Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday.
SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 71, PENNSBURY 69 (OT)
The visiting Patriots took a 46-39 lead into the fourth quarter when the Falcons staged a gutsy comeback. Aidan McCormack’s 3-pointer at the buzzer knotted the score and forced overtime.
“We got up 10 points on them, and they hurt us on the glass,” CB East coach Erik Henrysen said. “They did a great job of not giving up on shots, and they outrebounded us down that little stretch where they were able to get some key offensive rebounds and get closer and closer.”
The Patriots could have been deflated after watching the Falcons tie it at the buzzer, but they responded in OT, outscoring their hosts 11-9.
“We tried to spread it around,” Henrysen said. “Right at the beginning of overtime, Jacob Cummiskey had two really big drives that gave us a little bit of a lead. We were actually up five, and they came down and shot a three. Jacob (Cummiskey) thought he had a block on a three, but they called a foul. There we were again where things tightened up at the end.”
This game was an emotional roller coaster ride for both teams. The Falcons took a 31-28 lead into halftime, but that was erased when the Patriots came out of halftime and outscored the Falcons 18-8 in the third quarter to go on top by seven only to see the Falcons rally to even the score.
“We definitely have been through some emotional-type games and difficult situations, and I’m super pleased the way we were able to stay focused and not crack or allow that emotion to derail us,” Henrysen said.
Aidan Weaver’s 14 points – which included four 3s – led the Patriots. He also had six rebounds. Jacob Cummiskey added 13 points. Brett Young contributed eight points while Liam Cummmiskey and Joshua Lyzinski both had seven points. Nick Rivera added six points, four assists and five rebounds.
“Different guys had their moments,” Henrysen said. “Aidan Weaver had four 3s, and he hit a couple in a critical run where we were able to stretch our lead. He really came through – I think he had two during that time.
“Pennsbury came back, and then Jacob Cummiskey had his moments. Brett Young came up with a big offensive rebound, and I think that’s the whole theme for our group. We had 10 guys score, and everybody is contributing and doing the most with their minutes.”
For the Falcons, Evan McNeely scored a game high 23 points, which included five 3-pointers. McNeely connected on 5-of-7 from beyond the arc (71 percent) in an impressive shooting display from long range. He also had four rebounds and three assists. McCormack added 20 points, which included a 6-for-8 effort at the line. He completed an impressive double-double with 11 rebounds. He also had two steals. Ty Kocak was the third Falcon in double figures with 18, which included a 10-for-16 showing at the foul line. Justin Hedges added eight points.
The Falcons connected on 9-of-23 shots from beyond the arc while the Patriots were 11-for-21 (52 percent). East had an impressive shooting night overall, burying 23-of-37 shots (62 percent).
“They shot the ball well and so did we,” Henrysen said. “Last night we had 11 threes and tonight we had 11 threes again. We’ve been shooting the ball well and shooting with confidence, trying to piece together a whole game.”
Central Bucks East (10-5, 6-4 SOL) will travel to Upper Dublin on Saturday for a non-league game at 2:30 p.m. Pennsbury (7-3, 5-3) will travel to Chichester on Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. contest.
Central Bucks East 15-13-18-14-11 71
Pennsbury 16-15-8-21-9 69
Central Bucks East (71) – Tyriq Toney-Bailey 2 2-4 8; Jacob Cummiskey 5 3-5 13; Liam Cummiskey 2 2-2 7; Nick Rivera 1 3-4 6; Brett Young 2 3-5 8; Aidan Weaver 5 0-0 14; Ryan Lenahan 1 0-0 2; Kyle Berndt 1 1-2 4; Joshua Lyzinski 3 0-0 7; Joey Giordano 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 23 14-22 71.
Pennsbury (69) – Justin Hedges 3 0-2 8; Aidan McCormack 6 6-8 20; Evan McNeely 7 4-7 23; Ty Kocak 4 10-16 18; TOTALS 20 20-34 69.
3-point goals: CBE – Aidan Weaver 4, Tyriq Toney-Bailey 2, Liam Cummiskey, Nick Rivera, Brett Young, Kyle Berndt, Joshua Lyzinski; Pennsbury – Evan McNeely 5, Justin Hedges 2, Aidan McCormack 2.
