Check out the recaps for Tuesday’s SOL openers. Neshaminy/CR South photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Upper Dublin/New Hope-Solebury photos courtesy of Geanine Jamison Photography, and Pennridge/CB East photos courtesy of Tom Shewbrooks. CLICK HERE for galleries of all three games.
SOL Patriot Division
Neshaminy 55. Council Rock South 42
Tom Mullin scored 18 points, going 6-for-10 from the field, and Neshaminy kicked off its season with a win on the road over CR South.
It was a good start for a Neshaminy team that returns most of its lineup from a year ago, has eight seniors and high expectations.
“We have a lot of experience, senior leadership which should help us early on while we get back in the swing of things,” said Neshaminy coach Mark Tingle. “(It was a) good team win.”
Matt Drapkin added 13 points and nine rebounds, including 8-for-10 from the free throw line while Jake McGinty scored seven points to go with four rebounds, four steals and four assists.
“It was great to get out there again and compete,” said Tingle, whose team took a 28-24 lead into halftime. “We had to shake the rust out in the first half, but came alive in the second half to pull away for a nice league win.”
CR South, on the other hand, has to replace most of its lineup from a playoff team a year ago. Tuesday, Joe Purcell had 12 points to lead the way, while Colin Martin had 10 points and Zach Schwartz, seven points.
The Golden Hawks (0-1 SOL) host rival Council Rock North on Friday, and Neshaminy (1-0) has a rivalry game of its own on Friday at Pennsbury.
Neshaminy 55, CR South 42
Neshaminy: Jimmy MacDonald 2 2-2 6; Jake McGinty 1 5-8 7; Mason Getz 1 0-0 2; Matt Drapklin 2 8-10 13; Eric Esposito 0 1-2 1; Matt Murray 2 1-4 3; Tom Mullin 6 3-3 18; Sean Curley 1 2-2 5; Totals 15 22-31 55.
CR South: Zach Schwartz 3 0-2 7; Stephen Dosa 0 2-4 2; Joe Purcell 4 4-8 12; Colin Martin 4 0-0 10; Gavin Stock 1 0-0 3; Joe Venuta 2 1-1 6; Gavin Holloran 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 7-12 42.
Neshaminy 12 16 11 16-55
CR South 7 17 10 8 -42
Bensalem 69, Pennsbury 65
Defending SOL National champ and state qualifier Bensalem opened up division play on Tuesday and pulled the game out down the stretch, turning a 48-43 deficit after three quarters into a four-point win by outscoring their visitors 26-17 in the final frame.
“It was another close, tough battle,” said Bensalem coach Ron Morris., “We knew coming in Pennsbury would be well coached and play with a lot of intensity. They’re a tough team to play against early on.
“It was back and forth. We were down, and then in the second half we turned up the defensive pressure. It caused them to play a little uncomfortable, and it turned out going our way.”
Senior guard James Ashford, one of the top returning players in the SOL, led the way with 23 points, going 11-for-14 from the free throw line. He also led the team with 10 rebounds.
Nikita Schafer added 14 points for the Owls, while Aaron Sanders had 12 points and Jake Delange pulled down seven rebounds.
“James and Aaron are back, they’re two all-league guards, and we’ll go as far as they take us,” Morris said. “Tonight, James was like 11-for-12 from the line at one point.
“But we have other guys who are going to contribute. Nikita Schafer played big minutes for us tonight. Eric Gonzalez hit two huge 3s in the fourth quarter that helped us a lot.
“We have guys without a lot of experience, but they’ll get it as we go. That’s life during COVID, with limited practices and no scrimmages. You learn as you go.”
While the team overall may be young, especially inside when the Owls have to replace most of the front court, having a backcourt with Ashford and Sanders will give this team a chance to win every night.
“Those two kids worked extremely hard,” Morris said. “They’re gym rats. They worked on their skills outside, and found gyms wherever they could. The more games we play, they’re only going to get better.”
Pennsbury was led by Amir Johnson, who scored 18 points and dished out eight assists. Evan Reichard had eight points and 14 rebounds. Kennan Taddei scored 14 points and Evan McNeely added 12.
In a contest that saw the two teams whistled for a combined 48 fouls, 26 on the Owls, the two teams combined for 52 trips to the foul line.
Bensalem (1-1, 1-0) plays at Harry S. Truman on Friday, and Pennsbury (0-1, 0-1) hosts Neshaminy on Friday and then CB West on Saturday (1:30 p.m.).
Bensalem 69, Pennsbury 65
Pennsbury (65) – Amir Johnson 3 9-16 15; Aidan McCormack 5 2-3 12; Kennan Taddei 5 1-2 14; Evan Reichard 2 2-3 6 Evan McNeely 3 2-2 9; Aidan Bartuski 3 1-2 9; Totals 21 17-28 55.
