Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Friday. Upper Dublin/Tennent photos courtesy of Jon Sklut, and PW/New Hope-Solebury photos courtesy of Michael Rice. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f382701921
Patriot/Colonial crossover
Bensalem 69, Central Bucks East 54
After a big holiday week, Bensalem returned to Suburban One League play with a crossover showdown with SOL Colonial leading CB East on Friday and used a dominant second and third quarters to pull away and post an impressive 69-54 win.
The Owls – who led 12-10 after one quarter – outscored their visitors 38-22 in the middle two frames.
“This was a huge win tonight,” said Owls coach Ron Morris. “It’s just an awesome, awesome win, a true team victory. Coming into the game, we knew it was going to be a battle. Erik (Henrysen) does a phenomenal job over there at CB East. We knew they had a lot of shooters.
“Credit to our kids. They just buckled down on defense. We worked on defense since our tournament. We weren’t too happy giving up all the points we did (80 and 88 in two tournament wins), so we really hammered home defense this week. Our guys did a great job.”
Jaidyn Moffitt scored a team-high 20 points and also grabbed 12 rebounds. Amir Drummond added 18, and Nate Cooper came up big with 14 points.
“Nate (Cooper,) Micah (White) and Noah (Morris) did a phenomenal job on (CB East standout Jake) Cummiskey,” Morris said. “We made him work for everything he got. He only had five going into the fourth quarter. He did score at the end, but we made him work for everything.
“We kind of held their shooters, I don’t want to say in check, but we were aware of them. Their kid, No. 5 (Justin DiRoberto), got a sniff and made two 3s in the second half, but we really locked in defensively.”
The Owls’ coach liked what he saw from his offense.
“We got a lot of contributions on offense from many different guys,” Morris said. “I tell them, roles change but goals don’t. If you told me that Noah and Antonio (Morris) would only have 11 points and we’d win by 15, I probably would be like, ‘What’s going on?’
“Antonio (Morris) was a warrior tonight. He’s been out of school for two-and-a-half days in bed, battling illness. He came out and scored the first seven points, and I think that set the tone for the team, ‘Okay, our senior leader, three-year starter did this, and we’ll take it from here.’
“Nate Cooper played a great offensive game. He has been a workhorse all year on the defensive end, and the last two games he has reaped the benefit of the ball going the hoop, which was great to watch. Jaidyn Moffitt had a great second half. Amir Drummond did a phenomenal job controlling the tempo, taking care of the basketball. He was 6-for-6 from the foul line in the fourth quarter, which was huge.
“Noah (Morris) only had four points. His shot wasn’t falling, but he did all the little things, made all the right passes, played great defense, rebounded. Micah White had a great defensive game. He gets his hand in there gets some steals, Amir Drummond got some steals.”
The Owls also received contributions from players off their bench.
“We talk about staying ready,” Morris said. “Angelo Semon, who’s a phenomenal shooter, was down a couple days in practice because he wasn’t making his shots. I told him to stay positive, ‘We need you.’
“We put him in the end of the first half. Our lead went from 12 to seven. We held for one, and Angelo hits a big 3 going into halftime to put us up 10, which is a huge momentum swing.
“We got more contributions from Jahmir Chatman, and Idris Savadago and Christian Lee gave us quality minutes, so we’re getting a lot of contributions from a lot of guys.
“They’re really buying into their roles, which allows us to do a lot of what we can do on the floor because we were battling foul trouble tonight as well. It was just an awesome team victory. Coming in, we knew they were going to be really good, they were going to be well prepared. We as a staff are thrilled. We’ll enjoy this tonight and get ready for the next one.”
Cummiskey scored 12 of his team-high 17 points for the Patriots in the fourth quarter.
Bensalem (10-1, 7-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks West on Tuesday.
CB East (54)
Jacob Cummiskey 6 3-4 17; Dhruv Mukund 3 2-2 9; Tyler Dandrea 2 1-2 5; Justin DiRoberto 3 2-2 10; Nolan Behm 4 2-3 10; Miles Demby 0 1-2 1. Totals 18 11-15 54.
Bensalem (69)
Antonio Morris 2 2-4 7; Noah Morris 1 2-2 4; Amir Drummond 5 8-10 18; Nate Cooper 5 1-2 14; Angelo Semon 1 0-0 3; Idris Savadago 1 0-0 2; Jaidyn Moffitt 8 4-6 20. Totals 23 15-24 69.
