Abington, Central Bucks West & Abington will represent the SOL in the District One 6A semifinals at Temple University on Tuesday. Bensalem & Neshaminy kept their seasons alive with playback wins. PW/Upper Darby photos provided courtesy of Larry Small. Check back for a gallery of game photos. Neshaminy/PV photo provided courtesy of Jesse Garber (http://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p424441911)
#1-1 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 70, #1-8 UPPER DARBY 58
Upper Darby came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. The Falcons buried six threes in the first quarter en route to a 20-8 lead. Unfazed, the Colonials had an answer, opening up a three-point lead by halftime. They trailed by one heading into the fourth quarter. Again, they responded, earning a win that upped their record to 26-0 and securing a spot in the District One 6A semifinals at Temple University on Tuesday.
“I thought we played well,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “We did a lot of good things. You simply become such a great target for everybody.
“You worry about the entire team you’re playing (against) playing the best game of their life. Upper Darby is on a nice run, they play really hard, but they’re different in that each guy attacks the basket. They’re quick and they’re long and they’re nothing-to-lose fired up. They continued to make hard shots and good shots.”
Ish Horn (27 points), Naheem McLeod (16 points) and Ahmad Williams (12 points) led the charge, and it was Horn’s 12 second-quarter points – which included an 8-for-8 effort at the foul line – that led a 25-10 PW burst in the frame.
“You’ve got to match fire with fire,” Donofrio said. “We told them – we don’t want to see a start to the game where I have to call a timeout and tell you that you’re getting outplayed in energy, and that’s exactly what happened.
“They also threw up six threes, and the one guy we have that will react to that type of play with his own response is Ish (Horn). The twins (Ahmin and Ahmad Williams) will too, but as far as just north-south quickness – the bottom line is his ability to get rim.
“When you have Naheem (McLeod) and Alan (Glover) to clean things up – their biggest guy is 6-2, 6-3. Well, Alan is 6-4 and Naheem is 7-3. We just had to get to the rim, and I knew we would score. We just went a long stretch without stopping them.”
The Falcons made another run in the third quarter, outscoring the Colonials 18-14 to take a 48-47 lead into the final quarter. Again, Horn responded, exploding for 12 points in the fourth quarter. Ahmad Williams added eight points as the Colonials closed it out with a 23-10 tear.
“Ish made some huge baskets, a three, some pull-up jumpers,” Donofrio said. “If Upper Darby is going to play this open floor we score – you score, it’s going to give Ish Horn the game of his life. We have the firepower to match that kind of stuff.
“Ahmad woke up in the fourth quarter and did the same thing. He sat for a long stretch, and then, all of a sudden, he got a fire about him. It became a guard’s game.
“We had to pull Naheem and do what we did with CB West and go really, really up tempo. That’s when it turned around immediately. That’s the weird dynamic of our team. Naheem is having his way offensively in the third quarter, but we’re matching points. What makes us successful is the fact that we can control tempo through defense.
“When Naheem’s in the game, if he doesn’t raise his energy and become a force around the rim, then it becomes almost a weird turbo boost that we can actually go faster. I don’t like it because he’s the Cadillac Escalade in a sea of Lamborghinis. It’s nice and all – we can seat eight, and we look good going down the street, but what we need is zero to 60 in three seconds. When do you make that move when he’s just scoring at will? It’s a very unique scenario because why do I have the 7-3 guy on the bench? It’s a (heck) of an arsenal, but yet it’s what actually turned the game around.”
Donofrio admits he has concerns about handling a team that’s perfect this late in the season.
“We were 26-0 in 2006, and I didn’t think I handled it well,” the Colonials’ coach said. “You don’t know until you go through it. You learn from winning, but you hit the reset button from losing.
“The thing I try to say to these guys is – ‘You’re fake rich right now. You’re not really rich. You have to remember what it took to get to 26-0. Every day you have to remember it.’
“By the end of the third quarter, I really started to prepare mentally that we might not win this game because we have not been in a lot of (close games), and it’s dangerous. So really, if our team looks at it the right way and gets a little scared or at least humble – we’re not cocky, but we can no longer say we’re Rocky, and that’s a different thing.
