Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. CR North/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography. To view photos of the CR North/Pennsbury game, please visit the Photo Gallery. Check back for photos of the William Tennent/Truman and CR South/Bensalem games.
By Jarrad Saffren
All 24 Suburban One League boys’ basketball teams played league games Tuesday night. The night included two big upsets and a battle for first place in the SOL Continental. The results and recaps are below.
SOL Continental
Pennridge 63, Central Bucks West 60
CB West led 4-0 when Pennridge guard Dan Long caught the ball in the post, pump-faked, and laid the ball in under the outstretched arm of a West defender.
It was the Rams’ first basket of the game. It was also Long’s 1152nd career point, breaking the Pennridge record of 1151 set by Tim Abruzzo in 2012.
The game did not stop. Long and Pennridge coach Dean Behrens barely noticed.
“I didn’t think at the time, ‘Oh there’s the record,’” said Behrens. “I told my announcer, ‘You’re going to handle making the announcement when it’s done.’”
Long shattered the record Tuesday night, scoring 23 points, reaching 1174 for his career. Abruzzo was happy for him.
“They talked and Tim told him, ‘Records were made to be broken. Congratulations,’” said Behrens.
Abruzzo and Long never played together. They missed each other by one year. But Long grew up watching the man whose record he would eventually break. He also wears number four, the same number that Abruzzo wore. But that is just a coincidence.
“Dan picked the number as a freshman,” said Behrens. “He wasn’t on top of the charts to pick a uniform. It was basically what was left over. We only had two freshmen, Steve Lowry and Dan. I think Steve was three and Dan was four.”
“Still, that’s a lot of points for one number. Over 2300,” said Behrens chuckling.
When Abruzzo was a junior, he led Pennridge to an 18-7 record and the first conference title in program history. The Rams went 11-11 the next year but the program had come a long way from two one-win seasons between 2005 and 2010.
Long elevated the Rams to new heights. Along with Zach Muredda and Joe Molettiere, Long led the Rams to league titles in 2014 and ’15 and the first state playoff appearance in program history last season. He has played in 54 wins and needs four more to pass Muredda for the most in program history.
“Dan’s a winner. He cares about winning,” said Behrens. “He’s never really worried about his points. I had to let his parents know, ‘Hey we gotta keep an eye on this.’”
The most amazing part about both records? Long did not even play varsity as a freshman.
“Which is hard to believe but he just wasn’t ready at the time,” Behrens said.
Behrens, who is in his 18th season at Pennridge, called the last five-and-a-half years, with Abruzzo and Long, “The best run in program history.”
That run continued Tuesday night. The Rams’ win catapulted them into a first-place tie with the Bucks at 8-1 in the SOL Continental. CB West led by one at halftime but Pennridge won the third quarter 13-6.
“We got in the transition game more,” said Behrens. “Dan Long got to the basket and Devon Balmer is playing the best basketball he’s ever played in his life.”
Pennridge was up 12 with three minutes to go.
“I think people were ready to leave,” Behrens said. But CB West made a run and Pennridge “ended up holding on for dear life,” said Behrens.
Balmer dropped 14, including seven free throws, to complement Long. Max Wagner added 10 and Ryan Cuthbert had nine. Luke Irons and Connor Lynch both scored 13 to lead the Bucks. Billy Power added 11.
Cal Reichwein, West’s leading scorer, did not play because of a knee injury.
Pennridge (14-3, 8-1 SOL) plays Central Bucks South Friday night. CB West (14-3, 8-1 SOL) takes on Souderton Thursday at 7 p.m.
Behrens and his staff will be heading up to Lehigh Wednesday night to watch Abruzzo play for the Naval Academy. Naturally, Long wants to come. But he has a conflict.
“He forgot it’s his birthday,” Behrens said. “He said, ‘I still may come.’ So I said, ‘Talk to your mom about that.’”
Central Bucks West 10-17-6-27 60
Pennridge 14-12-13-24 63
Central Bucks West: Billy Power 11, Luke Irons 13, Connor Lynch 13, Collin MacAdams 4, Erich Hohenleitner 9, Jake Reichwein 10.
