Check out the recaps for boys’ basketball teams in action Friday. CB West/Pennridge photos provided courtesy of Kim Supkko. Abington/Upper Dublin photos courtesy of Geanine Jamison. Wissahickon/Springfield photos by Keith Clemens Photography. CLICK HERE for photo galleries.
SOL Continental
Central Bucks West 41, Pennridge 38
With a huge defensive effort, CB West handed Pennridge its first SOL Continental loss in over a year at home on Friday night. The Bucks held 
Pennridge to just 33 percent (15-for-46) shooting from the field.
“We were so disappointed with how we played at Pennridge,” said Bucks coach Adam Sherman about his team’s 50-35 loss to the Rams on Dec. 20. “We really felt like we needed to redeem ourselves. Pennridge is a very good team. We just thought we didn’t real defend, offensively we really struggled. We made some adjustments. I give credit to the kids. They really worked hard. It was nice to see them have success.”
It was a low-scoring, but close game throughout but West stretched its lead to seven at one point early in the fourth, 38-31, on a Teddy Spratt drive to the bucket. Trent Fisher and Christian Guldin scored on back-to-back possessions to get it within three, but Mika Munari answered with a basket in the lane to make it 40-35.
Spratt later made one of two free throws to push the lead back to six, only to see Guldin hit a 3-pointer. After creating a turnover of its own, Pennridge had a chance to tie it and send it into overtime, but West’s defense forced a tough shot and Guldin’s 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
The Bucks too struggled from the field, shooting 15-for-40 (38 percent), but they were 6-for-13 from 3-point range. Munari led the team with 12 points, while Jack Neri had 10 points and eight rebounds. Spratt had seven points and six rebounds, and Danny Miller had six points and six rebounds.
“We felt we had guys that could defend well,” Sherman said. “We were going to have to move forward playing defense. We just had enough offense tonight.
Pennridge was led by Guldin’s 15 points and seven rebounds, while Fisher had 14 points and 16 rebounds.
The Rams (12-4, 7-1 SOL) still have a two-game lead over both West and CB East with four conference games remaining. They host Perkiomen Valley in a nonleague game on Saturday (2 p.m.). CB West (13-5, 6-3 SOL) plays at Academy Park on Saturday (4:30 p.m.)
Pennridge 5 11 13 9-38
CB West 7 11 15 8-41
Pennridge (38) – Luke Yoder 2 1-1 6; Christian Guldin 5 2-4 15; Colin Post 0 1-3 1; Anthony Phillips 1 0-0 2; Trent Fisher 7 0-1 14. Totals 15 4-9 38.
CB West (41) – Teddy Spratt 2 3-8 7; Owen Haney 1 0-0 3; Jack Neri 4 0-0 10; Joe Monahan 1 0-0 3; Mika Munari 5 0-2 12; Danny Miller 2 2-3 6. Totals 15 5-13 41.
3-point goals: P-Guldin 3, Yoder 1; CBW-Neri 2, Munari 2, Monahan 1, Haney 1
Souderton 55, Central Bucks South 46
Junior Jason Price scored 18 points, as surging Souderton avenged a previous loss with a strong fourth quarter and a nine-point win at home to CB South.
Tied at 22 at the half, Souderton led by one 31-30 after three quarters, and then exploded with 24 points in the fourth.
“Jason Price had an unbelievable second half and I was extremely proud of how aggressive he was and how much confidence he showed,” said Souderton coach Tim Brown. “Defensively, he made people uncomfortable, and offensively, he did what we know he’s capable of doing.”
Also for the Indians, Jack Towsen had 14 points and Evan Kutzler had seven.
“Jack Towsen was extremely solid throughout,” Brown said. “He hit some huge 3s in the first half and helped us close out the game in the fourth. He did so many little things well throughout the game that got us the win.”
For Souderton (11-7, 5-4 SOL), the win was its third in four games after a rough stretch that saw several key players go down with injuries. It has four games remaining, three in the conference. Next up is at CB East on Tuesday.
“I’m proud of the group as a whole,” Brown said. “They continue to play with confidence and trust and love, no matter what adversity we hit. It’s fun to watch.”
