SOL Boys’ Basketball Wrap (1-12-23)

Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday.

SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover

CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 52, PENNSBURY 51

If it’s fantastic finishes you like, this was the game for you.

The Patriots trailed 51-50 with five seconds remaining when they inbounded the ball out of a timeout at midcourt. It turns out five seconds was plenty of time for Joey Giordano to drive to the hole and somehow deliver an acrobatic finish on the opposite side of the basket at the buzzer to propel the Patriots to the electrifying win.

“We wanted to get the ball into Jake Cummiskey or Joey’s hands while they were on the move,” East coach Erik Henrysen said of the game’s final sequence. “Sure enough, they did a good job taking Jake away, Joey got the ball, and he put on the jets.”

Prior to Giordano’s last-second heroics, Jake Cummiskey connected on a pair of free throws to give the Patriots a 50-49 advantage with 14 seconds left. The Falcons answered with a basket by Ty Kocak to go on top by one, but the five seconds remaining was all that Giordano needed to score a bucket that allowed his squad to escape with a win that upped its SOL record to 9-0.

Giordano’s 22 points – which included eight in the fourth quarter – led the Patriots. He also had four steals and three assists in a standout effort. Cummiskey added 11 points – six in the final quarter. Tyler Dandrea contributed eight points for East.

Despite battling foul trouble, Kyle Berndt led the Patriots under the boards with seven rebounds. Dhruv Mukund had six.

The Patriots, who trailed 25-21 at halftime, outscored the Falcons 14-4 in the third period and led by as many as eight points in the fourth quarter.

“We felt like we took control of the game, and credit to Pennsbury, they really pieced together a response, and it was a quick response, so right when we felt like we were in control, there we were again trying to figure it out,” Henrysen said. “We didn’t do a great job early on in keeping guys in help position, and they kind of stretched us out a little bit which opened up some passes to the rim.

“I thought we righted the ship a little bit, restructured what we were doing, and we fell back into trying to take the lane away. Once we did that, we saw some success on the defensive end.”

For the Falcons, Kocak led the way with 20 points, which included an 8-for-11 effort at the foul line. His 10 points led the Falcons in the first half. Dan Cohen and Teddy Mangan both added seven points.

Central Bucks East (14-1, 9-0 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Tuesday, and Pennsbury (9-4, 6-3 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks West on Tuesday.

Central Bucks East 10-11-14-17 52

Pennsbury 15-10-4-22 51

Central Bucks East (52) – Joey Giordano 22, Jake Cummiskey 11, Dhruv Mukund 4, Kyle Berndt 5, Nolan Jacob 2, Tyler Dandrea 8.

Pennsbury (51) – Teddy Mangan 13, Mike Roccograndi 5, Dan Cohen 7, Connor Taddei 2, Ty Kocak 20, Ryan Zuckerman 4.

3-point goals: CBE – Tyler Dandrea 2, Joey Giordano, Jake Cummiskey, Dhruv Mukund, Kyle Berndt; Pennsbury – Teddy Mangan 2, Mike Roccograndi, Dan Cohen.

NORTH PENN 72, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 37

North Penn erupted for 42 points in the first half, opening up a 42-23 advantage over their visitors on their way to the decisive win in Thursday’s crossover game.

“It was a very good first half of basketball for the Knights,” NP coach John Conrad said.

Teddy McAllister, whose 24 points led all scorers, ignited the Knights, scoring 17 first-half points. He had 11 points in North Penn’s 20-point first quarter and a pair of 3s in the second. He finished with four 3s.

Ryan Deininger added 11 first-half points and finished with 15 for the game. Ryan Zeltt, who had a pair of 3s, also finished in double figures with 10 points and completed a double-double with 10 rebounds. Ahmaar Godhania had six points on a pair of 3-pointers, and Corey Meade also had six points.

For the Golden Hawks, Timmy Rahill had a pair of 3s and a team-high 12 points.

North Penn (9-4, 6-3 SOL) will host Dock Mennonite Academy in a non-league game Saturday at noon. Council Rock South (3-12, 1-9) will take on Father Judge in the ALS Showcase on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Council Rock South 12-11-8-6 37

North Penn 20-22-21-9 72

Council Rock South (37) – Matt Robinson 1 0-0 2; Michael Burns 1 2-3 4; Timmy Rahill 5 0-1 12; Jordan Getz 2 1-2 5; Gabe Cerulli 2 0-0 4; Callum Kockott 1 0-0 2; George O’Brien 1 0-0 2; Owen Provenzano 1 0-0 2; Justin McCloskey 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 16 3-6 37.

