Bensalem, Central Bucks East, Neshaminy and North Penn advanced to Tuesday’s second round of the District One 6A Tournament. CB South/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
It was a wild and crazy opening round in the District One 6A Tournament on Friday. Three of five games featuring SOL teams went into overtime. Central Bucks East and Bensalem were winners in OT. Three SOL teams – CB East, North Penn and Neshaminy – earned upset wins over higher seeds. It was that kind of night.
#1-22 NORTH PENN 52, #1-11 SPRING-FORD 50
In opening round filled with upsets, the Knights pulled off a big one, sending the 11th-seeded Rams home for the season with an exciting road win.
“We felt very good getting out of there with a win tonight,” North Penn coach John Conrad said. “I talked to (coach) Chris (Talley) before the game. I think they were a little flat because of the PAC loss (72-60 to Methacton in the title game). It probably took a little bit out of them.
“That’s a really a good basketball team. (Noah) Baker is a phenomenal player. Chris does a great job and has them ready.”
The Knights – who led 25-24 at halftime – led by as many as six in the tightly-contested game, but they found themselves trailing by seven with five minutes remaining.
“Chris Coleman ran off six straight to get us back in it,” Conrad said. “Then we just traded baskets the whole way through. We were fortunate enough to score and play good defense.”
Coleman – who had nine points in the pivotal fourth quarter – led the Knights with 17 points, which included three 3-pointers.
“He was really good,” Conrad said of Coleman. “Give AJ Mitchell credit because he kind of figured out that we were going to ride Chris home.
“On their end, (Noah) Baker was really good. We didn’t have much of an answer for him defensively. Those two guys kind of went at it, and thankfully, we were able to hold him off at the end.”
Baker scored 11 of his team-high 15 points in the second half.
Joey Lindsay added 16 points for the Knights, including three 3-pointers. He accounted for eight of his team’s 10 points in the third quarter.
“Joey hit two big threes for us in the third quarter,” Conrad said. “Both were crucial because it felt like they were about ready to make a run, and Joey was big with both of them.”
David Robinson also finished in double figures for the Knights with 11 points, including the bucket that put North Penn ahead for good with less than a minute, using a feed from Coleman.
“(Spring-Ford) had two chances to take the lead down the stretch,” Conrad said. “The kids played good defense.
“Robinson scored 11, but he was really, really good on the glass. He had to have at least 12 or 13 rebounds tonight. He rebounded everything. He was really good defensively.”
North Penn (13-10, 6-6 SOL) will face a familiar opponent in Tuesday’s second round. The Knights will travel to Pennridge for a battle with their Continental Conference rival.
“We feel good about (the win), but it’s short-lived,” Conrad said. “I told the guys they get to see me again tomorrow morning because we’ve got to go to Pennridge on Tuesday.
“There’s another really good basketball team. Dean (Behrens) does a good job too. We’ll have our hands full, but our kids have showed a little moxie down the stretch, so who knows.”
North Penn 14-11-10-17 52
Spring-Ford 10-14-12-14 50
North Penn (52) – AJ Mitchell 1 1-2 4; Joey Lindsay 4 5-7 16; AJ Catanzaro 1 1-2 4; David Robinson 4 3-4 11; Chris Coleman 7 0-1 17; TOTALS 17 10-16 52.
Spring-Ford (50) – Tyler Scilingo 2 0-0 5; Ryan Hagan 4 0-0 9; Jay Robinson 1 0-0 2; Nestor Diaz 1 0-0 2; Noah Baker 6 2-3 15; Robert Bobeck 1 1-1 3; Austin Hokanson 7 0-6 14; TOTALS 22 3-10 50.
3-point goals: North Penn – Joey Lindsay 3, Chris Coleman, AJ Mitchell, AJ Catanzaro; Spring-Ford – Tyler Scilingo, Ryan Hagan, Noah Baker
#1-20 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 52, #1-13 OWEN J ROBERTS 50 (OT)
The Patriots survived a fourth quarter comeback by the Wildcats that sent the game into overtime, and Nick Roggio made it a happy ending for East when he turned a pass from teammate Jesse Rivera into the game-winning basket with two seconds remaining in OT.
“We had the game under control for three-and-a-half quarters, and we just kind of stalled a little bit and stopped being aggressive,” said East coach Erik Henrysen. “We ended up turning the ball over, which led to easy baskets on their end, so they ended up coming back.”
