Plymouth Whitemarsh, Abington, Central Bucks West and Pennridge were winners in second round District One 6A games on Tuesday. CB West/CB East photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Abington/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson, and PW/Bensalem photos courtesy of Larry Small. Check back for galleries.
Class 6A
#1 Plymouth Whitemarsh 71, #16 Bensalem 40
Tuesday night represented a tale of two halves for the SOL’s top dog.
Using grit, determination, toughness and deadeye shooting from senior Ward Roberts, Bensalem trailed by just two after one and 27-22 at halftime; then, PW flexed its muscle in the second half and steamrolled the rest of the way en route to its 25th consecutive victory and 50th straight win at home.
Roberts scored 10 of his team’s 12 points in the first quarter and finished with a game-high 20 (four three-pointers), but PW played its ultimate trump card in the form of 7-foot-2 junior center Naheem McLeod. After scoring just two points in the first half, McLeod notched 17 after halftime, including 13 in the third quarter that featured six ferocious, rim-rattling dunks.
“I’d say five of our six-minute halftime talk was about getting Naheem more involved offensively,” PW head coach Jim Donofrio said. “It was kind of like, ‘OK, figure it out.’ We had to understand that it’s not about pull-up jumpers and quick three-pointers. We had to make him the first option. It’s not rocket science. The season is a constant reminder to stay intelligent, and I think we needed that first half to get smacked around a bit after eight days without a game.”
The Bensalem fans in attendance sensed an upset brewing, even chanting “Over-rated!” at McLeod to try to get the big fellow out of his comfort zone. It worked for 16 minutes, and then suddenly he became an avalanche that buried the Owls.
“We executed the game plan very well in the first half,” Bensalem head coach Mike McCabe said. “At halftime, I told the team that PW was going to come at them in the second half and that we would have to withstand that. They went on a 19-1 run at one point before we were able to cut it to nine. Then it was like all the air just left us. PW is just such a talented team. I thought we did an excellent job in the first half before their size and speed just wore us down.”
In addition to his team-high 19 points, McLeod collected 12 boards and swatted four shots. Ish Horn was next on the score sheet with 18, while Alan Glover (12 points) and Ahmin Williams (11) each chipped in double-digit points for the Colonials (25-0).
James Lieble hustled his way to eight points and five rebounds for the Owls, who will now enter the playback portion of the bracket to determine if they’ll be participating in the PIAA state tournament. Bensalem’s first step in that quest comes Friday night at home, when the Owls (15-9) will host Downingtown West.
“We’re going to get right back into the gym tomorrow and get ready for Downingtown West,” McCabe said. “We’ll go back and watch the tape, see the good things and bad things we did and try to correct them in time to be ready to play.”
PW’s dream season motors on, as the Colonials will host No. 8 Upper Darby on Friday. It will be PW’s final game on the court inside Colonial Elementary before the team moves into a new facility next season. Donofrio’s squad clinched a berth in the PIAA tournament with the win.
“In the end, we were just so hungry to win,” Donofrio said. “Tonight was an important first step in waking them back up. This is the one team I’ve had that has the ability to not think about the record. They understand it’s a mirage. These other teams, they aren’t fooling around. Friday will be the last time playing on this floor, and we have to take advantage of having home court.”
Bensalem 12-10-15-3 41
PW 14-13-23-21 71
Bensalem (40) — Roberts 20, Lieble 8, Hasker 4, Douglas 3, Igielski 3, Gonzalez 2
PW (71) — McLeod 19, Horn 18, Glover 12, Ahmin Williams 11, Cooper 5, Ahmad Williams 4, Straface 2
#2 Abington 71, #18 Neshaminy 41
Coming into Tuesday night’s battle with Neshaminy, Abington knew it needed to figure out a way to slow down Chris Arcidiacono, who came into the game averaging 25.0 points per game.
The Ghosts did just that, holding Arcidiacono to just 12 points and cruising to a 30-point home victory in Tuesday night’s second round. Abington led by eight after one and 21 at halftime with the result never in much doubt.
Eric Dixon led four Ghosts in double figures with 18 points, while Robbie Heath (five rebounds) added 12 and John Paul Nolan and Lucas Monroe (six assists) chipped in 11 apiece. The balance for Abington took the team a long way against the Redskins.
“We shared the ball well,” Abington head coach Charles Grasty said. “Guys understand that we don’t care about points. We want to try and reach our goals. If we do that, then who cares about how many points we score?”
