Check out the preview capsules for the seven SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday in the second round of the District One 6A Tournament.
Seven SOL teams will be in action in the second round of the District One 6A Tournament on Tuesday night. Included on the docket are two all-SOL games – Central Bucks East at Plymouth Whitemarsh and Hatboro-Horsham at North Penn – with the winners punching their tickets to the state tournament.
Abington will host former SOL foe Norristown, Pennsbury will host Penn Wood, and Cheltenham will host Spring-Ford.
The eight winners on Tuesday night will clinch state playoff berths. The eight losing teams will vie for the two remaining state berths.
Wissahickon and Upper Moreland will be in action on Wednesday in opening round games of the District One 5A Tournament.
District One Class 6A Second Round
#18 Central Bucks East at #2 Plymouth Whitemarsh
Plymouth Whitemarsh
· 20-4 overall
· Suburban One League American Conference champions (14-0)
· Deep rotation includes eight players who play significant minutes
· Colonials are led by junior backcourt duo Ahmin and Ahmad Williams, sharpshooter Matt Walker and 7-0 center Naheem McLeod
· Beat #4 Coatesville (52-45) and #6 Pennsbury (64-48). Swept season series with #8 Cheltenham (74-59, 56-51) and #21 Hatboro-Horsham (54-36, 58-45).
· Only loss to a District One team came to #3 Abington (70-66) in Suburban One League Tournament championship.
How they got here: First round bye.
CB East
· 13-10 overall
· 6-6 in SOL Continental play, finished third behind North Penn and CB West
· Patriots led by senior guards Matt Pattyson and Elijah Seger
· Regular season wins over #5 North Penn (40-38) and #20 Pennridge (50-48)
· Swept season series with #23 CB South (58-55, 59-50)
· Reached 2016 PIAA Class 4A Tournament
How they got here: Central Bucks East upset #15 Council Rock South 39-36 in double overtime, rallying from a five-point deficit entering the fourth quarter to outscore the Golden Hawks 12-7 in the final frame. Kyle Cassidy had the hot hand late, scoring all 15 of his points in the fourth quarter and second overtime. Elijah Seger added six points and 10 rebounds.
#19 Norristown at #3 Abington
Abington
· 20-4 overall
· Suburban One League National Conference champions (12-0)
· Sophomore forward Eric Dixon (18.5) and junior guard Robbie Heath (15.9) combine for 34.4 points per game
· Senior point guard Robert Young rarely turns ball over and senior center Joe O’Brien cleans glass, blocks shots and defends high-scoring big guys well
· Wins over #1 Perkiomen Valley (51-47), #2 PW (70-66), #5 North Penn (66-45), #18 Central Bucks East (58-42)
· Swept season series with #6 Pennsbury (37-31, 56-44), #15 Council Rock South (53-40, 43-41), #22 Neshaminy (60-38, 71-44)
· 12-1 in 2017
Norristown
· 14-10 overall
· 5-5 Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division fourth place behind Perk Valley, Spring-Ford and Methacton
· Led by Kurahn Clark (12.7 ppg), Xavier Edwards (10.6 ppg) and Darius McGowan (8.4 ppg)
· Regular season wins over #17 Methacton (51-46 & 43-40)
· Winners of six of last eight games.
How they got here: Norristown upset #14 Downingtown East 51-43 in an opening round game. The Eagles opened up a 24-16 halftime lead and never looked back. Xavier Edwards (15 points) and Darius McGowan (12 points) led the Eagles, who connected on 23-of-33 at the foul line. Edwards was 9-for-12 and Michael Dorman was 8-8 at the charity stripe.
#21 Hatboro-Horsham at #5 North Penn
North Penn
· 18-5 overall
· Suburban One League Continental Conference champions (11-1)
· Deep, experienced rotation includes six seniors and eight players who play significant minutes
· Six players have led Knights in scoring at least once this season
· David Guiliani, Reece Udinski and Ricky Johns have done so the most.
· Regular season wins over #17 Methacton (56-51) and #18 CB East (60-54)
· Swept season series against #12 Central Bucks West (48-35, 63-53), #20 Pennridge (56-50, 61-48), #23 Central Bucks South (60-51, 66-54)
· 12-2 in 2017
Hatboro-Horsham
· 13-10 overall
· 8-6 in SOL American play, finished third behind PW and Cheltenham
· Seniors Jay Davis and Clifton Moore combine for 38 points per game
· Made 2016 PIAA Class 4A Tournament
How they got here: Hatboro-Horsham upset #12 Central Bucks West 34-32 in double overtime, rallying from a 12-2 deficit at the end of one quarter to outscore the Bucks 19-9 over the next two quarters. In a contest that saw Jay Davis play limited minutes because of illness, Clifton Moore turned in a monster performance, finishing with a triple-double that included 20 points, 13 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. Brandon Crews added nine points, and Jake Shalki had nine rebounds.
