Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. Hatboro-Horsham/Wissahickon photos provided by Keith Clemens Photography. Bensalem/Tennent photos courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for galleries of both games.
SOL American Conference
Hatboro-Horsham 36, Wissahickon 34
Solomon McNair drilled a foul-line jump shot at the buzzer, breaking a 34-34 tie and giving the visiting Hatters a dramatic victory over Wissahickon.
“Wissahickon called timeout with 11 seconds left, and they got a good shot – they took it with about seven seconds left, and it kind of bounced out in a position where Solomon McNair picked it up, went full court and hit a foul line jump shot to win the game at the buzzer,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Ed Enoch said. “I don’t know exactly what time they shot the ball, but the ball hit the back rim and went right to Solomon in the right spot, and his momentum carried him going that way. He got a good shot off, and he made it.
"It’s a great win. Any time you beat Wissahickon and the way our season’s going – we needed it.”
Enoch – whose team fell to Wissahickon by 10 earlier in the season – praised the play of his captains, Jake Schalki, Khalid Johnson and McNair, in helping to notch the victory. Johnson led the Hatters with a dozen points while McNair finished with 10.
“Jake Schalki is just coming back from a stress fracture in his foot, and he controlled the defensive boards,” Enoch said. “I don’t know how many rebounds he had, but he had a number of gigantic rebounds for us, which was very, very important.
“We played zone the whole game, and they didn’t shoot the ball real well. We rebounded the ball better than we have in a long time, and we didn’t give them a lot of extra shots. We wanted to keep the score low, and we did. We were lucky and we stole it at the buzzer.”
Eddie Fortescue led the Trojans with 16 points. Harrison Williams added eight and Carmen Ostroski, seven.
“(We) had a slow start Tuesday night and never could quite recover,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said.
Hatboro-Horsham (4-12, 1-8 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Thursday for a non-league game, and Wissahickon (7-9, 3-5) will be on the road at Springfield Township on Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham 11-6-10-9 36
Wissahickon 5-9-18-2 34
Hatboro-Horsham (36) – Khalid Johnson 12, Solomon McNair 10, Jake Schalki 4, Zeheir Cheeze 7, Jack Marvin 3.
Wissahickon (34) – Eddie Fortescue 16, Harrison Williams 8, Tyler Caso 1, Cole Hirsch 2, Carmen Ostroski 7.
Abington 88, Upper Moreland 63
The dynamic duo of Eric Dixon and Lucas Monroe were at it again as the Abington duo combined for 50 points to help lead the Ghosts past Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
The win moved Abington to 9-0 in the conference, one game ahead of Cheltenham.
This time, it was Monroe, the University of Pennsylvania commit, leading the way as he poured in a career-high 29 points to go along with 14 rebounds and eight assists. A four-year starter, Monroe has 69 points in the last three games combined.
Dixon, the Villanova University-commit and Abington’s all-time leading scorer with over 2,000 career points, had 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Darius Brown added
12 points, including three 3-pointers. Manir Waller added nine points (4-of-5 from the field) and six rebounds. He connected on 4-of-6 shots. Maurice Henry had a team-high six assists.
All told, Abington shot 52 percent from the floor (36-of-68) and converted a season-best 10 3-pointers.
Junior Tyler Ibbotson led the Golden Bears with 23 points, including five 3-pointers.
Abington (15-1, 9-0 SOL) will host Upper Dublin on Friday, and Upper Moreland (8-7, 3-6) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
Abington 18-19-27-15 88
Upper Moreland 11-17-14-21 63
Abington (88) – Darius Brown 12, Lucas Monroe 29, Eric Dixon 21, Manir Waller 8, Maurice Henry 5, Oreck Frazier 4, Jason Scott 2, Zyeir Olasewere 2, Jack Moynihan 3, Nicholas Zappone 3,
Upper Moreland (63) – Byron Hopkins 8, Tyler Ibbotson 23, Beau Woolens 15, Jourdan Gregg 7, Jake Tiernan 1, Joe Marczak 2.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 77, Springfield Township 47
A dynamic start helped power Plymouth Whitemarsh past host Springfield Township on Tuesday. The Colonials scored 25 first-quarter points en route to the victory and led 37-23 at halftime.
