “He could have easily scored 35 points, but I’m not too sure that we would have won the game.
“Jordan continues to develop into a fine all-around basketball player,” added Grasty. “We needed him to play well to beat Pennsbury.”
Abington led 75-72 as the clock was ticking down in the fourth period and with the Falcons in possession for a possible game-tying shot.
“We chose to foul with five seconds left in the game,” said Grasty. “(Kieran) Bolger is a great shooter and he made the first one.
“We knew that he was going to miss the second one intentionally,” added Grasty. “He did – but a lane violation gave us the ball.”
And the game.
Bolger led Pennsbury with a team-high 18 points. Zach Sibel added 14 points for the Falcons, while Kris Hassell (12) and Shawn Pepper (10) also scored in double figures.
The only other twin digit scorer for the Ghosts was DJ McFadden with 15 points.
“I told the players that we are going to probably have to win out to make the (district) playoffs,” said Grasty. “And that is what we are going to work hard in practice to accomplish.”
Abington 13 16 18 28 - 75
Pennsbury 13 15 16 29 - 73
Abington: Wesley Rines 8; Vincent Tranquillo 7; Jordan Simmons 26; DJ McFadden 15; Michael Traynor 6; Julian Keys 4; Anthony Lee 2; Jordan Monroe 7. Total – 75.
Pennsbury: Zach Sibel 14; Shawn Pepper 10; Kieran Bolger 18; Ryan Charity 4; Chris Glennie 9; Kris Hassell 12; Jon Evans 6. Total – 73.
Around the SOL National Conference
Neshaminy (15-2, 8-2) jetted out to a 22-6 first period lead and cruised to a 72-43 conference win over visiting Council Rock South (6-11, 3-7).
Junior Ryan Arcidiacono scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Redskins. Tyler Katz added 12 points for the Skins, while Richie Schafer also scored in twin digits with 10 points.
The Golden Hawks were led in scoring by Justin Thomas with a team-high 12 points, while PJ Gallo added 10 points for CR South.
Council Rock South 6 11 10 16 - 43
Neshaminy 22 11 19 20 - 72
One Ain’t The Loneliest Number for Rams
Pennridge (14-4, 8-2) claimed sole possession of first place in the Suburban One League Continental Conference with a rousing 71-68 double overtime victory over visiting Central Bucks East (9-6, 6-3).
The loss snapped a seven-game CB East winning streak.
“This is a league where any team can really beat any other team,” said Pennridge head coach Dean Behrens. “It is extremely hard to beat a team twice in the same season, and we have done that this year against two very good teams in North Penn and CB East.
“We had a nice lead (34-21), but we shot too quickly and let the lead get away,” added Behrens. “Mike (Guldin) was having a good game, and we ran some stuff for him in the second half.”
Guldin scored a game-high 28 points that included 10 free throws in the two overtimes. Jared Schaffer also scored in twin digits for the Rams with 15 points, while Tim Abruzzo added 11 points.
“Jared really did a great job of getting us back in the game,” said Behrens. “And we were able to fight through some down times.”
“Being down doesn’t really seem to faze this team,” said CB East head coach Erik Henrysen. “When we are down, we expect to make a run and have a shot to win the game.”
And the Patriots had that shot at the close of the first overtime. But the shot glanced off the rim, and East would lose in the second OT.
Ryan O’Neil led the Patriots with a team-high 18 points, while DJ Beausejour scored 14 points for East. The guard tandem of Chris Allen (12) and Steve Topley (11) also scored in double figures of East.
“We didn’t win seven games in a row without being able to finish the close games,” said Henrysen. “Pennridge was able to close out this one.”
CB East 9 8 13 16 9 14 - 68
Pennridge 12 9 13 12 9 17 - 71
Central Bucks East: DJ Beausjour 14; Steve Topley 11; Lou Pannella 3; Chris Allen 12; Ryan O’Neil 18; Scott Shields 2; Matt Stauffer 8. Total – 68.
Pennridge: Mike Guldin 28; Jared Schaffer 15; Tim Abruzzo 11; Kyle Peters 9; Andrew Lyons 4; Rocky Ferrier 4. Total – 71
Around the SOL Continental Conference
Central Bucks West (11-6, 6-4) worked overtime to defeat host North Penn (10-4, 6-3) – 40-37 in a pivotal conference game.
The Bucks – who were throttled in the first meeting with North Penn (52-35) – were led in scoring by Kevin Sweet with 12 points. Derek Dyer added 11 points for the Bucks.
