Cheltenham, Bensalem, Abington & PW were winners in the District One 6A Tournament. Cheltenham/PV photos courtesy of Geanine Jamison Photography. Bensalem/West Chester Henderson photos courtesy of John Gleeson, and PW/Downingtown West photos courtesy of Larry Small. Check back for galleries of all three games. All SOS photo galleries for BOYS’ BASKETBALL can be viewed by clicking HERE.
Class 6A
#3 CHELTENHAM 63, #19 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 53
The Panthers trailed by one after one quarter but then turned on the afterburners, outscoring the Vikings 14-4 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 22-13 lead. They exchanged baskets
with their visitors in the second half on their way to a win that ensured the Panthers a coveted berth in the PIAA 6A State Tournament.
“I was very pleased with the poise of the team, turning down the good for great shots,” Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury said. “We really battled.
“We definitely have to do a better job of getting to the rim and finishing through contact and things of that nature, but they fought hard. Defensively, they were a little stingier in giving up open looks, and that allowed them to secure the ball defensively and be able to find gaps in transition in the half court.”
Rasheem Dearry led the Panthers with 20 points – which included three 3 -pointers. He also had seven rebounds. Josiah Hutson added 14 points, which included two 3s, to go along with two assists. Brandon Bush had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Nasir 
Edens contributed seven points, four rebounds and two steals. Justin Savage added six points and a team high nine rebounds. Johnathan Fevrier had two rebounds.
Elias Walker finished with three steals, five rebounds and three points while playing the role of floor general.
“Elias Walker just continues to find a way to make plays for himself and his teammates, which allows them to play off his energy,” Fleury said. “Senior John Fevrier came off the bench and again provided a spark the team needed. Just the commitment, the sacrifice and dedication that we talk about – it was a pleasure to see.
“Perkiomen Valley is a very, very good team and very well run. We have a lot of respect for them. It just always seems one way or another we run into each other. Tonight to be able to play on our floor and come out with a win against a tough team was very good for us.”
Supporting the Panthers at Tuesday’s game were some basketball alums.
“That is the goal – we want everybody to be like family,” Fleury said. “It is bigger than basketball. We want all of our alumni to come back, so when the kids come up, they see people that have walked the same path they did.
“All of them are different and go about it differently, and we have to coach them differently. That’s what we want Cheltenham to be and be seen as.”
Cheltenham (26-0, 16-0 SOL) will host #22 Plymouth Whitemarsh in a district quarterfinal game on Friday.
“We have to regroup, practice two days and then get ready for Friday,” Fleury said. “I’m very happy for our staff and our players, the relationships they’re building and maintaining throughout this process. Just the camaraderie that’s built between the school and the community with these kids and for them to understand, for the most part, what their role is, not only this year but moving forward. To see them pull together in moments of adversity is just very rewarding, and I’m thankful for the staff and the managers and the admin and everybody that supports the kids on a day-to-day basis.”
Perkiomen Valley 9-4-17-23 53
Cheltenham 8-14-16-25 63
Perkiomen Valley (53) – JT Brady 3, Vance Sadler 7, Ethan Kohler 4, Dawson Debebe 18, Joshua Pelzer 5, Julian Sadler 16.
Cheltenham (63) – Rasheem Dearry 20, Josiah Hutson 14, Elias Walker 3, Nasir Edens 7, Brandon Bush 13, Justin Savage 6.
#4 BENSALEM 57, #20 WEST CHESTER HENDERSON 42
Allen Myers scored a game high 19 points and Jeremy Rodriguez added 16 to lead the Owls to a win that guaranteed the squad a berth in the PIAA 6A State Tournament.
“Every year you come in and you want to win the state title obviously, at least you want to qualify for states, and it’s a big deal,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “This is only the sixth team in our program’s history that is in the state tournament, so we don’t take it lightly.
“It’s a credit to all these guys – all the time and effort they put in during the offseason and the extra time they put in after practice still to this day and their perseverance – it’s a resilient group. We came out, we knew it was going to be a war, we took a punch early. They’re a really good team, they’re big. Their 6-3 kid (Ryan Bell) is strong, and he can shoot and get to the rim. Their point guard (Connor Fleet) is a really good player. He was causing havoc getting into the paint, but we were able to lock in, get stops.”
The game didn’t exactly start on a promising note for the Owls, who trailed 14-7 after one quarter.
“We took a haymaker – they got up 21-9 at the beginning of the second quarter,” Morris said. “We were missing some shots, and they came out and hit some early shots. Number two (Nyle Ralph-Beyer) is a stud guard as a sophomore, and he was on fire early, so we adjusted our defensive strategy.
