Jarrad Saffren recaps all of Tuesday’s boys basketball action. Upper Moreland/Springfield photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a complete gallery…CLICK HERE. Neshaminy/Pennsbury photo courtesy of Jesse Garber (http://jsgarber.zenfolio.com/p291671533)
By Jarrad Saffren
All wins are big wins at this point.
That was the theme Tuesday night. Most teams are either fighting for district playoff spots or seeds.
Tuesday night’s 10 winners were pretty much all hot, rising teams.
All 10 Suburban One League boys basketball games were league games. The results and recaps are below.
SOL American
Hatboro-Horsham 46, Wissahickon 40
Hatboro-Horsham almost always gets strong performances from its two standouts, Jay Davis and Clifton Moore.
But the Hatters win when other guys complement Davis and Moore. That’s what happened Tuesday night.
Davis and Moore did their thing, scoring 17 and 15 points, respectively. Their teammates all played important roles, especially junior forward Kyle Hogan.
Hatters’ coach Ed Enoch aligned his defenders in a zone because Wissahickon has a lot of players who can create their own shots. Hogan played the middle of the zone, cut off drivers and gobbled up rebounds.
“Hogan did a good job occupying space and rebounding the ball,” Enoch said. “He’s stepped up the last couple games, with a number of kids hurt.”
Hogan and teammate Chris Edwards prevented Wissahickon from dominating the glass, as it did in the first meeting with Hatboro-Horsham, a 58-45 Trojans win. Wissahickon out-rebounded Hatboro-Horsham 48-32 in that game.
“They killed us on the boards at their place, and they killed us on the offensive glass especially,” Enoch said. “We got out on shooters as best we could. But the biggest thing was we limited them to one shot.”
Edwards had double-digit boards.
“He did a great job,” Enoch said. Hatboro-Horsham out-rebounded Wissahickon 37-29.
“When we get contributions from others, we win,” Enoch added. “Ryan Black played well also tonight. Other kids stepped up.”
Black scored 11 points.
Hatboro-Horsham won its second straight game, and is 1-0 since the latest District One Class 6A power rankings came out on Monday. The Hatters are 24th in the rankings, and 24 teams make the 6A playoffs.
“It was a very good win. Wissahickon’s a very good team. They have 6-7 kids who can score. They have a way of playing PW tough,” Enoch said. “They are very good, physical, they rebound well, they guard well. And they are well-coached. (Wissahickon coach) Kyle (Wilson) does a great job.”
Max Rapoport and Shane Ford led Wissahickon with 16 and 10 points, respectively. Zach Reiner added eight.
Hatboro-Horsham (11-7, 8-4 SOL) plays Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday night at seven. Wissahickon (9-9, 6-5 SOL) takes on Cheltenham on the same night and time.
Hatboro-Horsham 5-11-11-19 46
Wissahickon 9-8-8-15 40
Hatboro-Horsham (46) – Chris Edwards 1, Kyle Hogan 2, Clifton Moore 16, Jay Davis 16, Ryan Black 11.
Wissahickon (40) – Max Rapoport 16, Shane Ford 10, Zach Reiner 8, Chaz Owens 3, Zach Gelman 3.
Upper Moreland 57, Springfield-Montco 33
Upper Moreland’s Damian Washington was ice cold in the first half Tuesday night.
“He got a couple good looks in the first half and early in the second half,” Golden Bears coach Matt Heiland said. “None fell.”
Upper Moreland still led 24-14 at halftime, but Springfield-Montco was hanging in. Springfield cut UM’s lead to six in the third quarter. 
That’s when Washington got hot, burying two threes to put UM up 12.
“Once he hit one, it snowballed,” Heiland said.
Washington scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half. UM’s Shane Stone added 16 points.
“Stone did a nice job catching in the high post and finishing baskets,” Heiland said. “We hit him with a nice dunk halfway through the fourth, which put a stamp on the rest of the game.”
The Golden Bears pulled away by winning the fourth quarter 19-8.
“They dictated the tempo the first time we played them and we only won by three. We didn’t want to let them dictate the tempo this time,” Heiland said. “Springfield is always a tough game for us. (Springfield coach) Gary (Nolan) does a really nice job over there.”
