By Scott Huff
The Suburban One League basketball season opened its season with the majority of the 24 teams participating in a variety of Tip-Off Tournaments.
Plymouth Whitemarsh, Wissahickon, Council Rock North, and Quakertown all earned tournament titles.
Upper Dublin, Cheltenham, Upper Merion, Abington, Neshaminy, Truman, Pennridge, Central Bucks West, and North Penn all reached tournament finals.
Suburban One League
National Conference
Neshaminy (1-1) began its season with an impressive win over Conestoga and was competitive for three quarters in the Rock The Rim tournament finals loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh.
The Redskins bested Conestoga 67-54behind the 18-point scoring of Mike McGarry and the 15-point scoring effort by Ryan Arcidiacono. Tyler Katz (13) and Dwight Williams (12) also scored in double figures for the Skins.
“Teams are going to concentrate on Ryan and try and stop him,” said Neshaminy head coach Jerry Devine. “But Ryan is such a good player that he is going to make all the players around him better.
“Mike McGarry played a great game, and some of that came because of teams trying to take Ryan away,” added Devine. “We beat a good team, and we want to carry that over.”
Neshaminy led PW 30-27 at halftime before losing a 79-59 verdict to highly respected Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Arcidiacono and Williams each scored 17 points to lead the Skins in scoring. Neshaminy was outscored 30-16 in the final period.
“We came to this tournament because we wanted to measure ourselves against the best competition,” said Devine. “We can learn some valuable lessons for later in the season.
“The Suburban One National Conference is strong from top to bottom,” added Devine. “But we believe that we can be one of those teams in the running for a league title.”
Council Rock North (2-0) won the Hatboro Horsham Hatter Tournament with wins over both Perkiomen Valley and Upper Dublin.
The Indians defeated Perkiomen Valley 57-43 behind the 22-point scoring of Arron Goodman. Charlie Anastasi scored 11, while Aaron Morgan chipped in with 10.
Goodman earned MVP honors as he led Rock North with 19 markers in a 71-61 win over Upper Dublin in the title game. Anastasi scored in double figures with 15 points, while Morgan added 12 points.
Harry S Truman (1-1) advanced to the Bristol Coaches vs. Cancer finals with a win over host Bristol but lost in the championship game to Conwell-Egan.
The Tigers coasted to a 73-33 win over Bristol behind a 25-point performance by Eddie Valentine. Shawn Miller (12) and Tracy Kubish (11) also scored in double digits.
Truman lost in the tourney finals to Egan, 67-60. Valentine once again led the Tigers in scoring with 23 points, while Quincy Palmer scored 17 points.
Abington (1-1) opened its season with a victory over Martin Luthur King to advance to the finals, but the Ghost lost their own tournament with a setback against Archbishop Wood.
Abington bested Martin Luther King by a 69-60 margin. The winners were led in scoring by Wesley Rines who scored 25 points, while Jaymes Miller posted 19 points.
The Ghosts lost in the finals, though, 52-33 to Archbishop Wood. Mike Piunti led AHS in scoring with 10 points.
Council Rock South (1-1) split its pair of games in a tournament that the Golden Hawks hosted. South lost the opener to North Penn but followed with a win over Father Judge.
The game with North Penn was – believe it or not – 21-20. The Hawks lost the game in the final 1.5 seconds in the fourth period. Jake Clopton led Rock South with five points.
CR South rebounded with a 47-38 win over Father Judge. Cody Nowlin led the Golden Hawks with 19 points, while Clopton added eight points.
Pennsbury (1-0) opened up is season with a home date against Philadelphia Public League power – Simon Gratz.
The Falcons – behind the sparkling 26-point performance by Jesse Krasna – edged Gratz 49-46. The game was tied at 30-30 after three periods.
Bensalem (1-0) put a win in victory column with a victory over Archbishop Ryan.
The Owls flew to a 46-35 win and had a 20-point scoring effort turned in by Nick Christian.
