Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. Pennsbury/Neshaminy photos provided courtesy of Greg Lindsay, PW/Hatboro-Horsham photos courtesy of Troy Leatherbury & CR South/CR North photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of all three games. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
SOL Liberty Division
Wissahickon 60, Abington 54
Having lost four of its last five and two in a row by a combined 70 points, Wissahickon was badly in need of a win, and Tuesday against Abington, the Trojans got it done and pulled off the Liberty Division upset.
“It’s our tough gauntlet,” said Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson. “We had Upper Dublin, then we had PW. It’s really easy for your kids to put your heads down and say, there it goes, there were opportunities.’
“They’re hoping if we can upset one of those teams, we can jump back up, and I said, ‘Guys, there’s still two solid teams with Abington and Cheltenham coming up. We have to keep our heads straight and focus on what’s ahead of us. We could still make a run. I know our margins are slim, but we have to stick together, play with togetherness, play with unity.’
Key Players: For Wissahickon, Nico Vacchiano (24 points), Ben Schwartz (17 points).
For Abington, Jake Manigualt (18 points), Xander Grasty (12 points).
Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson: “When you’re losing games, it’s so easy for kids to start finger pointing and feeling it’s the other guy. I said, ‘Listen, we’re not going to win anything if we all don’t take ownership for our mistakes, talk through them and correct them on the floor. As coaches, we can only do so much. You guys got to start communicating to each other and really take pride in saying, ‘Hey, he’s coming off the screen, I got your back on this’ and just really coming together.’
“Tonight, we had a couple things on the board. We said, ‘Get out to a good start. Play together, share the basketball and just have each other’s backs out there.'”
–A fast start: “Man, we jumped out in the first quarter. I think it was 19-9. Nico (Vacchiano) has a tendency to go on streaks, and he was on one. He went for three 3s and two two-pointers in the first quarter. So real quickly, he gets a lot of pressure, and then several other guys opened up. Mason Stelzer had a nice bucket in that quarter, and Ben Schwartz had two baskets.”
–Trojans stay strong: “Cheltenam made their runs to try to cut it, and our big kid, Delmar Taliafaro, who’s 6-6, came in off the bench. He had three straight buckets in the post, and it was like boom, the lead went back up to 10. We went into halftime with a nice lead (33-23).
“Through the third quarter, we had some ups and downs, but the kids stayed resilient. We still were up 10 points going into the fourth. Going down the stretch, they hit some buckets – nice 3-pointers, nice attacks to the basket. (Jake) Manigault had a couple of nice buckets. They hit some tough buckets. They cut the lead all the way down to two, but impressively, Ben Schwartz, went 7-for-7 from the free throw line, and Nico shot fairly well from the free throw line down the stretch. They made their free throws, and we were able to hold on and get a solid victory coming down the stretch. Mason Stelzer had eight assists, and three clutch ones versus their traps and presses in the fourth quarter.”
Next up: Wissahickon (8-10, 3-5 SOL) will travel to Cheltenham on Thursday, and Abington (12-7, 4-4) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh Friday.
Abington (54) – Faizon Garland 3 2-3 8; Xander Grasty 5 0-0 12; Jake Manigault 6 5-9 18; Zion Hospedales 0 1-4 1; Paul Glants 4 1-2 10; Kyler Pickron 2 1-5 5; Leo D’Arco 0 0-2 0 Totals 20 10-25 54.
Wissahickon (60) – Mason Stelzer 2 1-2 5; Chase Neumeister 1 0-0 2; Michael Maltin 1 1-2 3; Nico Vacchiano 7 7-14 24; Ben Schwartz 5 7-7 17; Delmar Taliafaro 4 0-0 8; Totals 20 16-25 60.
Abington 9-14-11-20 54
Wissahickon 19-14-11-16 60
3-point goals: A – Xander Grasty 2, Jake Manigault, Paul Glants; W – Nico Vacchiano
Plymouth Whitemarsh 55, Hatboro-Horsham 40
A shutout first quarter by the Colonials and a 23-6 first half set the tone early in this one, as PW never looked back on the way to the 15-point road win over Hatboro-Horsham.
Key Players: For PW, Mani Sajid (24 points).
For H-H, Shane Phillips (16 points).
PW coach Jim Donofrio on the win: “Our defense was stellar in the first half, following the game plan, just so much discipline and so different than a month ago, and now we just have to understand how to not get loose with that and lose your discipline because it’s possible to do that an entire game. We just have to realize that.
