Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Friday. Bensalem/Pennsbury photos provided courtesy of Darry Rule of J&D Photography. Wissahickon/Hatboro-Horsham photos courtesy of Kim Supko Photography. Check back for galleries of both games.
SOL Freedom Division
Cheltenham 64, William Tennent 36
Junior Saleem Payne scored 25 points to lead all scorers, as Cheltenham had little trouble with William Tennent in a game between two teams that went into Friday night unbeaten in SOL Freedom Division play.
“Our juniors – Rasheem (Dearry), Elias (Walker), Saleem (Payne), Nasir (Edens) and Ife (West-Ingram) – are doing a great job going from their sophomore year to their junior year,” said Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury. “In our first game, Ife was the second leading scorer. We’re going to play him at a lot of different positions. Saleem is just a steady guard for us.”
“With our seniors led by Mike (McClain) and Brandon (Hawkins), they are easily 15-20 point scorers, but they understand the importance of the totality of our team, just playing as a cohesive unit. I’m pleased with everybody’s cohesion right now offensively and defensively.”
Cheltenham led this one 15-8 after one and by halftime the lead was up to 32-17.
“William Tennent was unbeaten, so that was a good test for us against a 6A team,” Fleury said. “I believe they were top 10 (in the District One rankings), and for us being ranked 26th, that’s a good win for us. I was happy with the guys just being at home for the first time and the level of commitment they have to the details that we talk about in practice.
“An opponent that comes in 6-0 is not going to be an easy one. We were just happy we were able to perform, come together and play well on our floor.”
In addition to Payne, Rasheem Deary finished with 12 points and Brandon Hawkins added eight. Elias Walker had six.
Tennent was led by Derrik Cosenza’s 10 points.
Cheltenham (3-0, 3-0 SOL) plays at Upper Moreland on Tuesday. Tennent (5-1, 4-1 SOL) hosts Springfield on Tuesday.
Cheltenham 64, William Tennent 36
Cheltenham 15 17 15 19- 64
William Tennent 8 9 13 6-36
Cheltenham (64) – Rasheem Dearry 12, Jack Klebanoff 2, Brandon Hawkins 7, Elias Walker 6, Keeon Healey 2, Saleem Payne 25, Joey Weimer 3, Ife West-Ingram 2, Mike McClain 5
William Tennent (36) – Walter Young 4, Matt Miller 5, Jay Stanfield 4, Mike Carr 1, Michael Scheller 2, Derrik Cosenza 10, Ryan Emmerich 6, JP McAnulty 4
Upper Moreland 57, Lower Moreland 44
Trailing by two after one quarter, Upper Moreland turned it up a notched and took the game over in the second quarter, as the Golden Bears pulled away for the win over Lower Moreland on Friday.
Jourdan Green had 18 points to lead the Bears, while Matt Tiernan added 12, Jahire Johnson 10 and Byron Hopkins finished with eight.
Lower Moreland was led by Eyal Khakin, who scored 16 points.
Upper Moreland (3-2, 3-1 SOL) hosts Cheltenham on Tuesday. Lower Moreland (0-2, 0-2 SOL) looks for its first win Tuesday at New Hope-Solebury.
Upper Moreland 57, Lower Moreland 44
Upper Moreland 14 14 9 20-57
Lower Moreland 16 5 9 14-44
Upper Moreland (57) – Byron Hopkins 8, Jahire Johnson 10, Jourdan Gregg 18, Mckie Walker 5, Jake Tiernan 2, Matt Tiernan 12, Schernecke 2,
Lower Moreland (44) – Alicea 2, Sandler 7, Grant 5, Khaikin 16, Alicea 5, Kroll 1, Doneker 7, Shimon 2
3-point goals: UM-Gregg; LM-Sandler 2, Khaikin 2, Doneker 1, Alicea 1
New Hope-Solebury 51, Springfield 44
New Hope shook off a slow start and pulled away in the second half to post its first win of the season and its first win since joining the Suburban One League.
“Yeah, it was good to finally get a win on the board,” said first-year New Hope coach Derek Brooks. “I give the kids credit. They’ve continued to fight every time they’ve gotten knocked down.
“We were down eight going into the fourth. Once we stopped turning the ball over, we gave ourselves a chance.”
Alex Walinski scored 24 points to lead New Hope.
Springfield was led by Dylan McKenzie with 21 points, while Austin Maggioncaida added nine and Ben Cooney six points.
