Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Tracy Valko: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f716903222
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
BENSALEM 50, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 47
The Owls won another thriller.
This time, it was Antonio Morris hitting nothing but net on a corner 3-pointer at the buzzer, breaking a 47-47 tie and propelling the Owls to their 11thwin in 12 games. The game-winner came with an assist from Jaidyn Moffitt, who took the inbounds pass, drove and dished.
“That last inbounds play – it’s a design play,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “There’s a lot of options off it. We thought Noah (Morris) would get open, but we knew if Noah wasn’t open, then somebody else would be open. We know with Noah’s shooting ability, teams are going to jump out, so we told Jaidyn to drive. He made a great read and passed it out, and Antonio was sitting there waiting and ready for it. He hit a great shot at the right moment. Just being able to stay ready for those moments.
“I asked Antonio after the game – ‘How many times have you shot that shot in this gym in the last five years?’ Probably a thousand easily. Credit to Jaidyn for driving, seeing the open man. Credit to Amir (Drummond) and Nate (Cooper) for setting good screens. Noah came around, did his job. He wasn’t open. Antonio was able to hit the shot.”
The Owls had a chance to score the go-ahead basket earlier in the closing minute.
“We actually turned it over with 50 seconds, they shot a contested 3 with about 35-40 seconds left,” Morris said. “We held for the last shot, we called a timeout. We ran a sideline out of bounds, it wasn’t going right, so I called another timeout.
“It was another exciting game. (Coach) Adam Sherman, and I were talking before the game – the last few years, every game has been close. Coming into the game, we knew they’d be well prepared. They play a great 3-2 zone. They have good size. Matt Engle has been playing really well at the point for them.”
The visiting Bucks – sparked by eight points from Julian Phillips – opened up an 18-11 lead after one quarter. The Owls answered with a 14-7 second quarter with Amir Drummond scoring seven points, and the two teams went into halftime deadlocked 25-25.
“Our game plan was to disrupt Engle because we know if he gets downhill – he can cause a lot of havoc, so I think Noah (Morris) did a really good job defending him,” Morris said. “We got in foul trouble in the first half and got some big minutes from Idris (Savadago). Nate (Cooper) did another good job. Their kid (Julian Phillips) had a big first half, but he was working for those buckets. He was hitting good shots.”
The Owls took a 35-34 lead into the final quarter, and neither team could put the other away until Antonio Morris scored at the buzzer.
“The game was close the whole second half,” Morris said. “In the second half, Jaidyn (Moffitt) got in foul trouble early. I’m really, really proud of Jaidyn for his growth as a person tonight. At the beginning of the season, if he would have gotten in foul trouble early in the second half, he wouldn’t have been himself, but tonight, he stayed mentally tough, he stayed positive, and we kept trying to feed him because he’s so strong down there, and he was making foul shots. We thought that was a good mismatch for us down there to be able to get him the ball.”
Moffitt’s 18 points led the Owls. He scored 15 of his points in the second half, including 10 points in the fourth quarter. Antonio Morris added 11 points, and Drummond finished with 10 – nine in the first half.
“We continued to play together,” Morris said. “It’s a great team win. We fight to the end. Amir Drummond came in off the bench in the first half and gave us a spark because we couldn’t get it going. He got a couple steals, some fast breaks in transition. He played really well in the first half.
“We were able to get stops and rebounds when we needed to. Overall, it’s just a great, great team win. I also have to credit our scout team in practice and coach Mike (Stock). Them running what the other team does in practice really helps us when we’re in the games.”
Phillips scored 17 points to lead the Bucks – he had 15 of those in the first half. Engle added 10 points – all in the second half. Roman Kulesa added nine points, and Sam Jankowski had seven.
Bensalem (11-1, 8-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South for a crossover game on Friday, and Central Bucks West (10-4, 4-4) will host Harry S Truman on Friday.
Central Bucks West 18-7-9-13 47
Bensalem 11-14-10-15 50
Central Bucks West (47) – Matt Engle 4 1-3 10; Roman Kulesa 4 0-0 9; Julian Phillips 6 3-3 17; Bowen Gugger 1 2-5 4; Sam Jankowski 3 0-1 7; TOTALS 18 6-12 47.
Bensalem (50) – Antonio Morris 4 0-0 11; Noah Morris 1 0-0 3; Micah White 2 0-0 4; Amir Drummond 4 2-4 10; Iris Savadago 2 0-0 4; Jayden Moffitt 5 7-8 18; TOTALS 18 9-12 50.
3-point goals: CBW – Julian Phillips 2, Matt Engle, Roman Kulesa, Sam Jankowski; Bensalem – Antonio Morris 3, Noah Morris, Jayden Moffitt.
SOUDERTON 55, PENNSBURY 44
The Indians – showing no ill effects from the long road trip to Fairless Hills – came out of the gate firing, opening up an early lead and going on to earn the crossover win.
