Plymouth Whitemarsh notched a win to advance to Tuesday’s District 1 6A semifinal round. PW/North Penn photos provided courtesy of Michael Rice & Larry Small. Check back for a gallery of photos: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f582224377
CLASS 6A Quarterfinals
#3 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 83, #6 NORTH PENN 53
Qudire Bennett was a one-man wrecking crew in the opening quarter of Friday’s quarterfinal contest. The PW senior was on fire, burying four 3-pointers and scoring a game’s worth of points in a first quarter that saw the Colonials erupt for a 26-5 lead. Bennett accounted for 16 of those points as PW took the suspense out of this one early.
“When Q locks in and comes to play, it just changes the whole game,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “We’re trying to get them all to this mentality. In a perfect world, you have no more than seven games left. Why can’t you be great every night?
“You have to lock in now – you have to lock in and be beyond confident, and it’s about desire now. It really is.”
Friday’s decisive win came on the heels of a second round 64-62 win over Penn Wood that saw the Colonials rally from seven down in the fourth quarter to earn the victory.
“After Penn Wood – you don’t need a lot of those in your life,” Donofrio said. “It’s my hope that it could be a really boring game.
“They won the Penn Wood game with a huge crowd, and tonight we had another huge crowd. Now are the boys learning to understand how to take advantage of their talents, especially at home. I had to be in a little more of a strict mood last night to get them focused. We were very precise and had to get them to understand that all the teams now you could lose to if you’re not exactly where you need to be in energy, in focus, in positioning. All that has to be on the money, and you have to have multiple reps on offense and defense that are good quality reps. You cannot fall asleep.”
Friday’s contest was a rematch of the SOL Tournament semifinal – a 75-57 PW win, and it’s a safe bet the Knights have seen quite enough of the Colonials.
“To be honest, when you have these scenarios where you play a team once and then you have to come back and play them within 10 days or whatever, it goes in one of two directions,” Donofrio said. “The truth is going to be told one way or the other.
“If you won the first time, they’re in payback mode, and they make adjustments from what they’ve learned, and you’re going to have a different kind of game. You have to do your homework and see the mistakes we made and some opportunities we could exploit, and you get the kids to be very focused last night at practice because the Wednesday night practice was like a washout because they were so emotionally drained from the Penn Wood win, which is fine.”
There were some changes this time around. Chase Coleman was in the starting lineup and wasn’t in the initial meeting between the two teams.
“That’s a huge difference,” Donofrioi said. “(Ryan) Deininger had 17 against us in the first game, and we did not defend him properly at all. He had four tonight. Also, we put Jah Sayles on their 5-foot 9 number two guard.
“In other words, if you’re not going to match up, you have to do bad matchups in your favor. It’s really just about understanding who can hit perimeter shots for them and who doesn’t really take a lot and where can you now make moves on your defense. Basically, I had a lot more time this time to learn from the first game, and we got the outcome we wanted.”
In PW’s torrid first quarter showing, Coleman had seven points. The Knights came to life offensively in the second quarter, scoring 22 points, but the Colonials still went into halftime with a 45-27 lead. Bennett’s 20 points led PW in the half while Coleman had 11.
“North Penn made a run coming into the third and cut it to nine (points) from 18,” Donofrio said. “That was actually a warning at halftime. We walked in at halftime, and the guys were laughing and joking, and we have that demeanor, and you can’t – you just can’t. They’re happy go lucky guys, and I feel like I’m the Grinch who stole Christmas sometimes. 
“I killed the whole vibe at halftime because you have to figure the kids at North Penn have heart, and they’re going to come and take absolutely their best shot at you, and they did. The best part of that was – they cut it to nine, and we turned around and within three minutes got it back to 21, so that is the sign of a really, really good basketball team.”
The Colonials outscored the Knights in both the third and fourth quarters to win going away.
Bennett led all scorers with 29 points, which included five 3-pointers. He was one of four PW players in double figures. Coleman finished with 15 points, and Lincoln Sharpe added 11.
“This kid had two dunks tonight on breakaways,” Donofrio said of Sharpe. “The first game with North Penn they were doing a nice job of getting their hands on basketballs on rebounds over him. He was kind of jumping with them, and they do a nice job with that.
“Tonight, Lincoln started to secure with two hands a lot more rebounds, and that got us to runouts. You could tell we were going to have runs with them all night where it was just going to be a lot for them to handle.”