SOL Liberty/Freedom crossover
WISSAHICKON 47, UPPER DUBLIN 34
It felt like old times when the neighboring rivals met.
“It was the best fan attendance we’ve had for any game,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said. “They had a great student body section, and we had a great one. It was nice to see some things open up.
“I talked to Chris (Monahan) before the game, and I said, ‘This is nice. What all of these kids have been through the last couple of years – it’s nice to see the Wiss/Upper Dublin rivalry alive and well and kids back in the gym cheering on their friends.”
As for the game, it was a typical battle where every point was hard-earned. The Trojans – sparked by eight points from Josh Twersky – led 18-10 at halftime.
“It was one of those grind-it-out games out of the gate where our kids played well,” Wilson said. “It was just a chess match, and nobody was giving up too much.
“We gradually built up a lead and were up 18-10 at halftime, which I thought holding them to 10 was an incredible half. Josh Twersky just came out like a man possessed in the first quarter. He only had six points, but they were huge buckets. He was putting on really impressive low post moves.
“Our team has really hung our hat on being a really good defensive team. We came off of that tough lost to Cheltenham who is really good, but we had them down by 12 through the third quarter and just fell apart in that fourth quarter. We knew tonight we had to put it together for four quarters, and our kids just really did a phenomenal job of sticking to the plan and executing through four quarters.”
The Trojans led 30-21 heading into the final frame. Dom Vacchiano sparked Wissahickon in the third quarter with seven points.
“He was very opportunistic,” Wilson said of Vacchiano. “He had some looks early in the first half, and they just weren’t dropping. They’re going to drop eventually. They had to come out and pressure a little. We were up 14 at one point, and we were able to either match their run or stop their run within a basket or two.”
Morgan Wilson, who was 4-for-5 at the charity stripe, contributed six points in the final frame. The Trojans buried 9-of-11 from the line in the fourth quarter to seal the Cardinals’ fate.
“Morgan Wilson played very well – he had a great fourth quarter knocking down free throws,” Wilson said. “He had a nice layup. It was really a nice balanced attack by the kids.”
Vacchiano and Earl Stout – who had eight points in the second half – both had 12 points to lead a balanced Wissahickon attack. Twersky added 10 points, and Morgan Wilson had seven.
No one in the Flying Cardinals’ lineup finished in double figures. Colin O’Sullivan’s eight points led UD. DJ Cerisier and Griffin Pensabene both had six points.
“We knew this week was a tough week because we had Cheltenham on Tuesday, Upper Dublin today and then we have Bensalem on Friday,” Wilson said. “We have three teams that are all well above us in the (district) rankings, so we needed to get out there and try and get a couple of wins. We felt we left the Cheltenham one slip away from us. We were hoping to get one tonight, and the kids really just were locked in the entire night defensively.
“To be able to hold their two top scorers – (Seaton) Kukla had three and (DJ) Cerisier had six and two of them came late when the game was sort of out of reach. Morgan Wilson and Josh Twersky, our two senior captains, just did a phenomenal job playing solid defense on both of those guys.”
Wissahickon (9-5, 5-3 SOL) will travel to Bensalem for a non-league game on Saturday at 3:15 p.m. Upper Dublin (10-4, 7-2) will host Central Bucks East in a non-league game Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Wissahickon 10-8-12-17 47
Upper Dublin 6-4-11-13 34
Wissahickon (47) – Josh Twersky 4 2-2 10; Phil Dias 1 0-0 2; Jaylon Williams 1 1-2 4; Morgan Wilson 1 5-9 7; Dom Vacchiano 5 0-0 12; Earl Stout 2 6-6 12; TOTALS 14 14-19 47.
Upper Dublin (34) – DJ Cerisier 3 0-0 6; Chris Kohlbrenner 0 1-3 1; Colin O’Sullivan 3 0-0 8; Ryan Mulroy 2 0-0 6; Griffin Pensabene 3 0-0 6; Ellis Johnson 1 2-3 4; Seaton Kukla 1 1-1 3; TOTALS 13 4-7 34.