“We were really focused and ready to go,” Souderton coach Okoteh Sackitey said. “The kids came out the first quarter and played great. We scored 17 in the first quarter and played good defense. Chanse Salone got us started. He scored our first points of the game. Bill Sackor had seven in the first quarter, so he was ready to go. He came out confident.
“Pennsbury knocked down a couple of 3s – in the first quarter, they had three 3s, so their offense came from knocking down some 3-point shots.”
The Indians led 17-11 after one quarter and took a 25-21 lead into halftime. Mike Roccograndi – who had three first-half 3-pointers – and Danny Cohen combined for 18 of Pennsbury’s points.
“At the end of the second quarter, they scored five straight to cut it from nine to four, so we only went into halftime with a four-point lead,” Sackitey said.
The Indians added to their lead with an 11-6 third quarter and took a 36-27 lead into the final frame.
“The third quarter was a battle – our defense was really strong though,” Sackitey said. “We held them to six points in the quarter. We also took a couple of charges in the quarter.
“Trey Bui took a big charge, and Nolan Watkins took a big charge. Any coach knows how much a team loves a charge and knows what a charge does to excite the team and get them that much more locked in and excited and ready to execute, so those were two really big charges for us.
“Clinton Kikonjo had a buzzer-beating layup at the end of the third quarter, which was really helpful. We were up seven at the end of the third, he makes the layup, and now we’re up nine. There’s a big difference between seven and nine. That was huge.”
The Indians edged the Falcons 19-17 in the final quarter to earn the big road win.
“Bill Sackor went 4-for-4 from the foul line to close the game,” Sackitey said. “Chanse Salone did a masterful job of facilitating the offense, making the right play and making the right decision.
“He had a bunch of assists in the fourth quarter to Danny Dyches – once Chanse beat his man, Danny’s man had to help. It wasn’t his biggest scoring night, but that was one of the best games I’ve seen him play. His defense was outstanding, and just the way he controlled the offense was beautiful.”
Sackor’s 15 points led the Indians, and Dyches added 13 points. He had eight of those points in the fourth quarter with assists from Salone. Nolan Watkins finished with 12 points – eight in the second half. Salone finished with six points.
Cohen’s 14 points, which included a pair of 3s, led the Falcons. Grayson Gozum added 12 points, which included three 3-pointers. He scored nine of those points in the second half. Roccograndi added 11 points.
Souderton (7-6, 5-3 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy for a crossover game on Friday, and Pennsbury (7-6, 4-4) will be on the road at Central Bucks East on Friday.
Souderton 17-8-11-19 55
Pennsbury 11-10-6-17 44
Souderton (55) – Chanse Salone 3 0-0 6; Trey Bui 2 0-0 4; Bill Sackor 4 6-7 15; Clinton Kikenjo 2 1-2 5; Nolan Watkins 5 1-4 12; Danny Dyches 6 1-2 13; TOTALS 22 9-15 55.
Pennsbury (44) – Teddy Mangan 1 0-0 3; Mike Roccograndi 4 0-0 11; Danny Cohen 6 0-0 14; Grayson Gozum 4 1-2 12; Connor Taddei 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 16 3-4 44.
3-point goals: Souderton – Bill Sackor, Nolan Watkins; Pennsbury – Mike Roccograndi 3, Grayson Gozum 3, Danny Cohen 2, Teddy Mangan.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 70, HARRY S TRUMAN 38
The Patriots led by just four after one quarter but outscored their hosts 38-13 over the next two frames on their way to the crossover win.
Jacob Cummiskey led three East players in double figures with 19 points, which included three 3-pointers. Tyler Dandrea added 14 points with a pair of 3s, and Dhruv Mukund finished with 12 points. He also had five rebounds. Caleb Lyzinski had six points.
Justin DiRoberto led the Patriots under the backboards with six rebounds and also had five assists.
The Patriots connected on 9 of 11 at the foul line while the Tigers were 5-for-8.
Davae Vaughn’s 11 points led the Tigers. Jaden Luchansky scored nine, Brandon Armond had eight points, and Aaron Nathan had six.
Central Bucks East (12-2, 7-1 SOL) will host Pennsbury in a crossover game Friday, and Harry S Truman (1-10, 0-8) will travel to Central Bucks West on Friday.
Central Bucks East 16-18-20-16 70
Harry S Truman 12-9-4-13 38
Central Bucks East (70) – Ryan McDonald 6, Jacob Cummiskey 19, Dhruv Mukund 12, Bryce Lolas 3, Tyler Dandrea 14, Justin DiRoberto 2, Nolan Behm 2, Miles Demby 2, Shane O’Hara-Jamison 4, Caleb Lyzinski 6.
Harry S Truman (38) – Davae Vaughn 11, Jaden Luchansky 9, Brandon Armond 8, Brian Banks 4, Aaron Nathan 6.
3-point goal: CBE – Jacob Cummisky 3, Tyler Dandea 2, Bryce Lolas, Dhruv Mukund, Shane O’Hara-Jamison, Ryan McDonald.
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