This week’s notebook features PW, North Penn and Bensalem and recaps last week’s action.
By Mary Jane Souder
It was another interesting week of SOL action.
The week’s marquee game pitted a pair of undefeated National Conference squads in a showdown on Friday night with Abington eking out a thrilling 62-61 win over Pennsbury on the Falcons’ home court. The Ghosts are alone atop the conference standings, but circle Tuesday, Feb. 4, on your calendars. That’s when the two teams will meet in a rematch at Abington with a conference crown most assuredly at stake.
In the Continental Conference, Pennridge boasts a perfect 5-0 record and holds a two-game lead in the loss column over Central Bucks South and North Penn. The Rams will travel to North Penn on Tuesday for a key contest.
In American Conference play, Plymouth Whitemarsh is 6-0 in league play with only Tuesday’s game at Springfield standing between the Colonials and a perfect first go-round. Cheltenham notched a big win over Wissahickon to solidify its stronghold on second place last week, and the Panthers (5-1) will host Norristown (4-2) in an important conference battle Tuesday.
Suburban One League American Conference ‘Snapshot’
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials
When looking for a powerhouse in the Suburban One American Conference for the past few decades, you really had to look no further than at Plymouth Whitemarsh, often a high-level contender in the state with a history that includes a state championship-winning team from the late 90's, as well as the more recently crowned team led by the likes of C.J. Aiken, Jaylen Bond and Whis Grant.
But the 2012-13 season was not as memorable for the Colonials, who lost several games in the conference and were forced to take a huge step back after having so much success in recent years.
Fast-forward to the current season, currently at the mid-point, and you can see a vastly improved PW team which not only is seeing all of its hard work from the offseason paying immediate dividends, but a team which still has not lost a game in the conference.
Jim Donofrio, the head coach of the Colonials, knew his team needed to make adjustments this summer. Between getting in the gym, playing on club and travel teams and just getting in some good old-fashioned practices on the basketball court, Donofrio's team finds itself back in the thick of things as one of the better teams in the area, despite a lack of size.
"We had a great summer, but let's go back to last season - despite not having a great year for us with a very hard schedule," Donofrio said. "And we had T.J. Minetola, Cameron Johnson, Andre Mitchell, Jimmy Murray and (Manuel) ‘Junior’ Herezi, all being totally green and being thrown to the wolves in a schedule with St. Joseph's Prep, (Archbishop) Carroll and St. Francis of MD. Our schedule was loaded last year and everything was kind of new to them. And then they come into a summer where they did everything right. A whole lot of guys played a whole lot of basketball in a whole lot of leagues and with a whole lot of working out and a whole lot of getting better. When you bring that in and add humility and no big egos and incredible togetherness, you have a real good shot in high school."
As of Monday, PW is 11-2 overall and 6-0 in conference play, with wins over Upper Dublin and North Penn from this past weekend its most recent victories. And with a Tuesday night win against Springfield, a team which currently is in last place, the Colonials will have gone through the entire conference without a loss.
But Donofrio still has plenty of questions about his team.
"I think with us, offensively, I want to know - can we be more consistent?" he asked.
Well, last Friday's second half, which saw Upper Dublin climb back on the scoreboard as the Colonials may have relaxed with a large lead, did not make Donofrio very happy. And he wants to make sure his team knows that once it has a lead and once it gets up on another team, things won't change one bit.
"We worked really hard to get our big, inside guys more confident in scoring," Donofrio said. "It can't just be with guys like Jimmy Murray and Andre Mitchell all the time. It can't just be our guards. We play bigger than we are and, of course, there will be some big teams out there, but I think the idea that Upper Dublin just proved that people aren't backing down because we've drawn some attention is important. People are going to come at you even harder. And we didn't prove that we can handle that just yet."
Through the first half of the season, there is no reason to believe that the Colonials cannot win their next eight conference games in convincing fashion and finish with a perfect 14-0 record before competing in the district playoffs and possibly even states. But there's also no reason to believe that this team can't have an off night and stumble somewhere against one of the better teams in the area looking to beat a team which most aren't very used to having success against in recent time.
After all, while this may be a very talented team, they're still a junior-led squad and not quite at the level of what PW saw when it brought home a state title in 2010.
"I'm not quite sure we know what we are just yet," Donofrio said. "Can we be a team that wins games and doesn't change our ultimate goal? That's hard to do. Winning games makes people happy, and some people have a short-term memory. Right now, we don't."
