Upper Dublin & Cheltenham were winners in SOL boys’ basketball action Thursday. UD/Hatboro-Horsham photos provided courtesy of Ethan Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
SOL Liberty Division
UPPER DUBLIN 66, HATBORO-HORSHAM 55
The Flying Cardinals – with one division game remaining on their schedule – clinched at least a share of the SOL Liberty Division title with Thursday’s win, but the visiting Hatters didn’t go down quietly.
Upper Dublin, which led 15-13 after one, took a 34-32 lead into halftime. Brandon Altman gave the Cards a lift off the bench with nine points on three 3-pointers. Jaden Thompson had the hot hand for the Hatters,
scoring 12 points in the half. Shane Phillips had nine.
UD took a 49-45 lead into the fourth quarter and put the game away with some clutch foul shooting. Idris Rines, who had eight points in the quarter, was 6-for-6 at the free throw line in the frame.
Key players: Ryan Mulroy led a balanced UD attack with 14 points while Idris Rines had 13. Reilly McLaughlin also finished in double figures with 10.
For the Hatters, Jaden Thompson’s 16 points led four players in double figures. Sean McCue added 13 points, Shane Phillips had 12, and Ryan Smith contributed 10 points.
Upper Dublin coach Derek Brooks: “Hatboro did a great job offensively against us – they scored 32 points in the first half. We were not doing a good job of guarding our man and just staying in front. It was really as simple as that – just being able to guard our man.
“I don’t know if our guys were a little tired or if the intensity wasn’t where it needed to be. A lot of plays it was as simple as – they’re just driving and taking our guy off the dribble, and we’re getting beat.
“Fortunately, we had a very good offensive night. I thought we shared the ball well, I thought we executed pretty well. We had a good balance of outside and inside. We shot pretty well – we had eight 3s tonight.
“We started pressing a little bit more (in the second half), we ramped up the pressure and the intensity. I thought we did a better job.”
–Props: “Brandon Altman again coming off the bench gave us a big spark. I thought James Castronuovo was good off the bench. We had a good shooting night from Reilly (McLaughlin) and Kobe (Bazemore), and we needed it tonight. Kobe and Reilly also did a good job pressuring the ball for us.”
Tip of the hat: “Bill’s doing a good job with them. They’re well coached, they’re disciplined. They’ve definitely gotten better, so credit to them. They played well. It was not our best night, but I give Horsham credit for how they played tonight. They had four guys in double figures. They came to win tonight.”
Hatboro-Horsham coach Bill Coleman: “Happy our guys put up a fight today. We lost focus on our game plan for about three minutes, and our coaching staff just has to do a better job of getting them through that time, but for about 29 minutes, they were dialed in.
–Props: “JT (Jaden Thompson) started off strong and got us into the flow of the game from there. I really liked our ball movement and how we were hunting great shots versus just taking a shot to take one.”
Up next: Upper Dublin (20-1, 9-0 SOL) will travel to Plymouth Whitemarsh for a key division showdown Tuesday. Hatboro-Horsham (8-13, 2-7) will host Wissahickon on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 13-19-13-10 55
Upper Dublin 15-19-15-17 66
Hatboro-Horsham (55) – Ryan Smith 5 0-0 10; Sean McCue 6 1-2 13; Kenny Lutz 1 2-2 4; Jaden Thompson 5 4-4 16; Shane Phillips 4 1-1 12; TOTALS 21 8-9 55.
Upper Dublin (66) – Kobe Bazemore 4 0-0 8; Ryan Mulroy 4 4-6 14; Idris Rines 3 7-7 13; Justin Ragsdale 1 3-4 5; Reilly McLaughlin 3 2-4 10; James Castronuovo 3 0-0 7; Brandon Altman 3 0-0 9; TOTALS 21 16-21 66.
3-point goals: HH – Shane Phillips 3, Jaden Thompson 2; UD – Brandon Altman 3, Ryan Mulroy 2, Reilly McLaughlin 2, James Castronuovo.
Non-league
CHELTENHAM 63, WISSAHICKON 58
The Panthers needed a late-game comeback to defeat the visiting Trojans in Thursday’s non-league game.
The Trojans, who led by one after one quarter, took a 29-25 lead into halftime. Ben Schwartz’s 10 points led the way. Wissahickon still led 42-41 heading into the final quarter when the Panthers erupted for 22 points that included some clutch foul shooting.
Osei Johnson was 4-for-4 at the line and scored six points, and Kamal Mason buried a 3 and was 3-for-4 at the line for six points as well.
Key players: Osei Johnson’s 22 points – 11 in each half – led Cheltenham. Tyree Martin added 11 points – nine in the second half.
Ben Schwartz led the Trojans with 20 points, and Nico Vacchiano added 16 – 12 in the second half.
Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury: “We came back tonight, and we didn’t do that against Abington and Upper Moreland, which we should have. The kids played hard, and that’s the first step to us restoring the brand. It was good to get back to the winning side tonight. There’s a lot we still have to look at and do, but I’m just happy for the young men.
“Hats off to coach (Kyle) Wilson, one of the guys I always looked up to and had respect for. Win, lose or draw he’s always been the same with me, and I appreciate him.
“For our seniors, I’m happy they’ll be celebrated tomorrow, and we just need to gear up for what is hopefully a lengthy playoff stint.”
–Props: “Senior Chris Jones came in and gave us a much-needed spark. His energy is awesome and just his tenacity. Osei (Johnson) led us with 22, and Tyree Martin came in and had 11 points and seven rebounds.
“It was good to see the guys star in their roles that they’re best at and just continue to push and improve. I was just happy that they stayed together. We were down at least 12 or 13, so it was good to go possession by possession and just try to win the possessions. Ultimately, we were able to get the lead and just push forward.”
Next up: Cheltenham (13-6, 7-1 SOL) will host New Hope-Solebury Friday, and Wissahickon (8-11, 3-5) will host Quakertown Friday.
Wissahickon 12-17-13-16 58
Cheltenham 11-14-16-22 63
Wisssahickon (58) – Mason Stelzer 1 0-0 2; Michael Maltin 1 0-0 2; Chris Lee 2 0-0 6; Owen Haughey 3 0-0 8; Nico Vacchiano 7 1-2 16; Jack Weiss 1 0-0 2; Ben Schwartz 9 2-2 20; Delmar Taliaferro 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 25 3-4 58
Cheltenham (63) – Chris Harmon 1 0-0 3; Kamal Martin 1 3-4 6; Chris Jones 2 0-0 6; Xavier Willoughby 2 2-2 7; Osei Johnson 6 8-8 22; Salim Kelly 1 2-2 4; Justin Ezeukwu 1 2-2 4; Tyree Martin 5 1-3 11; TOTALS 19 18-21 63.
3-point goals: W – Chris Lee 2, Owen Haughey 2, Nico Vacchiano; C – Chris Jones 2, Chris Harmon, Kamal Martin, Xavier Willoughby, Osei Johnson 2.
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