Check out the results of SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday.
Continental Conference
Central Bucks West 44, North Penn 42
After making a huge third quarter comeback, it all came down to one shot for the Bucks.
A jumper in the lane by Luke Irons fell through the net as the buzzer sounded, giving Central Bucks West a last-second win over host North Penn.
After turning the ball over and allowing the Knights to tie things up with eight seconds remaining, Cal Reichwein sent a pass to Jimmy McClusker, who then found Irons for the game-winner.
“Luke got a nice pull-up in the lane and got the winner,” CB West coach Adam Sherman said. “Every win is big now. You want to keep getting as many wins as you can and get in a good position for district playoffs.”
The defense stepped up big for the Bucks (15-4, 8-4), allowing no more than 12 points in any quarter.
CB West trailed 24-18 at the half but outscored the Knights 19-8 in the third quarter to take a 37-32 lead into the fourth quarter.
“We did a much better job defensively in that third quarter and that’s when we kind of turned the table,” said Sherman]. “That got us back in front and it was more of a team effort defensively. (North Penn) is such a well-rounded team offensively and there’s not one guy in particular to focus on, and I thought everyone did a great job.”
Off the bench, the Bucks got a huge contribution from Connor Lynch, a junior who scored 11 points while draining three three-pointers.
“Connor was huge for us and he’s been playing better and better as the season goes on,” Sherman said. “Every game, he improves, so we’re excited about him and how well he’s been playing.”
The Bucks were led by Lynch’s 11 points, while Cal Reichwein and Owen Cooney both scored seven. North Penn (11-8, 6-5) was led by Joey Richards’ 13. Derek Heiserman and Cordell Lord added eight and seven respectively.
Central Bucks West 7 11 19 7—44
North Penn 12 12 8 10—42
Central Bucks South 51, Central Bucks East 42
It was a tale of two halves as Central Bucks South erased a 21-16 halftime deficit to come back and win handily in a game at Central Bucks East High School.
Tim Waddington led the Titans (11-7, 7-4) with 14 points, while Sean Gallagher added nine. Ryan Joerger scored seven, while Alex Karras and Bryan Meyers each chipped in with six.
CB East (5-14, 0-11) was led by Tommy Strasburger’s 13. Travis Ives scored 13, while Matt Pattyson added nine.
The Patriots led 21-16 at the half, but CB South was able to go on top by six (35-29) after three quarters.
Central Bucks South 5 11 19 16—51
Central Bucks East 10 11 8 13—42
American Conference
Upper Dublin 69, Pottstown 64 (2 OT)
When the play Upper Dublin had set up not panning out the way the Cardinals had hoped, Simeon Fryer found John Barrett in the waning seconds of the first overtime. Barrett took the pass and from nearly half court launched a game-tying three-pointer to force a second overtime.
In the sixth period of the night, the Cardinals took care of business, outscoring the Trojans 11-6 to defeat host Pottstown (5-13) in a non-conference meeting.
Barrett’s shot came from roughly 12 feet outside the three-point line and found the bottom of the net in miracle fashion.
“He just looked at it, turned and buried it,” Upper Dublin coach Josh Adelman said. “It was awesome. It was a great shot.”
The Cardinals actually could’ve won the game at the end of regulation but misfired on a pair of free throws with 1.7 seconds to play.
Earlier, a huge second quarter that saw the Cards outscore the Trojans 18-7 propelled Upper Dublin to a 29-22 halftime lead, but Pottstown battled back. In the first overtime, Pottstown went up by three with 12.7 seconds to play. In the second extra session, the Cardinals (12-7) went up early and held on until the end.
“It’s a huge win coming off a loss to Plymouth Whitemarsh,” Adelman said. “We have Wissahickon coming up on Tuesday and we want to take it one game at a time. We’re excited about the challenge of Wissahickon away.
“John Barrett was sensational tonight and he did it with Simeon (Fryer) not feeling well. He stepped up and was unbelievable.”
Barrett was on fire, knocking down five three-pointers in the first half – seven on the night – while scoring 19 points in the first half and 31 for the game.
Ryan Stover added 11 points for the Cardinals, while Will Derr added nine. Fryer, who played limited minutes in regulation, scored all eight of his points in the overtime periods.
Regarding their upcoming game with the Trojans and a battle for second place in the conference standings, Adelman said his Cardinals will be ready.
“I know it’s a game we’re going to be up for and a game that they’re going to be up for,” he said. “It should be a nice crowd and I think a great challenge. These guys have had a good season and we’ve been in a lot of games and have beaten a lot of different teams and we’ve done very well in our league. We know that PW can basically clinch first place, but we would really love to claim second. And we know that Cheltenham and Wissahickon would like to also, so it’s a great challenge and we are really looking forward to it.”
Upper Dublin 11 18 10 10 9 11—69
Pottstown 15 7 15 12 9 6—64
Norristown 71, Perkiomen Valley 61
An 18-point night from Darryl Carr was more than enough to lift Norristown to a double-digit victory over host Perkiomen Valley in a non-conference affair.
Khalil Sinclair scored 13 for the Eagles (10-8), who also received 12 points from Desmond Gorski. Norristown trailed by six after one quarter (21-15) but tied things up at 31-31 going into the break.
In the third quarter, a seven-point advantage for the Eagles put them up for good (48-42).
Norristown 15 16 17 23—71
Perkiomen Valley 21 11 10 19—61
National Conference
Pennsbury 59, Neshaminy 47
With next to no chance of catching Abington in the conference standings, Pennsbury is looking forward to a good seed in the district playoffs. On Thursday night, the Falcons notched their 14th win of the season and find themselves in a good spot.
Pennsbury’s Mekhi Bryant led all scorers in the win and surpassed the 1,000-point milestone. Nick Cereby and Derrick Woods added 13 and seven for the Falcons, who improved to 14-4 overall and 9-2 in conference play.
“We have to settle in our rotation finally and play hard on the defensive end and give the best effort all-around on a consistent basis,” Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. “We have to get some wins so we can get some confidence.”
With the Rams’ only four losses coming to Abington (twice), La Salle College High School and Neumann-Goretti – four of the top teams in the state – Coleman knows his team is even better than its record shows.
“We had two very tough, very hard-fought losses to a very good Abington team,” he said. “We played some of the best teams in the state in AAA and AAAA and we put together a tough schedule for ourselves. Our guys will be battle tested (for the playoffs).”
Neshaminy (4-12, 1-10) was led by Billy Warren and Jenkins Kimber’s 10 points apiece.
Abington 71, William Tennent 35
The Ghosts keep on mowing them down, and they keep doing so in what seems to be easy fashion.
Thanks to a monster first quarter and a 17-point effort from freshman Robbie Heath, the Ghosts more than doubled the score of William Tennent in a late-season game at Abington High School.
The Ghosts’ big win saw them go up by 16 after one quarter (23-17), and they took a 37-21 lead into halftime before outscoring the Panthers by 17-2 in the third to go on top 54-23 heading into the fourth.
Heath went 7-for-10 from the floor, while senior Amir Hinton added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Ghosts, who are now 16-3 overall and a perfect 12-0 in conference play. Senior Matt Penecale added seven points and 10 assists, while Josh Lustig knocked down all three triples he attempted en route to a nine-point night.
Tennent (5-15, 4-8) was led by John Ryan’s 14 points.
William Tennent 7 14 2 12—35
Abington 23 14 17 17—71
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