It was Abington’s third win in three tries over Neshaminy this season, a feat that Grasty
acknowledged is anything but easy.
“Beating a team three times in one season is extremely hard,” he said. “We had to come out with a lot of energy, focus on ourselves and play like it’s zero-zero throughout. We were able to come out, run our stuff and jump on them.”
Abington welcomed back Dixon, the team’s leading scorer, with open arms. He had missed the team’s last two games with a finger injury, including a loss to CB West in the SOL Tournament semifinals.
“It was tough because I felt like I could play, but the doctors were holding me out,” said Dixon, who added seven rebounds. “At the end of the day, it’s all worth it now. Taking care of our state bid, it was all worth it.”
Ah, yes: Abington (19-5) clinched a berth in the PIAA tournament with the win, and advanced to Friday’s quarterfinals to face No. 7 Norristown. Neshaminy (14-10) heads to the playback bracket where it needs to win two games to reach states, with the first test coming Friday at home against No. 23 Perkiomen Valley.
“Every year this game bothers me as a coach,” Grasty said. “You want to win just so the guys can experience being in states. You win this one, you’re automatically in states and guaranteed three more games.”
Despite having a week off, Abington didn’t miss a beat offensively. The Ghosts were especially effective from deep, connecting on 9 of 20 three-pointers. Above all else, the team was just happy to be whole again. With Dixon back, the Ghosts can now really buckle down and take aim at a district and state title.
“We’ve been on the other side of these games before,” Dixon said. “We’re at the point where everybody in the program understands how important it is.”
Neshaminy 9-9-9-14 41
Abington 17-22-17-15 71
Neshaminy (41) — Arcidiacono 12, Bodine 10, Papeo 8, McClinton 3, Jeffers 2, McGovern 2, Dominick 2, Campbell 1, Deduro 1
Abington (71) — Dixon 18, Heath 12, Nolan 11, Monroe 11, Brown 8, Bryan Coffman 6, Knox 3, Brandon Coffman 2
#4 Central Bucks West 64, #20 Central Bucks East 55
Playing without leading scorer Collin MacAdams, CB West knew it would have to start and finish strong to dispatch its crosstown rivals.
Mission accomplished.
The Bucks raced out to a 24-8 lead after one before seeing their lead shrink to 10 at halftime and seven after three. However, West compiled a 19-point final frame en route to a 64-55 victory, clinching a PIAA state berth and advancing to the quarterfinals, where the team will host No. 5 Coatesville on Friday.
“I thought we were able to execute and get nice, clean looks,” West head coach Adam Sherman said of his team’s hot start. “That was a big part of the first quarter. They played us in a little zone to start the game, and we were able to find a rhythm. Jack Mulhearn and Jake Reichwein had big moments in the first quarter. We executed our zone offense well, a lot better than the last time we played them.”
Mulhearn led the way with 17 points, six assists and four rebounds for the Bucks (20-5), who needed contributions from all to stem the loss of MacAdams, who was out 
with mononucleosis. In addition to Mulhearn’s heroics, Jack Neri posted 15 points and eight rebounds, while Reichwein tallied 11 points and seven rebounds and Shane McCusker chipped in with 11 points and six boards.
“Jack Neri started in place of Collin, and he was awesome,” said Sherman. “I thought Jack (Mulhearn) did a really nice job stepping up. He not only shot the ball well, I thought his decision making with the ball was very good as well.
“Our three seniors gave us quality minutes off the bench. Chase Heller hit a huge three at the end of a quarter. Chase Heller, Davis Zerweck and Stephen Delash gave us quality minutes in the first half."
Jesse Rivera led CB East (13-11) with 16 points, while Leo Masterson, Nick Roggio and Ben Markowitz all notched 10. The Patriots now enter the playback bracket needing two wins to get to states; their first opportunity comes on Friday as they travel to No. 12 Downingtown East.
Not only was Sherman ecstatic that his team advanced to the quarterfinals without his best player, but he was also pumped to see the Bucks grab a state berth in the process.
“We work hard in the offseason, and this is what it’s all about: getting an opportunity to play in states,” he said. “Getting to play basketball in March for a high school team is an exciting time. I’m happy for the kids. It’s been a goal of theirs and I’m excited they have an opportunity to pursue it.”
