Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday. Quakertown/Lower Moreland photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson, Bensalem/Cheltenham photos courtesy of Greg Lindsay, and Wissahickon/Central photos courtesy of Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE to view Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
Non-league
QUAKERTOWN 68, LOWER MORELAND 54
The Panthers, who led 13-9 after one quarter, erupted for 23 points in the second quarter to go into halftime of Saturday’s non-league game with a 36-21 lead on their way to the big win.
Key players: Sam Wilkin’s 18 points – eight in the big second quarter – led the Panthers. Aiden Burgy added 12 points – seven in the first half, and Jameson Sykes had 10.
Lower Moreland’s Zach Kendall scored 20 points to lead all scorers.
Quakertown Tony DaCosta: “We played consistently for 32 minutes, and that’s been our biggest issue. We have periods of time where we struggle to score, and then we’re only putting up a minimum amount of points against teams that are putting up double digits, and that’s when you start to see the disparity and separation in score. From a totality standpoint, I think we played really well from beginning to end. Particularly with guys coming off the bench, so it was a total team effort.
“Obviously, with the help of Sam Wilkin leading us in scoring and Jameson Sykes and Aiden Burgy – which we expected all along, we were able to really play well from start to finish.”
–Bench gives spark: “Guys off the bench like the Ficco twins (RJ and Colin), Mason Rush – those guys did a tremendous job coming in and continuing to allow us to just put up some good numbers throughout the whole game. That’s important for us because we do go 10 deep, and we can play with our depth. It’s just a matter that everybody has to play well all at the same time. Some of that has just been that we’re finally getting
all the guys together. All of our games – with the exception of last night because Pennridge shot the ball extremely well – we’ve been competitive, but we can’t be competitive for 20 out of 32 minutes. We have to be competitive and doing all the right things all 32 minutes, and I think that was difference today.”
Next up: Quakertown (3-12, 0-5 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh, and Lower Moreland (2-13, 1-4) will be on the road at Cheltenham Tuesday.
Quakertown 13-23-22-10 68
Lower Moreland 9-12-13-20 54
Quakertown (68) – Trae McCray 0 2-2 2; Gavin Mushrush 2 0-0 5; Aiden Burgy 5 1-2 12; Jameson Sykes 4 1-2 10; Sam Wilkin 6 3-4 18; Jaxon Torres 3 2-2 8; Colin Ficco 2 0-0 4; RJ Ficco 3 0-0 7; Jon Major 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 26 9-12 68.
Lower Moreland (54) – Zach Kendall 6 4-4 20; Andre Zoubroulis 3 0-0 7; Tommy Keaton 2 0-0 4; Tom Maloney 1 0-0 2; Luke Wheeler 2 3-4 7; Chase Carrol 2 0-0 4; Shawn Mertens 0 0-2 0; Tristian Vizcarrondo 4 0-0 10; TOTALS 20 7-10 54.
3-point goals: Q – Sam Wilkin 3, Aiden Burgy, Gavin Mushrush, Jameson Sykes, RJ Ficco; LM – Zach Kendall 4, Andre Zoubroulis, Tristian Vizcarrondo 2.
BENSALEM 57, CHELTENHAM 54
Less than 24 hours after a disappointing loss to William Tennent in a game the Owls led late, Bensalem bounced back for its biggest win of the season.
The Owls trailed 19-8 after one quarter but used an 18-point second quarter to pull to within three at halftime, 29-26. Osei Johnson’s 11 points led the Panthers.
Bensalem still trailed by three heading into the fourth quarter when the Owls – behind seven points from Aidan Mayfield and six from Amir Drummond – outscored the visiting Panthers 17-11 to earn the important win.
“In the fourth quarter, we got many big defensive stops and rebounds,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “Our guys really got after it on the defensive end. It’s a great team win. The guys are really playing for each other.”
Key players: Amir Drummond had a huge game, scoring a game-high 25 points that included three 3-pointers. His 15 second-half points sparked the Owls’ comeback. Trevor Morris provided a huge spark off the bench with 11 points, including eight in the second half. Aidan Mayfield had 10 points – seven in the fourth quarter.
For the Panthers, Osei Johnson’s 20 points led the way.
Bensalem coach Ron Morris on the bounce-back win: “It’s great to be able to get right back after losing the way we did yesterday, being up and then having a chance at the buzzer and missing two opportunities. We easily could have just folded today and let it go. Our guys are just resilient. Our challenge today was – even though we’ve lost three games in a row, stick to the process, stick to the plan and just continue to work and grind, and good things will happen.
“It was good for them to be on the winning end today of a great basketball game. Any time you go against Cheltenham – they’re a great program. Pat
(Fleury) does a great job over there, so we knew it was going to be an uphill battle. We started off slow, and then we got it going. We fought to the end. It was great to get back and play.
“One of my friends is Alex Houston, our football coach. I don’t know how football coaches wait an entire week before they have to play again. It was good and refreshing to get right back after it.”
–Props: “We got a lot of key contributors today. Amir Drummond had a good game. When Amir lets the game come to him, he’s a very dangerous basketball player. He did that in the second half, and it really helped us out a lot. He hit some big shots.
“Trevor Morris came off the bench today and gave us huge minutes. We’re down Mikey Kramer. Kobe King, one of our other big guys, gets hurt in the first quarter, so he was out for the rest of the game, and Trevor gave us big minutes. He had a big 3 in the corner in the fourth quarter and a lot of good rebounds.
