Check out Tuesday’s SOL boys basketball results.
CONTINENTAL CONFERENCE
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 57, HATBORO-HORSHAM 50 (OT)
Jason Campbell summed up his team’s win over the Continental Conference’s top squad in just four words.
“It was a battle,” the Titans’ coach said.
The Hatters led 11-10 after a first quarter that saw the two teams trade leads. The second quarter was tightly contested as well, and the teams went to intermission with the Hatters holding a narrow 21-20 lead. It was still a one-point game after three quarter (32-31.
Matt Scamuffo paced the Titans offense by scoring six points in the second, third and fourth quarters on his way to a team-high 23 for the day, and he helped his team carve out a five-point lead in the fourth quarter.
“We were trying to take time off clock and (get) some looks,” said Campbell. “(H-H senior Mike) Brown hit a three to make it 45-45, and we tried to hold out for one.”
With eight seconds left on the clock, the Titans had the opportunity they had been waiting for but missed on a shot for the lead, allowing the Hatters to regain possession.
“They called a timeout, and we kind of figured they would try to run something with Brown and Quattro,” said Campbell.
That is exactly what the Hatters did, but Brown’s shot came up short, sending the game into overtime.
Every basketball coach understands the importance of capitalizing on free throws, but the Titans learned that lesson firsthand in overtime. South went on an eight-point run from the free throw line to take their biggest lead of the game before Brown hit a three and Quattro added a bucket for the Hatters.
Senior point guard Kevin Raymond was 7-for-10 from the charity stripe in OT for the Titans, who scored all 12 of their points in overtime from the free throw line.
“Kevin is pretty consistent,” said Campbell. “He does a nice job of distributing the ball and is great at getting defenses to collapse. He’s a big part of our team, and when it comes down to having a lead, he’s the guy that wants the ball in his hands, he’s clutch on the foul line.”
Scamuffo also connected on 4-of-4 from the foul line in overtime while TJ Ohntrup was 1-for-2 from the line.
Campbell also recognized the efforts of Adam Tamney, who provided a defensive spark off the bench.
“He did a fantastic job in covering Brown,” the Titans’ coach said. “(Brown) really had to earn his points. He forced him into tough shots and we were able to rebound the ball. He forced a couple turnovers and knocked in a couple of key free throws in the fourth.”
Ohntrup, who was tasked with guarding Hatters’ three-point specialist Zach Quattro (16 points), was also a standout for the Titans, who improved their record to 8-2 in the league (11-6 overall).
“TJ was solid in second half,” said Campbell. “He held Quattro to seven points in the second half and two in overtime. (Quattro) didn’t make one three pointer.”
The Hatters, who saw their record drop to 8-2, 13-2 overall, are no longer alone atop the conference standings as the Titans – thanks to their big win – now own a share of the top spot as well.
“We prepared well and put together a game plan,” said Campbell. “I give credit to the players because they believe in the game plan that the coaches are implementing, and they go out and execute it.”
Both teams have rescheduled games tomorrow as Hatboro visits Pennridge and South travels to Quakertown.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 50, SOUDERTON 49
The Patriots stunned the second-place Indians with a come-from-behind victory on Tuesday. Souderton was just four days removed from its big win over Hatboro-Horsham, and a win on Tuesday night – combined with the Hatters’ loss to CB South – would have give the Indians a share of the conference’s top spot.
For a while, it seemed as though the Big Red might cruise by the Patriots after outscoring them 17-15 in the first half and going up by as many as twelve in the third quarter.
The tide, however, started to turn toward the end of the third quarter.
“We started inching back,” said East coach Erik Henrysen. “We inched closer and cut it to seven, and (Brandan) Wagner (Souderton) got into foul trouble.”
Matt Stauffer had a standout performance for the Patriots, and with Wagner (11 points) on the bench, he recorded eight rebounds and scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half. Brendan McLaughlin, who led all scorers with 18 points, sparked the Patriots’ offense in the final frame with a pair of clutch three-pointers.
Stauffer knotted the score when he connected on two free throws. McLaughlin then found himself at the line with eight seconds remaining, and he hit one of two shots that not only gave the Patriots their first lead of the game but also turned out to be the winning basket.
“McLaughlin has developed into what I feel is one of the better guards in the league,” said Henrysen. “He controls the entire game for us on the offensive end, taking the ball to the basket, shooting three’s, and doing a little bit of everything.”
The Indians (8-3) had one last possession after McLaughlin’s free throws and dribbled it down the court before calling a timeout with 3.5 seconds left. The Indians, according to Henrysen, got the ball into the hands of their top-scorer, John Kanas, and he put up a three-pointer at the buzzer that ricocheted off the back of the rim and fell short, ending a five-game league winning streak for the Indians.