Bensalem (69) – Eric Gonzalez 3 0-0 9; Aaron Sanders 5 3-6 14; James Ashford 5 11-14 21; Rahul Kohli 2 0-0 5; Jake DeLange 2 0-0 4; Nikita Schafer 4 4-4 14; Luke Zeidler 1 0-0 2; Totals 22 18-24 69.
Pennsbury 12-19-17-17 65
Bensalem 14-13-16-26 69
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Kennan Taddei 3, Aidan Bartuski 2, Evan McNeely, Bensalem – Eric Gonzalez 3, Nikita Schafer 2, Rahul Kohli, Aaron Sanders.
Council Rock North 43, Harry S. Truman 38
Bernie Parent and Jack Blum had six points each in the fourth quarter, as CR North shook off a cold third quarter to get past Harry S. Truman in the season-opener for both teams.
Parent led all scorers with 11 points, while Blum, Adam Mahtat and Connor Rushing had 10 points each for the Indians.
“Tonight’s win was a total team effort and the boys played well off of one another,” said CR North coach Jesse Krasna. “This year’s team has good offensive balance with several scorers and playmakers. We had four players in double figures because we moved the ball well and focused on making the right basketball plays.
“Truman is really well coached and they make it difficult on both ends of the floor. They shot it really well early, but I thought our boys collectively rose to the challenge and did a good job of settling in defensively after Truman made six threes in the first half.”
The game was close throughout, tied at 22 at the half, and then Truman led 29-27 after a low-scoring fourth quarter. The Indians closed it out with a 16-9 fourth quarter tear.
“Adam Mahtat was very effective on the glass and in the post for us,” Krasna said. “Jack Blum and Bernie Parent were both terrific on both ends. They drew two huge charge calls in the second half when our offense was stalling and we desperately needed stops.
“Mikey Sylvester was so disruptive defensively and brought an element of toughness we love in our program. Connor Rushing attacked the rim relentlessly and came up with some big rebounds for us. Garrett Gromlich and Logan Saifer both brought great energy off the bench and raised our intensity level when they were on the floor.”
The Tigers (0-1, 0-1) were led by Kayshawn Clark, who had three 3-pointers and nine points. As a team, they struggled from the line, going 4-for-11 for the game. They are back in action Friday against Bensalem. CR North (1-0, 1-0) plays at CR South on Friday.
“Tonight was a different atmosphere than we are used to, but it was great for our kids to have a chance to compete,” Krasna said. “They have been looking forward to this for a long time. What we lacked in organization, our boys made up for in their heart and togetherness. They have put a lot of hard work in over the last nine months and it was nice to see the individual improvement transfer over to a real game.”
CR North 43, Harry S. Truman 38
CR North: Garrett Gromlich 0 1-3 1; Bernie Parent 4 2-3 11; Mikey Sylvester 0 0-1 0; Adam Mahtat 5 0-0 10; Jack Blum 3 4-4 10; Connor Rushing 3 3-3 10. Totals 15 11-17 43.
Truman: Tarnue Collins 3 1-4 8; Kayshawn Clark 3 0-0 9; Ethan Flail 2 2-4 6; Treyshawn Clark 2 0-0 6; Makai Jackson 2 0-0 6; Antonio Carr 1 0-0 2; Christian Culver 0 1-3 1. Totals 13 4-11 38.
CR North 12 10 5 16-43
Truman 13 9 7 9-38
3-point goals: CRN-Parent 1, Rushing 1; HST-K. Clark 3, Collins 1, T. Clark 2, Jackson 2
SOL Colonial Division
North Penn 56, Central Bucks West 44
Josh Jones scored 24 points as North Penn opened its season at home with a big win over CB West on Tuesday.
“I think we had a nice team win,” said North Penn coach John Conrad. “Josh does a lot for us, as expected, but I thought all our guys played really well. They looked for him in key situations.”
Jones, a soccer standout going to Louisville, was 9-for-11 from the free throw line for the game, while in the first half he scored 11 points to help the Knights jump out to a 31-17 lead by halftime.
“He’s pretty good whatever (sport) he decides to play,” Conrad said. “He’s obviously a good athlete, that comes with good genes, but he works his tail off. He does have natural ability, but he works awfully hard.”
Also for the Knights, Joe Larkins scored 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers to help jump start his team in the first quarter.
Football quarterback Ryan Zeltt, a sophomore, added nine points.
“Joey Larkins, I thought he got us in and out of our stuff pretty well as the point guard and Ryan Zeltt played well,” Conrad said. “I thought all the guys played well.”
Just getting a chance to take the court after a tumultuous offseason and then the delay to the start of the season because of COVID-19 is what stood out on Tuesday.