Point guard Jaden Colzie added 10 points while Jimmy Flowers and Jah Sayles each had eight.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (25-2, 16-0 SOL) will travel to #2 Lower Merion for Tuesday’s District 1 6A semifinal. It is their first trip to the district’s final four since 2018.
“You went through the COVID years and all that stuff when they changed the rules a bit,” Donofrio said. “I always say to our teams every year – if we’re worthy of it – our goal is to reach the district final four because that means you’ve taken your team to another level, and that’s when the fun really starts if you want it.
“The season’s getting long, some of you may be tired of playing. There’s been a lot of teams with really nice seasons, and they’re done now. Spring’s around the corner. Do you want to experience championship mentality thinking? There’s no crime in bowing out early now if you want.
“After the game they were kind of quiet because I was so hard on them at halftime up by 18, and they didn’t understand it. I told them in the locker room – ‘You guys are like – if Mount Everest is 28,000 feet high, you guys are at 18,000 feet and you’re happy, but some of us here have been fortunate to be at 28,000 feet. I don’t want you to not appreciate the view at 18,000, but I’d love to see you get to 28,000 feet. Excuse me if I’m not overjoyed. It sounds so harsh, and I don’t want it to be harsh. You’re about to walk into a Lower Merion/PW game, which has a great District 1 sound to it. We’ve met multiple times You’ve gotta be good. I’m glad you’re happy, I want you happy. I don’t mean to be the grinch but keep improving. Keep learning how to have multiple reps of great defensive stops and smart offensive sets. What’s your happiness level? If it’s the district semifinal, you got there. You can relax, and that’s about it, but if you want more, you’ve got some work to do.’ This game was more about – not that you’re going to the district final four, but how do we mature and evolve.”
For the Knights, Ryan Zeltt and Norman Gee led the way with 10 points each Zeltt’s 10 points included a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line while Gee had three 3s. Ahmaar Godhania added nine points and also had three 3s. Contributing six points each were Mario Sgro, Teddy McAllister and Corey Meade.
North Penn (19-7, 12-4) will host #10 Upper Darby in a playback game for district seeding on Tuesday.
North Penn 5-22-16-10 53
Plymouth Whitemarsh 26-19-22-16 83
North Penn (53) – Ahmaar Godhania 3 0-0 9; Mario Sgro 2 0-0 6; Norman Gee 3 1-1 10; Teddy McAllister 2 0-0 6; Ryan Zeltt 3 4-4 10; Ryan Deininger 2 0-2 4; Corey Meade 3 0-0 6; Nicholas Hoffman 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 18 7-9 53.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (83) – Jaden Colzie 4 2-4 10; Jimmy Flowers 4 0-2 8; Chase Coleman 6 2-6 15; Evan Ring 1 0-0 2; Qudire Bennett 10 4-4 29; Jah Sayles 2 2-2 8; Lincoln Sharpe 5 1-2 11; TOTALS 32 11-20 83.
3-point goals: NP – Ahmaar Godhania 3, Norman Gee 3, Mario Sgro 2, Teddy McAllister 2; PW – Qudire Bennett 5, Jah Sayles 2, Chase Coleman.
#5 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 64, #4 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 46
The Patriots held an 11-10 edge after one quarter but saw that lead disappear quickly in a second quarter the visiting Cougars dominated, outscoring East 21-10 to go into halftime with a 31-21 lead.
Things didn’t improve in a third quarter that saw the Patriots score just four points, and the Cougars took a 46-25 lead into the final quarter on their way to the win.
Joey Giordano’s 16 points led the Patriots. Tyler Dandrea and Nolan Jacob each added six points.
The Patriots were 5-for-7 at the foul line while the Cougars connected on 9 of 13.
Central Bucks East (22-5, 14-2 SOL) will host #8 Garnet Valley in a playback game for seeding purposes on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Downingtown West 10-21-15-18 64
Central Bucks East 11-10-4-21 46
Downingtown West (64) – Dylan Blair 19, Donovan Fromhartz 22, Joey Suarez 8, Kelly Bell 8, Antonio Lewis 3, Ryan Barker 4.
Central Bucks East (46) – Joey Giodano 16, Jacob Cummiskey 3, Dhruv Mukund 5, Nick Condo 5, Tyler Dandrea 6, Justin DiRoberto 2, Kyle Berndt 3, Nolan Jacob 6.
