Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday.
National Conference
ABINGTON 55, PENNSBURY 35
The Ghosts are alone atop the National Conference standings, thanks to Thursday’s convincing win over a Falcon squad that handed them their only SOL loss on Dec. 10 (42-36). Both teams entered the game with identical 7-1 records after one go round in conference play.
“I thought our energy was a lot better tonight,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “The first time we played them it was the fourth game of the season.
“We have a lot of new guys that were playing a lot of varsity minutes, and I don’t think they totally understood the speed of the game or how physical the game is. They came out with the effort that we needed tonight. We made them take tough shots, we contested everything, threw some different things at them, and most of it just had to do with effort.”
The Ghosts, who led by just two after one quarter, took a 17-11 lead into halftime and then seized control with a 15-6 third quarter. They outscored the Falcons 38-24 in the second half.
“In the first half, I thought we rushed a lot of shots with the crowd and the atmosphere,” Grasty said. “They’re playing in front of their family and friends, and I thought we rushed a lot of shots.
“In the third quarter, I thought we made that extra pass, and we pretty much played the right way. We were patient, and we got the shots that I thought we could get against them, and then we were able to get some easy baskets.”
Robbie Heath led all scorers with 16 points. Eric Dixon added a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds on a night that saw nine players contribute scoring for the Ghosts.
“Brian Close gave us a spark again,” Grasty said. “He comes off the bench, he’s a senior captain, and he just comes in and he’s one of the hardest workers on our team.
“He could be starting on this team, but he’s accepted his role coming off the bench. He didn’t score a lot of points, but he just does all the little things for us. He’s awesome. He’s someone as a coach I love having – I wish we could have him every year.”
The Ghosts’ coach acknowledged the contributions of several other players off the bench as well.
“B.J. James played well – another captain that comes off the bench,” Grasty said. “Joe O’Brien stepped up tonight too.
“We played all 15 guys tonight, which was good. Guys came in and gave us a lot of energy. Again, they didn’t score a lot of points, but they were in the right place, got some 50-50 balls and might have boxed someone out to keep them from getting a rebound. Just little things like that, and I tell them they’re super important.”
O’Brien and Dion Greene each added six points for the Ghosts.
Mark Flagg led the Falcons with eight points while Rob Daly and Isaiah Carpenter each had six.
Abington (11-3, 7-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks South in Saturday’s SOL Challenge (2 p.m.). Pennsbury (9-5, 6-2) will take on Norristown at Quakertown (2:30 p.m.)
Pennsbury 5-6-6-18 35
Abington 7-10-15-23 55
Pennsbury: Jake Martel 3, Addison Howard 5, Mark Flagg 8, Corey Dea 2, Rob Daly 6, Isaiah Carpenter 6, Louie Bavas 2, Obi Onuoha 3.
Abington: Jack Steinman 5, Robert Young 1, Donell Wessels 2, Brian Close 3, Eric Dixon 11, Eric Dougherty 5, Dion Greene 6, Joe O’Brien 6, Robbie Heath 16.
HARRY S TRUMAN 51, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 50
The Tigers won a thriller on Thursday night, earning the dramatic win when junior Danell Snelling converted an offensive rebound into a bucket with six seconds remaining.
Snelling led all scorers with 22 points, and teammate Kelechi Ogbonna added 12. Justin Fant contributed nine points
The Tigers trailed by one after one quarter and found themselves staring at a 30-22 deficit at halftime. They trimmed three points off the Golden Hawks’ lead with a 13-10 third quarter and then outscored their visitors 16-10 in the final quarter.
For the Golden Hawks, Ryan Boyd led the way with nine points while Austin Thomas and Alex Nordenholt each had nine. Mike Stock had eight, and Jim Rebholz added six points.
The win avenged a 57-42 loss at the hands of the Golden Hawks in the SOL opener for both squads.
Harry S Truman (4-8, 3-4 SOL) will face Cheltenham in Saturday’s SOL Challenge at Council Rock North (1:30 p.m.). Council Rock South (6-7, 4-4) will take on North Penn at Bensalem Saturday (11 a.m.).
Council Rock South 11-19-10-10 50
Harry S Truman 10-12-13-16 51
Council Rock South: Austin Thomas 9, Jim Rebholz 6, Michael Krepich 3, Alex Nordenholt 9, Kevin Newbert 5, Mike Stock 8, Ryan Boyd 10.