CB East 10 9 13 21 – 54
Bensalem 12 17 21 19 – 69
3-point goals: CBE-Cummiskey 2, DiRoberto 2, Mukund; B-Cooper 2, A. Morris, Semon
Central Bucks South 56, Council Rock North 39
With so much youth and varsity inexperience, the learning curve has been steep for the Titans, but starting with a 1-1 holiday tournament and then with Friday’s 17-point crossover wins, the team has started to turn the corner a little bit.
“We had a good holiday tournament,” said CB South coach Louie Ditri. “We went 1-1, but I thought the kids played well and that kind of continued tonight.
“Our defensive effort was excellent, and offensively we did well. We ran our plays well. We forced a couple of shots, but for the most part we ran our offense better.
“Defensively, we’re coming together. We’re a younger team, but we’re getting better every day, every practice.”
Offensively, Dylan Valentine scored 14 points, Danny Gies had 11 and Kyle Moyer 10 to lead CB South.
“Dylan Valentine is playing really well,” Ditri said. “He’s our only returning player that played a lot last year. He got off to a slow start this year, but the last four games, he’s really coming on for us.
“Danny Gies is playing well. He was on the football team, so it’s taken him a few weeks to get back, because they went on a long run.”
Oliver Schaefer had 17 for CR North, while Grady Burt added 11.
Central Bucks South (4-8, 2-5 SOL) will host Council Rock South Tuesday in a crossover game.
Council Rock North (4-8, 2-5 SOL) will be on the road at North Penn Tuesday.
CR North (39)
Grady Burt 11, Oliver Schaefer 17, Tyler Rodowicz 4, Riley Haggerty 7
CB South (56)
Dylan Valentine 14, Danny Gies 11, Kyle Moyer 10, Ben Harrison 9, Brett Barrett 7, Cole DiEmidio 3, Alex Shahin 2
Souderton 61, Harry S Truman 37
Chanse Salone buried a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points in a 24-point first quarter. His 18 points led the Indians, who got out to a quick start on their way to a decisive crossover victory on Friday night.
“Chanse Salone was a leader in every way today,” coach Okoteh Sackitey said. “It went through him. His defense was huge. He had a handful of big steals that turned into offense for us, and he knocked down some shots early to get us going. It was a big performance from him when we needed it most.”
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for Souderton.
“It felt good to get back on the right track,” said Sackitey. “It was much needed. They played hard, they earned it. They just played good basketball.
“I think this will do some good for our confidence, and I hope it carries over into our next game and the rest of the season. We’re excited for the back half of the season for our next 10 games. We’re hungry, and this was a good start.”
Danny Dyches added 13 points for the Indians, while Bill Sackor had 12 points.
“It was a total team effort, and everyone came ready to play,” Sackitey said. “Chris Lewis and Thaddeus Harter came off the bench ready to go when their name was called. Chris had a beautiful pass to Thad for a nice bucket in the fourth to help secure the win.”
Truman was led by Abdul Diallo’s 12 points.
Souderton (6-6, 4-3 SOL) will travel to Pennsbury for a crossover game on Tuesday.
Harry S Truman (1-8, 0-7 SOL) will host Central Bucks East Tuesday.
Truman (37)
Jaden Luchansky 4 0-0 10; Brandon Armond 2 0-0 4; Davae Vaughn 1 0-0 2; Zymere Dixon 2 0-0 5; Aaron Nathan 2 0-0 4; Abdul Diallo 5 2-5 12. Totals 16 2-5 37.
Souderton (61)
Chanse Salone 7 1-2 18; Trey Bui 1 0-0 2; Bill Sackor 5 0-1 12; Clinton Kikonjo 3 0-0 7; Nolan Watkins 2 3-3 7; Danny Dyches 6 1-2 13; Thaddeus Harter 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 5-8 61.
Truman 9 15 7 6 – 37
Souderton 24 14 11 12- 61
3-point goals: HST-Luchansky 2, Dixon; S-Salone 3, Sackor 2, Kikonjo
North Penn 73, Neshaminy 67 (2 OT)
A four-game losing streak and then an early double-digit deficit had North Penn reeling early, but the Knights battled back and came alive offensively to outlast Neshaminy in double overtime, 73-67.