Pennridge: Devon Balmer 14, Dan Long 23, Stephen Lowry 7, Ryan Cuthbert 9, Max Wagner 10.
Hatboro-Horsham 59, Central Bucks South 30
Hatboro-Horsham played mistake-free basketball and ran away with a surprisingly lopsided win.
“We played very well,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Ed Enoch. “We shot well and played good defense.”
Jay Davis led the Hatters with 16 points and Clifton Moore added 11 and 10 rebounds. Ryan Black also scored 11. Dan Tecce led CB South with eight points.
Enoch said the Hatters have benefitted from the return of senior guard Brian McEachern. “We don’t turn the ball over as much, we are better defensively,” said Enoch. “It’s been a pleasure having him back.”
Hatboro-Horsham altered a lot of shots and prevented CB South from getting offensive rebounds.
“Our big guys did a good job around the basket,” Enoch said. “We kept them from getting second and third shots.”
Hatboro-Horsham led by 13 at the half and by 20 going into the fourth quarter. Despite the convincing win, Enoch is not sure if his team can compete with CB West and Pennridge, the elites of the SOL Continental.
“I don’t know about that,” Enoch said. “Those two teams are very good.”
Hatboro-Horsham (9-7, 6-3 SOL) buses to Central Bucks East Friday for a 7 p.m. start. CB South (9-8, 5-4 SOL) battles Pennridge on the same night and time.
Central Bucks East 53, North Penn 51
Matt Pattyson owned the fourth quarter. The CB East guard sank the go-ahead free throws with 16 seconds to go. Then he made the game-ending steal with one second left.
He also scored eight points in the fourth, 14 overall, to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
East trailed 12-3 after one quarter and by eight going into the fourth. The Patriots won the fourth quarter 18-8.
Tommy Strasburger led CB East with 19 points. Elijah Seger complemented Strasburger and Pattyson with eight.
Four Knights—Lance Lindsay-Ford (11), Matt Pickford (15), Chris Coleman (13), and Reece Udinski (10)—scored in double figures. But only one other North Penn player scored.
CB East (9-7, 4-5 SOL) plays Hatboro-Horsham Thursday night. North Penn (6-10, 2-7 SOL) goes to Lansdale Catholic Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Central Bucks East 3-19-13-18 53
North Penn 12-14-17-8 51
Central Bucks East: Tommy Strasburger 19, Justin O’Neil 5, Blake Peterson 5, Elijah Seger 8, Matt Pattyson 14, Chris Rielly 2.
North Penn: Lance Lindsay-Ford 11, Matt Pickford 15, Reece Udinski 10, Justin Cueto 2, Chris Coleman 13.
SOL American
Upper Merion 57, Plymouth Whitemarsh 43
Upper Merion has won some exciting games this season. The Vikings beat Norristown for the first time since 1993 and beat Springfield on a buzzer-beating three-pointer.
But their best win was not really that exciting at all.
“It was big win. A great win,” said UM coach Jason Quenzer. “But nothing really special.”
Upper Merion simply knew what to expect and executed its game plan.
“Our game plan was not to play their game,” Quenzer said. “We knew what kind of stuff they like to do. They turn you over.”
UM did not fall victim to PW’s trademark pressure.
“That starts with our point guard Aidan Newell. He’s a phenomenal ball-handler,” Quenzer said. “He takes responsibility for making sure we control the ball. He did a great job tonight.”
The Vikings also held PW star Xzavier Malone to 11 points. Quenzer credited two players.
“It helps to have a D1 athlete in Matt Faw and Isaiah Graham-Mobley, who’s going to TU next year to play football,” said Quenzer. “To limit him (Malone) to 11 is fantastic.”
UM shot 25-for-26 from the foul line and Newell was 10-for-10.
Quenzer’s team has now won five of six and eight of 10. The coach does not remember the last time that UM beat PW.
“I can’t even tell you,” he said. “I don’t think we have that stat on hand because it’s so rare. “(PW coach Jim) Donofrio does a great job and they are a powerhouse basketball team.”
Upper Merion went 3-19 last season but now sits in playoff position at 10-5.