--Contributed by Mike Prince
In the Rear View Mirror in the American Conference:
Cheltenham was a perfect 3-0 in league play last week to solidify its hold on second place. The Panthers received 22 points from senior Aaron Burton in their 52-41 win over Upper Moreland. In the Panthers’ 59-38 win over Upper Merion, Burton led the way with 20 points while Jason Sutton added 10. Cheltenham capped the week with a 73-68 win over Wissahickon. Aaron Burton and Khalil White both had 18 points while Jeremiah Coleman added 14, and Sutton finished with 10.
Norristown finished a busy week 2-2, winning two and losing one in league play. The Eagles received 20 points from Curt Lever in their 67-42 loss to PW. In their 65-36 win over Springfield, Lever (14 points), Chris Evans (12) and Kim Patton (11) led the way. Lever’s 25-point performance led the Eagles in their 51-37 win over Wissahickon. In Saturday’s 57-52 non-league loss to West Chester Rustin, Evans led the Eagles with 17 points and nine rebounds while Patton added 11 points and Ty’Jon Jackson had 10 points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh won a pair of league games and had a perfect 3-0 week. The Colonials defeated Norristown 67-42, led by Jimmy Murray’s 26 points and Andre Mitchell’s 17. In their 67-52 win over Upper Dublin, Murray had 17 points, and Mitchell had 16 while TJ Minetola added 14 rebounds (six offensive) to go along with nine points. In Saturday’s 78-66 non-league win over North Penn, Mitchell (20 points), Murray (19), Minetola (13) and Brett Paul (12) all finished the game in double figures.
Springfield dropped all three of its league games last week. The Spartans fell to Upper Dublin 56-41. Larry Clark led the Spartans with 14 points. Clark had 10 points in the Spartans’ 65-36 loss to Norristown. Springfield fell to Upper Moreland 63-36.
Upper Dublin split its two league games last week. The Flying Cardinals downed Springfield 56-41, led by Simeon Fryer’s 24 points. In Friday’s 64-52 loss to PW, Kevin Woods (14 points) and Fryer (13) led the Cardinals. The Flying Cardinals defeated Neshaminy 62-49 in a non-league game.
Upper Merion dropped a pair of SOL games last week. The Vikings were led by CJ Reinert’s 10 points in a 67-38 loss to Wissahickon. In the Vikings’ 59-38 loss to Cheltenham, David Stecz and Patel Samir both had 10 points.
Upper Moreland split its two league games in a week that saw the Golden Bears go 2-1. The Bears received 12 points from Chris Corr and 11 from Kevin McFall in their 52-41 loss to Cheltenham. James Martin and Kevin McFall each had 14 points in the Golden Bears’ 63-36 win over Springfield. The Golden Bears closed the week with a 78-59 non-league win over New Hope-Solebury.
Wissahickon split four games in a busy week, winning one and dropping a pair in league play. In their 67-38 win over Upper Merion, Chris Vila led a balanced attack with 19 points while Todd Bentley had 12 and Stephen Driscoll, 11. In the Trojans’ 42-39 non-league win over CB East, senior Chase Wilson led the Trojans with 16 points, including a trey that broke a 35-35 tie with two minutes remaining. Wissahickon fell to Norristown 51-37 with Wilson leading the Trojans with 13 points. In the Trojans’ 73-68 loss to Cheltenham, Wilson had a team-high 22 points, 15 in the second half.
Suburban One League Continental Conference
‘Snapshot’
North Penn Knights
North Penn stumbled out of the gate to a 1-5 start, but the Knights have recovered quite nicely, winning five of their last six games to even their record at 6-6. The Knights are 4-2 in conference play, trailing only Pennridge (6-0).
“The difference in our ball club between the first six games and the last six games has just been chemistry and unselfishness,” coach John Conrad said. “We’re starting to play for one another as opposed to early on when we were finding our way a little bit.”
Brian Coleman, Suleyman Hakim and Cordell Lord have been consistent contributors for the Knights.
“The other night against Hatboro, Brian got himself in foul trouble, and Noah Melchior scored 20 and covered (Zach) Quattro,” Conrad said of his team’s 73-60 win over the Hatters. “It’s been a different guy contributing all the way, but Brian, Suleyman and Cordell have really had a good stretch here.”
If there was a turning point in the season, it might well have been the team’s 57-56 loss to Conestoga in the opening round game of the Jack Schott Tournament.
“Even though we lost a heartbreaker when we had a lead late and just couldn’t hold on, I kind of thought that was the start of it,” Conrad said. “I thought we had a chance to get this going in the right direction.
“Mentally, they’re a tough group. Early on, we really thought we were going to have a successful season.
“When it didn’t go as we had hoped, especially when we were 1-5, give credit to our leaders – Aaron Dean and Noah Melchoir – because they really kept the group grounded, and they really kept us focused. We just kept working hard. They believed it was just a matter of time before we got it turned around.”