“It’s what we like to do, right?” Conrad said. “I was happy for our kids. Our two seniors, especially Josh Jones and Billy Coley. I was happy for them.”
CB West (0-1, 0-1) was led by John Lee’s 17 points, while Teddy Spratt added 14 and Dante Mancini seven.
The Bucks are back in action Friday night at rival Central Bucks South.
North Penn (1-0, 1-0) hosts Pennridge on Friday.
North Penn 56, CB West 44
CB West: Teddy Spratt 6 2-7 14; Dante Mancini 2 3-4 7; Max Slaymaker 2 0-0 6; John Lee 4 7-8 17. Totals 14 12-19 44.
North Penn: Levi Carroll 2 0-0 4; Joe Larkins 4 1-2 12; Billy Coley 1 0-0 3; Milind Pulugura 1 2-2 4; Josh Jones 7 9-11 24. Ryan Zeltt 4 1-3 9.
CB West 6 11 15 12-44
North Penn 7 14 9 16-56
3-point goals: CBW-Slaymaker 2, Lee 2; NP- Larkins 3, Coley, Jones, Zeltt
Central Bucks East 62, Pennridge 48
A 22-point outburst in the second quarter gave CB East the momentum as the Patriots used a balanced scoring attack to outlast Pennridge.
Up 12-8 after one, East (1-0, 1-0) outscored the host Rams 22-7 in the second.
For the game, leading scorer from last season, Joe Jackman had 14 points, while Jacob Cummiskey and Jack Hamilton had 11 points each. Brendan Harte and Liam Cummiskey had nine points each.
“I’m really pleased with the way we played,” said CB East coach Erik Henrysen. “This was our first game after the long layoff and we were a little worried about what to expect.
“Our bench gave us a huge spark. The Cummiskey brothers (freshman Jacob and junior Liam) were huge for us in the first half. They sparked us on both ends of the floor.
“I thought our inexperienced players didn’t show any signs of nervousness and that is going to be big for us.”
Pennridge (1-2, 0-1), which split nonleague games against Quakertown and Upper Dublin over the weekend, saw 45 of its 48 points come from three players. Senior Luke Yoder led the way with 18 points, while Colin Post and TJ Grenda had 14 and 13, respectively.
The Rams will play at North Penn in a divisional game on Friday.
CB East hosts Souderton on Friday and then goes out of the division to take on Quakertown on Saturday.
“We have some things to work on but it is a good start considering we opened up with a win on the road vs the defending champs,” Henrysen said.
CB East 62, Pennridge 48
CB East: Jacob Cummiskey 4 0-0 11; Liam Cummiskey 3 0-0 9; Jason Markowitz 1 0-0 2; Jack Hamilton 5 1-2 11; Joe Jackman 4 3-4 14; Brendan Harte 4 0-0 9; Shane Kennedy 2 0-0 6. Totals 23 4-6 62.
Pennridge: Luke Yoder 7 4-4 18; Justin McCormick 1 0-0 3; Colin Post 5 5-5 14; TJ Grenda 5 2-2 13; Totals 18 10-10 48
CB East 12 22 13 15-62
Pennridge 8 7 16 17-48
3-point goals: CBE-J.Cummiskey 3, L. Cummiskey 3, Jackman 3, Kennedy 2, Harte 1; P-McCormick 1, Grenda 1
Central Bucks South 62, Souderton 43
Sophomore forward Tyler Meinel had an impressive debut, scoring 18 points and leading the Titans to a convincing win over Souderton on Tuesday night.
“The whole team collectively played well – they were very unselfish,” South coach Jason Campbell said. “Points were really well distributed. We only had one player in double figures.
“It was a nice first varsity game of Tyler Meinel’s career to come out and have 18 points, and that was twofold. It was him being confident, running our offense and getting into the open spots, and his teammates finding him. When they found him and he had the ball, he went up and finished around the rim. He played real confident and finished, and that’s half the battle when you’re a sophomore – being confident, and he was. Our guys were confident getting him the ball when he was open. We were very unselfish, and we have to play that way to win.”
CB South jumped up 19-12 after one and upped that lead to 37-22 by halftime. The Titans outscored their hosts 25-21 after the intermission.
“It’s never easy going into Souderton, and with everything being so new with COVID – things looked different, but it went smoothly,” Campbell said. “(Athletic director) Dennis Stanton did a good job of making us feel comfortable.
“I was really excited to get the season started. We’ve had some really great practices. We have some varsity experience but mostly inexperienced players who are getting their feet wet for the first time, so I wanted to see how we would come out and play because Souderton always plays tough, they never quit, and they’re always relentless. I knew it was going to be a good test physically how the team was going to respond to it.”
The Titans also got nine points from Michael Farley and eight from Evan D’orazio.