Quentin Johnson led Springfield-Montco with 10 points. Ryan Daley and Mike Goodson had nine and eight, respectively.
Upper Moreland is 15th in the District One Class 5A power rankings. Sixteen 5A teams make the playoffs.
“I talked to the guys about the power rankings. They are not dumb. They see what’s going on. I allow them to ask me questions about it,” Heiland said. “I told the guys, ‘Every win is big at this point. A lot can still happen. Teams behind us are close. If we beat a team with a real good record, that could bump us up exponentially.’”
Upper Moreland (9-8, 4-6 SOL) hosts Quakertown Friday night at seven. Springfield-Montco (2-15, 0-11 SOL) plays Upper Dublin on the same night and time.
Upper Moreland 10-14-14-19 57
Springfield-Montco 6-8-11-8 33
Upper Moreland (57) – Casey Decker 5, Christian O’Donnell 3, Herb 3, Damian Washington 21, Ryan Coyle 4, Anthony Green 3, Shane Stone 16, Jake Villanueva 2.
Springfield (33) – Ryan Daley 9, Pauls 3, Krewson 3, Quentin Johnson 10, Mike Goodson 8.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 70, Upper Dublin 40
Upper Dublin built a 17-11 lead.
“We were playing hard but couldn’t make anything,” Colonials coach Jim Donofrio said. “Like the Wissahickon game last week.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh responded with a 36-3 run, which lasted from the middle of the second quarter to the end of the third. PW led by 30 going into the fourth.
“We turned up the pressure,” Donofrio said. “And we were able to get a lot of guys in the game in the fourth.”
Twelve PW players scored. Ahmin Williams led the Colonials with 12 points. Ahmad Williams, Matt Walker and Naheem McLeod all scored nine. Cheo Houston and Ish Horn both scored six.
Donofrio was even more pleased with how Ahmin Williams and McLeod played defensively.
“Naheem had a nice second half. He altered a ton of shots. And Ahmin Williams was really relentless defensively. All the kids were,” Donofrio said. “We hope to stretch our consistency to more than a 10-15 minute run.”
Donofrio gave his players off over the weekend, so they could recharge for the stretch run.
“Which we don’t do normally. But with the style we play, it was an opportune time. I’ve learned over the years at some point, two days in a row is big for your legs. The halfway point is a good time,” Donofrio said. “To maintain that energy over a playoff run requires you to get moments to sleep and walk away from the game for a couple days and do something else. If you don’t rest when you could have, you’ll regret it. We are heading into a very important stretch here.”
Rio Besachio led Upper Dublin with 12 points.
PW (15-2, 10-0 SOL) plays Hatboro-Horsham Friday night at seven. Upper Dublin (1-15, 1-8 SOL) takes on Springfield-Montco on the same night and time.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11-26-17-16 70
Upper Dublin 9-11-9-11 40
Plymouth Whitemarsh (70) – Ish Horn 6, Kevin Tilghman 2, Jake Levinson 3, Kareem Breedon 2, Naheem McLeod 9, Danny Cooper 4, Matt Walker 9, Ahmin Williams 12, Cheo Houston 6, Ahmad Williams 9, Matt Kodish 5, Jason Paul 3.
Upper Dublin (40) – Rio Besachio 12, Ryan Besachio 3, Mike Cotton 2, Quinton Derr 2, Brian McCarry 1, Ian McGonagle 2, Joey Ryan 5, Nyjee Scott 7, Cory Stover 4, Corby Watkins 2.
Cheltenham 70, Quakertown 54
Quakertown trailed by just three entering the fourth quarter. But Cheltenham pulled away by winning the fourth 18-5.
The difference between the fourth quarter and the first half? Cheltenham was not in foul trouble, so it could press.
“They took 19 foul shots in the first half. We were in the penalty, so we had to strategize toward fouls,” Cheltenham coach John Timms said. “By the fourth, we only had two team fouls, and were able to play a full court press. Our goal was to go into the fourth with three team fouls, so we could press. We were too big for those guys. Our speed played a factor too.”
Jack Clark led Cheltenham with 20 points. Ahmad Bickley had 16 points and 11 assists, his first double-double of the season.
“He’s been going for it all year,” Timms said. “He’s been around eight assists every game, so he was excited.”
