Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. CR South/CR North photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL National Conference
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 46, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 40
The visiting Golden Hawks staged a late rally – outscoring the Indians 15-4 in the fourth quarter – to eke out a win in a fierce battle between the neighboring rivals.
“They are so well coached, they have really good players, and when you fall behind against them, it becomes that much more difficult with how 
they can control the ball and control the clock,” Rock South coach Chris Clark said. “Our kids really had to fight through that and grind out a win.
“It was just a great team effort of sticking together because North played well, and we stayed together until the end.”
The Indians – behind five points from Connor Rushing and four from Hunter Wan – led 11-4 after one quarter. Jack Blum and Bernie Parent both scored five points in the second quarter, and the Indians took a seven-point lead into halftime, 24-17.
The Golden Hawks still trailed by five after three quarters but stayed in it, thanks to eight third-quarter points from Michael Stewart. Jack Rebholz had a huge fourth quarter, scoring 10 of his game-high 20 points in the frame, to lead the Golden Hawks to the come-from-behind win. Luca Baratta added five points in the frame.
“We were down the whole game until we finally tied it up with five minutes to go and took a lead with three or four minutes to go – that was the first time we had a lead,” Clark said. “Jack Rebholz had 10 points in the fourth quarter, and Luca Baratta had a big three and two free throws late, and that was also big.
“Michael Stewart had eight points in the third quarter, and he had a couple of steals in the fourth quarter.”
Council Rock South (10-5, 4-2 SOL) will travel to Harry S Truman on Thursday, and Council Rock North (3-10, 1-5) will be on the road at Pennsbury on Thursday.
Council Rock South 4-13-14-15 46
Council Rock North 11-13-12-4 40
Council Rock South (46) – Jack Rebholz 8 2-4 20; Luca Baratta 1 2-2 5; Luke Meakim 1 0-0 3; Michael Stewart 4 3-4 13; Kevin McNamee 2 1-2 5; Totals 16 8-12 46.
Council Rock North (40) – Bernie Parent 4 0-0 10; Sean Mealey 1 0-0 2; Hunter Wan 3 2-4 9; Mikey Sylvester 1 0-2 2; Connor Rushing 4 3-5 11; Jack Blum 2 0-0 5; Totals 15 5-11 40.
Three-point goals: CRS – Jack Rebholz 2, Michael Stewart 2, Luke Meakim, Luca Baratta, CRN – Bernie Parent 2, Hunter Wan, Jack Blum.
PENNSBURY 72, NESHAMINY 64
Collin Connor and Shane Simmons combined for 41 points to lead the Falcons to the win over their neighboring rivals. Connor finished with a game-high 25, which included an impressive 6-for-13 effort from beyond the arc. Simmons had a pair of threes and finished with 16 points. He completed a glittering double-double with 13 rebounds.
“We made shots again today,” Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. “Collin and Shane did a good job offensively. In the second and third quarters, they played really well, and that was really the key.
“Defensively, we played well for three quarters and did not play well at all in the fourth. That’s definitely something we need to improve on – we need to be solid for 32 minutes. We got 28 minutes out of them today. We’ll take the win.”
The Falcons, who trailed 18-15 after one quarter, outscored the Redskins 44-25 over the middle two frames to seize control of the game.
Kyrie Miller also finished the game in double figures with 10 points. He connected on 4-of-6 shots from the field and 2-of-2 at the line. Evan Reichard added nine points, and Amir Johnson had six.
“We got scoring and contributions from everybody who played, which is always good to see,” Coleman said. “We just have to learn how to finish better.”
For the Redskins, Matt Drapkin had a big day, finishing with 21 points that included a 4-for-6 effort from long range. Jake McGinty also finished in double figures with 12 points. Mike Murray added nine points, Jimmy MacDonald had eight, and Tom Mullin had six points.
Pennsbury (4-6, 2-3 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Thursday at 5 p.m., and Neshaminy (5-8, 2-4) will host Bensalem on Thursday.
Pennsbury 15-22-22-13 72
Neshaminy 18-10-15-21 64
Pennsbury (72) – Shane Simmons 6 2-3 16, Kyrie Miller 4 2-2 10; Collin Connor 8 3-4 25; Amir Johnson 2 2-2 6; Evan McNeely 0 2-4 2; BaShaun Glover 3 3-5 9; Totals 25 14-20 72.
