Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action. Neshaminy/CR North photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL National Conference
PENNSBURY 68, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 65 (2 OT)
Gary Francis did it all for the Falcons, leading all scorers with 38 points while connecting on 13-of-23 shots from the field (56 percent). If that wasn’t enough, he also had a game-high 13 rebounds in a brilliant all-around effort.
“Gary is acting like the best player in the league,” coach Bill Coleman said. “He scored 38 points on 23 shots, which is fantastic, and he’s doing it in all different manners – on the low block, at the elbow, from three.
“When we need a basket, he’s the one we’re going to look for. He has matured so much over the last year, and it’s fantastic to watch.”
The Falcons needed every one of those points and rebounds to eke out a double overtime win over a Golden Hawk squad that refused to go away.
“We brought a 14-point lead into halftime, and our energy dropped big time,” Coleman said. “They made their first two shots of the second half, and it kind of slid downhill from there.
“For some reason, we became very hesitant on offense, and we were not locating (Jack) Rebholz early enough in their possessions.”
Rebholz turned in an impressive performance of his own, scoring 24 points and also pulling down five rebounds.
Behind 18 points from Francis, the Falcons opened up a 33-19 halftime lead. The tide turned in the second half. Sparked by seven points from Michael Stewart, the Golden Hawks outscored the Falcons 15-10 in the third quarter to make it a nine-point game heading into the final frame.
“In the beginning of the third quarter, we became hesitant, we became very tentative – I’m not quite sure why,” Coleman said. “We missed a few shots, and they didn’t.”
Rebholz scored seven points a fourth quarter that saw the Golden Hawks outscore the Falcons 20-11, setting the stage for overtime. Both teams scored six points in the first OT, and after falling behind by four (64-60) in the second, the Falcons rallied for the dramatic win.
“I’m very proud of them,” Coleman said. “I told them, ‘You’re making it tough, but you learned today that you have it in you to recover – giving up the lead and in the second overtime going down four points, and you were able to get back into it.’
“It’s definitely a credit to them as team.”
Also for the Falcons, Kyrie Miller and Reichard both had eight points. Collin Connor had six points, including a pair of free throws in the second overtime to seal the win.
For the Golden Hawks, Stewart scored 16 points, and Brian Schwartz had 10. Kevin McNamee and Luke Meakim both chipped in six.
Pennsbury (10-8, 8-1 SOL) will travel to Frankford for a non-league game on Friday, and Council Rock South (6-12, 5-5) will host Central Bucks South in a non-league game Friday.
Council Rock South 11-8-15-20-6-5 65
Pennsbury 16-17-10-11-6-8 68
Council Rock South (65) – Jack Rebholz 24, Luke Meakim 6, Michael Stewart 16, Kevin McNamee 6, Brian Schwartz 10, Connor Lewis 3.
Pennsbury (68) – Kyrie Miller 8, Collin Connor 6, Gary Francis 38, Amir Johnson 1, Xavier Barron 5, Charlie Nuschke 2, Reichard 8.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 58, NESHAMINY 31
The Indians celebrated Senior Night with a win that spotlighted the team’s seven seniors.
“It was a special night for our kids,” coach Jesse Krasna said. “We went into the fall only expecting to have four seniors, and we had a soccer player, Zach Saifer, try out, and we had a Division II lacrosse player, Beckett Thompson, who’s going to the University of Tampa, try out.
“Our manager, Griffin Popescu, we brought him on this year as well, and we went from thinking we would have four seniors to seven. All seven have been a big part of our season all season long. Tonight was really about them.”
Behind seven points from Hunter Wan and six from DJ Mischak, the Indians raced out to a 17-5 lead. They took a 26-16 lead into halftime and put the game out of reach with a 23-6 third quarter. Mischak buried a pair of three-pointers to lead the Indians in the quarter. Saifer had four, and according to Krasna, might have played his best game of the year.
“He was just an animal all over the backboards, getting every rebound, finishing inside,” Krasna said of Saifer. “Parker Ehlin only scored two points, but he looked like Magic Johnson. He was just picking the defense apart, finding his teammates for easy shots and layups. He just made his teammates look really good.
“James Duffy, who’s been kind of the heart and soul of our team, scored in double figures and had some really nice, tough finishes around the rim. Beckett Thompson got into the game, and he grabbed some rebounds and had some crafty finishes inside. He caught an alley oop pass and finished. It was just a really nice night.”
A highlight was the debut of Popescu in uniform.