#11 Penn Wood at #6 Pennsbury
Pennsbury
· 15-8 overall
· 8-4 in SOL National play, finished second to Abington
· Falcons led by senior forward Mark Flagg and senior point guard Addison Howard
· Beat #5 North Penn (61-46), #8 Cheltenham (62-53), #14 Downingtown East (55-39), #15 Council Rock South (40-35), #21 Hatboro-Horsham (52-36)
· Swept season series with #22 Neshaminy (62-45, 49-41)
· Made district playoffs for sixth straight year
Penn Wood
· 17-7 overall
· Delaware Valley Conference champions (10-1)
· Patriots are led by seniors Pernell Ghee, Kairi Jones and Jay Fitzgerald
· Regular season wins over #13 Downingtown West (57-52) and #19 Norristown (64-43)
· Opening round win over Neshaminy is program’s first district win since 2014
How they got here: Penn Wood trailed by three with three minutes remaining but rallied for a 59-51 win over #22 Neshaminy. Pernell Ghee led the Patriots with 17 points, and Vincent Smalls added 15 – 11 in the second half.
#9 Spring-Ford at #8 Cheltenham
Cheltenham
· 17-5 overall
· 11-3 in SOL American play, finished second to PW
· Panthers led by senior forward Trevonn Pitts, junior point guard Ahmad Bickley, junior guard Jack Clark and senior guard Tim Spencer
· Beat #3 Abington (79-76) and #12 CB West (61-57)
· Swept season series with #21 Hatboro-Horsham (78-76, 59-53)
· Won 11 of last 12 games
Spring-Ford
· 18-7 overall
· 8-2 Pioneer Athletic Conference Liberty Division second place behind Perk Valley
· Fell to Spring-Ford 52-45 in Pioneer Athletic Conference title game
· Balanced offense – which averages 61 points per game – is led by Ryan Fitzpatrick (11.1 ppg), Austin Hokanson (10.9 ppg), Chucky Drummond (10.1 ppg), Nestor Diaz (8.8 ppg) and Noah Baker (8.3 ppg)
· Fitzpatrick (46 threes), Drummond (35 threes) & Diaz (17 threes) dangerous from beyond the arc.
· Regular season wins over #12 Central Bucks West (64-50), #13 Downingtown West (66-55)
· Swept season series with #17 Methacton (71-65 & 52-47) and #19 Norristown (51-37 & 82-77)
How they got here: Spring-Ford needed a late rally to defeat #24 Avon Grove 59-54. The Rams led 26-24 at halftime but trailed 38-33 heading into the final quarter. They closed it out with a 26-16 frame to earn the win. Noah Baker (16 points), Nestor Diaz (11 points), Ryan Fitzpatrick (11 points) and Austin Hokanson (10 points) scored in double digits. Nestor connected on 7-of-8 foul shots down the stretch.
District One Class 5A First Round
#11 Wissahickon at #6 Phoenixville (Wednesday, February 22)
(Winner will face the winner of the #3 Penncrest vs. #14 Harriton game)
Wissahickon
• 13-9 overall
• 10-4 in SOL American play, finished third behind PW and Cheltenham
• Trojans use deep rotation where eight players play significant minutes
• Do-everything forwards Shane Ford and Zach Reiner lead Wissahickon
• Swept season series with #16 Upper Moreland (62-54, 57-48)
Phoenixville
• 14-8 overall
• 7-3 in Pioneer Athletic Conference Frontier Division play, finished second to Upper Merion
• Led by Avery Close (17.7 ppg) and Shyheim Abernathy (15.2 ppg)
• Beat #3 Penncrest (51-48) and #8 Upper Merion (63-59)
• Swept season series with #15 Upper Perkiomen (54-45, 51-47)
• Won seven of last nine games
#16 Upper Moreland at #1 Chester (Wednesday, February 22)
(Winner will face the winner of #8 Upper Merion vs. #9 Strath Haven contest)
Upper Moreland
• 12-10 overall
• 6-8 in SOL American play, finished fifth behind PW, Cheltenham, Wissahickon and Hatboro-Horsham
• Golden Bears are led by sharpshooter Damian Washington, point guard Casey Decker and center Ryan Coyle
• Won four of last six games
Chester
• 17-5 overall
• 8-2 in Delaware Valley Conference play, finished second to Penn Wood
• Clippers are led by 6-foot-6 center Jamar Sudan
• Won five of last six games
• Beat #13 Academy Park (55-39)
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