“We had a slow start, but we got the looks, so that was fine. Mani (Sajid) got untracked the second he let the game come to him a little bit. That’s stuff we didn’t do a month-and-a-half ago. Michael Periera got untracked, which is great.
“In the second half, you get excited, you think it’s going to be easy, and you lose your discipline. What the kids don’t understand is that’s not what gets you a long run. It’s actually the more boring you can be, the better, so we’re young in that regard, and that’s okay.
“I’ve always said to the kids – we are known obviously for playing up-tempo defensively, trying to get after people, but that’s done an awful lot, so by the end of the season, you really don’t need to do that a lot. You’ve learned how to play hard, so that’s something we can build on for Friday night.
“We have to get greedy now, and that’s what I’m not sure the team understands. On paper when people predict you’re supposed to have a great year –
people have no idea how much experience matters. I’m coaching them as intensely as I ever have, and I’m sure people might look and say, ‘Why are you so fired up with them? You’re up by 18’ But the learning curve has to get short really quick because we make mistakes and we do undisciplined things. You might survive in certain games, but everyone has played a lot of basketball now, and there’s all kinds of styles you’re seeing.
“Saturday was Unionville making 27 passes a possession. There are teams in the playoffs that do that. There are matchup zones, there’s full-court presses, and there’s teams that are playing with a lot of heart because they know they need a win against you to help their ranking or they just don’t want to go home. We’re still a little comfortable with that idea. I’m not going to sit around and wait for them to get that intense. We’re going to keep trying to drill that into us and hope it works.”
H-H coach Bill Coleman on the loss: “I was happy with our defense in the first quarter. We were just missing shots. Because of the missed shots, we got down on ourselves, started to turn the ball over and got away from our game plan.
“We settled down in the second half, and I’m happy our guys fought through adversity in the second half.”
Next up: Plymouth Whitemarsh (16-4, 7-1 SOL) will travel to Abington Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (8-12, 2-6) will be on the road at Upper Dublin Thursday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (55) – Jack Hayes 1 0-0 3; Eddie Patruno 1 0-1 2; Terron Davis 1 4-4 6; Mani Sajid 7 8-9 24; Michael Periera 2 7-12 9; Ehab Ahmed 1 0-0 2; Buddy Denard 1 2-2 4; Caleb Bridgeman 1 0-0 3; Totals 15 21-28 55.
Hatboro-Horsham (40) – Ryan Smith 1 2-2 4; Sean McCue 0 1-2 1; Kenny Lutz 3 0-0 6; Jaden Thompson 2 2-2 7; Shane Phillips 5 3-4 16; Devin Tercha 3 0-0 6; Totals 14 8-10 40.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 5-21-16-13 55
Hatboro-Horsham 0-8-19-13 40
3-point goals: PW – Mani Sajid 2, Jack Hayes, Caleb Bridgeman; HH – Shane Phillips 3, Jaden Thompson.
Upper Dublin 71, Quakertown 29
Honing in on a possible division title, Upper Dublin went on the road and picked up its 19th straight win on Tuesday, blowing out Quakertown by 42 points.
Key Players: For UD, Ryan Mulroy (24 points, 17 first half), Kobe Bazmore (11 points, 3 3-pointers), Horace Jackson (10 points).
Upper Dublin coach Derek Brooks said: “I thought we had great energy tonight. Our defense led to a lot of offense as we got out in transition. When we were forced to execute in the half court, I thought our guys had great focus and ran our plays with precision and hit the open man for the right shot.
“Everybody contributed in this game with 10 guys getting in the scoring column. We look forward to Thursday with the opportunity to clinch, at minimum, a share of the league title.”
Next up: Upper Dublin (19-1, 8-0 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham Thursday, and Quakertown (3-15, 0-8) will be on the road at Wissahickon Friday.
