Upper Dublin, Pennridge & Truman are featured in this week’s notebook.
By Scott Huff
If Upper Dublin (8-7, 2-5) had been able to close out fourth period leads in its two losses against Cheltenham and its overtime setback to Plymouth Whitemarsh,the Cardinals could have been an 11-win team with a 5-2 record in the Suburban One League American Conference. But Upper Dublin was not able to complete that task and will not be in the Suburban One League American Conference championship race as the second half of the conference season begins.
Upper Dublin lost to Cheltenham in two heartbreakers – 60-59 & 56-52 – and also lost to Plymouth Whitemarsh in OT by a 64-62 margin.
“The players realize where we could have been, but right now we are focused on where we go from here,” said Upper Dublin head coach Josh Adelman. “The players all know they have the ability to beat anyone in our league, but we have to get over that hump and beat the good teams that are out there in our league.
“I love coaching this team – they are a great bunch of guys,” added Adelman. “We have to continue to play hard and we need to start getting some W’s in our league. We want to turn some heads in the second half of the season.”
One player that has turned heads in recent outings for the Cardinals has been 6-foot, 7-inch junior Andrew Carber.
“Andrew has really put in a lot of time during the off season working on his game,” said Adelman. “He has come into his own in the last few games, and he could grow into being a dominant player.
“John Decamara has really played great all season and is a terrific shooter,” added Adelman. “And Andrew Derr has proven to be one of the best defenders in the league. And Jared Zarwin doesn’t get a whole lot of attention, but he can do everything for us on the floor.”
Every season is filled with could have, would have, and should have, but don’t be surprised if those close games go the way of the Upper Dublin Cardinals in the second half of the conference season.
If Pennridge (6-8, 1-7) had been able to close out leads the Rams had in losses to North Penn, Central Bucks East, Hatboro-Horsham, Central Bucks West, and Central Bucks South, the Rams might now be in a position to defend their Suburban One League Continental Conference. Right now, though, Pennridge has just one conference win in eight games.
“We have been one possession, one rebound, one free throw, or one turnover away from winning a lot of basketball games,” said Pennridge head coach Dean Behrens. “There hasn’t been anybody I’ve talked with – coaches or fans – that watch us and feel that we are a bad basketball team. We have had good chances to win almost every game.
“Our rebounding has not been what we want it to be, and that has cost us some games in the second half,” added Behrens. “But we play hard and we haven’t given up on the season.”
One player that hasn’t given up on the season has been senior Tim Abruzzo. Abruzzo scored 39 points in the Rams 85-79 double overtime loss to Central Bucks South.
“There was no question that Tim was ‘feeling it’ against CB South,” said Behrens. “He has gotten looks from almost every Division III school in the area, and I know that Clarion is one of the Division II schools that has shown a lot of interest.”
Abruzzo became the fourth player in the history of Pennridge basketball to go over the 1000-point mark. Abruzzo now has collected 1004 points and trails the Rams all-time leader scorer – Jim Groff (1988) – who scored 1188 points. Mark Hollenbach (1972) and Matt Best (2005) are the other 1000-plus scorers for Pennridge.
Every season is filled with could have, would have, and should have, but don’t be surprised if those close games go the way of the Pennridge Rams in the second half of the season.
If Truman (8-7, 5-3) had been able to win any of its first three Suburban One League National Conference games against Council Rock South, Bensalem, or Council Rock North – the Tigers just might be in first place in the conference. Truman has rebounded from that 0-3 start to rattle off five straight conference wins over William Tennent, Pennsbury, Neshaminy, Abington, and Council Rock South.
“Every game we play is important, but our conference games that we play this week are huge,” said Truman head coach Alan Munford in reference to Tuesday’s game with Bensalem (7-7, 5-3) and Council Rock North (11-3, 7-1). “We lost to both of them the first time around, and we need to be confident and know that we can beat them.
“We lost our last game with Central Bucks West,” added Munford in reference to the Tigers 62-50 non-conference loss. “We need to get back on track if we want to beat the good teams that we are going to play this week. We need to continue to move forward.”