“He showed what he could do too,” Krasna said. “Our fans and our boys really rallied around Griffin. He hit a three on his first shot of the second half and made a really nice spin move and made a fall-away jump shot as well. He rose to the challenge, and he really stepped up.
“It was just a great night for a really, really special group of kids. They have great character. They always put the team first. They don’t care who gets the credit, they just want to see each other succeed and they just want to win. We’re really lucky to have these seven seniors because our younger kids are learning from them, and they’re showing what you can do when you really work together as a team. As a coaching staff, we’re just really proud of them.”
Wan led a balanced Indians’ scoring attack while Duffy and Mischak both added 12. Saifer had seven points and Popescu and Bernie Parent both had six points.
For the Redskins, Brandon Belton led the way with 11 points. Kyle Saglimben had seven points, and Damon McGovern had six.
Council Rock North (14-5, 7-3 SOL) will travel to Perkiomen Valley on Saturday for a 3 p.m. non-league contest, and Neshaminy (3-15, 1-9) will be hosted by William Tennent on Friday.
Neshaminy 5-11-6-9 31
Council Rock North 17-9-23-9 58
Neshaminy (31) – Brandon Belton 11, Kyle Saglimben 7, Damon McGovern 6, Deval Glover 2, Angelo Gyamfi 2, Andrew Mays 3.
Council Rock North (58) – DJ Mischak 12, Beckett Thompson 6, Hunter Wan 13, Parker Ehlin 2, James Duffy 12, Griffin Popescu 6, Zach Saifer 7.
SOL Continental Conference
QUAKERTOWN 92, NORTH PENN 70
The Knights would have undoubtedly liked their chances if someone had told them they’d score 70 points in Thursday’s game against the visiting Panthers. On most nights, 70 points would be more than enough, but this wasn’t most nights. This was a night that belonged to the Panthers, and it would have taken 93 to beat them on Thursday.
“I don’t know if I can explain it,” Quakertown coach Mike DeCarolis said. “Everything tonight went our way, and when that happens, everything just seems so much easier.
“Last night, we had a really, really good practice. We had pretty high expectations for what we wanted this year, but even though we had kind of a tough stretch here towards the end of the season, the kids haven’t gotten down. We’re still pretty motivated to finish the season with as many wins as we can, so we were really excited tonight. We were hyping this week up as kind of a revenge tour because we lost to both North Penn and (Central Bucks) East, who we play tomorrow night.”
The revenge tour certainly got off to a good start. Freshman Bobby Rosenberger buried a pair of threes and scored 10 points in the first quarter, and sophomore James Duffy equaled that with 10 points of his own, including a three. At the end of one quarter, the Panthers led 27-12.
It turned out to be a preview of things to come for the Panthers, who connected on 13 three-pointers on the night.
“We came out with tons and tons of energy,” DeCarolis said. “We really wanted to win that game, and when we were that focused and the shots started falling right from the beginning, our energy was sky high, and we didn’t look back. Everything worked. It was amazing to watch.”
The Panthers outscored the Knights 22-19 in a high-scoring second quarter and took a 49-31 lead into halftime. Matt Catalano had a pair of threes in the second quarter and Casey also had six points.
In the third quarter, it was Matt Lucas with the hot hand. He buried three three-pointers and scored 11 of the Panthers’ 21 points as they extended their lead to 70-49. A 22-point fourth quarter put the finishing touches on the impressive win.
Casey led all scorers with 22 points, and Rosenberger added 19.
“For us to do well, it seems to come down to three guys – Eli Ortiz, Bobby Rosenberger and Jimmy Casey,” DeCarolis said. “They’re our three leading scorers.
“Eli is our senior captain who kind of keeps everything together, and Bobby and Jimmy – for as great as they’re playing, they’re young, and they’re still trying to figure some things out. It’s good to have someone like Eli to kind of help them through and be a guiding force for them.
“When those three are going – even though Eli didn’t have that many points, he guarded AJ Mitchell, who is an unbelievable player for North Penn. The first time we played them AJ had 22, and tonight he only had eight points. Eli was doing a great job of distributing the ball and playing hard defense. Bobby started the game hot from the outside. They started taking that away, so we focused on getting Jimmy the ball early to start the game. Once Jimmy starts scoring from the inside, it opens things up for us.”
Matt Lucas (15 points) and Matt Catalano (11) also came up big for the Panthers.
“It was good to see Matt Catalano and Matt Lucas really have nice games for us,” DeCarolis said. “They both really shot the ball well.