“We knew he was good, but we decided – we’re going to deny him. Aaron (Sanders) did an awesome job. Aaron sacrificed himself for the team by just playing all his energy on defense, which was really good to see. He held him scoreless for two-and-a-half quarters.
“Our defense really locked in. Jack Wineburg did an awesome job defending number 44 (Ryan Bell). Jack made him work for every single thing. We kept him in single digits, which is hard to do.
“Eric Gonzalez controlled the ball. He was getting in the paint, making good plays. It was just all around getting contributions from everybody. It takes everybody. Our bench energy was good, it was a great crowd for the playoffs. It’s a special moment, and we’re enjoying every bit of it.”
After falling behind 21-9 early in the second, the Owls limited the Warriors to just 21 points the rest of the way. They also found their offensive stride.
“In the second quarter, Aaron (Sanders) hit a three, Jeremy (Rodriguez) and Allen (Myers) both scored a bunch of points,” Morris said. “We’ve been relying on those three to score all year, and in the second quarter, they really got going.
“We were able to get some stops and easy buckets. We got a lot in transition. We knew we were going to be able to speed the game up. It took us a little bit of time to get it going.”
The Owls led 24-23 at halftime and then put some distance between themselves and the Warriors with a 17-7 third quarter to seize control of the game.
“In the third quarter, Tra Edwards, another senior, just stepped up tonight,” Morris said. “He’s bought into his role, he stays ready, he’s a hard worker, always smiling. He’s a leader, he’s a captain, and he really sparked us in the third quarter to extend our lead because we were only up one at halftime. He came in in the third and gave us some big minutes.
“We’ve always said – on any given night, anybody can score on our team. We have a lot of talent. It’s just a matter of who’s going to do it that night. I told the guys, ‘At this point in the season, it’s all about sacrifice. What are you willing to sacrifice for that ultimate goal?’ Sometimes it might be scoring, sometimes it might be playing time, but just staying the course, enjoying the process, enjoying the moment and just continuing on a special ride.”
In addition to leading the Owls in scoring, Myers and Rodriguez had monster games under the backboards, contributing 13 and 10 rebounds respectively.
“Allen (Myers) and Jeremy (Rodriguez) did a phenomenal job rebounding tonight,” Morris said. “I challenged Jeremy before the game to really step his rebounding game up, and he really brought it tonight.
“Allen defensively being in there and his rebounds – Allen was a difference maker. He got going in the second and third quarters, and we caught momentum right at that point. It’s great to see Allen continue to grow and get better and better. He was finishing around the rim, he was making some foul shots. It was good to see.”
Also for the Owls, Sanders finished with eight points, and Edwards had seven.
Bensalem (20-6, 13-3 SOL) will host #12 Norristown in a quarterfinal contest on Friday at 7:30 p.m. The Owls fell to Norristown 59-40 on Jan. 31. They were without Allen Myers in that contest.
“Everyone is good at this point, but Norristown we know is a good team,” Morris said. “They’ve got good guard play, they’ve got a couple of bigs, and it’s going to be another war.”
WC Henderson 14-9-7-12 42
Bensalem 7-17-17-16 57
WC Henderson (42) – Stephen Sirchio 3 0-0 6; Nyle Ralph-Beyer 5 0-0 13; Connor Fleet 2 4-6 8; Dylan Grim 3 1-4 7; Ethan Jarden 1 0-0 3; Ryan Bell 2 0-0 5. TOTALS 16 5-10 42.
Bensalem (57) – Jeremy Rodriguez 5 4-5 16; Tra Edwards 2 2-2 7; Allen Myers 8 3-6 19; Eric Gonzalez 0 3-5 3; Aaron Sanders 2 2-2 8; Antonio Morris 1 1-2 3; Sedeq Wahab 0 1-2 1. TOTALS 18 16-24 57.
3 point goals: WCH – Nyle Ralph-Beyer 3, Ethan Jarden, Ryan Bell. Bensalem – Jeremy Rodriguez 2, Tra Edwards, Aaron Sanders 2.
#22 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 63, #6 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 58
Quidire Bennett scored 26 points – 24 in the final three quarters – to lead the Colonials to the upset road win. Jaden Colzie added 18 points and Marshall Baker had 12, and between the three of them, they combined for 10 3-pointers in a game that saw the Colonials bury 11 shots from beyond the arc.
“There are going to be some games where our goal is to make 20 3s – just be crazy with the pace and keep shooting,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “The games now – you need performances. The kids follow the game plan really, really well, but it doesn’t matter if you’re not going to perform, and we were not performing in the first half of the season.