Neshaminy (64) – Jimmy MacDonald 2 4-5 8; Matt Drapkin 7 3-4 21; Damon McGovern 0 4-6 4; Mike Murray 2 5-6 9; Tom Mullin 2 0-0 6; Sean Curley 1 1-2 4; Jake McGinty 4 3-6 12; Totals 18 20-29 64.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Collin Connor 6, Shane Simmons 2, Neshaminy – Matt Drapkin 4, Tom Mullin 2, Sean Curley, Jake McGinty.
HARRY S TRUMAN 49, WILLIAM TENNENT 45
The suddenly surging Tigers notched their third win in four days, and this was a big one, knocking off the Panthers and bringing an end to their seven-game winning streak.
“This was a big win for our program tonight,” Truman coach Tyrone Lewis said. “It was a great team effort.”
A key to the win was the 12-point third quarter of senior guard Fernando Vargas, who finished the game with 14 points and seven assists. Makai Jackson added 12 points.
The Tigers’ three-game winning streak comes on the heels of nine straight losses to open the season.
“I moved a couple of kids up from the jayvee team into the starting lineup,” Lewis said of junior Kayshawn Clark and sophomore Makai Jackson. “They have been great additions to the team.
“They are hitting and making big shots for us every night and also making plays on defense. They truly have added new life and a new look to this team, and everyone is following their lead.”
Harry S Truman (3-9, 1-4 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Thursday, and William Tennent (9-4, 4-2) will travel to Quakertown for a non-league contest Thursday.
SOL Continental Conference
PENNRIDGE 52, NORTH PENN 44
Trent Fisher scored a game-high 17 points, and the Rams received a lift from their bench, rallying from an early deficit to notch their sixth win without a loss after one go-round in conference play.
“I thought it was ultimately a great team effort, and that’s why we won,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “I think we’re playing pretty well as a team, and our effort has been there. I think the first minute or minute-and-a-half the energy was not there, but we picked it up.
“We played with a lot of urgency. I think the kids knew we were in for a battle. It’s a team I was worried about. It’s crucial to guard that perimeter because they have five or six kids that can shoot the three.”
The Knights led 16-13 after one quarter, but the Rams – behind eight points, including a pair of threes, from Anthony Phillips – outscored the Knights 18-11 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 31-27 advantage. Mike Chaffee led the Knights with 10 first-half points, which included three three-pointers.
“We got down 7-0 to start the game, so that doesn’t bode well,” Behrens said. “I thought the fact that we didn’t panic – we’re getting a little more experienced with these guys.
“I didn’t even call a timeout – I was thinking about it and figured, ‘Let’s see what happens on this next possession.’ We scored, and it seemed like we settled in. We gave up a lot of points in the first half – we gave up 27, but they did a really good job of shooting the three. We had some miscommunications defensively, and the second half – the key was we held them to five points in the fourth quarter. Ultimately, we did a better job the second half.”
Another key in the second half was the Rams ability to get the ball to Fisher, who scored 11 second-half points.
“He did a nice job tonight,” Behrens said. “Anthony Phillips came off the bench and had a big 10 points for us. That was huge. In the second quarter, he hit two threes back to back, and that really gave us a huge shot in the arm after getting down early. Our bench – Anthony Phillips and Connor Pleibel – gave us 11 points in the first half. They gave us a huge lift offensively and defensively.
“Christian Guldin didn’t score a lot, but he was under duress, and he did a great job on their point guard, Joe Larkins. He held the team together when they started pressing us late in the game and tried to trap. He’s been a force for us.”
For the Knights, Chaffee led three players in double figures with 16. Josh Jones and Larkins both had 10, and Matt Swanson chipped in six.
“I thought North Penn was playing their best basketball recently,” Behrens said. “They’re a formidable opponent.
“They’re athletic, and that Jones kid is a soccer player, and he’s playing well. Then that Chaffee kid was shooting lights out.”
Pennridge (11-3, 6-0 SOL) will travel to Haverford for a non-league game Saturday at 4 p.m., and North Penn (4-9, 2-4) will travel to Souderton Thursday for an 8 p.m. contest.