“When we have Jimmy (Casey) going from the inside and our shooters going from the outside, it’s pretty hard to stop us. I’m so happy for the kids. They really needed this.
“I took over as coach pretty much a week before the season started. It’s been two months of me being with the boys and them understanding what I’m looking for. We’re kind of seeing the turnaround right now. We played Allentown Central Catholic on Saturday, and they’re ranked in the top 15 in the state in 5A, and it was a three-point game until the last minute-and-a-half. Once I saw that and how tough we played, I said, ‘We might be able to make a run towards the end of the season.’”
Ortiz added eight points and Tyler Merwarth had six.
For the Knights, Chris Caputo’s 12 points led the way. Kolby Barrow added nine while Mitchell, Tali McIver and Joe Larkins each added eight. Matt Swanson, Mike Chaffee and Billy Coley chipped in with six each.
Quakertown (5-13, 3-6 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Friday, and North Penn (9-10, 4-5) will be on the road at Central Bucks West.
Quakertown 27-22-21-22 92
North Penn 12-19-19-21 70
Quakertown (92) – Matt Catalano 11, Tyler Merwarth 6, Matt Tuley 2, Jimmy Casey 22, Ben Kave 2, Nick Mestayer 2, Bobby Rosenberger 19, Matt Lucas 15, Luke Bauer 5, Eli Ortiz 8.
North Penn (70) – Tali McIver 8, AJ Mitchell 8, Kolby Barrow 9, Chris Caputo 12, Joe Larkins 8, Billy Coley 6, Mike Chaffee 6, Rob Carangi 2, Milind Pulugura 5, Matt Swanson 6.
SOL American Conference
CHELTENHAM 68, WISSAHICKON 60
Tim Myarick erupted for a career-high 26 points, which included six three-point baskets, to lead the visiting Panthers to the hard-fought win.
Eddie Fortescue earned game scoring honors with 30 points, and behind the senior’s hot hand, the Trojans opened up a 33-29 halftime lead. The Panthers erased that deficit with a 21-point third quarter to go into the final frame with a 50-49 advantage. They added to that lead with an 18-point fourth quarter.
Also for the Panthers, Jaelen McGlonne scored 12 points, and Kyin Healey had 10 points and three blocks. Mike McClain had six points, and Zahree Harrison dished off eight assists.
In addition to Fortescue’s big game, the Trojans received 11 points from Maurice Willis and 10 from Matt Compas. Harrison Williams added seven points.
Cheltenham (13-5, 10-1 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham on Friday, and Wissahickon (8-11, 4-7) will host Abington Friday.
Wissahickon 12-21-16-11 60
Cheltenham 19-10-21-18 68
Wissahickon (60) – Eddie Fortescue 30, Harrison Williams 7, Maurice Willis 11, Matt Compas 10, Carmen Ostroski 2.
Cheltenham (68) – Zahree Harrison 3, Jalen Mickens 4, Tim Myarick 26, Justin Moore 3, Brandon Scott 1, Jaelen McGlonne 12, Mike McClain 7, Sean Emfinger 2, Kyin Healey 10.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 59, UPPER DUBLIN 51
The Colonials bounced back from a loss to Abington 24 hours earlier to defeat the Flying Cardinals. Behind eight points from Naheem McLeod, the visitors opened up a 20-11 lead after one quarter. Although the points stopped coming with as much regularity in the second quarter, PW took a 28-22 lead into halftime.
Caelin Peters scored seven points in the third quarter, and the Colonials led 43-35 heading into the final quarter.
McLeod led the winners with 16 points, Peters finished with 15 – which included three three-pointers – and Kyree Pendleton had 14 points. Jaden Price added eight points.
For the Flying Cardinals, Corby Watkins led a balanced attack with 11 points. Mike Slivka added nine while Drew Stover, Jason Williams and Brian Klammer had eight each.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-7, 8-4 SOL) will host Malvern Prep in a non-league game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Upper Dublin (11-8, 5-7) will be on the road at Wissahickon on Tuesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 20-8-15-16 59
Upper Dublin 11-11-13-16 51
Plymouth Whitemarsh (59) – Jaden Price 8, Caelin Peters 15, Naheem McLeod 16, Kyree Pendleton 14, Mark Kalala 2, Rocco Mazzei 2, Jordan Evans 2.
Upper Dublin (51) – Drew Stover 8, Corby Watkins 11, Bazel Brady 4, Jason Williams 8, Brian Klammer 8, Mike Slivka 9, Micah Bootman 3.
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