“This was huge,” said Knights coach John Conrad. “I think we were down 12 or 13 in the first quarter, so we had an opportunity to pack it in, but give the kids credit. They kept grinding and stayed tough and pulled it out at the very end.
“It was just a really good high school basketball game, a good atmosphere. We were just very fortunate to come out on the right side. We definitely had a tough stretch. It doesn’t get easier playing these crossovers, but I hope this will help us continue to play hard and to play just a little bit tougher. Especially if we face a little adversity, we’ve got to battle through it.”
Ahmaar Godhania had six 3-pointers and a career-high 26 points to lead North Penn.
“He got a hot hand, and the guys were able to find him in his spots,” Conrad said. “He shot really well. He hit a 3 at the end of regulation to force overtime, and he hit a 3 at the end of the first overtime to force the second one.”
Norm Gee added 13 – nine in the pivotal third quarter,Corey Meade contributed 12 points and Lee Hammond had nine.
“Norm started to assert himself a little bit,” Conrad said of Gee. “It’s obvious to say this, but that’s been our struggle. When we play well, we’ve been able to get three contributors, and when we struggle, it’s been one or two. I know that sounds obvious, but that’s the way it has been for us.
“Tonight it was Ahmar (Godhania), it was Norm (Gee), Lee (Hammond) had nine and Corey (Meade) had 12.”
North Penn was 23-for-27 from the foul line.
“We finally shot free throws well, and that was obviously important for us,” Conrad said.
Emeer Coombs and Guy Horton had 19 points each for Neshaminy, while Nate Townsend
added 17.
North Penn (5-7, 4-3 SOL) will host Council Rock North in a crossover game Tuesday.
Neshaminy (7-5, 4-3 SOL) will host Pennridge on Tuesday.
Neshaminy (67)
Emeer Coombs 6 0-2 19; Dan Raivitch 1 0-0 2; Max Currie 3 2-2 8; Guy Horton 8 1-2 19; Logan Gale 1 0-0 2; Nate Townsend 7 3-9 17. Totals 28 6-13 67.
North Penn (73)
Ahmaar Godhania 8 4-4 26; Lee Hammond 1 6-8 9; Norm Gee 5 2-2 13; Aiden Atkinson 2 2-2 6; Corey Meade 3 6-7 12; Gabe Altemus 0 1-2 1; Tre Simpson 2 2-2 6. Totals 21 23-27 73.
Neshaminy 23 14 12 11 5 2 – 67
North Penn 10 22 17 11 5 8 – 73
3-point goals: N-Coombs 3, Horton 2; NP-Godhania 6, Hammond, Gee
Pennsbury 58, Pennridge 43
Danny Cohen and Connor Taddei combined for seven 3-pointers and 32 points, as Pennsbury started quickly and then pulled away in the second half for the 15-point win over the injury-laden Rams in crossover play Friday.
“It was nice to get back in league play with a win coming off the holidays,” said Falcons coach Wes Emme. “We had a great week of competitive practice to prepare. (Pennridge’s) Dean Behrens is one of the better coaches and one of the good guys in the league, we knew they would be prepared and play tough in spite of some unfortunate injury circumstances.”
The Falcons – sparked by nine points on three Taddei 3s – led 22-16 after one quarter, and after a defensive second quarter, it was 27-18 at halftime. They kept the Rams at bay for most of the second half and eventually put the game away in the fourth.
Mike Roccograndi added 13 points and Simon Dlugi nine.
“I thought Simon Dlugi had another impactful performance protecting and finishing around the rim,” Emme said. “The scoring balance on the perimeter from Danny Cohen, Mike Roccograndi and then the gravity that Connor Taddei’s shooting made other guys better tonight.”
Freshman Ryan Schwind led Pennridge with 12 points, while Rownan Smith and Charlie Rising added nine points each.
Pennsbury (7-5, 4-3 SOL) will host Souderton on Tuesday in a crossover game.
Pennridge (3-9, 2-5 SOL) will travel to Perkiomen Valley for a non-league game Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Pennsbury (58)
Mike Roccograndi 4 4-4 13; Danny Cohen 6 2-4 18; Grayson Gozum 1 0-0 2; Connor Taddei 5 0-0 14; Mitch Primola 0 2-2 2; Simon Dlugi 3 3-4 9. Totals 19 11-14 58.