“They’re starting to really, really believe in themselves, and we’re a whole different animal right now. They tried to zone press us to slow us down. We handled that well – way better than we would have a month ago. We’re growing up. Everything they threw at us – we handled. I just think these kids – especially the kids that have been on the team since sophomore year – are proud of themselves. A whole lot’s coming together at once. We’re a whole different team than we were a month ago.”
The win vaulted PW into the state tournament for the first time since 2018, and it took a change in strategy to turn the tide in this one.
The Colonials found themselves on the short end of a 16-10 score after one quarter, and that deficit continued to grow in the second quarter.
“In the first three minutes of the game, which we do a lot this year, we seem to have an opportunity to jump on teams, and we don’t take 
advantage of it,” Donofrio said. “You could tell in the first three to four minutes that we had the pace figured out. We had great looks, and we just came up short on executing, and the next thing you know, we’re down 10.
“We’re down 10 in the second quarter, and now the size factor comes into play. A lot of this stuff goes all the way back to springtime when you get ideas of what your team can be, what its strength is. We had played a few games in June where we were small, but it was our most intense, high level speed team, so we just went small to their giants.
“We pulled Trey Jones and Zende Hubbard back from concussion and went with the four guards with Qudire (Bennett) as our center, and it’s 31-29 at halftime. We’re down two. The rest of the game was simply that. We started out with pace the second half.”
Bennett spearheaded the Colonials’ second quarter comeback, scoring 10 points in the frame. The Colonials – behind seven points from Bennett and six from Baker – outscored their hosts 16-13 in the third quarter to go into the final quarter with a tenuous 45-44 lead.
In the fourth quarter, Bennett score seven points and Colzie had six, including 3-for-4 at the foul line, and the Colonials outscored their hosts 18-14 to pull off the upset.”
Another key was PW’s ability to limit Dylan Blair – who had 12 first half points – to just two field goals and eight points in the second half.
“Downingtown West has Dylan Blair, who is the West Chester University head coach Damien Blair’s son, and as a coach’s son – he really knows how to play,” Donofrio said. “He’s a nightmare to watch on film. He’s the head of the snake with that team.
“They also have a 6-10 junior (Jake Warren) with very nice skills, and they have a 6-6, 285-pound kid (Drew Shelton) heading to Penn State for football, and they ‘ve got a couple of good shooting guards. They’re in our spring league, we all know each other. This is a game on paper would have been a semifinal game. Because it lays out early, it’s disappointing for somebody. We played them in the fall one time, and once again our pace – when we have that extra gear, it has to come into play.”
Also for the Colonials, Jones added seven points in a contest that saw just five PW players contribute scoring.
Donofrio credited his team’s conditioning.
“We’re just going to keep bringing it, but we’re bringing it much more now with intelligence and sophistication and poise,” the PW coach said. “It just took a while. It took a long while.
“I overestimated where we were at to start the season. We weren’t as far ahead as I thought we would be, so we had to go through a grind of learning and humility. To win these first two and to have them be the team after last year, being knocked out in the very first round to Abington after having won the league. Two and three years ago falling short. You start to wonder – how do we get this back? So this game tonight had a lot more meaning than people may realize for the program.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (17-7, 12-4 SOL) will travel to #3 Cheltenham for an all-SOL quarterfinal contest on Friday.
“In our most recent years, if we’re good, we’re predicted to be a top level team,” Donofrio said. “We really haven’t been a Cinderella team, so this is fun.
“It’s a much easier message than, ‘Okay, there’s a bullseye on your back, let’s keep going.’ This is, ‘Hey, you confident yet? Let’s keep this going. Just enjoy it.’ You’re not a favorite going into Friday, but you’re confident, so that’s all you can ask. We know we’re playing two weeks from now anyway. This is not the kind of talk where – ‘We must win the district’ kind of stuff. Let’s just get better every game, that’s all.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-19-16-18 63
Downingtown West 16-15-13-14 58
Plymouth Whitemarsh (63) – Jaden Colzie 5 4-5 18; Marshall Baker 4 1-2 12; Trey Jones 3 0-0 7; Taji Hubbard 0 0-1 0; Qudire Bennett 10 3-4 26. TOTALS 22 8-12 63.
Downingtown West (58) – Dylan Blair 7 3-4 20; Cooper Hardin 3 0-0 7; Jake Warren 3 2-2 9; Drew Shelton 1 2-2 4; Donovan Fromhartz 3 0-0 7; Aidan Primanti 4 0-0 9; Joey Suarez 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 22 7-8 58.