North Penn (72) – Ahmaar Godhania 2 0-0 6; Norman Gee 2 1-1 5; Teddy McAllister 8 4-4 24; Ryan Zeltt 4 0-0 10; Lee Hammond 1 0-0 2; Ryan Deininger 6 2-3 15; Corey Meade 3 0-2 6; Robbie Sukaly 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 28 7-10 72.

3-point goals: CRS – Timmy Rahill 2; NP – Teddy McAllister 4, Ryan Zeltt 2, Ahmaar Godhania 2, Ryan Deininger.

Non-league

ABINGTON 53, WEST CHESTER EAST 51

If the Ghosts were looking for a signature win, they got it, upsetting a highly regarded Viking squad that brought a 10-3 record into the game.

“All of them are nice wins right now, but this was really a good one,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “They’re very good – they’re long, they’re athletic, they play hard, they’re well coached. It was impressive.

“We told our guys – this is one of the better teams that we play in the district – no respect to anyone else. They were playing extremely well, we’d been hearing how good they were. This was an important win.”

The Ghosts, who trailed 11-7 after one quarter, outscored their visitors 39-23 in the second and third quarters combined. Jeremiah Lee scored 11 of his game-high 22 points in the 20-point second quarter.

“I thought we defended well, we rebounded,” Grasty said of his team’s surge.

In addition to scoring 22 points, Lee also had eight rebounds and five steals. Paul Glants scored all nine of his points in the first half. He also had two rebounds, two steals and three assists. Damon Rawls scored six points on a pair of 3s and had six assists.

Josh Young was the undeniable unsung hero of Thursday’s win, stuffing the stat sheet with five points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots, three steals and two assists.

“Josh Young did an excellent job for us tonight,” Grasty said. “He’s down there battling his tail off. If he couldn’t get the rebound, he was tipping it out to our guys. He was just fighting. He definitely was a really important part of tonight’s win.

“To see him down there just battling – he never complains, doesn’t worry about shooting the ball. He could care less about stats. He was doing all the little things that we need. He’s a great captain, a great leader.”

One of Young’s baskets in the second half was unorthodox but crucial.

“He was falling down and threw it up, and it went in – it was huge because they were making a run, and we obviously needed it,” Grasty said.

Kamari Ingram had four points, but both were big baskets – his first off a steal to end the third quarter and his second to open the fourth quarter that gave the Ghosts a 48-34 lead.

Those baskets loomed large when West Chester East reeled off 12 straight points to make it a 48-46 game, but the Ghosts would not be denied, coming up with big defensive stops and pulling down big rebounds.

The game’s final moments were not without drama. East missed on a shot for the tie, and Young came up with the rebound. With 5.5 seconds remaining in regulation, the Ghosts misfired on the front end of a one-and-one. The Vikings called a timeout with 4.7 seconds on the scoreboard clock. Their 3-point attempt at the buzzer didn’t touch the rim, and Aaron Jones corralled the rebound as the buzzer sounded and the Abington faithful stormed the court.

“We defended the 3 because they were on fire,” Grasty said. “The good thing was – they made a monster run and cut it to two, and I thought our guys really kept their composure. We made a couple of plays we’ll have to clean up, but no one really panicked. Against a team like this we could have made a whole lot more mistakes and been on the other end. I thought our guys handled their run and just kept plugging away. They kept their composure. That was impressive.”

The Ghosts shot 21-for-43 from the field (48.8 percent) and buried 6-of-12 from beyond the arc (50 percent). They were 5-for-13 from the foul line (38.4 percent).

Abington (7-6, 6-2 SOL) will host Lower Moreland on Friday.

West Chester East 11-12-11-17 51

Abington 7-20-19-7 53

West Chester East (51) – Jose Ramos 4 0-0 9; Jack Kushner 6 0-0 12; KJ Cochran 7 4-7 21; Jack Gallagher 1 1-2 3; Ryan Price 2 0-0 6; TOTALS 20 5-9 51.

Abington (56) – Damon Rawls 2 0-1 6; Jeremiah Lee 9 2-8 22; Paul Glants 3 2-2 9; Josh Young 2 1-2 5; Kellen Ingram 2 0-0 4; Lathan Miller 1 0-0 3; Kamari Brashear 1 -0 2; Aaron Jones 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 21 5-13 53.

3-point goals: WCE – KJ Cochran 3, Ryan Price 2, Jose Ramos; Abington – Damon Rawls 2, Jeremiah Lee 2, Paul Glants, Lathan Miller.