“I’ve been with these kids since they were seventh graders. Now to see them grow up is kind of cool. A lot of people would look at our record last year and say, ‘Three wins – that’s not good,’” said Quenzer. “But it was a developing year. We took little wins from losses. Everybody was frustrated and knew where we could be if we put in work this summer. They did. We are starting to see dividends pay off, which is cool.”
Matt Faw led the Vikings with 17, Aidan Newell added 14, Ethan Miller had 10, and Isaiah Graham-Mobley contributed six.
In addition to Malone's 11 points, Mike Lotito had 11 and Kevin Ashenfelter, eight points.
Upper Merion (10-5, 5-4 SOL) battles Norristown Friday night. PW (15-1, 8-1 SOL) plays Wissahickon on the same night.
Plymouth Whitemarsh10-16-13-4 43
Upper Merion 19-7-12-19 57
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Xzavier Malone 11, Kevin Ashenfelter 8, Ahmin Williams 4, Ahmad Williams 2, Davon Burrell 2, Mike Lotito 11.
Upper Merion: Aidan Newell 14, Isaiah Graham-Mobley 6, Ethan Miller 10, Chris Carita 4, Matt Faw 17, Andrew Persaud 6.
Cheltenham 66, Upper Dublin 55
Upper Dublin led by one after the first quarter when Cheltenham switched to a full-court press.
"We extended our defense,” said Cheltenham coach John Timms. “Generally, I like to make each player accountable, so I don't really run full-court zone presses that much. We do a lot of man-to-man. Today I decided, ‘Let’s turn up the pressure a little bit and see if we can make things a little different.’
“We went to a full-court press and were able to create some turnovers and limit them to four points. That gave us a 32-17 halftime cushion, and that allowed us to do some things we need to work on that we can't do if it's a one-possession or two-possession game.”
As Timms alluded to, Cheltenham won the second quarter 20-4, which provided all of the cushion it needed to win comfortably.
Junior forward Trevonn Pitts had a monster game, posting 27 points and 12 rebounds, six offensive.
"This is Trevonn Pitts' first year of basketball, so he's really getting acclimated to the speed of the game, and everything is falling in place for him," Timms said. "He's real consistent around the basket. He's a guy that you don't have to draw plays.
“There’s a term in basketball called the 'garbage man' where they pick up everything. Trevonn is your best garbage man. Right now, he’s cleaning up a lot of mistakes that we have.”
Timms said he tried to get Pitts to come out for the team the previous two years but Pitts never did. The coach is glad he came around.
Justin Sutton had his typical productive performance, finishing with six points, 10 rebounds, and four blocks. Khalil White also contributed like always, adding six points, eight assists, and four steals.
Ryan Stover paced Upper Dublin with 16 points. John Barrett added 14 and Jimmy Gallagher had 13.
Cheltenham (13-3, 8-1 SOL) plays Springfield Thursday night. Upper Dublin (6-9, 4-5 SOL) hosts Upper Moreland Friday night.
Cheltenham 12-20-9-25 66
Upper Dublin 13-4-14-24 55
Cheltenham: Khalil White 6, Anthony White 8, Ahmad Bickley 7, Jack Clark 1, Blair Brown 6, Marcus Lee 1, Amir Lewis 4, Justin Sutton 6, Trevonn Pitts 27.
Upper Dublin: John Barrett 14, Will Derr 6, Gary Fields 6, Jimmy Gallagher 13, Ryan Stover 16.
Wissahickon 52, Upper Moreland 48
Wissahickon was “in control most of the game,” said Trojans coach Kyle Wilson.
The Trojans led 19-11 in the second quarter but Upper Moreland made two three-pointers to cut the lead to two. Wissahickon “found a way to get an easy basket down the stretch” that held off another UM rally.
“It seemed like every time we got a layup, they’d get a cut to the basket and a layup,” Wilson said. “We just made a couple more plays than they did.”
Wilson inserted Mike Howard back into the starting lineup and it made a difference.
“We are going with a more defensive lineup,” Wilson said. “Mike defends really well.”
Howard also pitched in offensively, scoring eight points on a 4-for-4 shooting night.