“This was humbling tonight because there’s no guarantee this will happen. You have no choice now but to win out. If you want titles, you have to win seven games and you’ve already won 26. Can you get any greedier? What are we made of in terms of a chip on the shoulder with this short-term finite moment of happiness? How negative can you go with your team when they know they’re a nationally ranked 26-0 team? That’s our test.”
Glover and Ahmin Williams each added six points for the Colonials.
Mamadou Toure led the Falcons with 21 points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (26-0, 14-0 SOL) will face Central Bucks West at Temple University on Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. The game is a rematch of the SOL title game – a 62-41 PW win.
Upper Darby 20-10-18-10 58
Plymouth Whitemarsh 8-25-14-23 70
Upper Darby (58) – Jalen Trent 1 0-2 2; Mamadou Toure 9 1-2 21; Magd Abdelwahab 4 0-0 8; Nasir Greer 1 4-4 7; Diby Keita 2 2-2 8; Floyd Wedderburn 2 0-0 4; Phil Williams 1 0-0 3; Kymir Roper 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 22 7-10 58.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (70) – Ish Horn 7 12-14 27; Naheem McLeod 8 0-2 6; Danny Cooper 1 0-0 3; Ahmin Williams 2 2-2 6; Ahmad Williams 3 6-7 12; Alan Glover 1 4-7 6; TOTALS 22 24-32 70.
3-point goals: PW – Ish Horn, Danny Cooper; Upper Darby – Mamadou Toure 2, Diby Keite 2, Nasir Greer, Phil Williams, Kymir Roper.
#1-2 ABINGTON 57, #1-7 NORRISTOWN 43
It doesn't have the proximity of Abington-Cheltenham, but there's a lot of history between the Galloping Ghosts and the Norristown Eagles.
As a kid growing up in Abington, Eric Dixon heard a lot about the throwback wars the two teams waged. Friday, he got to be front and center of one as a resurgent Eagles program came to Abington looking to upset the Ghosts for a trip to Temple.
Dixon made sure they didn't, posting 23 points and nine rebounds as the Ghosts booked a trip to the Liacouras Center for the second straight year.
"This is a historic rivalry, Abington and Norristown go way back," Dixon said. "My family was telling me about it, I have a lot of family here so I wanted to come out fired up, maybe it was a little bit more for this rivalry, but every game it's the same for me."
Abington, the defending District I 6A champions, will be making its third trip down Broad Street for the district semis in the last four years. While the Ghosts have become one of the premier programs in the district under coach Charles Grasty, it's not an opportunity they overlook.
"It's like I told the guys, it doesn't get old," Grasty said. "We're not just going to Temple for the heck of it, we're trying to win a championship. It doesn't get old whether it would be Temple, (Villa)nova, the Palestra, Bensalem, wherever. It'll be fun, the community will come out and support us."
The community was out in full force Friday as was Norristown's, and the gym was filled to capacity.
In front of a full house, Dixon had himself a game. The junior's first shot came through contact and had the Ghost students going nuts. Dixon scored six in the first quarter as the Ghosts opened a 16-8 lead.
They didn't extend the lead though, with Norristown rallying to tie it at 16-16 before Dixon restored an 18-16 edge. Norristown won the second quarter and trailed just 28-24 at halftime.
"They're scrappy, they play hard, they get a lot of the 50/50 balls and keep coming at you," Grasty said. "They're Norristown, they're not going to lay down for anybody and we're happy to come away with a win against a team like that."
After the Eagles got within a possession to start the second half, Dixon took over for a stretch. First, the big man scored on a second chance down in the post. After a Norristown miss, Robbie Heath claimed the rebound and flung the ball down the court to Dixon, who slammed it home in front of the Abington student section before capping his spurt with a steal and transition layup.
"It was me playing a little bit harder," Dixon said. "I had to wake up and play harder. The game was close so I felt like I had to step up a little bit."
All told, Dixon scored 10 points in the third quarter, surpassing his first half total of eight and the Ghosts took a 10-point lead to the final stanza. The junior tacked on five more points in the final quarter, including a long 3-pointer.
Dixon also had a strong game on the defensive end, guarding Norristown forward Mikeel Allen and helping hold the junior to four total points.