Pennridge 13-18-10-11 52
North Penn 16-11-12-5 44
Pennridge (52) – Connor Pleibel 1 0-0 2; Ryan Benscoter 2 1-2 5; Luke Yoder 3 3-4 10; Christian Guldin 2 0-0 4; Colin Post 2 0-0 4; Anthony Phillips 3 2-2 10; Trent Fisher 6 4-7 17; Totals 19 10-15 52.
North Penn (44) – Josh Jones 5 0-2 10; Joe Larkins 4 0-1 10; Mike Chaffee 5 1-1 16; Rob Carangi 1 0-0 2; Matt Swanson 2 2-2 6; Totals 17 3-6 44.
3-point goals: Pennridge – Anthony Phillips 2, Luke Yoder, Trent Fisher, NP – Mike Chaffee 5, Joe Larkins 2.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 47, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 40
The visiting Bucks jumped out to a 31-16 halftime lead and then withstood a second half comeback attempt by the Titans.
“We had a good first half,” West coach Adam Sherman said. “The second half we kind of lost our rhythm, and you have to give CB South some credit. I thought they did a good job of changing the pace of the game. They kind of crawled back in the game.
“You’re hoping you’re starting to gel at this time of year. We played well in the first half. It would have been nice to see us put four quarters together like that. Hopefully, we can learn from it and be a little better at it next game.”
South’s Alex Dietz led all scorers with 20 points. Teammate Mike Waltrich added seven.
For the Bucks, Jack Neri led the way with 17 points, and Mika Munari added 10. Jack Slaymaker contributed six points.
“For them, I thought Dietz played well – he hit some tough shots,” said Sherman, lauding the defensive play of Teddy Spratt on Dietz. “I thought he did a really good job of giving him a difficult time.
“We were pretty balanced. Jack Neri and Mika Munari had a good first half. Off the bench, we had a nice push from Jack Slaymaker, and Joe Monahan came off the bench and hit a couple of threes that really allowed us to get going.”
Central Bucks West (11-4, 4-2 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East Friday for a 6:30 p.m. contest. Central Bucks South (8-6, 3-3) will be on the road at Quakertown Friday.
Central Bucks West 13-18-8-8 47
Central Bucks South 6-10-14-10 40
Central Bucks West (47) – Jack Slaymaker 6, Andrew Lindenmuth 3, Teddy Spratt 2, Owen Haney 4, Jack Neri 17, Joe Monahan 3, Mika Munari 10, Danny Miller 2.
Central Bucks South (40) – Mike Waltrich 7, Evan D’Orazio 3, Jay Macalindong 3, Josiah Harrison 2, Alex Dietz 20, Nick Wursta 3, Michael Farley 2.
SOUDERTON 62, QUAKERTOWN 53
The shorthanded Indians travelled to Quakertown and got a much needed win. Providing leadership and a standout offensive performance was senior Brian Reiner, who scored a game-high 20 points.
“We have been that next-man-up mentality since AV has gone down,” coach Tim Brown said of his senior captain Andrew Vince. “It’s good to see guys getting used to their expanded roles and feeling comfortable with the varsity speed and just getting comfortable with what we need them to do.
“Brian was great. He’s tough to stay in front of for defenders, and he used that to his advantage tonight – got to the rack and kind of led the way for us. I think everybody played with the confidence and swagger that he put out tonight. He just led the troops as that senior.”
Reiner set the tone for a big night with six first-quarter points, but he had plenty of help, Ben Murawski, Evan Kutzler and Jason Price each had five points in a quarter that saw the Indians open up a 22-3 lead over their hosts.
“Dylan Hollick played a great point guard for us tonight,” Brown said. “Evan Kutzler was awesome defensively, and offensively, he’s getting comfortable and finding his groove a little bit.
“Ben Murawski played with great energy. It was good to see these juniors that are getting their chances rise up to the occasion.”
The Indians were not only without Vince, who is lost for the season, they also were without Dom Natale due to an injury.
“Trying to figure that out and playing without him is tough as well,” Brown said. “Since our Pennridge game, we’ve been without him. It’s been a crazy ride.”
Luke Bauer’s 18 points – 16 in the fourth quarter – led the Panthers. Jake Hallowell added 13 and Matt Tuley had six.
Souderton (9-6, 3-3 SOL) will host North Penn on Thursday at 8 p.m., and Quakertown (0-12, 0-6) will host William Tennent in a non-league game Thursday.