3-point goals: Wissahickon – Dom Vacchiano 2, Earl Stout 2, Jaylon Williams; UD – Colin O’Sullivan 2, Ryan Mulroy 2.
CHELTENHAM 68, LOWER MORELAND 43
The Panthers threw some serious defense at the Lions in the first half, opening up a 36-12 lead at the intermission on their way to their 12th win of the season without a loss.
Justin Savage led a balanced attack with 15 points and eight rebounds. Brandon Bush added 12 points and five rebounds, and Josiah Hutson had 11. Elias Walker contributed nine points, six assists and five rebounds. Rasheem Dearry added nine points, three assists and four rebounds.
The Lions scored 24 points in the third quarter but made up very little ground since the Panthers scored just three points less. The Panthers closed out the game with a 14-8 fourth quarter.
“This is a quality team,” Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury said. “They’ve hung tough with everybody.
“For us defensively, it was good to see our guys lock in for three out of four quarters. We need to play a four-quarter game tomorrow if we want to be successful. The team and the staff are just a pleasure to be around. It’s one of the harder years because of the back-to-backs. Everyone is going through it, and we just have to maintain our strength with all 12 and continue to push forward.”
For the Lions, John Kroll’s 16 points led the way. Braden Alecia had seven points, and Michael Pennisi had six.
Cheltenham (12-0, 8-0 SOL) will host New Hope-Solebury on Friday, and Lower Moreland (5-8, 4-4) will travel to Quakertown on Friday.
Lower Moreland 6-6-24-8 43
Cheltenham 15-21-18-14 68
Lower Moreland – Braden Alecia 7, Matt Ernst 4, Brian Grant 2, Michael Pennisi 6, Gabe Krutzinger 2, Thomas Przybylinski 6, John Kroll 16.
Cheltenham (68) – Rasheem Dearry 9, Josiah Hutson 11, Elias Walker 9, Nasir Edens 3, Brandon Bush 12, Joey Weimer 3, Justin Savage 15, Johnathan Fevrier 4, Kevin Addison-Anderson 2
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 66, UPPER MORELAND 46
Sparked by the 24-point effort of Qudire Bennett, the visiting Colonials rolled to their fifth straight win.
“We’re starting to defend with great energy but more disciplined, and we’re gaining confidence on offense,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said.
The Colonials – who buried 11 3-pointers in the game – opened up an 18-12 lead after one quarter. Bennett led the charge with seven points in a quarter that saw four different players contribute 3s. By halftime, the Colonials led 33-19. Marshall Baker’s 12 points, which included three 3-pointers, led the Colonials in the first half.
In a second half that saw the Colonials hold a 33-27 edge, Bennett had 17 points.
In addition to Bennett, Marshall had 13 points, and Trey Jones had 12. Jaden Colzie had seven points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (9-5, 7-2 SOL) will host Exeter Township in a non-league game on Saturday (3:30 p.m.). Upper Moreland (8-5, 4-5) will travel to Bristol for a non-league game Saturday at 4 p.m.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 18-15-18-15 66
Upper Moreland 12-7-18-9 46
Plymouth Whitemarsh (66) – Jaden Colzie 2 1-2 7; Marshall Baker 5 0-2 13; Jahseir Sayles 2 0-0 4; Trey Jones 4 2-2 12; Taji Hubbard 1 1-2 3; Evan Ring 0 1-2 1; Qudire Bennett 9 2-3 24; Pat Flynn 1 0-0 2; Rodney Willis 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 24 7-15 66.
Upper Moreland (46) – Byron Hopkins 4 10-12 18; Nigel Adamson 1 0-1 2; Rashim Lancit 2 0-0 5; Matt Tiernan 3 2-3 8; Stefano Garofalo 4 4-8 13; TOTALS 14 16-24 46.
3-point goals: PW – Qudire Bennett 4, Marshall Baker 3, Jaden Colzie 2, Trey Jones 2; Upper Moreland – Rashim Lancit, Stefano Garofalo.
About the Author