The Patriots – who took a 40-33 lead into the final quarter – saw that lead erased, and the Wildcats sent the game into overtime when Nick Massa buried a 3-pointer with one second remaining.
“Going into overtime, you have to respond to that, and we came right out and got a stop right away,” Henrysen said. “That kind of helped us in overtime, just getting a defensive stop.”
Earlier, the Patriots had the better of play, opening up a 28-20 halftime lead.
“I felt like we could get the ball into the lane with the dribble and go from there,” Henrysen said. “I thought Jesse Rivera just had a great overall game.
“He was able to distribute, he was able to score, he did a great job penetrating, and he ended up throwing in nine rebounds as well. He just had a great overall game playing floor captain.”
Rivera finished the game with 12 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Roggio had a team-high 15 points, and Kyle Cassidy had 13. Collin Stein added six points.
“Early on, Kyle Cassidy did his usual – he got us going by putting the ball in the basket,” Henrysen said. “Ultimately Nick Roggio had a strong game and then finished the final backdoor cut.
“We really asked a lot of everybody. We only went six deep for the game. Even though they made a run at the end, the six that we went with dug in and did what they needed to do.”
Dawson Stuart led the Wildcats with a game-high 18 points. Sean Proweckyj and Sa’Vaughn Davidheiser each added nine.
For the Patriots, it was the third time in as many years they have advanced to the second round.
“This means a lot – we weren’t really picked to advance to the Sweet 16, and now for the third year in a row, we’re moving on,” Henrysen. “I think it helps build the program moving forward.
“The guys buy in, and over the course of the last five years or so, we’ve really had great character guys.”
Central Bucks East (13-10, 5-7 SOL) will also be facing a familiar foe in Tuesday’s second round. The Patriots will be on the road at archrival Central Bucks West.
Central Bucks East 10-18-12-5-7 52
Owen J Roberts 6-14-13-12-5 50
Central Bucks East (52) – Jesse Rivera 12, Ben Markowitz 2, Kyle Cassidy 13, Colin Stein 6, Nick Roggio 15, Leo Masterson 4.
Owen Roberts (50) – Sean Proweckyj 9, Shyheed May 6, Ryan Sayers 3, Nick Messa 5, Dawson Stuart 18, Sa’Vaughn Daviheiser 9.
#1-18 NESHAMINY 50, #1-15 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 47
Neshaminy’s opening round victory was the program’s first district win since 2011.
“It just says that the program is going in the right direction,” coach Mark Tingle said. “Last year we made the playoffs in my first year, and now we move on with a win and we get at least two more games.
“We have seven seniors, and they all are getting minutes. We like to see the seniors step up in the games and keep playing hard.”
The Redskins earned a district berth last year but fell to Penn Wood in the opening round, and they needed a late rally to eke out Friday’s victory.
“In the third quarter, I think we were down seven,” Tingle said. “We ended up making a free throw, and Charles Dominick had a big three right before the third quarter ended. That kind of helped our momentum going into the fourth quarter with him hitting the 3-pointer.”
Dominick’s bucket made it a 40-37 game heading into the final quarter. The Redskins rallied to go on top 48-47 late.
“We had the ball with maybe just under two minutes, we held out for the last shot, and it was down to about 25-30 seconds before they fouled us,” Tingle said. “Between Chris (Arcidiacono) and Anthony Papeo, they kept handling the ball and passing it back and forth.”
With time winding down, the Redskins misfired on the front end of a one-and-one.
“With five seconds left, they had the ball going down the full length of the court,” Tingle said. “It was still 48-47.
“They had their 5-10 point guard take the ball out, but he wasn’t allowed to move since he was on the baseline, so we put our big kid, Danny Bodine, on the ball. He tried to throw one over him, and Danny just literally caught the pass and went in and laid it in for a layup to make it three. They passed it in, took a half court shot that missed.”
Arcidiacono led the Redskins with 25 points, which included a 15-for-16 effort at the foul line. He also had seven rebounds and five assists. Papeo had 10 points, and Dominick had nine on three 3-pointers. Bodine had a team-high nine rebounds to go along with four points.
Nate Robinson led the Titans with 14 points – seven in a first quarter that saw the Titans take a 14-12 lead.