CB South (9-8, 4-5 SOL) was led by sophomore Michael Farley, who scored a game-high 25 points. The Titans have lost four of their last five games and look to bounce back Saturday (1 p.m.) at William Tennent.
CB South 11 11 8 16-46
Souderton 7 15 9 24-55
CB South (46) – Michael Farley 25, Alex Dietz 6, Evan D’Orazio 6, Mike Waltrich 5, John Hackendahl 2, Josiah Harrison 2
Souderton (55) – Jason Price 18, Jack Towsen 14, Evan Kutzler 7, Dylan Hollick 5, Sami Chouraif 4, Matt Uhlrich 4, Brian Reiner 3
Central Bucks East 50, North Penn 45
On Senior Night, CB East started strong, building a 10-point halftime lead and then held on in the second half to remain in second place in the SOL Continental.
“It was our Senior Night and Tyler Young, Jacob Rotondo, Chris Charlton and Christian Rivera got us off to a nice start,” said Patriots coach Erik Henrysen. “We built a double-digit lead, but North Penn kept battling.”
Both teams have been playing well of late. CB East entered the game 6-2 in January and was coming off of two huge wins over rivals CB West and CB South. After a slow start to the season, North Penn has played itself back into district playoff contention with key nonleague wins over Bensalem and Pennsbury heading into Friday night.
CB East was led by Joe Jackman’s 18 points, while Jack Hamilton had 10 and Tyler Young ended up with nine points.
“Jackman and Hamilton came through in a big way again,” Henrysen said. “Young was tremendous running the point and on (defense).”
North Penn was led by Josh Jones’ 23 points.
“Jones is playing on a different level than he was earlier in the year,” Henrysen said. “He was tough for us to stop. In the end, we were able to hold off a comeback.”
CB East (12-7, 6-3 SOL) remains tied with CB West for second place in the conference, two games behind leader Pennridge in the standings with three games left, starting with Souderton at home on Tuesday.
North Penn (6-11, 2-6 SOL) needs wins in its final five games. It hosts Downingtown West in a nonleague game Saturday (1 p.m.).
North Penn 9 8 13 15-45
CB East 14-13-11-12-50
North Penn (45) – Kolby Barrow 3, Josh Jones 23, Joey Larkins 6, Rob Carangi 2, Matt Swanson 5, Mike Chaffee 4, Carter Houlihan 2
CB East (50) – Joe Jackman 18, Jack Hamilton 10, Tyler Young 9, Anthony Giordano 2, Brendan Harte 4, Jason Markowitz
3-point goals: NP-Jones, Barrow; CBE-Jackman 4, Markowitz 2, Hamilton 2, Young
SOL American
Cheltenham 64, Plymouth Whitemarsh 59
Sean Emfinger had a huge night with 18 points, eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks, as Cheltenham maintained its two-game lead in the SOL American with its second win over PW this season.
“Sean is a very big addition to our team,” said Panthers coach Patrick Fleury. “We demand a lot of him, and I think tonight he answered the call. I praise him, but there’s so much in the tank for him, and he just answered the call today.
“I was expecting a lot of him today, and he showed that he can do it. For us, he was just in the flow.
Travis Colman added 13 points for Cheltenham, while Brandon Scott had 10 points and four steals. Justin Moore had six points and nine assists, Jaelen McGlone seven points and five rebounds, and Mike McClain chipped in with seven rebounds as well.
“A lot of our guys saw that (Emfinger) was going,” Fleury said. “Jaelen McGlone saw he was going and focused more on the defensive side, and Justin Moore was able to find a lot of his teammates in their spots, and for us that was big. Mike McClain gave us a big boost.
“Rasheem Dearry and David Pope, their four points combined in a five-point game were huge for us. There were timely spots in the run for both of them. Dave had a full court layup that gave us momentum off a pass from Justin, and Rasheem the same thing. He was able to cut off and get a basket from Justin. We just had a total team effort.”
PW was led by Caelin Peters’ 28 points, while Luke DiCianno added 11.
“PW obviously is fighting and they’re getting better as the year goes on,” Fleury said. “Obviously, we knew tonight wouldn’t be the same as the first time that we played them, but we’re just happy that we were able to come out and get the win and continue on to the next game.”