“We’ve had trouble closing out,” said Henrysen. “We made good runs at teams, and we really wanted to control the tempo of this game. In the beginning, they pushed the ball, but as the game went on, we were able to execute more and slow the game down.”
Henrysen made some lineup changes in Tuesday’s game and entrusted three senior players - Kevin Phelps, Danny Reilly, and Anthony Roggio - to manage the defense.
“They were committed to getting stops, and they started to turn the tide and interrupted Souderton,” the Patriots’ coach said. “Our guys work their tails off in practice and games - they never quit. We really feel like we can make a push at districts if we can string together a couple of wins.”
The Patriots (3-8) host Quakertown on Friday night for their senior night.
NORTH PENN 68, QUAKERTOWN 43
Everyone in the lineup contributed scoring in the Knights’ decisive win over the Panthers. The Knights opened up a 21-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and took a 31-20 into halftime. A 19-10 third quarter tear put the game out of reach, giving the Knights a 50-30 advantage after three quarters. Three North Penn players finished the game in double figures - Jin Lim (12 points), Mike Swanson (11 points) and Brian Coleman (10 points) while Noah Melchior chipped in six points and six rebounds. The Knights upped their record to 4-7 in the conference (6-10 overall) while the Panthers, who were led by the 16-point effort of Jake Perrine, fell to 1-9 SOL (4-10 overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 55, PENNRIDGE 42
The Bucks started off strong against the Rams, taking a 14-7 lead in the opening quarter and stretching that to 29-17 by halftime. The Rams, who were led offensively by Jeff Garner with 13 points, tried to make a comeback in the second half, outscoring the Bucks 15-13 in the third quarter, but they couldn’t dig themselves out of their first half hole. Cal Reichwein led the Bucks with four three-pointers on his way to 18 for the night. Kyle Salvitti added three treys, and Pat Kelly chipped in 10 points. Drew Dietterich (10 points) also recorded double digits for the Rams who saw their record drop to 4-6 in the league (9-9 overall). The Bucks remain in fourth place in the league after upping their record to 6-5 (8-11 overall).
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
ABINGTON 73, HARRY S TRUMAN 57
In what figured to be one of the National Conference’s marquis matchups Tuesday, the Ghosts – behind the inspired performance of Jordan Simmons – opened up a 21-4 lead at the end of one quarter on their way to the no-doubt-about-it win over the Tigers.
Simmons filled the stat sheet with 30 points, eight rebounds, six steals and four assists. He connected on 11-of-18 shots from the floor in a dazzling offensive performance.
“He exploded,” coach Charles Grasty said. “He attacked the glass. He only took three three-pointers. We felt like Jordan could exploit the mismatch we had on them.
“He just played aggressive. He didn’t settle for a bunch of jump shots. He was very efficient. He had three offensive rebounds, and he was playing ‘D.’ He played well. It was an all-around good game. It’s what we expect from him.”
Anthony Durham added 13 points and Jiere Morrisey had 12 points. Michael Griffin had six points and Anthony Lee, five points. For the Tigers, Marcus Palmer had 22 points – 14 in the fourth quarter – while Merdic Green had 16.
The tone for the game was set in a first quarter that saw the Ghosts put on a defensive clinic.
“We defended well,” Grasty said. “We looked at them on film. We know they like to drive and get to the basket, so we slowed them down a little bit. Then we pressed them a little bit, got some turnovers early and got some easy baskets, got out in transition, and they had to play catch up.
“Our guys defended extremely well. They knew what was on the line. We let it be known that this was a very big game like the rest of them are. We had a couple letdown games, but that’s the way they respond. We’re happy with this win.”
The Ghosts maintain their two-game lead in the conference standings with an 11-1 mark (15-4 overall). The Tigers are 7-5 in the league (11-9 overall).
BENSALEM 55, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 43
The Owls led a 21-18 at halftime and still held just a three-point lead heading into the fourth quarter when they blew the close game wide open. Leo Vincent sparked the late-game surge for Owls, scoring 13 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter. Stephen Johnson (13 points) and Austin Ngekan (11 points) also chipped in double figures in the victory. The Hawks, who fell to 3-8 in the conference (6-11 overall), were led offensively by Christian Crane who scored 15 points. The Owls upped their record to 7-4 (10-7 overall) and now own a share of third place in the conference standings with Truman.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 71, PENNSBURY 61
The Indians opened up an 18-13 lead at the end of one quarter, thanks to the hot hand of Brandon Knotts who scored 11 points on his way to 20 for the day. That lead was erased as the Falcons rallied to go on top 30-25 at halftime after outscoring the Indians 17-7 in the second quarter. The Falcons took a one-point lead into the final quarter, and the Indians won it with a 25-14 fourth quarter.