The win moved the Colonials to 6-2 in conference play and in sole possession of third place behind Abington and Cheltenham.
Florida State University-commit Naheem McLeod dominated in the middle as he netted 26 points with 15 of them coming in the first quarter. Teammate Caelin Peters added 16 points while Kyree Pendleton had 11.
Seniors Wilson Krewson (16 points) and Jordan Pauls (12 points) paced the Spartans.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-5, 6-2 SOL) will host Cheltenham in a conference showdown Thursday. Springfield Township (6-10, 1-8) will host Wissahickon on Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 25-12-20-20 77
Springfield Township 9-14-15-9 47
Plymouth Whitemarsh (77) – Jaden Pryce 4, Ray Tomasetti 4, Caelin Peters 16, Naheem McLeod 26, Trevor McGee 2, Kyree Pendleton 11, Luke Diccianno 4, Mark Kalala 6, Cody Carmint 2, Jordan Evans 2.
Springfield Township (47) – Jordan Pauls 12, DeJaun Waters 4, Max Perry 3, Wilson Krewson 16, Ben Rittenhouse 6, Zach Edmonds 2, Paul Asman 1, Amir Williams 3.
Cheltenham 57, Upper Dublin 42
Cheltenham placed three players in double figures and that scoring balance aided the Panthers, who survived a slow start to earn the win.
Sparked by five points from Bazel Brady, the Cardinals led 16-10 after one quarter, but the Panthers turned the tables in the second, outscoring their hosts 18-5 to go into halftime with a 28-21 lead. Zahree Harrison had the hot hand in the quarter, scoring seven points, including a three. Kyin Healey added five. The Panthers went on to outscore the Cardinals 29-21 in the second half.
The victory moved Cheltenham to 8-1 in conference play and in sole possession of second place in the conference behind Abington
Harrison and senior Tim Myarick led the way for the Panthers with 17 points apiece while Healy had 10 points.
Drew Stover, with a dozen points, was the only Cardinal to reach double figures.
Cheltenham (11-5, 8-1 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh on Thursday, and Upper Dublin (10-6, 4-5) will be on the road at Abington on Friday.
Cheltenham 10-18-15-14 57
Upper Dublin 16 5-11-10 42
Cheltenham (57) – Zahree Harrison 17, Tim Myarick 17, Elijah Harvey 2, Jaelen McGlone 7, Mike McLain 4, Kyin Healy 10.
Upper Dublin (42) – Drew Stover 12, Corby Watkins 4, Bazel Brady 5, Jason Williams 7, Brian Klammer 4, Liam Roberts 1, Mike Slivka 4, Bootman 5.
SOL Continental Conference
Central Bucks East 53, Central Bucks South 48
Central Bucks East gained some revenge against rival Central Bucks South by handing the visiting Titans a loss on Tuesday night.The Patriots, who fell to the Titans 54-44 in their first meeting, moved to 4-4 in the conference with the victory.
“It’s really big,” Central Bucks East coach Erik Henrysen said of the win. "We had a tough stretch where we played four games in five days and then had a week to prepare for CB West. It ended up where we lost three in a row. Just playing against, at the time, a first-place team and coming up with a win is huge for us.
“We’re two teams that are very similar in style and what we’re trying to do, and it was a battle. The first time we played them we kind of had a really bad quarter, the third quarter. This was a tough game, nip and tuck the whole way.”
East trailed 26-25 at halftime led by two (36-24) heading into the final quarter.The Patriots, who were led in scoring by Nick Roggio’s 21 points and 14 from Leo Masterson, connected on 17-of-21 free throws. They buried 11-of-12 in the pivotal fourth quarter.
“We’ve been fortunate enough as a team – we shoot well from the foul line, so down the stretch when it’s time to get a defensive stop, get fouled and get to the foul line, we’ve been fortunate enough to really step up when it’s crunch time and make our fouls,” Henrysen said.