The next game for Cheltenham (16-2, 10-0 SOL) is Tuesday at second-place Wissahickon. PW (8-10, 6-4 SOL) is at Abington on Tuesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 11 21 13 14-59
Cheltenham 19 18 15 12-64
Plymouth Whitemarsh (59) – Caelin Peters 28, Luke DiCianno 11, Zuri Jerman 8, Zende Hubbard 6, David Harris 3, Teddy Rinck k3.
Cheltenham (64) – Rasheem Dearry 2, Travis Coleman 13, Brandon Scott 10, Justin Moore 6, Saleem Payne 6, David Pope 2, Jaelen McGlone 7, Sean Emfinger 18.
Upper Moreland 44, Hatboro-Horsham 36
After starting slow, Upper Moreland dominated defensively in the second half and finally put the game away in the fourth quarter to follow up on its upset of Abington Tuesday with a home win over rival Hatboro-Horsham at home on Friday.
“We played versus a H-H team that was hungry and well-prepared,” said UM coach Sean Feeney. “The team played well in the second half.”
Trailing 24-19 at the half, the Golden Bears held the Hatters to just two points in the third quarter to seize control and then in the fourth quarter finished the game off by going 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
Tyler Ibbotson hit two key 3-pointers to get UM going in that key third quarter.
“Tyler Ibbotson was a leader on both ends, and Byron Hopkins and Jourdan Gregg did a nice job in the second half,” Feeney said.
Gregg scored a game-high 16 for the Bears, while Ibbotson and Hopkins finished with 10 points each.
UM (10-5, 5-5 SOL) is back in action Saturday (noon) in a nonleague game against Interboro at home. Hatboro-Horsham (1-17, 0-11 SOL) was led by Jack Marvin’s 15 points on Friday. It plays at Springfield Township on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 11 14 2 9-36
Upper Moreland 6 13 9 16-44
Hatboro-Horsham (36): N’Gianni Cerisier 1 0-0 2; Zehier Cheeze 3 0-4 6; Jack Marvin 6 2-2 15; Nate Schlosser 2 0-0 6; Colin O’Sullivan 2 2-2 7. Totals 14 4-8 36.
Upper Moreland (44): Byron Hopkins 2 6-8 10; Jourdan Gregg 5 5-6 16; Jake Tiernan 1 0-0 2; Matt Tiernan 2 0-0 4; Tyler Ibbotson 4 0-0 10; McKie Walker 1 0-1 2. Totals 15 11-15 44.
3-point goals: HH-Schlosser 2, Marvin 1, O’Sullivan 1; UM-Ibbotson 2, Gregg 1
Abington 54, Upper Dublin 38
Badly needing a win, Abington broke open a close game at halftime with a dominant second half to beat visiting Upper Dublin. The Galloping
Ghosts had lost four of their previous five games.
Caleb Baker had a big game for Abington with 20 points and five steals, shooting 8-for-11 from the field
“He’s coming along,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said about Baker. “He had 21 the other night against Shipley.
“Unfortunately, it took this long for our guys to understand, but in their defense, they’re totally new. Most of them played at the JV level last year. We all practice together, but it’s still different. Now Caleb’s just comfortable. You can see at practice he’s comfortable. He’s doing what we were asking him to do. I don’t know if he totally understood, but now he does, and it’s showing.”
Robert Bell had 11 points and four steals, while Manir Waller had eight points, four rebounds, six assists and two steals. Joey Brusha had nine points on three 3-pointers. Abington played the game without Oreck Frazier, who missed the game due to a football commitment.
Defensively, senior captain Zyeir Olaseware played well, holding Upper Dublin standout Drew Stover – who had 12 first-half points – to four points in a quarter and a half in the second half. Stover led the Cardinals with 18 points.
“I thought our defense was really good today,” Grasty said. “They only had 11 points in the second half. That was really key. Our defense stepped up in the second half.
“I’m trying to tell the guys, ‘Right now, that’s what it comes down to. You have to play defense this time of year. The x’s and o’s are out the window. Now it’s just about defense and effort.’ And I thought they gave us a really good effort in the second half.”
Grasty also credited the strong efforts off the bench.