“I felt that from the first possession for us we started the tone off how I wanted it – disciplined and patient, and we did all those things for the majority of the game,” Campbell said. “We had a little lull in the third quarter, and Souderton did a good job of chipping away at it, but overall, we responded back. I was really happy and excited for our team.”
Souderton’s top scorer was senior captain Evan Kutzler, who had 19 points. Aleks Smith added seven.
Souderton (0-1, 0-1) will be back in action Friday against CB East. CB South (1-0, 1-0) hosts CB West on Friday.
CB South 62, Souderton 43
CB South: Meinel 18, Farley 9, D’orazio 8, Mauz 7, J. Maclindong 6, N. Maclindong 5, Rotunna 5, Van Zanten 2, Petrich 2, Delora 2
Souderton: Kutzler 19, Smith 7, Towsen 6, Vince 5, Scheuren 2, Bonnet 2, Blair 1, Purvy 1
CB South 19 18 9 16-62
Souderton 12 10 8 13-43
SOL Liberty Division
Plymouth Whitemarsh 76, Quakertown 24
Qudire Bennett scored 27 points and Luke DiCianno added 23, as Plymouth Whitemarsh started quickly and blew past Quakertown in the season opener for the Colonials.
PW dominated on both ends of the floor from the start, outsourcing the Panthers 29-5 in the first quarter and 55-13 in the opening half.
Bennett had 13 of his points in the first quarter, while DiCianno had 10.
Quakertown (0-2, 0-1) struggled to get much going offensively all night, as it never scored more than eight points in a quarter. Senior Matt Catalano had six points to lead the Panthers, who next play at Upper Dublin on Friday. PW hosts Hatboro-Horsham Friday night, and then North Penn on Saturday afternoon (2:30 p.m.).
Plymouth Whitemarsh 76, Quakertown 24
Quakertown: Ty Wilkin 0 2-3 2; Jack Gordon 0 1-2 1; Kaden Roley 1 2-2 4; Matt Catalano 2 0-2 6; Luke Bauer 1 2-4 4; Ozzie Grimmage 1 1-3 3; Troy Perez 0 1-2 1; Zach Fondl 1 1-2 3; Totals 6 10-20 24.
PW: Z. Hubbard 1 0-0 2; Colzie 1 2-2 4; DiCianno 8 5-6 23; Bennett 9 7-7 27 ; Baker 0 1-2 1; T. Hubband 2 0-0 4; Harris 1 0-0 2; Benson 1 0-0 3; Forchielli 1 1-2 3; Flynn 1 1-2 3; Jerman 2 0-0 4; Totals 27 17-21 76.
Quakertown 5 8 6 5-24
PW 29 26 15 5-76
3-point goals: PW-Bennett 2, DiCianno 2, Benson 1; Q-Catalano 2
Nonleague
Upper Dublin 57, New Hope-Solebury 45
Drew Stover continued his early-season dominance as the senior pumped in 29 points to lead Upper Dublin to the 57-45 win over New Hope in the division opener for both teams.
Stover, who finished with 13 field goals on the night, had 14 points at the half, and then helped the Flying Cardinals finish the game off with eight in the fourth quarter.
“ It was a good win for us,” UD coach Chris Monahan said. “New Hope has a very good backcourt that can score in different ways, and for the most part of the night, we did a good job defending them.
“Although we had a ragged second half, we were efficient offensively shooting over 60 percent from the field. Drew was tough inside scoring, to go along with 18 rebounds. Our guards shot it well. So overall, we’re happy to get a win against a good team. It was a great game to get in before we open the division against Quakertown.”
Also for UD (2-0, 1-0), guard DJ Cerisier had 10 points while guard Colin O’Suillvan added nine.
UD led by four after one and then created distance to go up nine at the half, 26-17.
New Hope (0-1, 0-1) playing in the SOL for the first time and with a new coach in Derek Brooks, was led by Alex Walinski’s 15 points, while Kyle McLaughlin added 10 and Will Albano eight points.
The Lions play at Lower Moreland on Friday and then Wissahickon on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.). Upper Dublin is back in action Friday at home against Quakertown.
Upper Dublin 57, New Hope-Solebury 45
New Hope: Kyle McLaughlin 3 3-5 10; Will Albano 3 2-2 8; Alex Walinski 4 4-5 15; Brian Dougherty 3 0-0 7; Phil Weinseimer 2 0-4 4; Charlie Albano 0 1-2 1. Totals 15 10-18 45.
Upper Dublin: Colin O’Sullivan 3 1-2 9; DJ Cerisier 4 1-3 10; Drew Stover 13 3-6 29; Noah Lee 2 0-0 6; Anthony Fatiga 0 1-2 1; Seaton Kukia 1 0-1 2. Totals 23 6-14-57.
New Hope 8 9 16 12-45
UD 12 14 16 15-57
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