William Tennent (1-0) had eight different players score in its opening season victory over MaST Charter.
The Panthers – who were led in scoring by Jack Rauchut (14) and Chris Wise (10) – defeated the Philadelphia Charter School by a 64-38 margin.
Suburban One League
American Conference
Upper Dublin (1-1) advanced to the finals of the Hatboro-Horsham Hatter tournament with a win over the host Hatters, but lost in the finals to champion Council Rock North.
The Flying Cardinals defeated the Hatters 58-45 behind a 22-point scoring effort by Jamil Brown. Aaqil Bailey added 14 points, while James Newman also scored 14 markers.
Brown – who scored a game high 37 points – led UD in scoring against Rock North, but the Cardinals came out on the wrong end of a 71-61 score.
“We played very well, but Council Rock North was a little too much for us to handle,” said Upper Dublin head coach Josh Adelman. “You don’t like to lose a basketball game, but I think that we learned a lot about what it takes to win.
“Jamil had a great game against North,” added Adelman. “They ran a box-and-one against him, but the other players on the team stepped up and set some good screens for him.
“Jamil was able to get almost any shot that he wanted,” added Adelman. “He was able to take some 3-pointers, and he was also able to drive to the basket.
“Jamil can explode to the basket, or spot up and take a jump shot,” continued the coach. “He shot 12-of-20 from the field – hit four 3-pointers – and was our leading rebounder.
“This tournament is a good way for us to get ready for our league schedule,” added Adelman. “Plymouth Whitemarsh is the clear favorite, but Wissahickon is also going to be very good. And Norristown and Cheltenham always have good athletes.
“We hope to compete – we expect to compete,” concluded Adelman. “We’ll see where we are at the end of the season.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (2-0) rocked the rim by winning its own Rock the Rim tournament. The highly touted Colonials cruised to a win over Central Bucks South and bested Neshaminy in the finals.
PW crushed CB South 82-39 in the opening round game of the tournament. Whis Grant led the Colonials in scoring with 15 points, while C.J Aiken (14), Stephon Baker (13) and Jaylen Bond (12) also scored in double digits.
Plymouth Whitemarsh won the tourney final by a 79-59 count over Neshaminy. Aiken – the tournament MVP – blocked 13 shots and scored 25 points to pace the Colonials.
Wissahickon (2-0) traveled to Phoenixville to win the Phoenixville Tip Off tournament. The Trojans bested both Downingtown East and host Phoenixville.
Jack O’Neill – the tournament MVP – scored 27 points to lead Wissy to a 75-58 win over Downingtown East. Giovanni Atkins (17) and Tom Sweeney also scored in double figures.
O’Neill scored 20 points to lead all scorers in Wissahickon’s 66-56 win over Phoenixville. Michael Bundy (15) and Jordan Reed (12) also scored in twin digits for the winners.
Cheltenham (1-1) hosted a pair of Philadelphia Public League schools in its own tournament – besting Central – but losing to Frankford in the finals.
Rob Mansel scored 24 points in the Panthers 49-39 win over Central. Malcom Weston scored 16 points in a 56-37 loss to Frankford.
Upper Merion (1-1) got to the tournament final in the Radnor tournament with a win over Devon Prep. However, the Vikings dropped its contest to Radnor in the championship final.
Robbie Griffith – who was selected to the all-tournament team – scored 13 points to lead the Vikings it its 53-33 loss to Radnor. UMHS beat Devon Prep, 58-50, in the tournament opener.
Upper Moreland (0-1) lost its season opener to Lower Moreland in a nonleague game.
The Golden Bears – who were led in scoring by Ryan Burnick with 14 points – fell in overtime to the Lions, 58-55. Nick Goirdano (10) and Ben Pflaumer (11) scored in double figures for Upper Moreland.
Springfield (0-2) hosted the Oreland Lions Tournament and lost both games to Harriton (58-26) and to Bishop McDevitt (64-55).