“I thought our guys that came off the bench came in with a lot of effort,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “We had Yashawn Watts, who hasn’t played a lot this year, he came in, the score was kind of close, and he hit a 3. He gave us some good minutes. Kyle Wilson-Bailey the same thing.
“These guys were wanting to get in, wanting to play just like anybody else. I thought they came in and took advantage of their playing time. They gave us a nice spark.”
Abington (8-9, 7-3 SOL) is back in action Saturday (2 p.m.) with a nonleague game at Bensalem.
“Our schedule is pretty tough, but we have some home games coming up,” Grasty said. “After tomorrow (at Bensalem), we have two tough ones at home next week, PW and Wissahickon, but at least we’re home. We need them also, and we’re going to continue to try to play the right way.”
Upper Dublin (8-9, 3-7 SOL) will play at Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin 13 14 6 5-38
Abington 15 13 11 15-54
Upper Dublin (38) – Bazel Brady 2 0-0 5; Drew Stover 9 0-0 18; Aidan Pullman 2 0-0 4; Will Mead 2 0-1 4; Amare Johnson 1 0-0 3; Lebron Snead 1 1-2 4; Totals 17 1-3 38.
Abington (54) – Robert Bell 5 0-2 11; Manir Waller 4 0-1 8; Joey Brusha 3 0-0 9; Caleb Baker 8 3-3 20; Yashawn Watts 1 0-0 3; Adam Shinn 1 0-0 3; Totals 22 3-6 54.
Wissahickon 56, Springfield Township 25
Matt Campas scored 15 points to lead the way as Wissahickon started fast and maintained its grip on second place in the SOL American with the lopsided win on Friday.
“The score isn’t indicative of the type of team Springfield has,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said. “They played a solid game against PW in their last game (a 71-60 loss). Any time you hold a solid team to 25 points, it says a lot about the kids’ focus, their attention to detail and executing a game plan.”
Aside from Campas, Carmen Ostroski and D’Shon Love had nine points each for the Trojans, while Harrison Williams had a big defensive game to go with his five points.
“A big shout-out to our captains – Carmen Ostroski, who had eight blocks, Matt Compas and Harrison Williams, who do a lion’s share of the scoring,” Wilson said. “One of the things I was telling them, ‘In games like this, teams that aren’t about winning, leaders focus on getting their own points. This team struggles so let me get 30, let me get 25. For good teams, leaders step out and say let’s make sure we get a solid win.’
“It’s tough for high school kids to see it that way because you see you’re more talented, and they can have a tendency to do their own thing. The guys are just so good at staying focused, executing and playing as a unit tonight, and it’s important because we go into a real tough game Tuesday night against Cheltenham. Being a team that’s in second place and getting to the point where we play the top team again has been one of our goals. Our run sort of began when we last played – after our loss to Cheltenham, we won seven straight since them. We’re excited to play them and see how much we have truly grown.”
Wilson also said the team was happy to see a couple of injured plays return to the lineup.
“We got (Josh) Twersky back two games ago, Alex (Richman) played in our Hatboro-Horsham game, but this was his first game back in front of the home crowd,” Wilson said. “He was able to get out there and make a few plays and the guys cheered him on. It was really nice to see.”
Wissahickon (10-8, 8-2 SOL) is two games behind league-leading Cheltenham heading into Tuesday’s home showdown with the Panthers.
Ethan Hamilton led the way with 12 points for Springfield. The Spartans (5-13, 1-9 SOL) host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Wissahickon 16 16 9 15-56
Springfield 8 7 6 4-25
Wissahickon (56) – D’Shan Love 4 1-1 9; Andrew Buck 2 0-1 4; Harrison Williams 2 0-0 5; Jackson Intrieri 2 0-0 5; Stefan Lowry 1 1-2 3; Alex Richman 1 0-0 2; Matt Campas 6 3-3 15; Carmen Ostroski 4 1-3 9; Will Kunzier 1 2-2 5. Totals 22 8-12 56.
Springfield (25) – Jay Joseph 1 2-4 4; Ethan Hamilton 6 0-0 12; Matt Leibfried 1 0-0 3; Austin Maggioncalda 0 1-2 1; Gabe Harris 1 1-4 3; McKenzie 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 4-10 25.