The Patriots’ coach also praised the play of sophomore Jack Hamilton (seven points).
“Jack Hamilton is a sophomore, and he’s coming along really well,” Henrysen said. “We started him tonight – a 6-7, 6-8 kind of wing/forward, but he can do a little bit of everything. He made two really big offensive plays where he hit a three and had a really tough drive toward the end of the third and gave us that spark where we got the lead.”
Ian McCaw had 17 points for the Titans while Tommy Kuypers had 13.
Central Bucks East (10-5, 4-4 SOL) will travel to William Tennent on Wednesday for a non-league game. Central Bucks South (12-4, 6-2) will host Souderton on Friday.
Central Bucks South 13-13-8-14 48
Central Bucks East 15-10-11-17 53
Central Bucks South (48) – Cole Prezelski 1, Brady Prezelski 7, Justin Rieber 2, Brock D’Aulerio 3, Alex Dietz 4, Mark Kannengeiszer 1, Tommy Kuypers 13, Ian McCaw 17.
Central Bucks East (53) – Tyler Young 5, Brendan Harte 2, Leo Masterson 14, Ben Markowitz 4, Jack Hamilton 7, Nick Roggio 21.
Pennridge 63, Quakertown 38
Surging Pennridge came out firing and was able to pull away from host Quakertown for a crucial win Tuesday night.
The victory not only avenged an earlier loss to the Panthers (Pennridge’s only defeat in seven conference games), but it also propelled the Rams into sole possession of first place in the conference after Central Bucks South (6-2 conference) lost to Central Bucks East on Tuesday.
“One of our goals is to try and win the Continental Conference,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “We know that won’t be easy, but we’re playing really well right now.”
The Rams used a 9-2 run to open the game, and a pair of 3-pointers from John Dominic and Luke Yoder to open the second half, en route to the victory.
“We shot the ball very well and the guys have been knocking down their shots,” Behrens said.“John Dominic has really come on for us and Sean Yoder just does so much. He draws so much attention from the other team and that helps open things up for everybody else on the floor.”
Yoder, a United States Naval Academy commit, led all scorers with 19 points – all of which came after he had a scoreless first quarter – and Dominic was next with 17, including four 3-pointers.
Sophomore Jimmy Casey led Quakertown with 11 points and senior Eli Ortiz was next with eight.
Pennridge (14-2, 6-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Friday, and Quakertown (4-11, 2-7) will host Hatboro-Horsham in a non-league game Thursday.
Pennridge 13-13-20-17 63
Quakertown 9-10-811 38
Pennridge (63) – Trent Fisher 7, John Dominic 17, Jon Post 6, Luke Yoder 6, Sean Yoder 19, Christian Guldin 2, Paul Croyle 2, Ryan Benscoter 4.
Quakertown (38) – Sean Harrison 5, Eli Ortiz 8, Matt Lucas 6, Nick Mestayer 1, Jimmy Casey 11, Matt Catalano 3, Matt Tuley 1, Bobby Rosenberger 3.
Souderton 46, Central Bucks West 41
Souderton captured a seesaw win over host Central Bucks West on Tuesday. The Indians led 21-17 at halftime only to watch the Bucks erase that to go on top by one (31-30) heading into the final frame.
“We had a nice little lead in the second quarter – we were up nine at one point,” Souderton coach Tim Brown said. “They came out hot in the third, and they grabbed the lead and had a five-point lead with about five minutes left in the fourth, but the guys stayed strong and just kept doing what we were doing, kept the faith, kept confidence in each other and finished out the game.”
And the Indians did it with a balanced effort across the board.
“Andrew Vince got in foul trouble early, and he has kind of been our backbone, someone we rely on and look to to get us going,” Brown said. “Our seniors – Zach Thatcher and Mekhi Williams – really stepped up tonight. Thatch had six but he played a great game at point guard and really controlled the game for us.
“Mekhi stepped up offensively. Dom Natale did a great job on Jack Mulhearn, who’s obviously really tough to guard, and Brian Reimer hit a huge shot in the third and finished it out with a couple of huge free throws.