Upper Dublin (71) – Kobe Bazemore 11, Ryan Mulroy 24, Idris Rines 10, Justin Ragsdale 3, Reilly McLaughlin 3, James Castronuovo 6, Brandon Altman 5, Horace Jackson 10, Benji Ravitz 2, Kevin MacNeal 3
Quakertown (29) – Gavin Mushrush 3, Aiden Burgy 6, James Sykes 6, Sam Wilkin 4, Matt Thomas 6, Colin Ficco 2, RJ Ficco 2
Upper Dublin 20 24 18 9 – 71
Quakertown 7 7 9 6 – 29
3-point goals: UD – Bazemore 3, Mulroy, Rines, Altman
SOL Freedom Division
Upper Moreland 64, Cheltenham 59 (2 OT)
It took double overtime, but Upper Moreland avenged a previous loss to the Panthers and earned a first-place tie with visiting Cheltenham with a thrilling 64-59 win on Tuesday night.
The Golden Bears built a double-figure lead in the first half, and led late before Cheltenham’s Osei Johnson hit a 3-pointer to tie it and send it to overtime.
UM then went 6-for-6 from the free throw line to finally emerge victorious in the second OT.
Key Players: For UM, Jadon Cybok (13 points), Nate Best (13 points), Colson Campbell (6 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists), Anthony Carson (5 points, 3 assists, 3 steals), Cannon Campbell (2 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists).
Upper Moreland coach Dan Heiland: “We got off to a really good start – 19-10 in the first quarter, so that’s a really good start both offensively and defensively. Basketball is a game of runs. Cheltenham is a really good team, and in the back of my mind, I knew that at some point, they were going to go on a run, so it was really just us doing our part, maintaining it and controlling it the best we could and just making sure we always kept our composure. We kept feeling like we were in control of the game regardless of what was happening on the other side. The guys did a really good job with that for the most part.
“The first half we were pretty much in the lead the whole time, and we were up nine at halftime. They came out on a 6-0 run in the third quarter. We got a timeout, regrouped, and our guys responded. It wasn’t easy the rest of the game, going to double overtime. Guys across the board – starters, guys coming off the bench – everyone contributed and just did a really nice job of ultimately competing and having mental toughness and fighting through any kind of adversity that came our way. We did it as a team, and I’m just very proud of the group.”
–Second half: “Shots weren’t falling as much as they were early on. Cheltenham did a nice job of switching up tempo, picking up fullcourt, trapping in the halfcourt and then switching up to just go straight man or straight zone at times to keep us off balance. It took time to identify what they were in at times and getting in the right sets in the halfcourt. A couple of times we were kind of undisciplined in the halfcourt. We took quick shots early in possessions, and we came up short. When you do that, it doesn’t go in the stat book as a turnover, but against a team like Cheltenham that can run in transition, if you take a quick shot and they rebound the ball and get out and run, you’re giving them really good opportunities to score in bunches very quickly.
“I think we did that early in the third which allowed them to cut into the lead, so really good job by them doing it. In the fourth quarter, it was more so us slowing it down, making sure we were playing at our own pace and tempo rather than letting them dictate the pace of play.”
–The ending: “At the end of regulation, we had the ball and we had a shot, we missed it. They got the rebound and got the ball with 2.8 seconds roughly. They got a shot off right before the buzzer just over halfcourt, and it fell short.
“In the first overtime, we had the ball on our baseline for an out-of-bounds play. We had Jadon Cybok come off a screen. It wasn’t an easy look, but he got it off in time, and it hit all parts of the rim but it didn’t fall. I was standing right behind him – it looked like it was good.
“It went to double overtime, and we were able to capitalize at the free throw line. We went 6-for-6 down the stretch between Nate Best having four and Jose Hernandez had 2 of 2 to close out the game and give us the five-point victory.”
Next up: Upper Moreland (16-4, 7-1 SOL) will host Springfield Twp Friday, and Cheltenham (12-6, 7-1 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Thursday.
Cheltenham (59) – Chris Harmon 1 0-0 2; Kamal Mason 3 1-2 9; Xavier Willougby 3 0-1 7; Osei Johnson 4 0-0 10; Salim Kelly 1 8-10 10; Kendall Jackson 1 0-0 2; Justin Ezeukuwu 4 6-7 14; Tyree Martin 2 1-2 5. Totals 19 16-22 59.
Upper Moreland (64) – Alex Costanzo 2 0-0 4; Nate Best 4 4-6 13; Colson Campbell 1 3-4 6; Anthony Carson 2 1-1 5; Aidan Tuffy 2 1-2 5; Larry Hughes 2 2-3 6; Jose Hernandez 2 5-6 10; Jadon Cybok 4 3-4 13; Cannon Campbell 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 19-26 64.