New Hope (1-6, 1-3 SOL) looks for its second win Tuesday when it hosts Lower Moreland. Springfield (0-5, 0-4 SOL) plays at William Tennent on Tuesday.
SOL Liberty Division
Plymouth Whitemarsh 60, Quakertown 42
The first time these new SOL Liberty rivals played, Plymouth Whitemarsh won 76-25. While this one might have been a little bit closer, the end result was still a win for the first-place and undefeated Colonials.
“It took a while to get our motor fully revving, which is something that we need to improve upon, but we did ultimately hit our stride about three minutes into the third, and stretched the lead to 20-plux points,” said PW coach Jim Donofrio. “ Zende (Hubbard) and Taji Hubbard led the spark.”
PW’s lead was just one after one and still only 20-16 at halftime. The Colonials outscored Quakertown 27-9 in the third, however, which spelled an end to the Panthers’ upset hopes in this one.
Zende Hubbard had 15 points for PW to lead all scorers, while Luke DiCianno added 12 points, and Zuri Jerman added 11. Qudire Bennett had eight points while Taji Hubbard and Zende Hubbard both had six.
Quakertown was led by Ozzy Grimmage, who scored 12 points, while Kayden Roley and Ty Wilkin scored eight points each.
PW (7-0, 6-0 SOL) has a nonleague game Monday night at Souderton. Quakertown (0-8, 0-6 SOL) hopes to get its first win Tuesday at home against Upper Dublin.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 60, Quakertown 42
PW 8 12 27 13-60
Quakertown 7 9 9 17-42
PW (60) – Zende Hubbard 5 5-6 15; Jaden Colzie 1 1-5 3; Baker 1 0-0 2. Taji Hubbard 3 0-0 6; Luke DiCianno 3 6-6 12; Qudire Bennett 4 0-0 8; David Harris 1 0-0 2; Zuri Jerman 5 1-1 11. Totals 23 13-18 60.
Quakertown (42) – Wilkin 1 6-6 8; Bauer 2 3-4 7; Gordon 1 0-0 3; Roley 3 2-4 8; Catalano 1 0-0 2; Grimmage 5 1-2 12; Tomlinson 1 0-0 2. Totals 12 9-12 42.
3-point goals: Q-Gordon, Grimmage
Abington 47, Upper Dublin 38
Defense was the difference for Abington, which pulled out a huge Liberty Division win, despite not hitting a field goal in the fourth quarter and struggling from the free throw line.
Upper Dublin has been led all season by senior center Drew Stover, who is averaging over 25 points per-game. Friday, he was held to 19 points, as he was fronted by dual-sport standout Oreck Frazier, a Division I football recruit.
Offensively, Frazier hit three 3-pointers and was 5-for-6 from the field for 13 points, while teammate Rob Bell led the team with 15 points, to go with three rebounds, four steals and three assists. Sam McFarlane added eight off the bench for the Galloping Ghosts, while Connor Fields had seven rebounds and Caleb Baker finished with five points and four boards off the bench as well.
For Upper Dublin, D.J. Ceresier had nine points.
Winners of three straight, Abington (3-2, 3-2 SOL) hosts Wissahickon on Tuesday. Upper Dublin (5-3, 2-3 SOL) plays at CB East in a nonleague game on Saturday.
Abington 47, Upper Dublin 38
Upper Dublin 10 10 8 10-38
Abington 12 14 16 5-47
Upper Dublin (38) – Colin O’Sullivan 2 0-0 4; D.J. Ceresier 4 0-0 9; Drew Stover 8 2-4 19; Seaton Kukla 0 1-2 1; Tim Boutilier 1 0-0 3; Griffin Pensabene 0 2-2 2. Totals 15 5-8 38.
Abington (47) – Antoine Ellis 0 3-4 3; Sam McFarlane 3 0-0 8; Oreck Frazier 5 0-1 13; Rob Bell 5 5-6 15; Connor Fields 1 1-2 3; Caleb Baker 2 1-2 5. Totals 16 10-16 47.
3-point goals: UD-Ceresier 1, Stover 1; A- Frazier 3, McFarlane 2
Wissahickon 60, Hatboro-Horsham 49
Two seniors shined for Wissahickon in Friday’s Senior Night win over Hatboro-Horsham.
Matt Compas scored 22 points and Jackson Intrieri added 21 points, which included three 3-pointers.
“Jackson Intrieri and Matt Compas were really solid at both ends,” said Trojans coach Kyle Wilson. “Quality defense, and downhill, attacking offense. (It was) a good quality win.”