3-point goals: DW – Donovan Fromhartz 2, Joey Suarez 2, Dylan Blair; CBE – Nolan Jacob 2, Kyle Berndt, Dhruv Mukund, Nick Condo.
CLASS 6A Playback
#7 PERKIOMEN VALLEY 63, #18 NESHAMINY 60
The Redskins had eight more field goals than the Vikings, but that stat was misleading as the Vikings made up for that with some remarkable foul shooting, connecting on 23 of 23. With the Redskins forced to foul down the stretch, they couldn’t make up any ground as the Vikings buried 15 of 15 at the charity stripe in the fourth quarter.
“They make their foul shots – we knew that going in, but it’s tough,” Neshaminy coach Mark Tingle said. “They’re good.”
The Vikings, who led 17-15 after one quarter, took a 35-28 lead into halftime. Nate Townsend’s 13 points – 11 in the first quarter – led Neshaminy in the half.
The Redskins trimmed three points off that lead with a 12-9 third quarter, and they trailed by just a 44-40 score heading into the final frame. Emeer Coombs kept it close, burying three 3-pointers in the final quarter, including one as time was about to expire.
The Redskins left everything they had on the floor, battling until the final horn.
“That’s literally all we ask – just give the effort, have a good attitude and play tough,” Tingle said. “They did that, and they did all season. It was a good run.”
There was no hiding the players’ disappointment after this one as the Redskins extended the seventh-seeded Vikings to the limit but saw their season come to an end.
“Our seniors – they’re great kids,” Tingle said. “They’re going to go on and do good things.
“I’ve had Sean Curley on varsity since freshman year. He’s been here forever, and for him not to be here next year is going to be weird.”
Townsend’s 19 points led the way for Neshaminy. Coombs added 18 points while Joey Zach had 10, and Curley had nine.
Neshaminy closed out its season with a 15-11 record, 10-6 in the SOL.
Neshaminy 15-13-12-20 60
Perkiomen Valley 17-18-9-19 63
Neshaminy (60) – Joey Zack 5 0-4 10; Ashton Lovelace 1 0-0 2; Emeer Coombs 6 1-3 18; Guy Horton 1 0-0 2; Sean Curley 4 1-2 9; Nate Townsend 9 0-0 19; TOTALS 26 2-9 60.
Perkiomen Valley (63) – Mason Thear 3 2-2 9; Luke Hanson 0 2-2 2; Julian Sadler 5 14-14 25. Kyle Shawaluk 5 1-1 12; Shane Nelson 1 4-4 6; Morgan McKinney 4 0-0 8; TOTALS 18 23-23 63.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Emeer Coombs 5, Nate Townsend; PV Julian Sadler 2, Mason Thear, Kyle Shawaluk.
#21 HAVERFORD 66, #20 ABINGTON 54
The visiting Fords led by two after one quarter and extended their lead to 23-18 at halftime. A 21-point third quarter all but put the game out of reach for the Ghosts, who saw their season come to an end while the Fords advance to the state tournament.
Jeremiah Lee and Kellen Ingram each scored 11 points to lead the Ghosts. Lee also had seven rebounds and four steals. Damon Rawls and Josh Young had nine points each while Paul Glants and Khalid Jenkins, up from the junior varsity, both added six.
Abington connected on 18 of 43 shots from the field (41.8 percent). The Ghosts were 6-for-19 from beyond the arc (31.5 percent).
Abington closed out its season with a 13-12 record, 10-6 in the SOL.
Haverford 12-11-21-22 66
Abington 10-8-14-22 54
Haverford (66) – Brian Wiener 3 7-8 15; Tommy Write 1 0-1 2; Gorman Bright 1 2-2 5; Googie Seidman 9 15-20 36; Kevin Gannon 2 0-0 4; Keith Heinerichs 0 2-2 2; Andrew Steigleman 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 16 28-35 66.
Abington (54) – Damon Rawls 4 0-0 9; Jeremiah Lee 4 2-5 11; Paul Glants 2 0-0 6; Kellen Ingram 3 5-6 11; Josh Young 3 2-2 9; Khalid Jenkins 2 1-1 6; Kamari Brashear 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 18 12-16 54.
3-point goals: Haverford – Googie Seidman 3, Brian Wiener 2, Gorman Bright; Abington – Paul Glants 2, Damon Rawls, Jeremiah Lee, Josh Young, Khalid Jenkins.
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