3-point goals: PW – Jaden Colzie 4, Qudire Bennett 3, Marshall Baker 3, Trey Jones; DW – Dylan Blair 3, Cooper Hardin, Jake Warren, Donovan Fromhartz, Aidan Primanti.
#23 ABINGTON 41, #7 WEST CHESTER EAST 36 (OT)
Two weeks ago, the Ghosts were on the bubble – would they make the 24-team playoff field or find themselves on the outside looking in? Thanks to five straight wins to close out the regular season, the Ghosts snuck into the tournament as the 23rd seed, and they certainly have made the most of their opportunity, earning a state berth after notching their second overtime win in as many district contests.
“We were battling for our playoff lives, and now we’ve got a state berth,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “I couldn’t be happier for these guys. They just battled, battled, battled. They never gave up. I’m proud of them.”
Connor Fields was the catalyst for the Ghosts in Tuesday’s win, finishing with 17 points, 15 rebounds (both career highs), five steals, three blocked shots. For good measure, Fields also drew a charge.
“Connor Fields was a beast on the glass tonight,” Grasty said. “They came out and tried to junk it up. They threw some different looks at us, tried to pack it in on us.
“Connor got behind their zone and was able to get some layups. He missed a couple layups, got the putbacks. He did a good job of getting behind their zone.”
The Ghosts trailed 15-11 at halftime but erased that deficit with a 12-5 third quarter burst. They had a two-point lead with 10 seconds remaining in regulation, but the Vikings knotted the score to send the game to overtime.
“They missed a foul shot, they hit a layup, tied it up and sent it to overtime,” Grasty said.
With 10.4 seconds remaining in overtime, Derrius Lucas buried both ends of a one-and-one to give the Ghosts a five-point lead and seal the Vikings’ fate.
“I thought we kept our energy up,” Grasty said. “We defended really well in the overtime, and we ended the possessions with a rebound. That’s what we tell our guys – ‘Let’s end a possession with a rebound,’ and I thought we did a really good job in the overtime.”
In addition to Fields, Derrius Lucas had 14 points – all in the second half – to go along with five rebounds, four assists and two blocked shots. Jeremiah Lee added eight points and four rebounds, and Fhenyx Scutt had four rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Freshman Paul Glants came off the bench and contributed three assists, two rebounds and standout defense against KJ Cochran, who had just one field goal in the second half.
“Paul Glants came in and steadied the ship,” Grasty said. “We tell our guys, ‘Just be prepared, it could be you any night.’ Tonight I thought Paul came in and gave us some really good minutes.”
Tuesday’s win was the seventh in a row – the third in overtime – for the suddenly streaking Ghosts, who connected on 14-of-41 shots from the field (34.1 percent). They were 2-for-15 from beyond the arc (13.3 percent).
“They’re just grinding it out,” Grasty said. “It’s not pretty. We don’t care to score 75 points, 68 points, whatever. We’re just going to take what they give us.
“If a team wants to play fast, I feel like we can adapt to that, but right now we’re grinding it out, playing defense – we’re talking on ‘D.’ Everybody is rotating, doing their jobs. It’s actually fun to watch.”
Abington (16-8, 11-5 SOL) will travel to #2 Lower Merion on Friday for a district quarterfinal contest at 5 p.m. The game is a rematch of last year’s district semifinal, a 62-41 Lower Merion win that brought an end to Abington’s season in the COVID-shortened playoffs.
Abington 6-5-12-10-8 41
West Chester East 7-8-5-13-3 36
Abington (41) – Connor Fields 6 5-11 17; Fhenyx Scutt 1 0-0 2; Jeremiah Lee 2 2-6 8; Derrius Lucas 5 4-4 14. TOTALS 14 11-21 41.
West Chester East (36) – Josh Sherlock 1 1-2 3; Jose Ramos 1 0-0 2; Jack Kushner 0 2-2 2; KJ Cochran 5 10-12 20; Jack Gallagher 0 2-2 2; Ryan Price 3 0-0 7. TOTALS 10 15-18 36.
3-point goals: Abington – Jeremiah Lee 2; WCE – Ryan Price.
#2 LOWER MERION 59, #15 COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 50
The Indians found themselves on the short end of a 32-24 halftime score but rallied to pull to within two (42-40) heading into the final quarter when the Aces put the game away.
Despite the outcome, it was a night to remember for the Indians.
“The atmosphere playing a playoff game on the road in such a historic gym was awesome,” Rock North coach Jesse Krasna said. “Our kids work so hard all year round and I am glad they got a chance to experience playing in one of the best basketball environments in the state.