3-point goals: W-Williams 1, Interieri 1; S-Leibord 1
SOL National
William Tennent 49, Council Rock North 33
Needing a win after three straight losses, William Tennent started fast and put away Council Rock North to remain in a tie for second place in the SOL National.
Sean Haus set the tone early, finishing with 15 points on five 3-pointers.
“Sean Haus played really well,” said Panthers coach Robert Mulville. “He hit three 3s early in the game to stretch the lead a little bit.”
Derrik Cosenza finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds, while Josiah Johnson also had 10 points.
“Bryce Lockett came off the bench and scored six points and was solid on defense like he always is,” Mulville said. “The guys were pumped up. It was Senior Night, so there was more energy than usual and a big crowd.”
It was Cosenza’s second game back after missing two, losses to Harry S. Truman and Quakertown, and it made a huge difference for the Panthers.
“He averages about 10 defensive rebounds a game for us,” Mulville said. “That does cut down on second chance opportunities for the other team. Other teams know him and key on him a lot, and that opens up things outside for his teammates. Without him is a different feel. I thought our guys played well in those two games, but Truman and Quakertown played well in those games too.”
Tennent (10-6, 5-3 SOL) hosts CB South in a nonleague game on Saturday (1 p.m.). Council Rock North (3-14, 1-8 SOL), was led by Luke Vliet’s nine points on Friday. The Indians played at Neshaminy on Tuesday.
CR North (33) – Bernie Parent 2 2-2 6; Andrew Stewart 0 1-2 1; Luke Vliet 3 0-0 9; Sean Mealey 1 1-1 3; Hunter Wan 2 1-2 5; Connor Rushing 1 1-2 3; Jack Blum 2 0-0 4; Adam Mahat 1 0-0 2.
William Tennent (49) – Brett Hanssens 1 0-0 2; Daulton Zeaman 1 1-2 3; Josiah Johnson 4 1-2 10; Sean Haus 5 0-0 15; Mike Scheller 1 0-0 3; Derrik Cosenza 4 1-1 10; Bryce Lockett 3 0-0 6.
3-point goals: CRN-Vliet 3; WT-Haus 5, Scheller 1, Cosenza 1, Johnson 1
Nonleague
Council Rock South 71, Downingtown West 56
Strong starts in the first and third quarters proved the difference as Council Rock South bounced back from a disappointing conference loss with a huge nonleague win over Downingtown West on Friday.
“It was very important for us,” said Golden Hawks coach Chris Clark. “We had a real setback on Tuesday (against Neshaminy), to come back – and we had a really good first quarter – showed the toughness of our kids after a tough game on Tuesday.
“We got out to 16-5 in the first quarter. Their press bothered us in the second quarter, but in the third we outscored them 22-12. We were more aggressive against their press, looking to get up the floor and get layups.”
Joe Purcell came off the bench and scored a team-high 17 points, while Jack Rebholz added 16 and three 3-pointers. Michael Stewart added 16 and Luca Baratta chipped in with 11.
“Joey Purcell missed the last two weeks with a sprained ankle,” Clark said. “He had 17 points, led us in scoring.
“It was a team effort defensively. We played really well and shared the ball more on offense.”
CR South (12-6, 5-3 SOL) is back in league play Tuesday at unbeaten league leader Bensalem.
Downingtown West 5 20 12 19-56
CR South 16 16 22 17-71
Downingtown West (56) – Kaiser 3 0-0 9; Blair 2 0-0 5; Lunberg 1 0-0 2; Walter 4 1-1 12; Dever 6 0-0 17; Miree 1 0-0 2; Primanti 3 1-1 8; Schaub 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 2-2 57.
CR South (71) – Jack Rebholz 5 3-4 16; Michael Stewart 4 7-11 16; Kevin McNamee 3 0-4 6; Luke Meakim 1 3-4 5; Luca Baratta 3 4-5 11; Joe Purcell 8 0-0 17. Totals 24 17-27 71.
3-point goals: DW-Dever 5, Kaiser 2, Blair 1, Walter 1, Primanti 1; CRS-Rebholz 3, Stewart 1, Baratta 1, Purcell 1
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