Souderton 22-7-18-15 62
Quakertown 3-8-14-28 53
Souderton (62) – Dylan Hollick 2 0-0 4; Jason Price 3 2-6 10; Evan Kutzler 5 5-8 15; Jack Towsen 1 1-2 4; Brian Reiner 6 8-12 20; Ben Murawski 2 5-8 9; Totals 19 21-36 62.
Quakertown (53) – Kayden Riley 1 2-7 5; Jack Gordon 3 2-2 9; Jake Hallowell 5 1-3 13; Matt Tuley 1 4-4 6; Ty Wilkin 1 0-0 2; Luke Bauer 6 4-4 18; Totals 17 14-20 53.
3-point goals: Souderton – Jason Price 2, Jack Towsen, Quakertown – Jake Hallowell 2, Luke Bauer 2, Jack Gordon.
SOL American Conference
CHELTENHAM 71, ABINGTON 65 (2 OT)
In less than three seconds, a lot of emotions took a wild turn in Cheltenham’s gym.
Up two points after Jaelen McGlone’s free throw with 2.7 seconds left in regulation, the Panthers had to get one stop. They wouldn’t get it, however, when despite being tipped by a defender, Oreck Frazier’s inbound pass flew from under one basket to the other, and after missing his first attempt, Abington’s Caleb Baker tipped in his miss to force overtime.
As a freshman backup last year, Justin Moore got a little taste of the always-heated rivalry between the neighboring schools, but he is playing a much bigger role in it as the Panthers’ starting point guard.
“The energy in the gym is different, there’s a lot of fans and you just don’t want to let anybody down,” Moore said. “We had to be smart, poised and humble and that’s what we did as a team.”
Cheltenham has built its identity on being a defense-first team and one that, when at its best on the defensive end, gets a lot of points on the other. Tuesday, the Panthers were at their best at the most important times and forced more than 25 Abington turnovers throughout the game.
Senior Jaelen McGlone, who led all scorers with 24 points, put on a show early with a steal and slam dunk as part of a 12-5 opening run for the hosts. The guard, who also posted 11 rebounds and four steals, knew early on it was a different kind of night in the packed-to-capacity gym.
“This is all about bragging rights, this was the craziest game of the year,” McGlone said. “Everybody comes out, it’s always fun to play in.”
Abington closed within four points at the end of the first but again fell behind in the second as the Panthers continued to read their passes and create steals and scores going the other way. McGlone said they picked up that the Ghosts wanted to drive and kick, so the defenders were ready to jump into those passing lanes.
Down five in the final minute of the half, Abington rallied back with seven straight capped by Oreck Frazier’s tip-in at the horn for a 30-28 lead at the break. Interestingly, the Ghosts scored the last basket of each quarter in regulation, all of them coming in the last two seconds.
Moore, who scored 15 of his 17 points after halftime, also passed out seven assists and helped the Panthers rebuild a lead in the third until Cheltenham again let Abington finish with momentum. Manir Waller, who led Abington with 18 points, stole a pass and took it all the way for a layup in the final seconds of the quarter to stake the Ghosts up 47-46.
Instead of crumbling, the Panthers came together and used their defense to force three early turnovers and a tie up in the first few minutes to go back in front. The game of momentum swings went back to the home bench for a few minutes, capped when Moore found Mike McClain for a three and 55-47 lead with just under three minutes to play.
The Ghosts weren’t done, with Cheltenham going cold at the foul line to help the comeback effort. Waller’s score in the final five seconds cut the lead to one. McGlone split two foul shots at the line with 2.7 left, with the Frazier-to-Baker play coming right after and extending the game.
Cheltenham fell behind four points with 1:13 left in the extra period, but McClain, who put in 15 points, rallied his team with a putback basket, then tied it up off a terrific pass from Moore. Defense ruled late, as the Panthers again tipped an inbound pass and this time forced an errant shot at the overtime buzzer.
Injured point guard Zahree Harrison has taken on a role mentoring Moore and the senior pushed his understudy to come up big for his team. Moore responded, scoring the go-ahead basket in the second overtime with McGlone knocking one down a possession later for a four-point lead.
“He told me to be myself and be a superstar,” Moore said. “He told me it’s special out here but to stay in the moment.”
Waller scored to make it 65-63, but Cheltenham’s other young point guard would help lock up the game. Saleem Payne bounced back off a couple misses at the line in regulation to knock down two with 34 seconds left, and got a layup off a steal and outlet pass with 17 seconds to play to give the hosts a five-point lead.
