Pennsbury & CR North were winners in SOL boys’ basketball action Thursday. CR North/Neshaminy photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery.
PENNSBURY 70, WILLIAM TENNENT 59
The Falcons picked up their third win in as many games in conference play, racing out of the gate to a 22-11 lead after one quarter. They never looked back.
“Our goal every game is really to finish 1-0, and we were able to accomplish that today,” coach Bill Coleman said. “The guys came out with a ton of energy defensively. Our defense really set up some of our offense early on where we got out to a 17-0 lead and were able to turn them over early in the game. We were able to pick it up again in the second half of the game.
“It was very good to see – that’s the way we like to play. We like to play full-court man in-your-face, let’s get the tempo going and let’s play. It was good to come out that way.”
The early run, according to the Falcons’ coach, included contributions from everyone.
“Gary Francis hit a three, Charlie (Nuschke) had a putback, Collin (Connor) hit a three and Cooper (Arnold) hit a three,” Coleman said. “We were feeding off of our defensive energy.
“Everyone contributed. At the end of the third quarter, it was nine-point game. Our guards – Kyrie (Miller) and Amir (Johnson) – turned them over two times in a row, so we were able to get a double-digit lead going into the fourth quarter.”
Francis led the Falcons with an impressive double-double that included a game-high 25 points and 10 rebounds. Arnold added 14 points while Miller had 12 points and four rebounds. Connor led the defense with four steals.
For the Panthers, David West’s 20 points led the attack. Derrik Consenza added 13 points and seven rebounds. Michael Mulville had 10 points, and Josiah Johson had nine points and three rebounds.
Pennsbury (4-5, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Council Rock South on Tuesday. Both teams boast identical 3-0 records in the conference.
“Our non-league schedule was difficult,” Coleman said. “If you look at the combined losses of the teams that we played – Wilson West Lawn was undefeated, Bishop McDevitt is undefeated, North Penn has three losses, Archbishop Ryan had three or four losses. We played a pretty difficult schedule early on in hopes that it would prepare us for the league.”
William Tennent (3-5, 2-1) will travel to New Hope-Solebury for a non-league game Saturday at 1 p.m.
Pennsbury 22-15-17-16 70
William Tennent 11-17-15-16 59
Pennsbury (70) – Kyrie Miller 12, Collin Connor 8, Gary Francis 25, Amir Johnson 3, Cooper Arnold 14, Charlie Nuschke 4.
William Tennent (59) – Michael Mulville 10, Josiah Johnson 9, Kip Mooney 3, Ryan Savage 2, David West 20, Derrik Consenza 13, Del Matunda 2.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 32, NESHAMINY 26
The Indians managed to score just 62 points in their last two games combined, but they won both games, thanks to defensive efforts that have allowed their opponents to score just 55 points in those two games. Throw in a 61-22 win over South Hunterdon, and the Indians’ opponents have scored less than 30 points in three straight games.
“They’re competing at a really high level defensively, and they’re really playing good team defense,” coach Jesse Krasna said. “If we can get a little crisper on offense, that bodes really well for what we can do in the future, but any time you can score 30 points and end up winning a game, you will definitely take it.
“I think tonight was a case where we did some good things offensively, but it didn’t show up in the score column because we had trouble finishing, and that happens sometimes too. You’re going to have those nights. Our kids kept battling and were able to eke one out.”
Krasna also credited the Redskins’ defense.
“We struggled a little bit with turnovers, and Neshaminy played really hard and made it tough for us to get easy shots offensively,” the Indians’ coach said. “When we did get some open looks, we had trouble finishing around the rim and didn’t make the open threes we normally make.
“It was one of those games where there was a lid on the basket for both teams. The team that made the most winning plays towards the end was going to come out on top.”
Krasna credited several players in the win.
“We got really good bench minutes from Mikey Sylvester, who gave us great energy,” the Indians’ coach said. “He got a bunch of offensive rebounds for us.
“Zach Saifer came in towards the end of the game, and he had a big block and rebound and then an offensive rebound off of one of our free throw misses, so it helped us regain possession and run some more clock.
“DJ Mischak hit a big three and made two big free throws late in the second half, and in the first half when we were having trouble scoring, Hunter Wan had two big threes and got to the rim a little bit. It was one of those games where every bucket was crucial because there just weren’t that many made field goals.”
Council Rock North (7-3, 2-2 SOL) will host Penn Wood in a non-league game on Saturday at 11 a.m., and Neshaminy (2-7, 0-4) will host Holy Ghost Prep on Monday in a non-league contest.
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