"We noticed they liked to put Allen in the post and put their big kid up high," Grasty said. "We put Dixon on Allen and just tried to make him work for it, tried to make him take tough shots."
Dixon only had one shot in the second quarter and even with Norristown playing zone defense, the Ghosts wanted to make sure they kept the big guy involved.
"Just throw it to him," Grasty said. "Dixon's a special player, we're blessed to have him here at Abington. He's an Abington kid, the community loves him, he loves the community. We wanted to get him the ball as many times as he could."
Outside of Dixon, Abington got solid contributions all around. Lucas Monroe had 12 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, Heath netted eight points, six rebounds and four assists and Brandon Coffman had six points plus three offensive boards.
Heath had a key basket in the fourth after Norristown had cut the lead down to 50-41, putting the Ghosts back up double-digits.
Abington will face No. 3 seed Lower Merion in the district semifinals on Tuesday at Temple in a 6 p.m. start.
"I've been down there before but I'm still looking forward to it and especially for my seniors who played JV last year," Dixon said. "Them getting to go down there and be on that court, it's a big deal. It doesn't get old."
Abington 16-12-12-17 57
Norristown 8-16-6-13 43
Abington (57) – Eric Dixon 23, Robbie Heath 8, Lucas Monroe 12, Brandon Coffman 6, Xavier Crawford 2, JP Nolan 3, Dante Knox 3
Norristown (43) – Tubbs 13, Sanford 6, Lyons 9, Hopewell 3, Allen 4, Dorman 6, Tate 2
#1-4 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 48, #1-5 COATESVILLE 41
The Bucks made history on Friday night, delighting the home crowd with a win over the Red Raiders that vaulted the team into Tuesday night’s district semifinals at Temple University. It is the program’s first ever trip to the semifinals.
“This means a lot to us,” West coach Adam Sherman said. “In the last six years, this is our third time being in the quarterfinals.
“In 2012-13, we lost in double overtime to Wissahickon. Two years after that, we lost on a buzzer beater to PW, and two years later, here we are. We finally get to this next level, so we’re excited to be here.”
The Bucks welcomed Collin MacAdams – who was sidelined with mononucleosis – back into the lineup, and he showed no ill effects from the layoff, scoring a team-high 19 points and completing the double-double with 10 rebounds. Jack Mulhearn and Mika Munari both added nine points while Jake Reichwein had six points and Shane McCusker, five.
“Those five guys really played outstandingly well,” Sherman said. “Collin MacAdams came back and gave us awesome minutes. Mika, Shane and Jack all hit huge shots.
“Jake Reichwein had a huge bucket in the fourth quarter. He actually did a lot of ball handling for us even though he ends up playing center for us. All the guys really played well. They all had moments.”
The visiting Red Raiders led 12-11 after one quarter, but the Bucks held them to just six points in the second quarter and took a 22-18 lead into halftime. Coatesville trailed by just one heading into the final quarter, 34-33, but the Bucks closed it out with a 14-8 fourth quarter.
“It was a tie ballgame with about four-and-a-half minutes left,” Sherman said. “They were trying to hold the ball a little bit, and we forced them into a turnover, and that was a huge turning point in the game.
“We were able to come down and get the lead with about four minutes left, and I don’t think we turned back from there. Collin MacAdams had a transition bucket where he did a spin move, jumped up in the air, switched hands and made a really acrobatic play and put us in a good position, but there were good plays by everybody.”
The Bucks held the Red Raiders – who averaged 61 points a game – to their lowest point output of the season.
“We really don’t pay attention to that,” Sherman said. “Our goal was to either hold them to less points than they hold us to or to score more points than they score. It’s either A or B.”
“I thought we played really good defense, we did a good job of keeping their guards out of the lane, and we handled their pressure well,”
Central Bucks West (21-5, 10-2 SOL) will face Plymouth Whitemarsh in a district semifinal game at Temple University on Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Coatesville 12-6-15-8 41
Central Bucks West 11-11-12-14 48
Coatesville (41) – Jhamir Brickus 21, Dapree Bryant 9, Avery Young 4, Tyrel Bladen 2, Donte Crews 3, Chuck Smith 2.
Central Bucks West (48) – Shane McCusker 5, Jack Mulhearn 9, Mika Munari 9, Collin MacAdams 19, Jake Reichwein 6.