Saturday’s 78-66 non-league loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh snapped a five-game winning streak for the Knights.
“PW is a phenomenal basketball team,” Conrad said. “They’re quick, they’re athletic, and we just couldn’t get the pace under control. We scored well, but we couldn’t contain them.”
On Tuesday night, the Knights will take on undefeated Pennridge in a key Continental Conference battle.
“Every once in a while, you sure wouldn’t mind a night off, but there are none,” Conrad said of life in the Continental Conference. “It really makes it interesting because you can always talk to the kids at practice – if they’re not giving you everything they need to give you, you just remind them of who’s beating who along the way. Everybody is beating somebody.
“It’s a great group of coaches in the conference. They’re all good quality coaches, so it makes it fun.”
In the Rear View Mirror in the Continental Conference:
Central Bucks East, which saw its game against Quakertown postponed, fell to Pennridge 56-53 in its only league game of the week. Brendan McLaughlin led the Patriots with 19 points. East fell to Wissahickon 42-39 in a non-league game. Tommy Strasburger and Matt Gentry led the way with nine points each.
Central Bucks South split its two conference games last week. The Titans won their showdown with archrival Central Bucks West 45-40. Bryce Dobish led the Titans with 18 points while Matt Scamuffo added 14. Souderton handed the Titans a 49-47 loss in double overtime. Scamuffo led the Titans with 21 points.
Central Bucks West suffered two heartbreaking league losses last week. The Bucks fell to Central Bucks South 45-40. Jared Kelly and Pat Kelley led West offensively with 13 and 10 points respectively. In Friday’s 62-59 loss to North Penn, the Bucks led by 14 in the third quarter only to watch the Knights rally for the win. Kelly led the way with 14 points. Kyle Schecter (12 points) and Evan Dunn (10 points) also finished in double figures.
Hatboro-Horsham dropped all three of its league games last week. The Hatters were led by Zach Quattro’s 22 points, which included three treys, in their 73-60 loss to North Penn. Walt Kimble added 16 points. Kimble led all scorers with 18 points in the Hatters’ 66-48 loss to Central Bucks South. In the Hatters’ 48-42 loss to Quakertown, Quattro led the way with 13 points while Kimble added 10.
North Penn won a pair of SOL games last week. Sparked by Noah Melchoir’s 20 points – which included four three-pointers, the Knights defeated Hatboro-Horsham 73-60. Suleyman Hakim added 18 points while Cordell Lord and Brian Coleman both finished with 13. In Friday’s 62-59 come-from-behind win over CB West, Hakim led the way with 16 points. Lord connected for five three-pointers and finished with 15 points. Coleman had 14 points. PW handed the Knights a 78-66 non-league loss that saw Lord (14 points), Hakim (12), Coleman (12) and James Edwards (11) all finish the game in double figures.
Pennridge won a pair of league games to remain undefeated in SOL play. The Rams were led by Joe Molettiere’s 24-point effort in their 58-39 win over Souderton. Stephen Lowry and Dan Long both added 12 points. In their 67-55 non-league win over Neshaminy, Zach Muredda led all scorers with 21 points, which included an 11-for-12 effort at the foul line. Stephen Lowry added 20 points while Molettiere had 17. Muredda (22 points) and Long (13 points) led the Rams in their 56-53 win over CB East.
Quakertown split a pair of league games last week. The Panthers fell to North Penn 75-49 but came back to defeat Hatboro-Horsham 48-42. In the win over the Hatters, Kevin Norvaisis led the Panthers with 15 points while Jake Perrine added 11, nine in the fourth quarter. Quakertown closed the week with a 58-52 non-league win over Saucon Valley. Norvaisas (15 points), Griffin Schmidt (14), Brett Paul (12) and Mark Repsher (10) all finished the game in double figures.
Souderton split its two league games last week. The Indians – minus senior Steve Shaffer - fell to Pennridge 58-39. Tim Markow (13 points) and Evan Slone (11 points) led the Big Red. Souderton rebounded to earn a thrilling 49-47 double overtime win over CB South. Carter Knight led the Indians with 17 points while Jared Bernhardt dominated the backboards. In Saturday’s 62-40 non-league win over Notre Dame Green Pond, Slone (16 points) and Nick Diehl (12 points) led a balanced attack.
Suburban One League National Conference
‘Snapshot’
Bensalem Owls
After watching his team drop its first four SOL games, Bensalem coach John Mullin decided it was time to make some changes.