“To get a win against the CB West program is huge. Coach (Adam) Sherman and his staff always do a great job with their guys, and they always play great basketball.”
Reimer led the Indians with 13 points and Williams had 11.
Jack Neri paced the Bucks with 13 points. Mulhearn added nine.
Souderton (6-11, 3-5 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South on Friday, and Central Bucks West (7-9, 3-5) will be on the road at Pennridge.
Souderton 12-9-9-16 46
Central Bucks West 6-11-14-10 41
Souderton (46) – Brian Reimer 13, Mekhi Williams 11, Andrew Vince 6, Zach Thatcher 6, Jack Towsen 4, Dom Natale 3, Sami Chouiraf 3.
Central Bucks West (41) – Jack Neri 13, Jack Mulhearn 9, John Murnan 7, Danny Miller 5, Mika Munari 4, Connor Breice 3.
SOL National Conference
Council Rock South 64, Neshaminy 45
Council Rock South put a tough loss to Harry S Truman behind them on the way to knocking off Neshaminy Tuesday night.
“We didn’t play particularly well (against Truman),” Council Rock South coach Chris Clark said. “The kids had a meeting themselves and talked about trying to be more focused and more dialed in, and I thought they were, so that’s a credit to them, a great credit to them. They took ownership of the team, it matters to them, and that’s very important. I was really proud of them."
The Golden Hawks jumped out to a 25-9 lead after one quarter and never looked back.
“I thought our first shot defense was pretty good, and we were able to get defensive rebounds and we got out and ran,” Clark said. “That got us going early on, and even when we played in the half court, I thought we moved the ball pretty well, set good screens and had a variety of offensive play, and that helped us.
“Primarily, our defense was pretty good and then we got out and ran. We try to emphasize that. Tonight we were able to look up, we had kids that were running, and we made good passes and finished."
Jack Rebholz led all scorers with 20 points and Kevin McNamee had 15 in the win while Luca Barata was next for the Golden Hawks with 14.
“Brian Schwartz has been our leader – he scores a little bit, but he passes the ball, he rebounds for us, he does a little bit of everything,” Clark said. “Jack Rebholz had 20 tonight. We got contributions from everybody.
“Luca Baratta had 14, and just the stead influence of Luke Meakim – he didn’t turn the ball over, he played tough defense. Kevin McNamee had double figures also with 15. He was able to do some stuff inside, and he was also getting out and running. He got some layups in transition and made 5-of-6 at the foul line."
Sophomore Matt Drapkin led Neshaminy with 10 points and senior Brandon Belton contributed nine points.
Council Rock South (5-9, 5-3 SOL) will travel to Downingtown West for a non-league game on Friday. Neshaminy (3-12, 1-7) will host Harry S Truman on Thursday.
Council Rock South 25-11-14-14 64
Neshaminy 9-15-10-11 45
Council Rock South (64) – Jack Rebholz 20, Luke Meakim 2, Michael Stewart 4, Kevin McNamee 15, Luca Baratta 14, Brian Schwartz 6, David Loving 3.
Neshaminy (45) – Ian Deduro 3, Brandon Belton 9, Matt Drapkin 10, Brandon Kelly 2, Damon McGovern 7, Mike Murray 8, Angelo Gyamfi 2, Evan Brooks 3, Jon Desir 3.
Council Rock North 44, Harry S. Truman 39
If you’re looking for a tale of two halves, look no further than this one.
Harry S. Truman won the first half 27-13 and seemed to be cruising to a victory.However, Council Rock North won the second half 31-12 to notch the all-important victory.
A big part of the Indians second-half surge? How about holding the Tigers scoreless in the third quarter?
“We got down big early – Truman came out and they were ready to play,” Council Rock North coach Jesse Krasna said. “They’re much improved. Coach (Tyrone) Lewis is just doing a tremendous job with that group. They’re a totally different team than they were a month ago.
“They punched us in the mouth, and we weren’t ready for it. They were the tougher team in the first half, they made shots, and they were getting to the rim. They were beating us to the basketball, and they were getting offensive rebounds and second chance points. We had to burn two timeouts pretty early on to try and settle things down.