Jackson had the hot hand in the opening quarter, burying a pair of threes and scoring 10 points to lead the Trojans to a 17-11 lead. Wissahickon outscored their visitors by an identical 17-11 score in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 34-22 lead. Compas accounted for 12 of the Trojans’ first-half points. Bobby Haasz added five points in the second quarter.
For the Hatters, Zehier Cheeze led the way with 19 points, and Noah Schlosser also finished in double figures with 12. Eric Butler had seven points while Kyle Dittus had six.
With the win, Wissahickon improved to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the SOL Liberty. It plays at Abington in another key division game on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham (2-3, 2-3 SOL) host first-place Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
Wissahickon 60, Hatboro-Horsham 49
Hatboro-Horsham 11-11-10-17 49
Wissahickon 17-17-12-14 60
Hatboro-Horsham (49) – Eric Butler 3 1-4 7; Zehier Cheeze 6 7-11 19; Dan Simpson 0 1-2 1; Kyle Dittus 2 1-3 6; Josh Spruill 2 0-0 4;Noah Schlosser 5 1-1 12; Totals 18 11-21 49.
Wissahickon (60) – Matt Compas 7 7-9 22; Josh Twersky 1 1-2 3; Ryan Friedman 0 4-4 4; Jackson Intrieri 7 4-4 21; Stefan Lowry 1 0-0 2; Phil Dias 0 0-1 0; Bobby Haasz 2 0-0 5; Will Kunzier 1 1–3 3; Totals 19 17-23 60.
3-point goals: HH – Kyle Dittus, Noah Schlosser, Wissahickon – Jackson Intrieri 3, Matt Compas, Bobby Haasz.
SOL Patriot Division
Bensalem 61, Pennsbury 54
Facing the Pennsbury press is never easy, and it especially wasn’t for Bensalem on Friday night, as the Owls committed 13 turnovers in the first 
quarter and fell behind by as many as 10. But they turned it around in the second and third quarters and pulled out the win, snapping a four-game losing streak.
“We got down 15-5,” said Bensalem coach Ron Morris. “We had 13 turnovers in the first quarter. Some of that was to their pressure – Pennsbury was doing a good job – some of it was mental mistakes. I think we may have played 10 or 11 guys in the first half until we found the right lineup.”
Bensalem then outscored Pennsbury 22-10 in the second quarter, behind nine points from junior point guard Aaron Sanders and 19-10 in the third, thanks to 12 points from senior James Ashford, who scored a game-high 23 for the game.
“With James and Aaron, we’ve been trying to get them to have really good games at the same time,” Morris said. “Some games, one plays better than the other. Tonight, both played very well. James did a good job rebounding and getting to the rim. Aaron’s floor game was awesome tonight.”
Defensively, the Owls also recovered from the slow start. Morris credit a pair of sophomores, Jack Wineburg, who had 10 points and was tough defensively and on the glass, and Erik Gonzalez, who battled against talented Pennsbury guard Amir Johnson.
“Jack came in and did a lot of good things,” Morris said. “Especially on the defensive end. He blocked a couple of shots. Jack is like a wing-foward type player, who doesn’t always play inside. He’s a smart player and very athletic.”
Pennsbury was led by Aiden McMcCormack, who scored 20 and Jonhson who added 15 points.
Bensalem (3-5, 3-2 SOL) hosts CB West in a nonleague game on Saturday (1:30 p.m.).
Pennsbury (2-6, 1-5 SOL) plays at rival Neshaminy on Tuesday.
Bensalem 61, Pennsbury 54
Bensalem 5 22 19 15- 61
Pennsbury 15 10 10 19- 54
Bensalem (61) – Eric Gonzalez 1 3-4 6; Aaron Sanders 6 4-7 18; James Ashford 7 9-12 23; Jake DeLange 0 1-4 1; Nikita Schaefer 0 3-4 3; Jack Wineburg 2 5-8 10; Totals 16 25-39 61.
Pennsbury (54) – Amir Johnson 4 6-10 15; Aiden McCormack 9 2-2 20; Kennan Taddei 1 2-2 5; Evan Reichard 2 1-4 6; Craig Stargell 1 0-0 3; Evan McNeely 0 3-6 3; Evan Brown 1 0-0 2; Totals 18 14-24 54
3-point goals: Bensalem: Aaron Sanders 2, Jake Wineburg, Eric Gonzalez, Pennsbury – Amir Johnson, Kennan Taddei, Craig Stargell, Evan Reichard.