Cheltenham 10 11 15 9 7 6 – 59
Upper Moreland 19 12 10 5 7 11 – 64
William Tennent 59, Springfield Twp 40
Sitting at the No. 26 spot in the District One power rankings heading into Tuesday, William Tennent knew it needed wins in the last week of the regular season, starting with Springfield.
A 22-6 first quarter was a big lift and then the Panthers finished the game off in the second half to remain alive in its playoff push.
Key Players: For Tennent, Tre Stracuzzi (15 points), Scott Scheller (13 points).
For Springfield, Chadrack Kiamba (15 points, 10 rebounds), Aiden Hood (8 points, 10 rebounds), Bob Hartman (7 points, 3 rebounds).
Tennent coach Robert Mulville said: “We want to stay alive for the playoff spots. We’ve got to try to rack up as many wins as we can with the season closing out. Tonight was big, playing on the road. We know they’ve playing tough teams. They played Upper Moreland tough. They went double OT with CR North.
“We had to make sure we were ready. I thought our guys played well tonight. We shot the ball well. I thought we played defense pretty well. We had a little trouble with their big kids in the second quarter, but I thought we did a pretty good job in the second half.”
Next up: William Tennent (10-9, 4-4 SOL) will be on the road at Holy Ghost Prep for a non-league game Wednesday. Springfield Twp (11-7, 4-4) will travel to Upper Moreland Friday.
William Tennent (59) – Tre Stracuzzi 5 1-2 15; Luke Torok 3 1-2 9; Ryan Bula 2 0-0 4; Braden Hahn 1 2-2 4; Scott Scheller 5 2-2 13; Jay Bright 2 0-0 4; Joe Hebling 1 0-0 2; Tony Pople 3 0-0 8; Totals 22 6-8 59.
Springfield Twp (40) – Brandon Thompson 0 4-6 4; Bob Hartman 3 0-0 7; Aiden Hood 2 4-4 8; Chadrack Kiamba 7 0-0 15; Julian Ciasullo 1 0-0 2; Cahlin Spearman 1 1-2 4; Totals 14 9-12 40
William Tennent 22-12-18-7 59
Springfield Twp 6-22-8-4 40
3-point goals: S – Bob Hartman, Chadrack Kiamba, Cahlin Spearman, WT – Tre Stracuzzi 4, Luke Torok 2, Tony Pople 2, Scott Schelleresday. Springfield Twp () will travel to Upper Moreland Friday.
New Hope-Solebury 47, Lower Moreland 42
SOL Patriot Division
Bensalem 55, Harry S Truman 35
After a slow start, Bensalem picked it up in the second quarter and put away Harry S. Truman in the fourth Tuesday for the Patriot Division road win.
The Owls outscored the Tigers 21-6 in the fourth quarter.
Key Players: For Bensalem, Trevor Morris (15 points), Amir Drummond (10 points).
For Truman, Tre Winton (12 points, 3 steals), Jaden Luchansky (8 points), Davae Vaughn (7 points, 3 assists, 2 steals).
Bensalem coach Ron Morris said: “Tonight was another tough battle between Bensalem and Truman. It was a slow first quarter. We were up seven at half. We started third quarter with a ‘3’ and then Truman went on a run. They cut it to three. We ended the third quarter up five.
“In the fourth, we were able to get stops and conversions. Trevor Morris had a big offensive game, including three ‘3s’ in the second half.
“Dymaire Johnson and Chris Kelly came off the bench tonight and gave us solid minutes on both ends of the floor. Truman has some good guards that we were able to contain and wear down as the game went on. In the fourth quarter when the ball was moving, we got easier buckets and were able to extend the lead. We enjoy this win tonight and get ready for a war on Friday night.”
Next up: Bensalem (12-8, 7-1 SOL) will host Council Rock South Friday, and Harry S Truman (7-13, 1-7) will host Neshaminy Friday.
Bensalem (55) – Jahmir Chatman 1 0-1 2; Aidan Mayfield 3 2-2 8; Christian Lee 2 0-0 4; Amir Drummond 4 1-2 10; Dymaire Johnson 2 3-3 8; Chris Kelly 2 0-0 4; Trevor Morris 5 2-2 15; Jayden Mathew 2 0-0 4; 21 8-10 55.
Harry S Truman (35) – Tre Winton 5 0-0 12; Jaden Luchansky 1 4-4 6; Davae Vaughn 2 3-5 7; Juliun Rodgers 2 0-1 4; Dwayne McCoy 2 2-3 6; Totals 12 9-13 35.