CB East 8-20-10-17 55
CB West 24-14-7-19 64
CB East (55) — Rivera 16, Masterson 10, Roggio 10, Markowitz 10, Cassidy 5, Stein 4
CB West (64) — Mulhearn 17, Neri 15, Reichwein 11, McCusker 11, Munari 7, Heller 3
#6 Pennridge 43, #20 North Penn 41
In Tuesday night’s closest contest, host Pennridge escaped with a win over upset-minded North Penn. With the 43-41 victory, Pennridge advanced to the state tournament for just the second time in school history (the Rams also went in 2015 and won a first-round game). Not only that, but Pennridge advanced closer toward a district crown by reaching the quarterfinals, where the Rams will travel to No. 3 Lower Merion on Friday night.
“It’s school history, so we’re going to try and enjoy it,” Pennridge head coach Dean Behrens said. “I told the boys that there’s only been three teams that ever had a chance to get to states, and these guys are one of them. Having 18 wins, being 18-6 — I think we’ve really achieved a lot this year.”
Tuesday’s win was anything but easy, as the Rams built a four-point lead after one and a five-point advantage at the break. Up seven after three quarters, Pennridge had to buckle down and hold on as a scrappy North Penn team made a run and refused to go quietly.
Sean Yoder led Pennridge with 13 points, while Ryan Warner had a hard-fought 12 despite battling an illness.
“Ryan gets streaky and has really struggled shooting the ball this year, but he does a lot of other good things for us,” Behrens said. “I’m not sure how well he was feeling. He’s usually a real bubbly kid, and at halftime he had his head in his hands and looked pale. I asked if he was all right and he said, ‘I’m okay,’ but one of my students said, ‘Hey, he’s sick.’
“I knew he was going to have one of those games where he hits four or five threes and really give us a shot in the arm. We got that tonight from him, which was big. He really gave us a good shot in the arm offensively.”
According to Behrens, the refs swallowed their whistles and let the teams play a hard-nosed, physical battle.
“It was one of those nights where we took good shots, but they weren’t falling,” he said. “It was a very physical game, and they (the refs) let a lot go. It was a hard-fought game. It wasn’t the prettiest game you’ll ever see, but we played really well defensively.”
Pennridge led 43-38 with five seconds left before North Penn hit a three to make the final score look closer than it really was at the end. The Rams (18-6) iced it at the foul line, as Yoder put his team up five in the final seconds.
David Robinson and Chris Coleman each scored nine points apiece for North Penn (13-11), which enters the playback rounds needing two victories to get to states. The first test comes Friday at No. 14 Conestoga.
And if Pennridge is going to upset Lower Merion on the road, Behrens knows his team will need another defensive effort like the one it had against North Penn.
“Defensively, we really clamped down,” he said. “They only had 14 points at halftime. I said, ‘Boys, if we do this, we’re going to win the game.’ All the guys on the floor played really well defensively. It could have gone either way.”
North Penn 8-6-14-13 41
Pennridge 12-7-16-8 43
North Penn (41) — Robinson 9, Coleman 9, Mitchell 8, Lindsay 6, Caputo 6, McIver 3
Pennridge (43) — Sean Yoder 13, Warner 12, Lewis 7, Post 6, Pestiak 4, Molettiere 1
CLASS 5A:
#1 PENNCREST 53, #16 UPPER MORELAND 27Upper Moreland traveled to Class 5A top-seeded Penncrest on Tuesday night in hopes of an upset that would send shockwaves through the rest of the bracket.
It wasn’t meant to be.
Upper Moreland struggled to score the ball all night and struggled even more to slow down Penncrest’s top player, Tyler Norwood, who scored 20 of his team’s 53 points in the contest.
The Lions led by seven after one and 15 at the break, and head coach Sean Feeley’s Upper Moreland team couldn’t find much of a rhythm all night.
“Penncrest’s defense in the halfcourt was awesome,” Feeley said. “They are very well-coached and Norwood is one heck of a player.”
Penncrest (22-3) advanced to the quarterfinals on Saturday, where they will meet Wednesday’s winner between Holy Ghost Prep and Chichester.
For the Bears (9-14), the season came to a grinding halt, but Feeley expressed nothing but love for his senior class. That class, headlined by Ryan Coyle, Brett Brossman and Jake Villanueva, reached the postseason in all four of its years in the program.
“This senior group was so special to me,” Feeley said. “I want to thank them for everything.”
Upper Moreland 2-8-6-11 27
Penncrest 9-16-15-13 53
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