Council Rock North 53, Harry S Truman 47
Playing without starting point guard Bernie Parent, CR North faced a struggle against a Truman team looking for its first win, but in the end the Indians prevailed to improve to 4-1 in the division and just one game back in the loss column from first-place Neshaminy.
“We knew tonight was going to be tough without Bernie,” said Indians coach Jesse Krasna. “Truman is playing good basketball right now. We saw it on film and we felt it tonight. Coach (Tyrone) Lewis always gets his kids playing hard and improving throughout the year.”
To make up for Parent’s absence, CR North received contributions from a number of sources, including senior Mikey Sylvester.
“Our boys really wanted to get this one for Bernie,” Krasna said. “You can’t replace someone like Bernie because he brings so much to our team on both ends of the floor and as a leader. His skill, experience, composure and heart makes him such a special player and we all had to step up to win tonight.
“Mikey Sylvester is such a versatile player for us. Last year, he was our center and tonight there were times he was breaking full court pressure. He ignited our team when he picked the pocket of a Truman player and went in for a layup to end the third quarter.
“In the fourth quarter, he got whacked in the nose, and I got light-headed and had to sit down when I saw all the blood dripping down his entire face. But he did what Mikey always does, wiping away the blood and stepping right back on the court to finish the game. The kid has been fighting through a shoulder injury all year too. He’s just so tough and his motor never stops.”
Jack Blum also played well, distributing the ball, especially in the fourth quarter.
“Jack Blum played incredibly well all game, making great decisions in traps and finding his teammates after drawing defenders,” Krasna said. “When Truman went man-to-man in the fourth quarter, we put the ball in his hands and he had a strong drive late in the fourth quarter to give us some breathing room.
“Garrett Gromlich is playing really good basketball. He hit a dagger 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to extend our lead to seven and a big block late in the game to save a layup.
“Adam Mahtat has been great all year, but this may have been his best game yet. He has incredible hands and finishes around the rim so well and he came up with some big rebounds for us.
“Connor Rushing has been so key in our team’s success this season. He has really figured out how to be a dual threat weapon. He is impossible to guard one on one and when teams help on his drives, he has been making great passes to set up his teammates. He did that time and time again throughout the game.
“Logan Saifer hit three huge free throws in the fourth quarter. As he stepped to the foul line, I thought about him staying after practice yesterday to shoot free throws, so I knew he was knocking those down.
“The best part about this group is that they really love the game, want to improve and want to win. They show it with their actions. When practice is over, the gym is full of players like Logan staying after to shoot free throws and do extra skill work. And the neat thing about it is when I look around, it’s not just the players who play major minutes. Pat Curry is one of our reserves who stayed after last night and he got some time tonight to help us come up with the win.”
CR North (4-1, 4-1 SOL) next hosts Council Rock South on Tuesday. Truman (0-6, 0-6 SOL) looks for its first win Tuesday night at Bensalem.
SOL Liberty Division
Central Bucks East 60, Pennridge 47
Coming off of a loss, CB East couldn’t afford a letdown Friday, and it didn’t get one, defeating Pennridge for the second time this season, thanks in big part to a 20-5 advantage in the fourth quarter.
“We feel good about the way we played in the second half,” said Patriots coach Erik Henrysen. “We struggled early on the defensive end. We made a few adjustments at half time and challenged the guys to do a better job with staying locked in mentally for entire defensive possessions.”
A 22-point second quarter put Pennridge up 31-29 at the half and the Rams still led 42-40 heading into the fourth. At that point, the Patriots took over and won going away.
Joe Jackman scored 20 points, while Brendan Harte had 14 and Jacob Cummiskey added eight. As a team, East hit seven 3-pointers.
“Brendan Harte had a great game,” Henrysen said. “He impacted both ends of the floor and seemed to win every 50-50 battle. He has really embraced a leadership role this year.
“Joe Jackman had another great night scoring. He was really tough in the open court. Jack Hamilton took control of the lane and the boards again too. He finished with 10 rebounds and altered a half a dozen shots.”
Pennridge was led by seniors Luke Yoder and Colin Post, who had 19 and 11 points, respectively, while Colin Monahan added 10.
The Rams (4-4, 3-3 SOL) host North Penn on Tuesday. CB East (6-1, 5-1 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin in a nonleague game Saturday.
For Henrysen’s team, rebounding from Tuesday’s loss was important.