“It was great to see Aidan Mayfield get going today. We know what he’s capable of offensively. He was down last night. Coming back today, he just turned it up. He’s a great defensive player. He had seven points in the fourth quarter, going strong to the rim. He had an and-one. It was good to see that.
“Jahmir Chatman continues to do all the little things that just make it work. His rebounding has been superior, and he did that again today.
“We got good minutes from Dymaire Johnson off the bench today. Chris Kelly came in for a few minutes, and he just brings good, positive energy. The bench has been in there. Even in the tight games where we lose, the bench has been great. That’s all we can ask for. Jacob Eberhardt had a good game today. He gave us good quality minutes.
“It’s refreshing to see them continue to show up and continue to work. They’re such a resilient group. It’s a huge win any time you can go up against the number five team in the district and get a victory.
“It’s a big win, and we’re excited. We enjoy it tonight. It’s good to get a win going back into league play.”
Next up: Bensalem (9-8, 4-1 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Tuesday, and Cheltenham (10-4, 5-0 SOL) will host Lower Moreland Tuesday.
Cheltenham 19-10-14-11 54
Bensalem 8-18-14 17 57
Cheltenham (54) – Chris Harmon 1 0-0 2; Kamal Mason 2 4-6 8; Mark Hill 2 0-1 4; Xavier Willoughby 1 1-2 3; Osei Johnson 7 4-4 20; Salim Kelly 2 1-2 7; Justin Ezeukwu 4 0-1 8; TOTALS 20 10-16 54.
Bensalem (57) – Jahmir Chatman 1 0-0 2; Aidan Mayfield 4 2-3 10; Amir Drummond 9 4-9 25; Dymaire Johnson 1 3-5 5; Trevor Morris 4 2-5 11; Jacob Eberhardt 1 1-2 4; TOTALS 20 12-24 57.
3-point goals: C – Osei Johnson 2, Salim Kelly 2;B – Amir Drummond 3, Trevor Morris, Jacob Eberhardt.
WISSAHICKON 58, CENTRAL 24
The Trojans bounced back from a loss to Central Bucks West less than 24 hours earlier to get a much-needed win on Saturday.
Nico Vacchiano scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in the first quarter to help the Trojans jump out to a 22-7 lead. By halftime, they let 35-13. They never looked back in a contest that saw nine players contribute to the scoring for the Trojans.
Key players: Nicol Vacchiano’s 21 points led the Trojans. Ben Schwartz added nine points, Chris Lee had eight and Delmar Tailaferro had seven.
Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson: “(We) did a solid job defensively and shared the basketball on offense.”
Next up: Wissahickon (7-8, 2-3 SOL) will be on the road at Upper Dublin Tuesday.
Central 7-6-11-0 24
Wissahickon 22-13-14-9 58
Central (24) – Kareem James 0 0-2 0; Yamir Knight-Parker 4 2-3 11; Elijah Dow 2 1-3 5; Aaron Pogarsky 1 0-0 2; Andre Martinez 3 0-2 6; TOTALS 10 3-10 24.
Wissahickon (58) – Mason Stelzer 1 0-0 3; Michael Maltin 1 0-0 2; Chris Lee 3 0-0 8; Owen Haughey 2 0-1 4; Nico Vacchiano 8 4-5 21; Luke Slobotkin 1 0-0 2; Zach Schwartz 1 0-0 2; Ben Schwartz 4 1-1 9; Delmar Tailaferro 3 1-2 7; TOTALS 24 6-8 58.
3-point goals: C – Yamir Knight-Parker; W – Chris Lee 2, Mason Stelzer, Nico Vacchiano.
BETHLEHEM CATHOLIC 58, HARRY S TRUMAN 54
The Tigers trailed by four after one quarter and saw that deficit grow to 27-17 by halftime. They outscored their hosts in the second half but could not dig their way out of the early hole.
“It was a long week for us, playing four games in seven days with three of them consecutive,” Truman coach Randolph Jackson said. “We had a slow start in the first half. In the second half, our offense was ignited through our press. Sophomore Adul Diallo made timely shots for us along with four assists.”
Diallo’s 13 points included three 3-pointers and led the Tigers. Dwayne McCoy recorded a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Jaden Luchansky added 10 points.
Next up: Harry S Truman (7-10, 1-4 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Friday.
Harry S Truman 6-11-15-22 54
Bethlehem Catholic 10-17-16-15 58
Harry S Truman (54) – Tre Winton 1 0-0 3; Jaden Luchansky 2 4-4 10; Davae Vaughn 2 2-4 6; Dwayne McCoy 5 0-0 10; Dyson Brown 2 0-0 4; Adul-Azia Diallo 5 0-0 13; MJ Ellzy 3 1-1 8; TOTALS 20 7-9 54
Bethlehem Catholic (58) – Jackson Wickenheiser 4 2-2 13; Parker McClary 3 0-0 8; Ethan Roman 4 1-2 10; Sammy Barona 2 0-0 4; Jack Rushe 8 0-0 16; Laz Carasquilla 2 0-0 4; Marcus Drysdale 1 0-0 2; Nick Bennett 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 25 3-4 58.
3-point goals: HST – Jaden Luchansky 2, Adul-Aziz Diallo 3, Tre Winton, MJ Ellzy; BC – Jackson Wickenheiser 3, Parker McClary 2, Ethan Roman.
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