North Penn had just a single player score in double figures as Dexter Shy scored a game-high 18 points.
CB West 8 12 11 4 5 - 40
North Penn 9 10 12 4 2 - 37
**
Hatboro-Horsham (7-9, 4-6) had to work two overtimes to defeat visiting Souderton (10-7, 6-4) – 74-63 – in still another pivotal conference contest.
Travis Bryan – who scored 14 key points in the fourth period – scored a team-high 20 points for the Hatters. Matt Kane scored 17 points for HH, while Shane Cummings scored 14 points.
Souderton was led in scoring by Mark Wonderling who scored a game-high 21 points. Dan Falenki and Anthony Sergio each scored 13 points for the Big Red, while Ryan Connolly posted 10 points.
Souderton 14 8 9 15 10 7 - 63
Hatboro-Horsham 11 7 11 17 10 18 - 74
**
Central Bucks South (4-14, 3-7) outscored Quakertown (1-15, 0-10) by a 13-1 margin in the first period and finished with a 52-42 victory over the Panthers.
CB South was led by a sparkling 28-point scoring effort from senior Steve Schneider. James Delgato added 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Titans.
Quakertown – who closed the deficit to just 32-31 by the close of the third period – was led by John Landis with 11 points. Steffan Spieker added 10 points for the Black Cats.
Quakertown 1 14 16 11 - 42
CB South 13 8 11 20 - 52
Don’t Let This Score Fool You
The final score read – Norristown (15-2, 8-1) 77 & Upper Moreland (1-14, 0-9) – 51.
No real surprise – until you examine the box score.
Upper Moreland led 22-13 – yes 22-13 – after the first period. And with four minutes left in the game, the Golden Bears trailed the talented Eagles by just eight points.
“This is by far the best game we have played all season,” said Upper Moreland head coach Brian Corrado. “We were ready to play at the beginning - we hit some shots, and defended well.
“It’s funny, but we didn’t practice the last two days,” added Corrado. “We had a shoot around this morning with the two-hour delay, but I really didn’t see this coming. It just shows you that coaching is overrated.”
Senior Matt Worley – who fouled out in the fourth period – led the Bears in scoring with 16 points. Sophomore Matt Kohn added 11 points, while 6-foot, 3-inch freshman Kevin McFall scored 10 points.
“This was the second varsity game for Kevin, and he played well,” said Corrado. “Right now, he is our biggest player on the floor.”
Norristown – which torched the Golden Bears 27-6 in the final period – was led in scoring by Tyreese White with 19 points. Rasheed Johnson added 17 points for the Eagles, while Aaron Webb tallied 15 markers.
“For about three-and-half quarters, it was a game,” said Corrado. “And in that last half of a quarter, the wheels fell off.”
Upper Moreland 22 7 16 6 - 51
Norristown 13 23 14 27 - 77
Upper Moreland: Josh Villanueva 6; Matt Kohn 11; Dave Driscoll 2; Matt Worley 16; Nick Corbett 2; Joe Green 4; Kevin McFall 10. Total – 51.
Norristown: Maleek Williams 4; Aaron Webb 15; Jahquan Hargrove 2; Jahbri Hargrove 12; Marquis Bryant 4; Rasheed Johnson 17; Tyreese White 19. Total – 77.
Around the SOL American Conference
Plymouth Whitemarh (12-3, 9-0) remained unbeaten in conference play with a closer-than-expected 55-46 victory over scrappy Upper Dublin (10-9, 2-7).
Jaylen Bond – the talented 6-foot, 7-inch University of Pittsburgh recruit – led all scorers with 24 points. Stephon Baker added 16 points for the Colonials.
Upper Dublin – which led at intermission 24-23 - was led by Darrell Harrison who scored a team-high 19 points. Khalil Owens chipped in with eight points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11 12 14 18 - 55
Upper Dublin 10 14 10 12 - 46
**
Cheltenham (12-4, 5-3) scored 28 points in the fourth period to claw host Upper Merion (8-9, 3-6) – 76-48.
Nafis Walker led the Panthers with an 18-point scoring effort. Jerrell Haywood added 14 points for CHS, while Lamont McLaurin tallied 12 points for the winners.
Upper Merion had a pair of players score in double figures. Pat Stringfield had a team-high 13 points, while Naim Cheeseboro added 11 points for the Vikings.
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