“We weren’t shooting the ball well from the perimeter,” the Owls’ coach said. “I gave the kids I thought would be our outside shooters time to work it through, but they never came through, so I had to make a couple of adjustments.”
Those adjustments paid dividends as the Owls ended their skid with a pair of wins last week. They defeated Council Rock North 39-30 last Tuesday and followed that with a 49-44 overtime win over Truman three days later.
“They never stopped working hard at practice,” Mullin said. “That never changed even with the adjustments that were made.
“I’m playing nine kids, so they’re all getting time. The kids that are jelling together are the kids that are going to be on the court. That’s what I keep on telling them – ‘Just because I took you out of the starting lineup doesn’t mean you’re not going to get a shot, so stay sharp and keep working,’ and that’s what they’ve been doing. You try and paint the big picture. Some teams get it and some teams don’t. This one seems to get it.”
Senior Brian Kilcoyne has been a steady presence for the Owls, and senior Gene Clemons was inserted into the lineup. Senior AJ Brody has given the Owls a spark off the bench.
“It’s easier to teach after a win than a loss,” Mullin said. “You get their attention, and then they buy into what you’re doing. They buy into the changes that were made. Those wins were much needed, but it’s going to be a tough week this week.”
The Owls face the top two teams in the conference this week, traveling to Abington on Tuesday and hosting Pennsbury on Friday.
In the Rear View Mirror in the National Conference:
Abington rolled to three SOL wins to take sole possession of first place in the conference standings. Abington began the week with a 59-39 win over Truman. Matt Penecale (15 points) and Mark Bond (13) led the way offensively. The Ghosts defeated William Tennent 62-50, led by Amier Hinton’s 14 points while Laz Marcrides and Matt Penecale each added 12 points. Anthony Lee finished with 10 points, six rebounds and five assists. In Friday’s battle for first place, the Ghosts defeated Pennsbury 62-61. Lee and Macrides led a balanced attack with 13 points each while Khari Jefferson and Hinton both added 10.
Bensalem picked up a pair of SOL wins last week. The Owls notched their first SOL win when the Owls defeated Council Rock North 39-30 last Tuesday. Avery Nyekan led the Owls with 15 points. On Friday, the Owls needed overtime to defeat Truman 49-44. AJ Brody hit a pair of free throws with two seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into OT. Brian Kilcoyne and Truman Tramere led the Owls with 12 points each while Gene Clemons recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Council Rock North split its league games last week. The Indians received 10 points from both Josh McWilliams and Matt Margolis in a 39-30 loss to Bensalem. The Indians rebounded to earn wins over Neshaminy (58-42) and Glen Mills (52-48). Matt Margolis scored a game-high 19 points and McWilliams added 10 in the win over Glen Mills.
Council Rock South split its two league games last week. The Golden Hawks earned a hard-fought 37-30 win over Neshaminy. Tommy Townsend led the offense with 15 points. In the Hawks’ 45-35 loss to William Tennent, Matt Stewart led the way with 13 points. Rock South fell to Church Farm School 49-23 in a non-league game Saturday.
Harry S Truman dropped all three of its league games last week. The Tigers fell to Abington 59-39. Tramere Adams (17 points) and Dyese Hunt (11 points) led the way for Truman. In the Tigers’ 78-44 loss to Pennsbury, the Tigers were led by Jaier Brown’s 11-point effort. Adams led the Tigers with 12 points in their 49-44 overtime loss to Bensalem.
Neshaminy dropped a pair of SOL games last week. The Redskins fell to Council Rock South 37-30. Kyree Moore led the ‘Skins with 14 points while Jaylen Pickett added 11. Neshaminy fell to Council Rock North 58-42 and also dropped a pair of non-league games to Upper Dublin (62-49) and Pennridge (67-55). Pickett led the Redskins with 13 points in their loss to the Rams.
Pennsbury split its two league games last week. The Falcons rolled to a 78-44 win over Truman. Cameron Jones (25 points), Steve Ciotti (22 points) and Mekhi Bryant (16) led the way. In Friday’s heartbreaking 62-61 loss to Abington in a battle of conference’s unbeaten squads, Bryant led the way with 18 points while Jones added 17.
William Tennent split its league games last week. The Panthers fell to Abington 62-50. Senior Matt Alden led the Panthers with 19 points, which included a 10-for-13 effort at the foul line. Cory Hamlet added 11 points, and Ian Drumm had 10. In Friday’s 45-35 win over Rock South, John Ryan led the offense with 14 points.
SuburbanOneSports.com
‘Fab 5’
1. Abington
2. Pennsbury
3. Plymouth Whitemarsh
4. Pennridge
5. Norristown
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