“Saleem, Justin, Brandon (Hawkins), Travis (Coleman), all of them came in clutch,” McGlone said. “They made free throws, played defense. I love them all.”
Also for the Panthers, Sean Emfinger had six points, five assists, three blocks and three steals. Travis Coleman had four steals.
Tuesday’s win capped a stretch of four games in five days for the Panthers.
“I think their bodies are fatigued, but I don’t think their minds are,” coach Patrick Fleury said. “This was a rivalry game. I think that the rankings, the records go out the window. The atmosphere was great. After the Malvern Prep game, which was a tough loss, I think our guys were focused on getting back in league play and when adversity hits they turn to each other and not on each other and push forward.
“Today Mike McClain came in and gave us a big boost because Brandon Scott is out. I think it was the resiliency of the team, which is what Cheltenham is – a resilient place, and they’re starting to embody that and show they can galvanize a community. They also played well and played hard. This league is so fun to play in because there are so many competitive teams. There are things we can do better, but we continue to have guys step up.”
In addition to Waller, Rob Bell had14 points and Oreck Frazier had nine for the Ghosts.
Cheltenham (13-2, 7-0 SOL) will travel to Upper Moreland Thursday, and Abington (6-6, 5-2) will be on the road at Academy Park for a non-league game Thursday.
Cheltenham 18-10-18-11-4-10 71
Abington 14-16-17-10-4-4 65
Cheltenham (71) Justin Moore 5 7-10 17, Jaelen McGlone 9 4-6 24, Mike McClain 7 0-0 15, Sean Emfinger 3 0-0 6, Saleem Payne 1 3-5 5, Travis Coleman 2 0-1 4. Totals: 27 14-22 71
Abington (65) – Manir Waller 8 2-5 18, Oreck Frazier 4 1-2 9, Robert Bell 7 0-0 14, Joey Brusha 2 0-0 6, Caleb Baker 3 0-0 7, Antoine Ellis 2 0-0 6, Connor Fields 1 3-4 5. Totals: 27 6-11 65
3-point goals: Cheltenham – McGlone 2, McClain; Abington – Brusha 2, Ellis 2, Baker
WISSAHICKON 43, UPPER MORELAND 39
A shorthanded Golden Bear squad gave the Trojans all they could handle, but the Trojans – sparked by the stellar 24-point effort of Matt Compas – eked out the win. It was the fourth straight win for the Trojans after a 3-8 start.
“It was a good one,” Wilson said. “I went and watched PW play Upper Dublin last night, and someone mentioned Upper Moreland might be down a man, but it wasn’t until we got there tonight that we found out Beau Woolens – their starting point guard – blew out his knee and is done for the year.
“I feel bad for the kid. He’s a hard competitor. I’ve coached against Beau the last three years. It’s tough. No one wants to see any other coach or team go without a key player. Then we found out that Jahaire Johnson, their leading scorer, was out with the flu, so they were without two of their guys, but man, they really gave a really tough fight at their place.
“Hats off to them. It seemed like we would get ahead by seven or eight, and they would cut it to two. Late in the game, they took the lead once if not twice, and we had to come back, and we were able to wrestle the lead from them.”
The Golden Bears – behind a pair of Tyler Ibbotson threes – led 13-12 after one quarter, but the Trojans turned the tables in the second quarter, outscoring the Bears 17-9 to go into halftime with a 29-22 lead. Compas led the charge with seven points in the second quarter, 14 in the first half.
The Trojans managed just two points in the third quarter but only allowed four and still had the lead only to watch the Golden Bears come roaring back in the fourth quarter.
“A real clutch play in the fourth quarter – Harrison Williams got a huge offensive rebound after we missed a foul shot late in the game when it was literally a one-point game,” Wilson said. “Harrison went and knocked down two free throws.
“Matt Compas also had some clutch free throws down the stretch to give us the lead. It was good to watch those guys step to the line at the end of the game very confident. The guys are starting to build some confidence. When we lost the lead, nobody batted an eye. They just kept playing tough defense, and said, ‘Hey, we can make a play and get back in this,’ and they did.”
Compas led the Trojans in the fourth quarter with eight points, which included a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line. The Trojans buried 6-of-7 from the charity stripe in the frame. Sophomore Byron Hopkins had a big fourth quarter for the Bears, scoring six points.