Harry S Truman: Quin McQueen 2, Kelechi Ogbonna 12, Danell Snelling 22, Justin Fant 9, Khalil Trammel 2, ZJ Jackson 2, Thomas Cergino 2.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 52, WILLIAM TENNENT 41
Will Desautelle scored 13 points and Tyler Nowmos added 13 to lead the Indians to the win over the Panthers.
Sparked by eight points from Desautelle, the Indians led 16-12 after one quarter, and they took a 26-21 lead into halftime. They outscored the Panthers in all four quarters.
Noah Ehlin added seven points for the Indians.
John Ryan scored 13 points to lead the Panthers while Anthony Woodward had eight points and Pat McCauley and Matt Berndlmaier each added seven.
Council Rock North (7-7, 5-3 SOL) will host Souderton in Saturday’s SOL Challenge (4:30 p.m.). William Tennent (5-9, 2-6) will take on Central Bucks West at Abington at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
William Tennent 12-9-6-12 41
Council Rock North 16-10-10-16 52
William Tennent: Anthony Woodward 8, Pat McCauley 7, John Ryan 13, Matt Berndlmaier 7, Brendan Carter 6
Council Rock North: Tyler Nowmos 13, Matt McAlister 3, Will Desautelle 19, Noah Ehlin 7, Tommy Kelly 3, Elliott Spicer 5, Matt Baniewicz 2.
Continental Conference
SOUDERTON 61, HATBORO-HORSHAM 59 (OT)
Revenge was sweet indeed for an Indian squad that suffered a 17-point loss to the Hatters in their SOL opener. Thursday’s win was just the second in SOL play for the Indians, whose only other conference victory came over Quakertown.
“I was proud of the toughness we played with tonight,” coach Chuck Kornegay said. “I told the guys if we started rebounding and limited turnovers we would start winning games.”
Point guard Ty Salone led the Indians with 17 points.
“Ty Salone controlled the game,” Kornegay said. “He had 17 points and a ton of assists. He made great decisions tonight.”
The Indians trailed by one after one quarter but outscored the Hatters 23-15 in the second to go into halftime with a 30-23 lead. The Hatters pulled to within four (42-39) heading into the final quarter and then rallied to knot the score. The Indians had a chance to win it in regulation but misfired on a pair at the foul line, setting the stage for overtime.
“We came out in overtime feeling a little down,” Kornegay said. “They transitioned to a one-three-one (defense) that bothered us. We turned the ball over, and they scored.”
Ian Beardlsey, who finished with 10 points, connected on a big three in an overtime that saw the Indians hold a 6-4 advantage.
“We had a team meeting yesterday – an honest meeting addressing the state of the team,” said Kornegay, who lauded the defensive efforts of Matt Cartwright and Tracy Simsick.
Simsick scored 13 points, Austin Eberhart had eight and Cartwright, six points
Hatboro-Horsham’s Jay Davis led all scorers with 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Clifton Moore added 22 points and 13 rebounds. Brian McEachern contributed 10 points.
Souderton (5-9, 2-6 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North for a matchup with the Indians on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Hatboro-Horsham (7-7, 5-3) will face Upper Dublin at Plymouth Whitemarsh Saturday (5 p.m.).
Hatboro-Horsham 8-15-16-16-4 59
Souderton 7-23-12-13-6 61
Hatboro-Horsham: Jay Davis 26, Clifton moore 22, Brian McEachern 10, Ezekia Sloan 1.
Souderton: Ty Salone 17, Tracy Simsick 13, Ian Beardsley 10, Austin Eberhart 8, Matt Cartwright 6, Mike Bealer 5, Noah Horas.
American Conference
CHELTENHAM 55, UPPER MERION 53
The Panthers needed a last-second putback by Trevonn Pitts to eke out a win over the visiting Vikings.
“I talked to (UM coach Jason Quenzer) afterwards – this game was Plymouth Whitemarsh-Cheltenham all over again,” Cheltenham coach John Timms said. “We had a seven-point lead in that game, so it was a little different, but it ended the same way.
“We had the ball with 20 seconds left and hit the game winner with four seconds left. It was a great game.”
The tone for the game was set early as the two teams exchanged baskets in the opening half. The Vikings led by one after one quarter, and the score was deadlocked 25-25 at halftime. The Panthers took a 40-37 lead into the final quarter, but that lead was anything but secure.