Bensalem 6-19-9-21 55
Harry S Truman 10-8-11-6 35
3-point goals: B – Jayden Mathew 3, Amir Drummond, Dymaire Johnson; HST – Tre Winton 2.
Council Rock South 56, Council Rock North 46
CR South jumped up double figures in the first half, and then was able to put the game away on the free throw line in the fourth in its win over rival CR North on Tuesday.
The Golden Hawks went 9-for-10 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Key Players: For CR South, MJ Thompson (15 points, 7 in fourth quarter), Ray Haglund (13 points, 3 3-pointers), Ryan Delp (10 points).
For CR North, Owen Crowne (14 points, 10 second half), Jack Curry (11 points, 9 first half).
CR South coach Andrew Rogers on the win: “We got a lot of good minutes from everyone tonight. We battled in the second quarter and were able to go into halftime with a lead.
Credit to CR North, they really battled back in the third. Coach Wright and his staff do such a good job and as a group they are playing really hard, so we knew we had to be ready. Credit to our guys for staying with it. We have a lot of guys giving us really good minutes and effort and credit to them for being ready.”
Next up: Council Rock South (12-6, 5-3 SOL) will be on the road at Bensalem Friday, and Council Rock North (4-14, 2-6) will travel to Pennsbury Friday.
CR South (56) – RJ Thompson 16, Ryan Delp 10, Ray Haglund 13, Joey Madara 4, Ryan Wekluk 8, Owen McLean 3, Adam Elabed 3
CR North (46) – Jack Curry 11, Josh Erman 7, Owen Crowne 14, Brandon Holmes 3, Dylan Kiefer 2, Andrew O’Keefe 9
CR South 18 13 7 18 – 56
CR North 14 5 13 13 – 46
Pennsbury 51, Neshaminy 44
These two rivals were both anxious for a win to help secure postseason bids, and both had some tough losses recently. So, there was a lot at stake, and Pennsbury emerged late for the 51-44 win over Neshaminy.
“It was a really good game,” said Falcons coach Wes Emme. “It was probably even closer than the final score. It was a one or two possession game. We were up two at the half, three in the fourth. It was back-and-forth, they tied it, but we made the plays in the fourth quarter to secure a big league win going into the playoffs.”
Key Players: For Pennsbury, Mike Roccograndi (4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists), Grayson Gozum (14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists), Patrick Jajua (12 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 assists), Sean Breslin (10 points, 5 rebounds), Max Manga (5 points, 5 rebounds)
Pennsbury coach Wes Emme: “Grayson Gozum had 11 in the fourth quarter and hit big free throws. Mike Roccograndi hit big free throws for us. Patrick Jajua controlled the pace of the game at point guard. He had a 30-foot bounce pass to Sean Breslin that helped us extend our lead to three and give us a little cushion. It was a mature, heady play in the fourth quarter.
“Roccograndi didn’t really score that much, but he played exceptionally well defensively. He also had three assists and three rebounds. It was a really complete game.”
–The rivalry: “The environment is always awesome. The fact that both of us have had our struggles the last couple of weeks dampened it a little bit, but there was still a big crowd, a big student section.”
Next up: Pennsbury (10-9, 6-2 SOL) will host Council Rock North Friday, and Neshaminy (8-11, 3-5) will travel to Harry S. Truman.
Pennsbury (51) – Mike Roccograndi 2 2-2 4; Connor Tyrrel 1 0-0 2; Grayson Gozum 3 7-8 14; Owen Hawkes 1 0-0 2; Sean Breslin 4 0-0 10; Pat Jajua 5 1-2 12; Max Manga 2 1-2 5; Totals 18 11-14 51.
Neshaminy (44) – Jason Leiva 2 0-0 5; Eriq Gold 0 2-2 2; Logan Gale 6 1-2 14; Cadenn Amati 1 2-6 4; Max Currie 8 1-6 17; Jason Gilardi 0 2-2 2; Totals 17 8-18 44.
Pennsbury 10-10-12-19. 51
Neshaminy 8-14-10-12 44
3-point goals: P – Sean Breslin 2, Pat Jajua, Grayson Gozum; N – Jason Leiva, Logan Gale.n Friday.