Hopkins and Ibbotson led the Golden Bears with 12 points each. Ibbotson connected on four threes, and Hopkins had a pair. Matt Tiernan added eight points.
In addition to Compas, Williams had eight points for the Trojans. Both had a pair of three-pointers.
Wissahickon (7-8, 5-2 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Friday, and Upper Moreland (8-4, 3-4) will host Cheltenham on Thursday.
Wissahickon 12-17-2-12 43
Upper Moreland 13—9-4-13 39
Wissahickon (43) – Andrew Buck 1 0-1 3; Harrison Williams 2 2-2 8; Stefan Lowry 2 0-0 4; Matt Compas 9 4-4 24; Carmen Ostroski 1 2-4 4; Totals 15 8-11 43.
Upper Moreland (39) – Byron Hopkins 4 2-4 12; Jourdan Gregg 2 1-3 5; McKie Walker 1 0-2 2; Matt Tiernan 4 0-1 8; Tyler Ibbotson 4 0-0 12; Totals 15 3-10 39.
3-point goals: Wissahickon – Matt Compas, Harrison Williams 2, Andrew Buck, UM – Tyler Ibbotson 4, Byron Hopkins 2.
UPPER DUBLIN 53, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 36
Twenty-four hours after dropping a thriller to Plymouth Whitemarsh, the Flying Cardinals came back to earn the convincing conference win.
“For us, this was just a great bounce-back game,” UD coach Chris Monahan said. “That was a heartbreaking game for us. We were winning most of the game, we were up one with 13 seconds left and we ended up losing after we lost three games in a row.
“Teams can get down in the dumps in situations like that, but our attitude from the jump in this game was very good. We got off to a good start. In the first quarter, it was 15-6, and we built on that in the second quarter and went into halftime up 34-17 and in a good position for the rest of the game.”
Drew Stover led the Flying Cardinals with 18 points. Jason Williams added nine while Bazel Brady and Will Mead both had six points.
“Our seniors – Bazel Brady, Jason Williams, Will Mead – all came out really focused on the defensive end,” Monahan said. “We were able to get stops. They only had six points in the first quarter.
“Through the losing streak – against Wissahickon and Upper Moreland, we weren’t getting off to good starts. We were coming out flat. Those guys – and against PW as well – made sure that we got off to good starts.
Gabe Harris led the Spartans with 18 points. Jay Joseph had seven and Ethan Hamilton, six points.
Upper Dublin (6-7, 2-5 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday, and Springfield Township (5-9, 1-6) will be on the road at Abington Friday.
Springfield Township 6-11-11-8 36
Upper Dublin 15-19-9-9 52
Springfield Twp (36) – Amir Williams 0 1-2 1; Jay Joseph 3 1-2 7; Ethan Hamilton 2 2-5 6; Gabe Harris 6 3-5 18; Dylan McKenzie 2 0-0 4; Totals 13 7-14 36.
Upper Dublin (52) – Jason Williams 4 0-0 9; Bazel Brady 2 2-3 6; Drew Stover 8 0-2 18; Will Mead 2 2-2 6; Aidan Pullian 0 0-2 0; Amare Johnson 2 0-0 5; Lebron Snead 1 2-2 5; Ben Dorsey 1 0-0 3; Totals 20 6-11 52.
3-point goals: UD – Drew Stover 2, Jason Williams, Amare Johnson, Lebron Snead, Ben Dorsey.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 65, HATBORO-HORSHAM 39
The Colonials picked up their third win in as many games, opening up a 34-23 halftime lead and then blowing the game wide open with a 21-6 third quarter burst.
Luke DiCianno led three PW players in double figures with 20 – 14 in the middle two quarters. Caelin Peters had another big game, burying four threes and finishing with 18. David Harris also had four three-pointers and contributed 14 points – nine in the first quarter.
The Hatters were led by the nine-point efforts of Jack Marvin and N’Gianni Cerisier. DJ Cerisier added seven points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (6-8, 5-2 SOL) will travel to Wissahickon Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (1-12, 0-7) will be on the road at Upper Dublin Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 17-17-21-10 65
Hatboro-Horsham 8-15-6-10 39
Plymouth Whitemarsh (65) – Caelin Peters 7 0-0 18; Luke DiCianno 9 1-1 20; David Harris 5 0-0 14; Zende Hubbard 2 1-3 5; Jaden Pryce 1 1-2 4; Ray Tomassetti 1 0-0 2; Aidan McGin 1 0-0 2; 26 3-6 65.