Norristown (0-0) did not play the first weekend. However, the Eagles have four games in six nights this week against Math Civics and Sciences, Truman, Upper Moreland, and Coatesville.
Suburban One League
Continental Conference
North Penn (1-1) split its games in a tournament it hosted last week. The Knights defeated Council Rock South in the opener but fell to Holy Ghost Prep in the finals.
Matthew Possanza scored with 1.5 seconds left in the game to lift NP to a – this is not a typo – 21-20 win over Rock South. Possanza scored 19 of the 21 Knight points.
“Both teams tried to slow it down and be patient,” said North Penn head coach Ron Hassler. “But that wasn’t the reason the score was that low.
“It really was more of a combination of poor shooting – good defense – and some first game jitters,” added Hassler. “We have all juniors in the starting lineup, and most of them have junior varsity experience. It is a big jump for them to play varsity basketball.
“We ran a good inbounds play to get Matt the ball for that final basket,” continued Hassler. “It wasn’t the shot we wanted, but it went in.”
North Penn lost in the championship final to Holy Ghost Prep – 58-41. Possanza was again the high scorer for the Knights with 16 points.
“Holy Ghost Prep was a step up in competition,” said Hassler. “They have a really good set of guards, and we got a lot of good experience.
“T.J. Gill is coming out from the football team, and he will be our only senior on the team,” added Hassler. “He will have to provide us with some leadership.”
Quakertown (2-0) opened its season by winning the title at the Southern Lehigh Tip-Off Tournament. The Panthers defeated both Northern Lehigh and Upper Perkiomen.
Rick Kivela notched 22 points to take game high honors in the 61-45 victory over Northern Lehigh. Dalton Nice added 21 and Kenny Gula posted 13 points for the winners.
In the title game, Nice scored 22 points as Q-town outlasted Upper Perkiomen, 50-49. The Panthers were outscored 14-6 in the final period.
Pennridge (1-1) won its opening game of the season against New Hope – in the Pennridge Tip Off Tournament – and lost in the finals to Lansdale Catholic.
The Rams had a terrific outing by Tim Abruzzo who scored 27 points in the 68-39 win over New Hope. Mike Guldin, Kyle Peters, and Dylan Tice all chipped in with eight points each.
Lansdale Catholic handed PHS a 56-44 loss in the championship final. Guldin led the Rams with 12 points, while Rocky Ferrier (9) and Tice (8) helped out with the scoring.
Central Bucks West (1-1) got to its tournament final with a win over Boyertown, but the Bucks lost to McDonogh in the title contest.
West beat Boyertown – 49-45 – in the first round game. Ryan Dyer led the team with 14 points, while Kevin Sweet added 10 markers.
The Bucks fell to McDonogh – 47-44 – in the championship final. Dyer led West with 12 points, while Patrick Furst scored nine points.
Hatboro-Horsham (1-1) split a pair of games in the Hatter Tip-Off Tournament that it hosted last week.
The Hatters lost to Upper Dublin – 58-45 – in the opening round. HHHS was led in scoring by Mike Marvin who tallied 19 points. Christian Bolling added 10 points.
Hatboro-Horsham rebounded with a 36-33 win over Perkiomen Valley. Darrin Oliver topped the Hatters with 11 points, while Bolling scored 10 points.
Souderton (1-0) opened its season with an impressive victory over visiting Allentown Central Catholic.
The Indians were led to the 77-33 win by A.J. Picard (18), Mark Wonderling (15), Anthony Sergio (14), and Kyle Connolly (13).
Central Bucks South (0-2) lost both games as the Titans participated in the Rock the Rim tournament held at Plymouth Whitemarsh.
The Titans lost to the host Colonials – 82-39 – as Matt Johns led CBS with nine points. Mike Pincus added eight points for the Titans.
CB South followed with a 57-43 loss to Conestoga in a second round game. Steve Schneider led the team in scoring with 13 points, while Pincus finished in double figures with 10 points.
Central Bucks East (0-0) did not play.
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