Truman has had a wonderful season turned in thus far by senior guard Merdic Green. Green has scored in double digits in all but two games this season and torched Council Rock South for 30 points in the Tigers 79-64 conference victory.
“Merdic plays every game at a very high energy level,” said Munford. “He plays with a motor the entire game, and he tends to be playing at the high motor when other players seem to be worn down.
“Tyrice Harris has been an excellent sixth man coming off the bench,” added Munford. “We need to get help from everyone on the team in order to win basketball games.”
Every season is filled with could have, would have, and should have, but don’t be surprised if close games to the way of the Truman Tigers in the second half of the season.
How about that Anthony McKie!!
On Sunday, Plymouth Whitemash junior Anthony McKie set a school record with 47 points as the Colonials (9-7) defeated Math, Civics, & Sciences (11-5) 89-44 in a non-conference game that was part of the Kobe Bryant Classic. McKie – who connected on eight 3-point field goals – broke the record held by Billy Guess who scored 44 points in 1999. Morgan Jackson also scored in twin digits for the Colonials with 12 points.
Math, Civics, & Sciences 19 6 6 13 - 44
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 21 18 19 31 - 89
Owls Soar to Victory
On Sunday, Bensalem (7-7) won its second straight non-conference game as the Owls flew to a 54-49 victory over Haverford School (13-7) as part of the Kobe Bryant Classic held at Plymouth Whitemarsh. Leo Vincent scored a game-high 22 points for Bensalem, while Julian Hyden also scored in double figures for the Owls with 15 points.
Haverford School 8 10 13 18 - 49
Bensalem Owls 11 7 18 18 - 54
Random Stats
In the recent Suburban One League Challenge held on Saturday, the final results of the cross over games were --- SOL American Conference [3-0] * (Cheltenham, Upper Dublin, and Upper Moreland winners); SOL National Conference [3-3] * (Abington, Pennsbury, and Bensalem winners); and SOL Continental Conference [2-5] * (Central Bucks West and Hatboro-Horsham winners).
The games scheduled for Wissahickon on Saturday were postponed due to the fact that all activities at Pennridge were postponed due to weather concerns. Therefore, the Council Rock North versus Norristown game was also postponed at the Wissahickon Dome. The Wissahickon-Pennridge game has been rescheduled for Thursday, Jan. 26, 7 p.m.
Tuesday ‘Nite’ Lights in the SOL
American Conference:
Upper Merion Vikings @ Upper Dublin Cardinals
Wissahickon Trojans @ Norristown Eagles
Upper Moreland Golden Bears @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Continental Conference:
Central Bucks East Patriots @ Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
Souderton Indians @ Central Bucks South Titans
Quakertown Panthers @ Central Bucks West Bucks
Pennridge Rams @ North Penn Knights
National Conference:
William Tennent Panthers @ Council Rock South Golden Hawks
Truman Tigers @ Bensalem Owls
Abington Ghosts @ Council Rock North Indians
Pennsbury Falcons @ Neshaminy Redskins
Friday ‘Nite’ Lights in the SOL
American Conference:
Upper Dublin Cardinals @ Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
Norristown Eagles @ Upper Moreland Golden Bears
Upper Merion Vikings @ Cheltenham Panthers
Continental Conference:
Pennridge Rams @ Central Bucks East Patriots
Central Bucks South Titans @ Quakertown Panthers
North Penn Knights @ Central Bucks West Bucks
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters @ Souderton Indians
National Conference:
Neshaminy Redskins @ Council Rock South Golden Hawks
Bensalem Owls @ William Tennent Panthers
Pennsbury Falcons @ Abington Ghosts
Council Rock North Indians @ Truman Tigers
Suburban One Sports.com
Super Seven
1. Wissahickon Trojans (15-1)
2. Council Rock North Indians (11-3)
3. Central Bucks West Bucks (13-2)
4. Abington Ghosts (12-4)
5. Souderton Indians (11-4)
6. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (9-6)
7. Pennsbury Falcons (9-5)
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