“When the ball came his way he found ways to make plays and knock down shots,” Wilson said.
Alex Tappen paced Wissahickon’s offense with 15 points.
“Alex had a real nice night shooting the ball,” Wilson said.
Zach Reiner and Zach Gelman added nine and seven, respectively.
More than half of UM’s points came from two players. Brendan O’Donnell (15) and Casey Decker (13) combined for 28 points.
Wissahickon (9-8, 5-5 SOL) has won three straight games to climb above .500. But, on Friday night, the Trojans play a PW team coming off its first loss. “I don’t think we are going to sneak up on PW after Upper Merion beat them,” Wilson said.
Upper Moreland (7-10, 3-6 SOL) takes on Upper Dublin Friday night at 7 p.m.
Upper Moreland 10-10-16-12 48
Wissahickon 10-14-16-12 52
Wissahickon: Alex Tappen 15, Zach Reiner 9, Michael Howard 8, Zach Gelman 7, Max Rapoport 6, Noah Curran 4, Chaz Owens 3.
Upper Moreland: Brendan O’Donnell 15, Damian Washington 5, Ryan Coyle 3, Casey Decker 13, Brett Brossman 3, Mike Lyons 3, Shane Stone 6.
Norristown 50, Springfield 31
Norristown inched higher in the standings while Springfield fell short of that elusive first league win.
The Eagles jumped to an 18-point halftime lead (29-11) and never looked back.
Darryl Carr finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and three steals to lead Norristown. Amir Carter pitched in 13 points and Tyrique Lyons had nine.
Springfield’s Justin Hill led all scorers with 17.
Norristown now has four league wins and is tied with Upper Dublin in third place in the SOL American.
The Eagles (6-10, 4-5 SOL) host Upper Merion Friday at 7 p.m. Springfield (3-13, 0-9 SOL) plays Cheltenham on the same night and time.
Norristown 15-14-6-15 50
Springfield 4-7-10-10 31
Springfield: Justin Hill 17, Larry Clark 2, Corrado 1, Ian Frasca 2, Williams 5, Quintin Johnson 4.
Norristown: Darryl Carr 15, Desmond Gorski 3, Marcus Sanford 4, Kether Massiaz 4, Amir Carter 13, Darius McGowan 3, Tyrique Lyons 9.
SOL National
Council Rock North 50, Pennsbury 48
Rob Daly launched a three-pointer from way beyond the line. The ball clanged off the front rim and the buzzer sounded.
Council Rock North’s players stormed the court and leaped in the air. The Indians had pulled the upset on the road in a hostile environment.
“Big. It’s big,” said North coach Derek Wright. “Most importantly I just love how we competed after a really tough loss on Saturday.”
North lost to 6-10 Souderton in double overtime Saturday, its eighth loss in 12 games. Wright and his players responded against Pennsbury, two in particular.
Riley Thompson dropped 23 points to lead all scorers. He made three three-pointers in the second quarter to end a 10-0 Pennsbury run and get North back in the game – the Indians trailed by just two at the intermission (23-21). He also made four straight free throws with seconds remaining to put North up for good.
Thompson, North’s leading scorer with an average of 15 points per game, missed the first three games of 2015-16 with a fractured finger. Wright said it took him a little while to get back into basketball shape. But now Thompson is completely healthy.
“He’s back to being Riley,” Wright said. “I loved his poise tonight. I knew they were going to get after him from 
the start.”
“It’s completely better,” said Thompson, holding out his finger. “Once the calendar flipped to 2016 I feel like I’m 100-percent now.”
Thompson’s fellow senior, Will Desautelle, has complemented him all year long, averaging 12 a game. Desautelle scored 13 Tuesday, 11 after halftime, and seven in the fourth quarter.
“I don’t think I played very well in the first half,” said Desautelle. “I was just trying to be more aggressive.”
Desautelle was also a main reason why North shutdown 6-foot-8 Pennsbury center Mark Flagg after halftime. Wright used a 3-2 zone to prevent Flagg from getting a one-on-one matchup. North forward Noah Ehlin fronted Flagg while Desautelle stayed behind him. Whenever Flagg managed to get the ball, two or three Indians defenders collapsed on him.