“We went into halftime down 14, and our guys were dejected. The message at halftime was just, ‘Hey, guys, they’re hungrier. If we’re going to make this a game, we’re going to have to be the tougher team in the second half, play with more heart.’ That’s exactly what they did.”
Indeed they did, outscoring the Tigers 13-0 in the third quarter, but Truman still led 27-26 heading into the final frame.
“To hold any team to no points in a quarter is such a tremendous feat,” Krasna said. “The kids enhanced their focus, and they hunkered down and got big stops and rebounds.
“Luke Vliet hit a big three in that quarter, and DJ Mischak hit one. We started to get to the basket a little more. Our freshman, Bernie Parent, who has been a role player for us the first part of the season – he really stepped up. He had five points in the second half. He hit a big three in that quarter, he hit a mid-range jump shot in the fourth quarter, so he really stepped in and played really well for us.”
Vliet lead a balanced Indian attack with 13 points in the win and Mischak was next with 10.
“The cool thing about this game was every single player that we had that was active – it really was a true team effort,” Krasna said. “A couple of our reserves that don’t always play every game – they stepped in and just heightened the intensity for us. They gave us that next level of energy that we needed in the second half. Guys like Andrew Stewart, who’s a junior captain, and Beckett Thompson – they’re always ready when their number is called, and it was called tonight. They’re a big part of the reason we won this game too by being ready to play. It was the ultimate team win.
“Truman is playing really good basketball now. They’re on a roll. They beat Tennent and CR South, and it wasn’t by accident. I don’t think it’s that they snuck up on anybody. They’re playing really good ball, and that’s a credit to the coaching staff and the kids they have there."
Terrence Rogers had 10 points in the loss.
Council Rock North (11-5, 5-3 SOL) will host Calvary Christian Academy in a non-league game Wednesday, and Harry S Truman (2-11, 2-5) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Thursday.
Council Rock North – 4-9-13-18 44
Harry S. Truman 14-13-0-12 39
Council Rock North (44) – DJ Mischak 10, Bernie Parent 5, Luke Vliet 13, Parker Ehlin 4, James Duffy 8, Zach Saifer 4.
Harry S. Truman (39) – Jon Maloney 7, Winton 2, Javeer Peterson 2, Vargas 6, Terrence Rogers 10, Leonhauser 9, Alex Fisher 3.
Bensalem 66, William Tennent 53
A sizzling start got Bensalem going, and the Owls never let up on the way to a victory over host William Tennent on Tuesday.
“We got off to a nice start – we were up 16-2,” Bensalem coach Mike McCabe said. “TJ Igielski hit three threes, so we got out to a nice lead and pretty much were in control of the game.
“Look, Tennent beat us at our place earlier this season (46-35), so we weren’t taking them lightly. I said, ‘They might be struggling, but the teams that are struggling are a lot of times very dangerous teams. This was definitely one we didn’t want to take a step back. We got two nice wins. It’s a game you’re on the road, so who knows? We got out to a great start, and that’s what we really wanted to see tonight."
Bensalem’s Lamont Hasker poured in a game-high 23 points, to go along with 14 rebounds, and Nasir Williams contributed 14 points while Igielski added a dozen points.
Sophomore Derrik Cosenza led the Panthers with 21 points and teammate David West added a dozen.
Bensalem (9-7, 5-3 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Thursday, and William Tennent (3-11, 2-5) will be on the road at Council Rock North on Friday.
Bensalem 19-13-17-17 66
William Tennent 9-10-14-20 53
Bensalem (66) – Nasir Williams 14, Reuben Jean-Phillips 2, Jeremiah Alexander 4, James Ashford 5, TJ Igielski 12, Lamont Hasker 23, Adam Beck 3, Aaron Sanders 4
William Tennent (53) – Michael Mulville 5, Josiah Johnson 3, Kip Mooney 4, Ryan Savage 7, David West 12, Derrik Cosenza 21, Del Matunda 1.
Downingtown West 69, North Penn 56
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