3-point field goals: CBW – Jack Mulhearn 2, Shane McCusker, Mika Munari; C – Jhamir Brickus 3, Donte Crews.
#1-3 LOWER MERION 63, #1-6 PENNRIDGE 39
The Aces opened up a 15-9 lead after one quarter and took a 28-14 lead into halftime, leading wire to wire in Friday’s quarterfinal against the visiting Rams.
Tyrese Lewis led the Rams with 16 points while Jon Post and Paul Croyle each had six points.
Steve Payne’s 21-point effort led the Aces, who connected on 10 3-pointers. Payne accounted for three threes. Jack Forrest added 19 points, which included a pair of threes.
Pennridge (18-7, 9-3 SOL) will host Norristown on Tuesday in a playback game.
Pennridge 9-5-15-10 39
Lower Merion 15-13-19-16 63
Pennridge (39) – Ryan Warner 1 0-0 3; Sean Yoder 1 0-0 3; Brett Henofer 0 1-2 1; Jake Pestrak 1 0-0 2; Mike Molettiere 1 0-0 2; Tyrese Lewis 7 2-4 16; Jon Post 1 4-8 6; Paul Croyle 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 14 7-14 39.
Lower Merion (63) – Steve Payne 7 4-6 21; Jack Forrest 7 3-3 19; Hairston 0 2-2 2; Taylor 3 0-0 8; Robinson 1 0-0 2; Klevan 4 0-0 11;Totals 22 9-11 63.
3-point goals: Pennridge – Ryan Warner, Sean Yoder, Paul Croyle; LM – Steve Payne 3, Klevan 3, Jack Forrest 2, Taylor 2.
PLAYBACK GAMES
#1-16 BENSALEM 48, #1-24 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 40
The Owls brought an end to the visiting Whippets’ season with a hard-fought win on their home court. Just one win separates Bensalem from a coveted state berth.
“It wasn’t pretty, but our guys found a way,” coach Mike McCabe said. “We played a lot of guys tonight, and it was a total team effort.
“Downingtown West is a very good team that defends and is well coached, but our seniors were not ready for their careers to end. We have eight seniors, and their goal was the state playoffs. They have put in a lot of work along with our whole program to put Bensalem basketball back on the map, and this senior class has been a huge part of that these last three years. We are looking forward to living another day. These kids deserve it.”
Bensalem broke a 7-7 tie after one quarter to go into halftime with an 18-15 lead. The Owls began to put some distance between themselves and their visitors with a 17-13 third quarter, taking a 35-28 lead into the final frame. In the pivotal third quarter, James Leible had eight points and Ward Roberts had seven.
Kris Shields helped ice the win by burying 5-of-6 at the foul line in the final three minutes of the game. The Owls connected on 12-of-17 from the charity stripe in the game while the Whippets were 6-of-11.
Roberts led all scorers with 16 points, Shields had 14 and Leible had 10 points.
Bensalem (16-9, 7-5 SOL) will play the winner of Saturday’s Central Bucks East/Downingtown East contest in a playback game on Tuesday.
Downingtown West 7-8-13-12 40
Bensalem 7-11-17-13 48
Downingtown West (40) – Jeremy Mattson 1, Jackson Luneburg 6, Greg Barton 10, Davis Reardon 5, Jake Reese 4, Will Howard 11, Stuart Macavoy 3.
Bensalem (48) – Taco Douglas 3, Ward Roberts 16, James Leible 10, Lamont Hasker 2, Kris Shields 14, Nick Fossile 3.
#1-18 NESHAMINY 70, #1-23 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 60
Chris Arcidiacono and Danny Bodine proved to be an all but unstoppable duo for the Redskins, combining for 57 points to lead Neshaminy to the must-win in Friday’s playback.
“We’re one win away from states, which is always great,” coach Mark Tingle said. “That was a goal going in – you want to get to the state tournament.”
The Redskins opened up an 11-8 lead after one quarter and then put some distance between themselves and the Vikings, taking a 35-20 lead into halftime. Arcidiacono scored 20 of his team’s 24 points in the second quarter.
The Redskins scored the first two baskets of the second half to go on top 39-20 before the Vikings – behind 12 points from Tyler Strechay – answered with a run of their own to make it a 47-39 game heading into the final quarter.