Kyle McCloskey had a game-high 22 points for the Indians, who now sit alone in the second place in the National Conference with an 8-3 league record (14-5 overall). Rip Engel added 16. Mekhi Bryant led the Falcons’ offense, scoring 20 points. Cameron Jones (17 points) and Aamir Williams (12 points) both chipped in twin figures for the Falcons who fell to 6-5 in the league (12-5 overall) and share fourth place with Bensalem.
WILLIAM TENNENT 65, NESHAMINY 38
The Panthers staked out an 18-12 lead in the first quarter and upped that lead to 32-22 by halftime. Both teams scored 13 points in the third quarter, and the final frame belonged to the Panthers as they outscored the ‘Skins 20-3 to come away with the convincing win. Matt Alden scored a game-high 23 points and contributed eight rebounds and four steals for the Panthers. Horace Spencer added 16 points while Mike Wasserleben chipped in nine points and eight assists. The Redskins, who are still winless (0-11, 0-17 overall), were led by Jaylen Picket with 19 points. The Panthers improved their record to 3-8 in the league (7-11 overall).
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
CHELTENHAM 57, WISSAHICKON 44
The Panthers seized sole possession of second place in the American Conference after their drubbing of the Trojans on Tuesday night. The Panthers led 18-15 at the end of the first quarter, but coach Brian Johnson wasn’t happy with their opening frame.
“We didn’t do a great job on transition or baseline out of bounds plays,” the Trojans’ coach said. “We didn’t defend as well as we could have.”
In the second quarter, Johnson made some adjustments, and he was pleased with how his team responded as they increased their lead to 31-24 going into halftime.
“We changed it up on them a little bit and gave them some different looks,” he said. “Our commitment to the small defensive things was there and that was a big plus.”
The Panthers continued to pull away from the Trojans in the second half and held a 47-33 advantage heading into the final frame.
Aaron McGlawn once again had a monster performance for the Panthers, connecting on a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the arc and scoring 22 points for the night.
The Panthers held Trojan top-scorer Chase Wilson to only 10 points, thanks to the efforts of Shakur Jackson.
“Shakur guarded Wilson and he was huge for us defensively,” said Johnson. “He was outstanding as he has been all season. He was a significant part of what we did today.”
Jess Hunsicker scored a team-high 12 points for the Trojans, whose record dropped to 8-3 in the league (11-8 overall).
Johnson also lauded the efforts of Guy Henderson who scored 10 points and picked up five rebounds.
“He rebounded literally and figuratively after a not-so-great performance on Friday,” the Panthers coach said.
Aaron Burton also was a force for the Panthers, recording some key offensive rebounds, according to Johnson, and chipping in 16 points.
The Panthers (9-2 SOL, 11-7 overall) will face Upper Moreland on Friday.
“We cannot overlook Upper Moreland,” Johnson said. “They most certainly played very well against us the first time. We put ourselves in the position that everything lies with us and what we do is in our hands.”
UPPER MORELAND 43, UPPER DUBLIN 33
Both the Golden Bears and the Flying Cardinals got off to a slow start, and it was the Cards holding a 17-16 advantage heading into intermission. The Bears started pulling away in the second half and led 29-22 by the end of the third quarter. James Martin led the Golden Bears with a game-high 13 points. Matt Kohn (9 points) and Tommy Robinson (8 points) also made important contributions for the Bears who upped their record to 5-6 in conference (9-9 overall). The Cards, now 3-8 in the league (5-11 overall), were led offensively by Simeon Fryer who scored 10 points and Andrew Carber who added seven points.
NORRISTOWN 81, SPRINGFIELD (MONTCO) 42
The Eagles maintained their stronghold on the top spot in the American Conference with their win over the Spartans. The Eagles took a 31-25 lead into halftime and then outscored the Spartans 25-9 in the third quarter on their way to a 50-17 second half.
Luke Kelley led the Eagles with 16 points while Josh Johnson added 15 and Jahbri Hargrove, 12 points. Marquis Bryant and Shai Cree Tempson each added 11 points. The Spartans were led by the 12-point efforts of Billy Dahm and Matt Krewson.
The Eagles improved to 10-1 in league play (16-3 overall) while the Spartans fell to 1-10 (6-13 overall).
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