“He’s been averaging around 13 (points a game), but number 35 (Tommy Kuypers) was held to two points, and he’s averaging 16 for the year,” Tingle said. “As a team, I thought we played collectively good defense because we switched everything.
“Their big man (Ian McCaw) stepped up. He had 12, but holding their shooter to two was a big deal.”
Neshaminy (14-8, 7-5) will be on the road to take on second-seeded Abington in Tuesday’s second round in another all-SOL contest. Central Bucks South (8-4 SOL) closed out its season with a 14-9 record.
Neshaminy 12-14-11-13 50
Central Bucks South 14-9-15-7 47
Neshaminy (50) – Pat Campbell 1 0-0 2; Chris Arcidiacono 5 15-16 25 Anthony Papeo 4 0-0 10; Danny Bodine 1 2-2 4; Greg DeLuca 0 0-1 0; Charles Dominick 3 0-0 9; TOTALS 14 17-19 50.
Central Bucks South (47) – Brady Brezelski 2 0-0 6; Nate Robinson 5 3-5 14 Jack Johns 3 0-0 6; Alex Dietz 1 0-0 3; Mark Kannengieszer 2 0-0 4; Tommy Kuypers 1 0-0 2; Ian McCaw 5 2-4 12. TOTALS 19 5-9 47.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Charles Dominick 3, Anthony Papeo 2; CB South – Brady Brezelski 2, Nate Robinson, Alex Dietz.
#1-16 BENSALEM 58, #1-17 PENNSBURY 55 (OT)
Kris Shields connected on a 3-pointer at the buzzer, bringing to a dramatic end Friday’s opening round contest. It was the second 3-pointer of the night for Shields, who finished with a game-high 22 points. The game was the rubber match between the SOL National Conference rivals. Bensalem won the initial meeting (51-49) and Pennsbury got revenge in the rematch, earning a 61-51 win.
The Owls won Friday’s game at the foul line, connecting on 16-of-20 from the charity stripe. They were 4-for-4 in the final quarter with Shields accounting for all four. The Falcons were 5-for-8 at the line.
The Owls took a 17-9 lead after one quarter, but the Falcons came roaring back, pulling to within three by halftime (32-29). Pennsbury took a 46-45 lead into the final quarter, but the Owls knotted the score. Each team had managed just two points in the extra period until Shields connected with the game winner.
Also for the Owls, Ward Roberts scored 14 points, and James Leible had 11. Taco Douglas chipped in with six points.
Jake Martell led the Falcons with 17 points while Raylil Winton and Gary Francis each had 11 points. Chad Weldon and Collin Connor both had seven.
Bensalem (15-8, 7-5 SOL) has earned a date with top-ranked Plymouth Whitemarsh in Tuesday’s second round. The Owls will travel to PW. Pennsbury (8-4 SOL) closed out its season with a 13-10 record.
Bensalem 17-15-13-8-5 58
Pennsbury 9-20-17-7-2 55
Pennsbury (55) – Jake Martell 17, Collin Connor 7, Raylil Winton 11, Chad Weldon 7, Gary Francis 11.
Bensalem (58) – Taco Douglas 6, Ward Roberts 14, James Leible 11, Lamont Hasker 2, Carolos Gonzalez 3, Kris Shields 22.
#1-14 CONESTOGA 56, #1-19 CHELTENHAM 54
The Panthers rallied from seven points down to send the game into overtime where – despite taking a two-point lead with just over a minute remaining – they came up short.
Cheltenham erased a two-point halftime deficit with a 14-11 third quarter to go into the final quarter with a one-point lead, 31-30, but couldn’t put it away.
Amir Lewis led the Panthers with 19 points. Zahree Harrison (12 points) and Ahmad Bickley (10 points) also finished the game in double figures. Kyin Healey had nine points.
Cheltenham (10-4 SOL) closed out its season with a 14-9 record.
Cheltenham 7-10-14-16-7 54
Conestoga 9-10-11-17-9 56
Cheltenham (54) – Tim Myarick 2, Amir Lewis 19, Kyin Healey 9, Zahree Harrison 12, Ahmad Bickley 10, Brandon Scott 2.
Conestoga (56) – Charlie Schappel 4, Milton Robinson 18, Evan Medley 8, Zach Lezanic 13, Mike Erickson 2, Wes Brace 5, Shane Scott 6.
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