“It was important for us to bounce back tonight,” Henrysen said. “We felt like we missed an opportunity to secure the win against North Penn. We dealt with the adversity tonight and came out on top. It’s a great sign for us moving forward.”
Central Bucks East 60, Pennridge 47
Pennridge 9 22 11 5-47
CB East 14 15 11 20-60
Pennridge (47) – Luke Yoder 19, Colin Post 11, Justin Nichols 3, Colin Monahan 10, TJ Grenda 4
CB East (60) – Jacob Cummiskey 8, Liam Cummiskey 5, Brendan Harte 14, Aidan Weaver 2, Joe Jackman 20, Jack Hamilton 5, Jason Markowitz 3, Brett Young 3
3-point goals: P-Monahan 2, Nichols 1, Post 1; CBE-Jackman 2, Harte 2, Young 1, L. Cummiskey 1, Markowitz 1
Central Bucks South 65, Souderton 41
CB South’s big guys played well in the paint and shot the ball well from outside as well, as the Titans used a 21-4 burst in the third quarter to pull away from Souderton on Friday.
“We had a big third quarter,” said South coach Jason Campbell. “Our guys played really well on both ends of the floor. It was a good first half. Michael Farley got off to a good start, with two 3s in the first quarter and another in the second quarter.
“He’s struggled. He has a good jump shot, but he’s been struggling. In practice this week, Joe Rooney was guarding him outside, and I said, ‘Why are you playing so close to him? When was the last time he hit a jumper?’ That lit a fire under Michael, and on the next two possessions (in practice), he hit a 3 and a mid-range jump shot. He carried that over into the game. He wound up hitting four 3-pointers for us tonight.”
Making his first varsity start, 6-foot-5 sophomore Tyler Meinel led the Titans with 19 points, while Farley had 18 points. Aiden Van Zanten finished with eight points.
“I felt today, we did a better job sharing the ball and executing more on offense,” Campbell said. “All of the 3-point shots we were taking were good looks. We created some offense in transition with our defense, especially in the third quarter. We forced a bunch of turnovers in the third quarter and a few in the fourth. Tyler Meinel had a couple of steals, Aiden did a nice job pressuring up top, and (Owen) Petrich did a nice job took.”
Souderton was led by Aleks Smith with 14 points.
CB South (3-3, 3-3 SOL) plays at CB West on Tuesday. Souderton (1-6, 1-5 SOL) starts a difficult week with a nonleague game at home Monday against unbeaten Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Central Bucks South 65, Souderton 41
Souderton 6 14 4 17-41
CB South 9 20 21 15-65
Souderton (41) – Kutzler 6, Towsen 8, Blair 9, Smith 14, Bonnet 2, Schevren 2
CB South (65) – N. Macalindong 4, J. Macalindong 4, Van Zanten 8, Rooney 7, Delara 5, Meinel 19, Farley 18
North Penn 65, Central Bucks West 50
Coming off a huge SOL win against Central Bucks East on Tuesday, there may have been concerns of a letdown for North Penn heading into Friday. But the concerns were unfounded, as the Knights took care of business, putting this one away with a run at the start of the third quarter.
“Honestly, it was a huge concern of mine,” said NP coach John Conrad of a possible letdown. “It’s a credit to our leaders – Josh (Jones), Joey (Larkins) and Billy (Coley). We had four guys in double figures tonight. It was an all-around good team effort. I thought we shared the ball really well.”
North Penn benefited from starting the game strong, and then starting the third quarter with another push.
“I think we made two runs,” Conrad said. “Early in the game, we jumped out to a 17-4 lead. West was able to come back and get it to eight at the half, but to start the third quarter we made another little run. Those two runs were instrumental for us tonight.”
Coley led the Knights with 16 points, while Josh Jones had 15, Ryan Zeltt 13 and Larkins 12.
CB West was led by Dante Mancini’s 23 points, while Teddy Spratt added 17.
North Penn (6-2, 5-1 SOL) has a nonleague game at home Saturday against unbeaten Neshaminy. CB West (1-6, 1-5 SOL) plays at Bensalem on Saturday.
North Penn 65, Central Bucks West 50
CB West (50) – Teddy Spratt 17, Dante Mancini 23, Payton Davis 5, Josh Lee 5
North Penn (65) – Mario Sgro 7, Joey Larkins 12, Billy Coley 16, Malind Pulugura 2, Josh Jones 15, Ryan Zeltt 13
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