Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Monday. All SOS photo galleries for BOYS’ BASKETBALL can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Freedom Division
SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 50, LOWER MORELAND 45
Sparked by the 16-point effort of Dylan McKenzie, the Spartans earned the hard fought win in division play.
“We just came out really strong,” Springfield Township coach Rob Fusaro said. “Everyone was pumped, they were energetic. Our bench was great. We came out to play right at the beginning, and we just went.”
The Spartans raced out of the gate to an 18-10 lead after one quarter and took a 32-19 advantage into halftime. In the second half, the visiting Lions outscored the Spartans 26-18, but the Spartans held on for the win.
“We were up, they put a little press on us, and we struggled a little bit, but we ended up getting it together and pulling out the win,” Fusaro said. “We got some really big stops down the line, holding them to one shot, getting the rebound and securing the win. We were hitting free throws down the line, grabbing loose balls, doing all the little things.”
In addition to scoring 16 points, McKenzie had four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Ben Cooney stuffed a stat sheet with nine points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals. Kyle Smythe added nine points, three rebounds and three assists while Harry Rittenhouse had eight points and a team high 12 rebounds.
“Dylan Mackenzie and Ben Cooney finished it out on the free throw line,” Fusaro said. “They were strong with the ball, got fouled and went to the line.
“This was a good win for us. We just have to keep it going.”
Springfield Township (8-6, 4-6 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Tuesday, and Lower Moreland (5-10, 4-6) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
Lower Moreland 10-9-14-12 45
Springfield Township 18-14-10-8 50
Springfield Township (50) – Dylan McKenzie 6 3-5 15; Ben Cooney 2 5-10 9; Brett Smith 4 0-3 8; Harry Rittenhouse 4 0-0 8; Kyle Smythe 4 0-0 9; will Hastings 0 0-1 0; TOTALS 20 8-19 50.
3-point goals – Dylan McKenzie, Kyle Smythe.
Non-league
NESHAMINY 38, SPRING-FORD 37
Nate Townsend connected on the second of two foul shots with eight seconds remaining, breaking a 37-37 tie. With five seconds remaining, the Rams called a timeout at midcourt, and their tough shot for the win fell short as time expired.
“It was a low scoring game,” coach Mark Tingle said. “They sit in a zone, they’re a long team, so the possessions were definitely longer than the normal possessions.
“We had a lot of different guys scoring throughout the game.”
The Rams, who led 10-7 after one quarter, took a 21-16 lead into halftime.
“It was a back-and-forth game,” Tingle said. “We didn’t shoot well at all in the first half. We were actually 3-of-17 in the paint in the first half, so we had plenty of opportunities.
“It was just one of those nights. In the first half, we couldn’t make anything. The second half we came alive a little bit, but they’re in a zone the whole time, so it’s long possessions and the overall score of the game is going to be low.”
Sean Curley’s eight points – which included two 3s – led the Redskins. Nate Townsend had seven while Joey Zack and Emeer Coombs – who also had two 3s – both had six.
The win was big for the Redskins, who are 22nd in the latest District One 6A power rankings while the Rams are 14th.
Neshaminy (10-5, 7-3 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Tuesday.
Spring-Ford 10-11-7-9 37
Neshaminy 7-9-11-11 38
Spring-Ford (37) – Jacob Nguyen 1 0-0 3; Caleb Little 1 0-0 2; EJ Campbell 1 0-0 2; Jake Kressley 6 4-8 16; Gavin Schauder 3 0-1 7; Cole Turner 2 0-0 5; Alex Lewis 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 15 4-9 37.
Neshaminy (38) – Joey Zack 3 0-0 6; Evan Esposito 2 0-0 5; Emeer Coombs 2 0-0 6; Kade Benjamin 1 1-2 3; Nunzio Zydzik 1 0-0 3; Sean Curley 3 0-0 8; Nate townsend 3 1-2 7. TOTALS 15 2-4 38.
3-point goals: SF – Jacob Nguyen, Gavin Schauder, Cole Turner; Neshaminy – Emeer Coombs 2, Sean Curley 2, Nunzio Zydzik, Evan Esposito.
CHELTENHAM 74, OLNEY 43
Eleven players contributed scoring for the Panthers, who won their 14th game without a loss. The Panthers led 23-16 after one quarter and upped that to 45-30 at halftime. They went on to outscore their visitors 29-13 in the second half.
“We have to continue to get better,” Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury said. “We have to rely on each other, find joy in the team’s success, and the individual stuff will take care of itself. We just want to continue to play good basketball and represent our community well.”
Brandon Bush led the Panthers with 22 points to go along with five assists, two steals and three rebounds. Rasheem Dearry added 13 points, five steals and five rebounds. Justin Savage contributed eight points, five assists, four steals and five rebounds. Josiah Hutson and Kamani Healy both added seven points. Hutson also had five steals. Nasir Edens added three points, three assists, three rebounds and two steals.
Cheltenham (14-0, 9-0 SOL) will host Quakertown on Tuesday.
Olney 16-14-7-6 43
Cheltenham 23-22-16-13 74
Olney (43) – Tryon Thomas 15, Stewart Clark 2, Bahsir Barrow 3, Salot Young 6, Sabree Glover 6, Justin Vega 3.
Cheltenham (74) – Rasheem Dearry 13, Josiah Hutson 7, Yakeen Respes 2, Elias Walker 2, Kamani Healey 7, Nasir Edens 3, Brandon Bush 22, Joey Weimer 5, Justin Savage 8, Johnathan Fevrier 2, Kevin Addison-Anderson 3.
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