Trevonn Pitts added 14 points for Cheltenham.
Nick Drosnock led Quakertown with 14 points. Ryan Howard and Jashua Rodriguez both added 10.
Quakertown again fought hard but couldn’t quite hang with a bigger, faster team.
“Quakertown is one of the smaller teams we’ve played. But those guys fought. They are a real disciplined team. They came out and played hard on the defensive end,” Timms said. “That’s expected for a conference game. I always expect those to be competitive. It’s a question of can you pull away, and we did.”
Cheltenham (13-3, 8-1 SOL) battles Abington Thursday night at seven. Quakertown (4-11, 3-5 SOL) plays Upper Moreland Friday night at seven.
Cheltenham 16-22-14-18 70
Quakertown 15-18-16-5 54
Cheltenham (71) – Trevonn Pitts 15, Ahmad Bickley 16, Jack Clark 20, Keith Parrish 4, Tim Spencer 7, Rodney Carson 5,
Quakertown (54) – Ryan Howard 10, Jashua Rodriguez 10, Nick Drosnock 14, Dakota Suchanec 6, Kevin Juszynski 8, JR Grimmage 6.
SOL Continental
Central Bucks South 53, William Tennent 38
Central Bucks South was 29th in the first 6A power rankings on January 16. Then the Titans won four straight and moved up to 21st in the second edition of the rankings on Jan. 23.
On Tuesday night, CB South won its fifth straight game.
“We are on a good run right now. We took a tough loss at our place versus Souderton a few weeks ago, which dropped us to 3-9. We got some younger guys in, which allowed the seniors to reflect on what they wanna do to finish out the season,” CB South coach Jason Campbell said.
Campbell and his players discussed the topic the next day at practice.
“Alex Karras spoke out and said, ‘We gotta come together and play our best basketball. This is our last run at CB South.’ That inspired people,” Campbell said. “Everyone walked out of the gym that day ready to play our best basketball. We were bickering before that. We realized we can’t do that anymore.”
“We knew we were alive, though,” Campbell added. “You can win games as fast as you lose games.”
CB South came out the next day, January 14, and beat Harry S. Truman 66-58.
“We came out ready against Truman,” Campbell said. “We played better defense, with more of an edge. We had letdowns before that. We also started playing unselfish basketball.”
The first power rankings came out two days later. The Titans were five spots behind the last playoff spot, which motivated them even more.
“They didn’t want to finish their careers as a team that missed the playoffs,” Campbell said. “They wanted to make a push to see if they can get into the top 24.”
CB South won three more games after the rankings came out.
On Tuesday night, the Titans won the first quarter 20-4 and never trailed the rest of the way.
“We played really well in the first,” Campbell said. “Our D was fantastic and we rebounded well.”
Campbell had the Titans play man-to-man defense to take away William Tennent’s three-point shooting. Offensively, CB South dumped the ball inside to create open looks on the perimeter.
“Andrew Dietz got touches and then kicked it out to Nate Robinson and Dan Tecce,” Campbell said.
Robinson led CB South with 16 points. Dietz added 12. Colin Kenney had nine.
Tennent cut CB South’s lead to 10 at halftime.
“They always get back in it,” Campbell said. “They play hard and shoot so well. Coach (Robert) Mulville does a great job.”
CB South pulled away by winning the fourth quarter 15-8.
“We did a good job playing the passing lanes,” Campbell said. “And, in the fourth, Tecce did a good job picking up their point guard full court.”
Pat McCauley and Jorge Soto led Tennent with eight points each.
CB South (8-9, 5-4 SOL) plays Girard College Friday at 4:30. William Tennent (3-12, 0-8 SOL) takes on Central Bucks East Friday night at seven.
Central Bucks South 20-9-9-15 53
William Tennent 4-15-11-8 38
Central Bucks South (53) – Nate Robinson 16, Danny Tecce 6, Cole Prezelski 3, Nate Johnston 3, Colin Sauers 2, Andrew Dietz 12, Ian McCaw 2, Colin Kennedy 9.
William Tennent (38) – Pat McCauley 8, Matt Berndlmaier 4, Brendon Carter 5, Markeith Baxter 4, Jorge Soto 8, DAve West 3, Dave Gassanova 6.