Flagg did not make a field goal after halftime and scored just eight points in the game. The Indians outscored the Falcons 14-9 in the third quarter and 27-25 in the second half.
Addison Howard led Pennsbury with 11 points. Daly pitched in 10.
Council Rock North (8-8, 6-3 SOL) plays Harry S. Truman Thursday night at 7 p.m. Pennsbury (10-6, 6-3 SOL) goes to Bensalem for a 7 p.m. tipoff.
Council Rock North 7-14-13-16 50
Pennsbury 9-14-9-16 48
Council Rock North: Riley Thompson 23, Will Desautelle 13, Noah Ehlin 2, Tyler Nowmos 8, Matt McAlister 4.
Pennsbury: Mark Flagg 8, Joey Monaghan 2, Tyler Sessa-Reeves 7, Addison Howard 11, Mike Alley 7, Rob Daly 10, Vaughn Ward 3.
Bensalem 70, Council Rock South 63
Bensalem won a back and forth game and pulled into a tie with CR South in the middle of the SOL National standings.
The Owls held a two-point lead at halftime (35-33) but could not put the Golden Hawks away.
“They kept running down our throat,” said Bensalem coach Mike McCabe. “They got out in transition very well.”
Bensalem trailed by four after three quarters (52-48) but outscored South by 11 in the fourth quarter. The Owls had a three-point lead with two minutes left and “milked the clock, pulled away, and won,” said McCabe.
He praised a lot of different players for their performances.
“Brandon Vaughn played really well again. He sparked us again,” said McCabe. “He’s been leading us the last three games.”
Vaughn scored 16 points.
“Richard Dean and Ward Roberts played really, really well. Anthony Green played well inside for us,” McCabe said. “Ward and Taco (Douglas) hit some big shots down the stretch.”
Douglas hit four straight free throws late in the fourth to seal the win. He finished with nine points. Roberts led Bensalem with 20. Dean had 12 and Greene netted nine.
“It was a good win for our kids,” McCabe said. “We had a ten-point lead when we played them at our place and ended up losing by one in OT. It was kind of nice to pay them back a bit up there.”
Alex Nordenholt and Michael Krepich each had 17 points to lead the Hawks. Ryan Boyd added 11.
Bensalem (8-7, 4-5 SOL) plays Pennsbury Thursday night. CR South (6-9, 4-5 SOL) goes to Abington for a 7 p.m. start.
Bensalem 18-17-13-22 70
Council Rock South 16-17-19-11 63
Bensalem: Brandon Vaughn 16, Rich Dean 12, Anthony Greene 11, Ward Roberts 20, BJ Jones 2, Taco Douglas 9.
Council Rock South: Austin Thomas 2, Tyler Teufel 6, Michael Krepich 17, Alex Nordenholt 17, Kevin Newbert 3, Ryan McNamee 2, Mike Stock 5, Ryan Boyd 11.
HARRY S TRUMAN 49, WILLIAM TENNENT 45 (OT)
The Panthers got off to good start against the visiting Tigers, opening up a 12-5 lead after one quarter, but the Tigers rallied to go on top 16-15 by halftime. Truman led by three heading into the final quarter (33-30), and this time the Panthers had an answer, coming back to knot the score. Tennent saw a driving layup at the end of regulation for the win come up short.
Pat McCauley led Tennent with 17 points, which included three three-pointers.
Truman's Danell Snelling scored all 14 of his points in the second half and was 4-of-4 from the foul line in overtime.
Harry S Truman (6-9, 5-4 SOL) will host Council Rock North on Thursday, and William Tennent (5-11, 2-7) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Thursday night.
Harry S Truman 5-11-17-6-10 49
William Tennent 12-3-15-9-6 45
ABINGTON 79, NESHAMINY 46
Freshman Eric Dixon scored a game high 18 and sophomore Robbie Heath added 17 to lead the Ghosts to the big win. For the Redskins, Eric Rotteveel and Charles Dominick both scored 10 points.
Abington (13-3, 8-1 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Thursday night, and Neshaminy (2-12, 1-8) will host William Tennent on the same day.
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