Hatboro-Horsham (39) – N’Gianni Cerisier 3 5-6 11; DJ Cerisier 2 1-2 7; Logan Fischer 0 3-6 3; Simpson 1 0-1 2; Schlosser 2 0-2 5; Jack Marvin 4 0-0 9; Wingen 0 2-6 2; Totals 12 11-23 39.
3-point goals: PW – Caelin Peters 4, David Harris 4, Luke DiCianno, Jaden Pryce, HH – DJ Cerisier 2, Jack Marvin, Schlosser.
Non-league
BENSALEM 63, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 59
The visiting Owls staged a late-game rally, erasing a three-point East lead and eking out the non-league win.
“This resilient bunch came through again,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “CB East is well coached, they can shoot the ball. The kid (Joe) Jackman is really good. He made some tough buckets. We just wanted to make him work and make him earn everything he had.”
Morris recapped the dramatic finish.
“They actually hit a three with 1:02 left to go up three – we came down and scored a foul line jump shot to cut it to one,” the Owls’ coach said. “Jackman got in the paint, went up and Jerry (Alexander) had a huge block. Justin Johnson outlets to Aaron Sanders – he comes down, draws everyone, dumps it down and James Ashford scores a layup, and we go up one.
“They come down, we get a turnover, Aaron (Sanders) gets fouled – here he is, sophomore point guard at the line up one on the road against a really good team, and he makes both foul shots. Now we’re up three, they miss a three. Travis Robinson goes up and gets a monster rebound. They foul right away with 2.8 left. He misses the first, makes the second. We called a timeout just to slow them down. They inbound, it gets tipped up and goes out bounds off them. We inbound and win the game.”
The Owls, who led 14-7 after one quarter, took a 29-21 lead into halftime. A 22-point third quarter pulled the Patriots to within two heading in the final frame, 45-43, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
“We got down 6-2 – they hit some threes early, but we were up seven at the end of the first quarter,” Morris said. “We knew they could shoot the ball really well. They’re a great shooting team, and we just tried to apply pressure as much as possible to make them work for everything they could get.
“We were hoping with the pressure – it’s not as easy to shoot, your legs get tired. We up by six or seven from there. In the fourth quarter, we got into foul trouble, and they did a good job making foul shots.”
Ashford led all scorers with 25 points, Robinson added 14 and Sanders had 10. Alexander finished with nine points.
“James had a lot of nice buckets getting to the rim,” Morris said. “Aaron controlled the floor again from the point guard position. He didn’t have many turnovers if any.
“Travis Robinson and James Ashford guarded Jackman and made him work for everything he got. Jerry (Alexander) on the defensive end – him being there in the middle causes havoc for other teams. That block was monstrous. It was a total team effort again. They’re a resilient bunch – we just keep playing hard, we get after it on the defensive end. They’re a fun group to coach. We’re young and we’ll keep learning.”
For the Patriots, Jackman led three players in double figures with 18. Chris Charlton had 13 points, which included three three-pointers. Jack Hamilton added 11, and Tyler Young, who had a pair of threes, contributed nine. Brendan Harte chipped in six points.
Bensalem (12-1, 7-0 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Thursday, and Central Bucks East (9-7, 3-4) will host Central Bucks West Friday at 6:30 p.m.
Bensalem 14-15-16-18 63
Central Bucks East 7-14-22-16 59
Bensalem (63) – Travis Robinson 4 3-6 11; Justin Johnson 1 0-0 2; Aaron Sanders 4 4-4 13; Jeremiah Alexander 4 1-1 9; James Ashford 8 9-11 25; Luke Zeidler 1 1-2 3; Totals 22 18-24 63.
Central Bucks East (59) – Jason Markowitz 0 2-2 2; Tyler Young 3 1-1 9; Brendan Harte 1 4-4 6; Chris Charlton 4 2-2 13; Jack Hamilton 2 6-8 11; Joe Jackman 6 5-5 18; Totals 16 20-22 59.
3-point goals: Bensalem: Aaron Sanders, CBE – Chris Charlton 3, Tyler Young 2, Jack Hamilton.
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