Pennridge 56, Souderton 45
Pennridge’s sophomore tandem—Jon Post (17) and Sean Yoder (16)—combined for 33 points in leading the Rams to a comfortable win.
Ryan Cuthbert added 11 for Pennridge.
“They tried to take Sean Yoder away and he was very efficient with his passing. Post inside and Cuthbert outside in the first quarter really got us going,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “Cuthbert was shooting well. Plus Kyle Yoder scored our first four points. The give-and-go plays with Post were really working. We were able to play outside and inside tonight, which helped us.”
Defensively, Pennridge let Souderton’s top scorer, Mike Bealer, get his points, while the Rams limited everybody else. Bealer scored 23 and Trevor Watts added 11. No other Souderton players scored in double figures. Only one other Indians player scored more than two points.
“Bealer went off in the second half but we were always up by double figures,” Behrens said. “We recognized where he was and face-guarded him. They are so deep and big. If we guard Bealer too much, they’ll dump it inside and hurt us.”
Pennridge is 19th in the 6A power rankings. This win could help the Rams move toward a first round home game. The top eight 6A teams earn byes. The next eight earn first round home games.
“We can enjoy it now and get back at it tomorrow,” Behrens said.
Pennridge (9-8, 4-5 SOL) plays Central Bucks West Friday night at seven. Souderton (7-10, 3-5 SOL) takes on North Penn on the same night and time.
Pennridge 16-14-14-12 56
Souderton 9-7-14-15 45
Pennridge (56) – Ryan Warner 4, Sean Yoder 16, Ryan Kinky 2, Kyle Yoder 4, Tyrese Lewis-Eutsey 2, Ryan Cuthbert 11, Jon Post 17.
Souderton (45) – Mike Bealer 23, Matt Cartwright 7, Jake GRoeller 1, DJ Landis 2, Trevor Watts 11, Noah Horas 1.
Central Bucks West 49, Central Bucks East 47
Central Bucks West led by four with four seconds left. Then a Bucks player fouled a CB East player as he shot a three.
But he did not make the shot, meaning he couldn’t tie the game on the foul line.
“It was definitely not a good foul,” CB West coach Adam Sherman said. “But it didn’t come back to haunt us either.”
CB West trailed by five with five minutes left in the fourth quarter. Then Jake Reichwein took over, scoring 13 points in the quarter and shooting 4-of-4 from the foul line.
Other Bucks players also hit big shots. Shane McCusker buried a three. Collin MacAdams “made a big layup,” Sherman said. Finally, with a little more than a minute left, Jack Mulhearn sank a layup that put CB West up for good.
CB West is 17th in the 6A power rankings. Much like with Pennridge, West’s win pushes it closer to a first round home game.
“It was a win we needed,” Sherman said. “We’ve been having trouble putting four quarters together. It was nice to see us come out on top.”
CB West (10-7, 6-3 SOL) plays Pennridge Friday night at seven. CB East (11-8, 5-4 SOL) battles William Tennent on the same night and time.
SOL National
Bensalem 64, Harry S. Truman 58
Bensalem needed a win Tuesday night. The Owls had lost six of seven before this rivalry game.
At 27th in the 6A power rankings, they are three spots below the last playoff spot.
“We feel great about our chances after tonight,” Bensalem guard Ward Roberts said.
“We feel pretty good about it,” Bensalem guard Rich Dean said. “We just have to keep going hard in practice.”
Bensalem improved to 8-9 with this win. Truman dropped to 8-9. The Tigers are 25th in the power rankings, so both teams needed this win. They are so similar and evenly matched that their first meeting, on December 22, was decided by one point. Truman beat Bensalem 50-49.
This one was almost as close. Bensalem raced to a 20-6 lead after one quarter. The Owls were drilling threes, getting to the basket and putting back offensive rebounds.
Roberts scored eight points in the first quarter. Taco Douglas scored six. Dean added four.
But Truman answered in the second quarter, winning it 26-10 and taking a 32-30 lead into halftime. Truman coach Byron Conover took out his whole starting lineup after the first quarter. His bench players made the run.
Marvel Rogers dropped 11 points in the quarter, including three threes. Zierr Reid, Tyrone Willis and Rasheid Newkirk also made threes. Truman hit six threes in the second quarter.
