Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Monday.
SOL Patriot Division
NESHAMINY 60, HARRY S TRUMAN 49
Sean Curley scored 20 points and Kade Benjamin added an impressive double with 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Redskins to a win that brought a welcome end to a four-game losing streak.
“It was an ugly win, but it was a win,” Neshaminy coach Mark Tingle said. “We had a tough stretch, so it’s good to get back in the win column.
“It was a league win, which is always good. Sean Curley had another good night, and our big man, Kade Benjamin, had 16 points and 12 rebounds, and he’s playing really well lately.”
The Redskins, who led by two after one quarter, took a 25-22 lead into halftime. Curley (11 points) and Benjamin (eight points) accounted for 19 of those points.
Neshaminy led by just a 38-33 score heading into the final quarter when the Redskins put the game away, outscoring their hosts 22-16.
“I thought they did a really good job of getting offensive rebounds against us, which is why the game stayed close for the most part,” Tingle said. “They did a really good job. They just weren’t able to make a bunch of shots late in the game.
“We made our free throws at the end and finished 16-of-24. Sean Curley was 9-of-10 in the fourth quarter. He’s our leader. He’s a junior, but he’s been playing since freshman year, so he’s starting to have a big season ahead of him.”
Curley also contributed four assists while Evan Esposito had 11 points and five rebounds. Nate Townsend finished with nine points – five in the fourth quarter.
“Overall, everyone contributed,” Tingle said. “Evan Esposito had 11. We had a couple guys in double figures. It was a good win.
“Truman is a tough place to play. I’ve always said that even when I was playing. The place is really loud, and it’s dark. It’s one of those games – we got a league win, and we’re hopefully back into the stride of things moving forward.”
For the Tigers, Ethan Flail scored 16 points – nine in the fourth quarter. Makai Jackson added 12 points while Wyatt Spinks and Tylin Carrington both had six points.
Neshaminy (4-4, 3-2 SOL) will travel to North Penn on Tuesday, and Harry S Truman (2-5, 0-4) will host Souderton on Tuesday.
Neshaminy 12-13-13-22 60
Harry S Truman 10-12-11-16 49
Neshaminy (60) – Evan Esposito 4 2-3 11; Emeer Coombs 1 2-4 4; Kade Benjamin 7 2-6 16; Sean Curley 5 9-10 20; Nate Townsend 4 1-1 9; TOTALS 21 16-24 60.
Harry S Truman (49) – Ethan Flail 5 4-5 16; Shanbul Lewis 1 1-5 3; Tylin Carrington 3 0-0 6; Mike Burns 1 0-1 2; Franz Fabian 1 0-0 2; Wyatt Spinks 1 3-6 6; Makai Jackson 3 4-6 12; Shamahd Edwards 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 16 12-23 49.
3-point goals: Neshaminy – Evan Esposito, Sean Curley; HST – Ethan Flail 2, Makai Jackson 2, Wyatt Spinks.
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 51, HOLY GHOST PREP 44
The Golden Hawks spent much of Monday’s non-league game playing from behind. They trailed by five after one quarter and found themselves on the short end of a 21-14 halftime score. They still trailed 32-26 heading into the final quarter when – apparently saving their best for last – they exploded for 25 points, outscoring the Firebirds 25-12 to earn the win.
“A lot of it was just staying with it,” Rock South coach Andrew Rogers said of the key to his team’s comeback. “I thought we settled in a lot more in the second half. We cut it to four in the third quarter, then we had a little bit of a lull, and they went back up, but we just continued to fight.
“Once we were able to settle in on offense a little bit, which took some patience because they were switching a lot of things and making us work for everything, but once we settled in and realized we could pick our spots, that was key for us. We got it close, then they would take the lead again, extend it a little bit, and finally, we were able to break over that edge. Some of it was just being able to relax and get good shots and just continuing to fight.”
There were big plays galore by the Hawks in the final frame.