“Both student sections were going back and forth at one another. We are fortunate we had so many students and our administration make the long drive to Ardmore, too. The support we have is really special and means a lot to our program.”
Bernie Parent’s 15 points – 13 after halftime – led the Indians. Adam Mahtat added nine points – all in the second half. Ryan Burkett also had nine points while Shane Anhalt and Logan Saifer both had six points.
“I am so proud of our boys,” Krasna said. “We battled all game. Fought through early foul trouble. We were down by eight at halftime and cut the lead to two points in the fourth quarter.
“Lower Merion is one of the best teams in the state. They have two Division 1 players, excellent pieces around them, an experienced team and a great staff. But every time they got up by six to eight points, we clawed our way back. Our kids played unselfishly and with heart. If you told me we would score 50 points before the game, I would have said there is a good chance we are winning, but we had trouble getting stops. They beat us up on the offensive glass and got some easy points in transition, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. I could’ve done some things differently to slow them down. We tip our hats to Lower Merion. Tonight was a great experience and one that is going to make us better for Friday night when we travel to West Chester East and beyond.”
Penn State signee and 6-10 center Demetrius Lilley scored a game high 23 points – 13 in the first half.
Council Rock North (17-8, 11-5 SOL) will travel to West Chester East for a playback game on Friday. The winner will advance to the state tournament while the loser will go home.
Council Rock North 12-12-16-10 50
Lower Merion 14-18-10-17 59
Council Rock North (50) – Shane Anhalt 3 0-0 6; Bernie Parent 7 0-0 15; Adam Mahtat 4 0-0 9; Jack Blum 2 1-1 5; Ryan Burkett 4 0-0 9; Logan Saifer 3 0-0 6. TOTALS 23 1-1 50.
Lower Merion (59) – Jaylen Shippen 3 2-3 8; Teddy Pendergrass 0 2-2 2; Justin Poles 3 2-2 9; Sam Brown 4 3-3 14; Demetrius Lilley 10 3-4 23; Sam Wright 1 0-0 3. TOTALS 21 12-14 59.
3-point goals: CRN – Bernie Parent, Adam Mahtat, Ryan Burkett; LM – Sam Brown 3, Sam Wright, Justin Poles.
Class 4A
#2 POPE JOHN PAUL II 51, #3 SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 43
The Spartans led 13-9 after one quarter but then were outscored 16-6 in the second and trailed by six (25-19) at halftime. They trailed by as many as 12 in the third quarter and rallied to pull to within two but could not get over the hump.
Despite the outcome, coach Rob Fusaro had nothing but good things to say.
“It was a good experience for everybody,” the Spartans’ coach said. “Just to get the experience of playing in that type of game, that type of atmosphere and showing – you guys can be competitive, and it was great to show them it can be done.”
The night was an especially memorable one for the team’s three seniors. Harry Rittenhouse had 10 points and nine rebounds. Ben Cooney had nine points, 10 rebounds and three assists, and Kyle Smythe had six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
“Our three seniors did absolutely everything right and played the best end of year possible game,” Fusaro said. “They set the whole tone for everything the entire year with a buy-in, doing the little things and just getting everyone else on board. I can’t say enough about those three guys – they were great.”
Dylan McKenzie also had 10 points for the Spartans.
The Spartans – winless one short year ago – closed out the season with a 10-11 record overall (6-10 SOL).
“I told them I was proud of them for what they did, how they bought in, one to 17,” Fusaro said. “It wasn’t just one or two guys. It was everybody collectively. The bench was involved and we know how much of a factor that is. It’s not just one person – it’s the whole team buying into them being successful and taking everything 1-0 at a time. Win every quarter, win every practice, win every drill and don’t think anything past what’s in front of you and just doing that to the best of your ability, and they’ve done that. Just getting the younger guys experience and having great leadership from those older guys showing them what we need to follow.
“I told the guys that are returning – ‘It’s on you to hold this back up, to keep the standard where we put it.’ They’re all capable of doing it. I’m looking forward to the future of what we can do. I told the seniors – I’m excited for them to come back and watch what they’ve created.”
Springfield Township 13-6-15-9 43
Pope John Paul II 9-16-16-10 51
Springfield Township (43) – Dylan McKenzie 4 2-2 10; Ben Cooney 4 1-1 9; Brett Smith 4 0-4 8; Harry Rittenhouse 5 0-1 10; Kyle Smythe 2 0-0 6. TOTALS 19 3-8 43.
3-point goals: Springfield Twp – Kyle Smythe 2.
#1 COLLEGIUM CHARTER 56, #4 NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 23
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