“They were bombing threes,” Bensalem coach Mike McCabe said. “I was like, ‘Wow, oh my God.’”
“We have to be more aggressive and keep our foot on the gas,” Dean said. “We need to put other teams away.”
“We have to blow teams out and take them away,” Douglas said. “If we have the lead, we can’t let them get back in the game.”
The lead changed hands six times in the first ten minutes of the second half. Then, midway through the fourth, Dean swished a runner in the lane, giving Bensalem the lead for good. One possession later, he swished a three from the right corner, putting Bensalem up four. Truman never got within four again.
Down the stretch, the Owls, who have three one-point losses this year, finally put an opponent away.
“It’s been a rough season with that. We’ve been in so many tight games,” McCabe said. “We haven’t been able to close out. We haven’t made foul shots.”
Bensalem only shot 13-of-25 from the line Tuesday night. But one player, Roberts, made 7-of-8 in the fourth, putting Truman away.
Roberts (22), Dean (18) and Douglas (12) combined for 52 of Bensalem’s 64 points.
“That’s what has to happen for us,” McCabe said. “Once they get going, that’s going to get us the W.”
Rogers led Truman with 15 points. Tymir Underwood added 10.
Bensalem (8-9, 3-6 SOL) hosts Glen Mills Saturday at 5:30. Truman (8-9, 2-6 SOL) plays Abington Friday night at six.
Bensalem 20-10-15-19 64
Harry S. Truman 6-26-12-14 58
Abington 79, Council Rock North 55
Abington built a 45-20 at halftime and cruised to a blowout win.
Robbie Heath (25) and Eric Dixon (24) combined for 49 points. Heath shot 6-of-6 from the foul line and also had five rebounds. Dixon grabbed seven boards.
Abington point guard Robert Young had a great all-around game, putting up eight points, five assists and four steals.
Abington center Joe O’Brien had five rebounds and four blocks. Sixth man Eric Dougherty corralled five rebounds.
Abington shot 50 percent (27-of-54) from the field, 79 percent from the foul line (15-of-19) and made 10 threes (10-of-20). The Ghosts also had more steals, 13, than turnovers, eight.
Drew Burton and Noah Ehlin led Council Rock North with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Matt McAlister had eight points.
Abington has won seven straight games and is fourth in the 6A power rankings.
Abington (15-3, 9-0 SOL) plays Cheltenham Thursday night at seven. CR North (6-12, 3-6 SOL) battles Neshaminy Thursday night at 7:30.
Abington 20-25-15-19 79
Council Rock North 6-14-15-20 55
CR North (55) – Eric Levine 5, Drew Burton 14, James Kosyla 5, Anish Thur 2, Noah Ehlin 11, Brady Haggerty 4, Harry Wyatt 2, Matt McAlister 8, Angad Ahlluwalia 4.
Abington (79) – Eric Dixon 24, Robbie Heath 25, Joseph O’Brien 2, Robert Young 8, Eric Dougherty 2, Darius Brown 6, Bryan Coffman 2, Jonah Canada 5.
Pennsbury 49, Neshaminy 41
Pennsbury won its second straight and strengthened its case for a first round playoff bye. The Falcons are fifth in the 6A power rankings. The top eight teams earn byes.
Mark Flagg led Pennsbury with 18 points. Joey Monaghan and Tyler Sessa-Reeves added 11 each for the Falcons.
Pennsbury built a 17-6 lead through one quarter and did not trail the rest of the way.
Chris Arcidiacono led Neshaminy with 13 points. Anthony Papeo had 11.
Pennsbury (11-5, 5-2 SOL) hosts Council Rock South Thursday night at seven. Neshaminy (6-9, 2-6 SOL) plays CR North Thursday night at 7:30.
Pennsbury 17-9-9-14 49
Neshaminy 6-13-8-14 41
Pennsbury (49) – Raylil Winton Law 2, Addison Howard 2, Vaughn Ward 5, Tyler Sessa-Reeves 11, Joey Monaghan 11, Mark Flagg 18.
Neshaminy (41) – Zach Tredway 6, Corey McGarry 1, Mark Gentry 5, Chris Arcidiacono 13, Anthony Papeo 11, Anthony Verrecchio 2, Andrew Note 3.
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