SOL Boys’ Basketball Wrap (1-24-26)

Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday. PW/Engineering & Science photos courtesy of Larry Small. Check back for a. gallery. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.

Non-league

PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 51, CARVER ENGINEERING & SCIENCE 50

The Engineers led 16-10 after one quarter and took a 25-24 lead into halftime. The Colonials outscored their visitors 16-11 in the third quarter and led by four entering the fourth quarter only to watch Engineering & Science rally to make things interesting.

The Engineers – trailing by two – had the opportunity to tie it with a pair of foul shots in the closing seconds – they made the first but misfired on the second as PW held on for the non-league win.

Key players: Mani Sajid led the Colonials with 25 points, which included five 3-pointers – 4 in the second half. Michael Periera added 12 points.

PW coach Jim Donofrio:

–A formidable foe: “We realized – just win any way you can. We’ve had a really exciting schedule this season, and the kids have been put in a position to experience a lot of talented teams, great crowds, which is kind of what we wanted. Our student body and fan following is getting bigger and bigger, and when you’re at home, of course, it’s that much more exciting. I was really happy for the crowd again tonight and the students and fans that showed out.

“I watched Engineering and Science two weeks ago take on Imhotep at Imhotep to overtime. I walked away saying – ‘That’s one of the top teams in the area. Their speed, their energy, their passion, their athleticism, their fight and skill – this is going to be as challenging a game as any of the teams we’ve scheduled this year,’ so we needed this game to come along right now and get one more of these in after going on a run of games that were well in hand by the third quarter.

“I was impressed with our guys. I really was kind of critical of them before the game for what I thought was their little too unfocused approach to Wissahickon last night, and I know we’re only human. It happens – you’ve been on a nice win streak, but I think you kind of have to double down on that and not make that an excuse.”

“This team is very interesting because I’m going against the normal grain of coaching where I’m actually going really critical on them right before a game. That’s a very rare thing to do, but they’re actually toughening.

“They got a strong critique at 3 o’clock today, and the game was at 5:30, and then I thought to myself – ‘Okay, I hope they can bounce back from that.’ I brought them back up in the pregame, and they went out and just had that 10 percent of energy that was not quite there the night before, and that’s a great sign.

“The other great sign is – being down six to eight in the middle of the third and then just turning on all the gears and turning that into an eight-point to 10-point lead. Because that’s a really good team on the other side – it’s basketball, and all of a sudden, it’s a one-possession game with them pressuring.

“And Mani Sajid hits a massive shot that star players make – a deep three from the corner with all eyes on him. If you miss it, they’re going down to tie the game. That play along with big Michael P – he might have played his best physical game. So, they’re growing, they’re confident, and maybe their best attribute is whether we’re great or whether we’re making mistakes – I think it’s more important to believe you’re supposed to win than maybe anything else.

“We’ve been fortunate this weekend to have two games that should humble us again and get us sharp that we can learn from, but you’re walking out with 15 wins, and that’s big win against a team with 16 wins. I was impressed by our kids. I’m really impressed by them.”

–The ending:   “We were up 10, and we just found a way to decide to miss a few tough layups, not take care of the ball – just enough to let a team like that turn right back around and give them hope. Mike Pereira blocks three straight shots in a row under the basket, and the ref calls a foul on the third block. And with .5 seconds to go in the game, their kid’s shooting two shots to tie the game. He makes the first and misses the second and Michael gets the rebound.

“We’re going to have to wake up and overcome this last phase of it. John Salmons, our JV coach who’s a 13-year NBA guy, gave them great advice after the game. He said, ‘Rather than look at these moments as pressure, welcome them in your mind,’ and maybe we’ll do that down the road.

“Obviously, the number one incentive right now is the league title. Dot every I, cross every T. You’ve got three games left, take them one at a time, respect every opponent and believe in yourselves and just look to the next game.”

Up next: Plymouth Whitemarsh – third in the latest District 1 6A power rankings – will host Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.

Engineering & Science               16-9-11-14   50

Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-14-16-11   51

Engineering & Science (50) – Fareed Brown 3 3-4 9; Treyvon Deadrick 2 0-0 4; Sahin Rodriguez 1 2-4 4; Matthew McField 5 0-0 14; Taydon Lewis 0 2-2 2; Billy Henighan 5 1-2 15; Malcolm Musgrove Jf 1 0-2 2; TOTALS 17 8-14 50.

Plymoouth Whitemarsh (51) – Jack Hayes 1 1-2 3; Terron Davis 2 2-2 6; Mani Sajid 8 4-4 25; Michael Pereira 5 2-9 12; Budy Denard 1 1-2 4; TOTALS 17 10-19 51.

3-point goals: E&S – Matthew McField 4, Billy Henighan 4; PW – Mani Sajid 5, Jack Hayes, Buddy Denard.

NORTH PENN 59, PHOENIXVILLE 52

The Knights showed no ill effects from Friday night’s loss to Central Bucks South, bouncing back less than 24 hours later to defeat Phoenixville in a non-league game.