“They got ridiculously hot,” Tingle said. “They had number 21 (Zach Krause) and number 13 (Strechay) who we knew were shooters going in, and they started making shots over our hands, a couple of feet deep.
“They went on a run, and we kind of go cold and missed open shots. They made it a game, but we never went down. They cut it to six, and we pulled it away at the end.”
Arcidiacono led the Redskins with a dazzling 37-point performance that included three 3-pointers and a perfect 14-for-14 effort at the foul line. The senior sharpshooter was 8-for-8 from the line in the fourth quarter. He completed his double-double with 11 rebounds to go along with four assists. Bodine, who has been averaging between 8-9 points a game, finished with a career high 20 points that included one three. He scored eight points in the pivotal fourth quarter. He also had seven rebounds.
“Chris did his thing like he usually does – he took it to the rim,” Tingle said. “They’re overall a small team. Chris is a guard, but he’s 6-4, which is nice.
“Danny Bodine is 6-8, and we made it a point to go inside. In the second half, they started jumping Chris, so it left some people open. Danny had a nice little dunk because they were over-pursuing us. They fouled us a lot early, so we were trying to get to the line. We did a good job of executing the game plan.”
The two teams combined for 18 3-pointers with the Vikings burying 12 of them. Zach Krause had six threes and 20 points while Strechay added four and had a team-high 24 points.
“The two players they had that we were trying to limit – they just made a lot of tough shots – deep shots over our hands that kept them in it,” Tingle said. “We felt pretty in command the whole game, which was nice.”
Neshaminy (15-9, 7-5 SOL) will travel to Conestoga for a playback game on Tuesday.
Perk Valley 8-12-19-21 60
Neshaminy 11-24-12-23 70
Perk Valley (60) – Andrew Light 2 1-2 6; Tyler Strechay 8 2-3 24; Zach Krause 7 0-0 20; Bryce Streeper 1 0-0 2; Conner McShea 0 1-2 1; Kevin Bernabe 3 0-0 7; TOTALS 21 4-7 60.
Neshaminy (70) – Chris Arcidiacono 10 14-14 37; Anthony Papeo 2 0-0 5; Danny Bodine 7 5-10 20, Greg DeLuca 0 2-4 2; Charles Dominick 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 21 22-30 70.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Chris Arcidiacono 3, Anthony Papeo, Danny Bodine; PV – Zach Krause 6, Tyler Strechay 4, Andrew Light, Kevin Bernabe.
#1-14 CONESTOGA 62, #1-22 NORTH PENN 54 (OT)
The Knights gave the 14th-seeded Pioneers all they could handle and then some before falling in overtime.
Conestoga led 21-16 after one quarter as the two teams combined for 38 points but then managed just 29 between them in the next two. The Knights trailed 36-30 heading into the final quarter when they rallied to knot the score. Chris Coleman had five points in the final frame, including a trey. The Pioneers exploded for 18 points in the extra period to earn the hard-fought win.
AJ Catanzaro, David Robinson and Coleman led a balanced Knight attack with 13 points each. Catanzaro and Coleman each had a pair of threes. Joey Lindsay added seven points.
North Penn (6-6 SOL) closed out its season with a 13-12 record.
North Penn 16-7-7-14-10 54
Conestoga 21-8-7-8-18 62
North Penn (54) – AJ Mitchell 2 0-0 5; Joey Lindsay 2 2-2 7 Chris Caputo 1 1-2 3; AJ Catanzaro 4 3-6 13; David Robinson 4 5-7 13; Chris Coleman 3 5-6 13; TOTALS 16 16-23 54.
Conestoga (62) – Shane Scott 6 4-4 18; Zach Lezanic 4 5-11 15; Milton Robinson 4 5-7 14; Evan Medley 2 0-0 4; Charlie Schappell 2 2-4 6 Wes Brace 1 0-0 2; Mike Erickson 1 1-2 3; TOTALS 20 17-28 62.
3-point goals: North Penn – AJ Catanzaro 2, Chris Coleman 2, AJ Mitchell, Joey Lindsay; Conestoga – Shane Scott 2, Zach Lezanic 2, Milton Robinson.
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