SOL Colonial Division
Souderton 57, Central Bucks East 51
Souderton built a lead, saw CB East storm back in the fourth quarter, and then pulled away late to hold off the Patriots and remain in the hunt for the Colonial Division championship.
“I think the key to the game was responding, and responding the right way, and being resilient,” said Indians coach Okoteh Sackitey. “I’ve said that all year after these games, but I’m just so proud of how the kids respond to adversity.”
Key Players: For Souderton, Nate Rusike (15 points), Chanse Salone (13 points), Nolan Watkins (13 points).
For CB East, Nolan Behm (23 points), Shane O’Hara-Jamison (15 points).
Souderton coach Okoteh Sakiteky said. “CB East came out hot. Number one (Shane O’Hara-Jamison) hit two 3s in probably the first minute. He’s a dynamic player. Their whole team was hot. They scored nine points quickly. It was a fast start by both teams. We watched (O’Hara-Jamison) hit two 3s that barely touched the net, and we didn’t panic. We just responded, ran our stuff and took good shots on the other side. That was the first response – responding to their strong start with our own strong start.
“CB East is a good team, a perennial powerhouse. They run a good program, so we knew we were in for a battle. We got a couple of turnovers near the end of the second and went up by six going into halftime.”
–The ending: “We were up 10 going into the fourth, and they stormed back. They forced turnovers and got a couple of (layups) in transition, and our 10-point lead shrunk to one. They hit a big 3 in that run. Nate Rusike shot a 3 that rolled around the rim five times and then spilled out. A couple of things didn’t go our way, but we were able to regroup and respond.
“I’m really proud of their ability to go on to the next play. There was no time to pout about their 9-0 run. I’m excited about the win. I’m excited that we are getting this experience in these close games handling the other team’s best punch.
“We’re making clutch free throws. Trey Bui knocked down two clutch free throws. Nate Rusike knocked down two clutch free throws. We were down two in the fourth at one point, and Chanse Salone hit a big-time 3 to put us up one. He just calmly stepped up and knew the situation, knew everything on the line. The way he shot it was no panic, no rush, just a calm, confident shot, and it was a huge shot that gave us the lead back after we lost it. Nolan Watkins had a nice driving dish to Grady (Kovach) in the fourth that he finished.
“We were able to squeak out a win. We’ve squeaked out close wins twice in our last three games, so I’m really proud of how these guys are performing in the clutch. I’m really excited for us.”
Next up: Souderton (14-5, 7-1 SOL) will be on the road at North Penn Friday, and Central Bucks East (12-8, 3-5) will host Central Bucks West Friday.
Central Bucks East (51) – Connor Mekanik 1 0-0 2; Shane O’Hara-Jamison 4 3-4 15; Henry Barchak 1 0-0 2; Graham Smith 3 0-2 7; Nolan Behm 10 1-1 23; Anthony Molnar 1 0-1 2; Totals 20 4-8 51.
Souderton (57) – Chanse Salone 4 1-2 13; Tray Bui 1 2-2 4; Nolan Watkins 6 0-2 13; Nate Rusike 6 2-2 15; Thaddeus Harter 3 0-0 6; Grady Kovach 3 0-0 6; Totals 23 5-8 57.
Central Bucks East 12-12-10-17 51
Souderton 16-14-14-13 57
3-point goals: CBE – Shane O’Hara-Jamison 4, Nolan Behm 2, Graham Smith; S – Chanse Salone 4, Nolan Watkins, Nate Rosike.
Central Bucks South 61, Central Bucks West 42
CB South was riding high, with a school-record 15-game win streak and sole possession of first place in the SOL Colonial. Then, the Titans lost their first league game to North Penn on Friday.
Tuesday, they responded with a convincing win over CB West.
“Friday night’s game almost – I think did us a solid,” said Titans coach Louie Vitri. “It kind of refocused us. We were almost too high, winning 15 in a row and setting a school record, but we were off focus and North Penn played great.
“We didn’t have practice Saturday, so we had a team bowling event for the entire program. It was good for us, and yesterday was one of the best practices of the season, which is encouraging. It got us focused for this game.”
Key Players: For CB South, Ben Harrison (15 points), Connor Thompson (11 points), Brett Barrett (11 points).
For CB West, Roman Kulesa (19 points).