Key players: JC Wood and Aiden Thomas both scored 16 points to lead the Knights. Wood buried four 3-pointers on a day that saw the Knights bury nine shots from beyond the arc. Nolen Foust added 10 points, and Chris Kingkiner had seven.

North Penn coach Cordell Lord:

–Bouncing back: “The boys left the gym around nine o’clock last night, and we were back in the gym at 8:30 having a walk-through. Literally 12 hours of a turnaround pretty much, and I’m just really proud of their resilience and their mental focus to be able to turn the page after an extremely hard-fought game against CB South last night. They shot the lights out, and they were playing phenomenal. Louie (Ditri) had them playing great, but it was really awesome for us to turn the page and come in and execute and play with a lot of energy today and just stay together and not dwell on it like we probably were at the beginning of the year. We lost a game at the beginning of the year, and I feel like that would carry over into the next game, and I think right now they’re just doing a really good job of turning the page. They know that it’s the toughest time of the year, and we don’t have time to dwell on things. We’re starting to play our best basketball, so it’s really good.”

–Props: “JC Wood has been phenomenal all year, and he had 16 points today, shot the lights out. I think he was 4-for-8 from 3, so he had a great day.

“But I think our MVP for today in my personal opinion was Aiden Thomas. He had 16 points as well, and he was fantastic in guarding number 10 for them, who’s a really good player. He was fantastic on the offensive end, and he just had a great day.

“Other guys chipped in. Wyatt Martin was great on the boards and protecting the paint inside and rebounding. Chris Kingkiner and Nolen Foust were phenomenal in executing and taking care of the basketball, making great plays.

“Our bench did a good job as well coming in and giving great minutes, not necessarily in scoring but in other ways – great defensive stops, great deflections or making the extra pass, making the right play.”

Up next: North Penn will travel to Pennridge Tuesday. The Knights are 25^th in the latest District 1 6A power rankings in what will be a 24-team field.

North Penn (59) – JC Wood 6 0-0 16; Aiden Thomas 4 6-8 16; Nolen Foust 4 1-2 10; Chris Kiingkiner 2 2-2 7; Wyatt Martin 2 1-4 6; Sean Vagie 1 0-0 2; Shane Ward 0 2-2 2; TOTALS 19 12-18 59.

3-point goals: NP – JC Wood 4, Aiden Thomas 2, Nolen Foust, Chris Kingkiner, Wyatt Martin.

ABINGTON 71, DOWNINGTOWN WEST 67

After battling the Whippets to a 13-13 tie after one quarter, the Ghosts – sparked by seven points from Faison Garland – scored 19 points in the second quarter and took a 32-25 lead into halftime on their way to the non-league win.

Nine players contributed scoring for the Ghosts, who are ranked first in the District 1 6A power rankings.

Key players: Faison Garland’s 21 points led the Ghosts while Xander Grasty added 17. Kyler Faison also finished in double figures with 11. Michael O’Rourke had eight points.

Up next: Abington will host Wissahickon on Tuesday.

Downingtown West 13-12-18-24 67

Abington 13-19-16-23 71

Downingtown West (67) – Keron Whitfield Jr. 13, Brendan Goode-Kimble 12, Ross 3, Aidan Critchley 9, Brady Moore 17, Aidan Mailliard 2, Cole Bricker 12.

Abington (71) – Kyler Pickron 11, Amare Stone 6, Michael O’Rourke 8, Xander Grasty 17, Faison Garland 21, Josh Scarpello 2, Jacob Soloman 2, Saadir Wimbush 2, Andrei Sikora 2.

MaST CHARTER 65, SPRINGFIELD TWP 53

The Sprtans – after battling to a 12-12 tie after one quarter – found themselves on the short end of a 27-21 score at halftime. They were outscored 38-30 in the second half in Saturday’s non-league loss.

Cahlin Spearman led the Spartans with 14 points, five rebounds and three assists. Chadrack Kiamba added 12 points and four rebounds. Ryan McGuckin had eight points.

Up next: Springfield Twp will travel to William Tennent on Tuesday.

Springfield Twp 14-9-12-18 53

MaST Charter 12-15-14-24 65

Springfield Twp (53) – Cahlin Spearman 14, Julian Ciasullo 5, Nate Davia 3, Clay 4, Ryan McGuckin 8, Chadrack Kiamba 12, Will McLaughlin 5, AJ Piccolo-Cooper 2

MaST Charter (65) – Reuben Dorceus 23, Shawn Nunez 16, Brian Mallon 7, Gabe Jenkins 8, Mikey Perez 8, Zaire Davis 3

3-point goals: S – Cahlin Spearman 2, Ryan McGuckin, Will McLaughlin; MC – Reuben Dorceus 2, Shawn Nunez 2, Mikey Perez 2, Brian Mallon, Zaire Davis.