“Shane Dawson scored six straight points in the fourth quarter that cut it to two, and then Gavin Holloran – with just under two minutes – hit a big three to give us the lead by two,” Rogers said. “Towards the end, Zach Schwartz was able to get ahead of the defense once they turned the pressure up and got some easy buckets for us. Anthony Burns had four steals in the game, at least three of which were in the second half.
“Obviously, Holy Ghost with coach Tony Chapman is really well coached, and they’re a team that’s going to come in, play really hard and execute well. That in itself was great, but being able to come from behind is really big for us. That shows growth for us in terms of maturity and just fighting through the whole game, so it was a very good win for us. We’re just trying to make sure we keep that effort from the first quarter and all the way out. I thought they did a really good job of buckling down in the second half.”
Holloran’s 20 points – which included four 3-pointers – led the Golden Hawks. He scored nine points in the fourth quarter, 15 in the pivotal second half. Dawson added 14 points while Burns and Schwartz each had six points.
Council Rock South (6-5, 2-4 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Tuesday.
Holy Ghost Prep 12-9-11-12 44
Council Rock South 7-7-12-25 51
Holy Ghost Prep (44) – Shane Reilly 2 0-0 4; Dylan Shead 6 2-3 15; Seamus McDermott 5 0-0 12; Ian Hendrix 1 0-0 2; Ryan Sylvester 2 0-0 4; Mel Lindsey 2 1-2 5; Sean McGrenehan 1 0-1 2; TOTALS 19 3-6 44.
Council Rock South (51) – Gavin Holloran 6 4-5 20; Anthony Burns 2 2-4 6; Shane Dawson 5 2-5 14; Zach Schwartz 2 2-2 6; Gavin Stock 1 0-0 3; Chase Littig 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 17 10-16 51.
3-point goals: Holy Ghost – Seamus McDermott 2, Dylan Shead; CRS – Gavin Holloran 4, Shane Dawson 2, Matt Robinson.
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 70, MaST CHARTER 59
The visiting Spartans raced out of the starting gate to an 18-8 lead and took a 38-31 lead into halftime. They put the game away in the third quarter, outscoring MaST 23-13 and took a 61-44 lead into the final quarter on their way to the win that broke a four-game losing streak.
“It was great for us to win,” Springfield coach Rob Fusaro said. “We needed to get one to kind of get us going, to get their confidence back.
“We executed really well, our defensive pressure was good. We started going to the basket. They shot the ball really well, but we withstood their runs which was a big part of keeping the lead and extending the lead. We played well. It was good.”
Dylan McKenzie had a huge game, scoring a game high 23 points – which included a pair of 3s and a 7-for-8 effort at the foul line. Kyle Smythe added 17 points, which included a 4-for-7 effort from beyond the arc. He also had four assists. Brett Smith was the third Spartan in double figures with 13 points to go along with five assists and two steals. Ben Cooney stuffed a stat sheet with six points, five rebounds, six assists, three steals and one block. Tommy Coppol had a team high seven rebounds.
“Dylan McKenzie finally had a breakout game for himself,” Fusaro said. “He was one of our better players last year, and his shots were falling. He was being aggressive and attacking, and he had a really strong game.
“Brett Smith, who’s a sophomore, had a really good game. It was kind of the same as Dylan. He started getting to the rim, and he was really aggressive offensively and did a nice job scoring for us. Ben Cooney had a great dunk on a break. Kyle Smythe shot it really well today. Collectively, they did a really nice job. Everybody stepped up and produced and contributed. It was good.”
Springfield Township (4-4, 1-4 SOL) will host Quakertown on Tuesday.
Springfield Twp 18-20-23-9 70
MaST Charter 8-23-13-15 59
Springfield Twp (70) – Dylan McKenzie 7 7-8 23; Miles Godwin 1 0-0 3; Ben Cooney 3 0-0 6; Brett Smith 4 5-10 13; Harry Rittenhouse 2 0-0 4; Kyle Smythe 5 3-4 17; Tommy Coppol 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 24 15-22 70
3-point goals: Springfield – Kyle Smythe 4, Dylan McKenzie 2, Miles Godwin.
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