CB South coach Louie Vitri: “We had an outstanding first quarter, but in the second quarter, West made an adjustment and got back in the game. We were a little undisciplined defensively in the second quarter. But we refocused at the half and had an outstanding third quarter. It was good to see. We made the adjustment at halftime and the kids followed them. That’s one of the things we didn’t do on Friday. It was a complete opposite today.
“There were three factors. (West was) playing well, it’s a rivalry game and Adam (Sherman) is a great coach. They run really good stuff, and he’s really good at game prep. Even today, in the second quarter, he made an adjustment, and they got back in the game. We put it on the bulletin board, you can’t go in thinking it was going to be like the first time. They’re playing well, it’s a rivalry game and they’re well-coached.”
Next up: Central Bucks South (16-4, 7-1 SOL) will be on the road at Pennridge Friday, and Central Bucks West (7-13, 1-7) will travel to Central Bucks East Friday.
CB West (42) – Colin Burkholder 0 2-2 2; Connor Chuo 2 0-0 5; Isaiah Rubenstein 0 2-2 2; Roman Kulesa 7 2-5 19; Dan Pellegrini 3 0-1 6; Harry Meyers 2 0-0 6; Gavin Reichner 0 2-2 2, John Vrettos 0 2-2 2.
CB South (61) – Cole DiEmidio 0 2-2 2; Brett Barrett 5 0-0 11; Nick Zakrzewski 1 0-0 2; Danny Gies 2 0-0 6; Connor Thompson 3 2-2 11; Ben Harrison 6 3-3 15; Davis Van Zanten 1 0-1 2; Kayode Adebayo 1 0-0 2; Leo Medwid 4 2-2 10.
CB West 4 16 4 18 – 42
CB South 14 9 21 17 – 61
3-point goals: CBW-Kulesa 3, Meyers 2; CBS-Thompson 3, Gies 2, Barrett
Pennridge 55, North Penn 52
There was a lot at stake for both teams on Tuesday night, and Pennridge knew North Penn was coming off of a huge upset win over first place CB South.
Sitting in the No. 24 spot for the upcoming 24-team district playoffs, Rams coach Dean Behrens’ squad pulled out its biggest win of the season, 55-52, over the visiting Knights.
Pennridge coach Dean Behrens: “I thought, again, it was a great crowd for a Tuesday night. This was two teams playing as hard as they could, with the playoffs on the line. The announcer made the announcement before the game where we sat (in the district rankings), where they sat. The kids know. I don’t like to look at it. I know if we keep winning, we’ll get in. We can control that.
“Two teams fought each other hard all night. We got off to a really good start, probably shooting 60 percent in the first quarter. We were up as much as 14, but at the end of the second quarter, they cut it to seven. We missed a chippy under the basket, all of a sudden they’re on 6-0 run to cut it to 32-25. They then came out with an 8-0 run and we’re down one and have to call timeout. It was a one or two possession game the rest of the way. The lead must have changed five, six, seven times.”
–Props: “It always starts with Xavier. We ask Xavier to do a lot. He did a lot today. I don’t think he was happy with his shooting, but we ask him for a lot on the defensive end, the offensive end, and he is our point guard. He brings the ball up and runs our offense. He keeps us in our offense.
“Marley (Steward) came off the bench because of injury. I can’t believe how well he played. We weren’t sure how many minutes to give him.”
Next up: Pennridge (11-9, 3-5 SOL) will host Central Bucks South Friday, and North Penn (7-13, 3-5) will host Souderton Friday,
Pennridge (55) – Rownan Smith 5 0-0 12; Marley Steward 4 6-8 14; Xavier Peters 5 0-3 11; Jacob Bolger 1 0-0 2; Ryan Schwind 2 0-0 5; Connor Murray 3 1-2 8; Ryan Flood 1 0-0 3; Totals 21 7-13 55.
North Penn (52) – Ahmaar Godhani 3 5-5 12; Lee Hammond 3 3-3 11; Shane Ward 1 0-0 3; Aiden Atkinson 5 1-1 12; Nolen Foust 2 0-05; Gabe Altemus 3 0-3 6; Wyatt Martin 1 1-1 3; Totals 18 10-13 52.
Pennridge 18-14-12-11 55
North Penn 9-16-20-7 52
3-point goals: P – Rownan Smith 2, Xavier Peters, Connor Murray, Ryan Flood, Ryan Schwind; NP – Lee Hammond 2,Ahmaar Godhani, Aiden Atkinson, Nolen Foust, Wyatt Martin.
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