“That Upper Merion team is good,” Timms said. “They have a great kid in Matt Faw, a 6-8 Division One prospect, and Ethan Miller is 6-7.
“They have a lot of length. They’re pretty big, so I was worried, and we didn’t have Branden Mack today because he went to the Maxwell football awards, so we lost our length.”
In the absence of Mack, Pitts turned in a monster performance for the Panthers, finishing with an impressive double-double that included 22 points and 14 rebounds. Seven of those rebounds came on the offensive end. He also had four steals. Khalil White added 11 points, eight assists and four steals, and Justin Sutton had 10 points.
“We took five charges as a team,” Timms said. “Trevonn Pitts drew the offensive assignment of guarding Matt Faw, so along with the offensive performance he had, he also had the toughest assignment and was able to get Matt Faw to foul out of the game by taking charges.
“That was part of our game plan, forcing him to drive and to step in and take the charge. We were able to get two charges, and that was key. This was Trevonn Pitts’ best all-around performance.”
For the Vikings, Faw led the way with 18. Ethan Miller added 14, and Isaiah Graham-Mobley contributed eight.
“When I tell you it was a two or three possession game all the way through – the biggest lead maybe was five or seven,” Timms said. “They held a two or three-point lead for the majority of the game. It was back and forth.
“People said, ‘You didn’t expect it to be this close.’ Yes, I did. I have a lot of respect for our opponents. I think we have one of the toughest leagues, so any win is bonus. If you can walk away with a win, consider yourself lucky.
“It was a division game, and I try to get our guys to understand you can’t take any team for granted, and you have to sustain focus through four quarters because the moment you let up, they’re going to make a run. We’re fortunate, and now we have to prepare for Truman on Saturday.”
Cheltenham (11-3, 7-1 SOL) will face Harry S Truman on Saturday in the SOL Challenge at Council Rock North (1:30 p.m.). Upper Merion (8-5, 3-4) will host Springfield on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Upper Merion12-13-12-16 53
Cheltenham 11-14-15-15 55
Upper Merion: Matt Faw 18, Ethan Miller 14, Isaiah Graham-Mobley 8, Chris Carita 5, Andrew Persaud 3, Aidan Newell 2, Anthony Shepperd 2, Joseph Bernardo 1.
Cheltenham: Khalil White 11, Anthony White 2, Ahmad Bickley 2, Maurice Valentine 4,
UPPER DUBLIN 57, NORRISTOWN 44
The Flying Cardinals opened up an early 8-4 lead and still led 8-6 after one quarter. They blew the game open with an 18-8 second quarter surge to go into halftime with a 26-14 lead. The Eagles would get no closer than eight the rest of the way as the visiting Cardinals rolled to their fifth straight win.
“We felt like we really were in control,” UD coach Josh Adelman said. “We were handling their pressure, and we were getting good looks.
“We were converting our foul shots, and with their pressure, we were getting some breakaways. It was one of those nights were the guys were feeling good. They’re working well together right now.”
John Barrett led all scorers with 16 points, and Ryan Stover added 15. Will Derr also was in double figures with 13, which included a 5-of-6 effort at the foul line. Jimmy Gallagher added eight.
“We have been really getting a lot of big contributions by our starting five and the bench, but it’s great when you get Will Derr going,” Adelman said. “He just does such a good job on the boards.
“He’s been struggling a little bit from the foul line, but he came out and shot well from the foul line tonight. He’s really been working on it. John hit a couple of threes, and Stove (Ryan Stover) can beat you so many different ways. Jimmy Gallagher – you could go right down the list. Ben Abel does such a nice job controlling the tempo of the game.”
Upper Dublin (6-7, 4-4 SOL) will face Hatboro-Horsham at Plymouth Whitemarsh on Saturday (5 p.m.). Norristown (5-9, 3-5) will travel to Quakertown for a 5:30 p.m. game Saturday.
Upper Dublin 8-18-14-17 57
Norristown 6-8-14-16 44
Upper Dublin: John Barrett 16, Curtez Goff 2, Will Derr 13, Jimmy Gallagher 8, Ryan Stover 15, Isaiah Heinrich 3.
Norristown: Darryl Carr 8, Desmond Gorski 3, Amir Carter 15, Clark 2, Tyrique Lyons 17.
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