Pennridge (43)
Rownan Smith 3 2-4 9; Cole Gehlert 2 0-0 5; Dylan Horton 2 0-0 4; Ryan Schwind 3 4-6 12; Charlie Rising 5 0-0 9; Jacob Barbardoro 1 1-2 3; Connor Murray 1 0-0 2. Totals 16 7-12 43.
Pennsbury 22 5 18 13 – 58
Pennridge 16 2 19 8 – 43
3-point goals: Pnb-Taddei 4, Cohen 3, Roccograndi; Pnr- Schwind 2, Gehlert, Rising.
Liberty/Freedom crossover
Lower Moreland 42, Hatboro-Horsham 37
Defense was the name of the game, as Lower Moreland came away with the five-point crossover win over H-H on Friday.
“We tried to start out aggressively and fast on defense,” said LM coach Dicky Rhoads. “We did okay on defense, but offensively, we’re struggling right now, our half-court offense.”
Carl Barnette led the Lions with 14 points, including eight in the second half and 4-for-4 from the line in the fourth quarter to help put the game away.
John Kroll added 12 points.
“Carl Barnette stepped up,” Rhoads said. “That helped us out big time. Kroll struggled a little bit early. We’re still finding out our identity the offensive side, but we’re getting that winning mentality and finding ways to win.”
Winning games in the crossover part of its schedule against larger schools from the SOL Liberty is always a plus for the Lions.
“It’s a huge factor for us,” Rhoads said. “We had 25 kids come out for tryouts – Abington had 102 kids come out for tryouts. We’re going up against that, but we’re trying to do what we’ve been doing for several years. We’ve always been the small school, always undersized, but we’re gritty.
“We don’t care who we play. That’s the type of team we have. It’s not easy, they have a lot more depth on the bench and the biggest difference is they’re all able to play all year round. We struggle with that.”
Hatboro-Horsham was led by Kenny Lutz, who scored 14 points.
“I thought we had it,” said Hatters coach Josh Meyer, who took over recently for Rick Fedele, who left the team for personal reasons. “It was tough, but it was a hard-fought battle.
“I told them, they’ve been on one of the wildest roller coasters you can imagine. We talked about putting things into perspective and understanding what they’ve been through and where we’re going. So, we looked at past, present and future. I said, ‘Let’s focus on the present right now, be here in the moment.’”
Friday, the Hatters had a strong night on the defensive end.
“We went and scouted Lower Moreland the other day,” Meyer said. “We saw them play Rock North, and they kept firing away and started hitting 3s.
“We held them to two 3s the whole game. Carl Barnette had two 3s, and really, that was it., For the amount of 3s they’ve been getting in some other games, I thought our defense stepped up and did a number on that perimeter game.”
Lower Moreland (6-6, 3-5 SOL) will host Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday in a crossover game.
Hatboro-Horsham (3-7, 0-6 SOL) will be on the road at Springfield Twp on Tuesday.
Lower Moreland (42)
Carl Barnette 14, Mason Tammaro 5, Kevin Hegedus 2, John Kroll 12, Fellah 8.
Hatboro-Horsham (37)
Ryan Smith 4, Brad Davis 4, McCue 4, Kenny Lutz 14, Jaden Thompson 2, Shane Phillips 9
Lower Moreland 9 6 15 11 – 42
Hatboro-Horsham 10 10 8 9 – 37
Upper Dublin 70, William Tennent 48
Brady Fogle hit five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 20 points, as Upper Dublin went on the road and routed William Tennent
for an impressive crossover win on Friday.
Ryan Mulroy had 11 points.
Tied at 16 after one quarter, the Flying Cardinals outscored Tennent 25-9 in the second quarter and never looked back. After a slow first quarter, Fogle and Mulroy scored combined for 18 points in the second quarter. Fogle had nine points on three 3s in the frame.
Kirby Mooney led the Panthers with 19 points, while Imad Abunima added 11 points.
Upper Dublin (10-3, 7-1 SOL) will host Holy Ghost Prep in a non-league game Tuesday.
William Tennent (7-5, 5-3 SOL) will travel to Quakertown for a crossover game Tuesday.
Upper Dublin (70)
Kobe Bazemore 4; Chris Kohlbrenner 5; Brady Fogle 20; Ryan Mulroy 11; Idris Rines 8; Noah Cohen 6; Brandon Altman 5; James Castronuevo 8, Bryce Kukla 1 0-0 3.
Tennent (48)
Kirby Mooney 19, Chris D’Ambra 7, Sean Devine 2, Luke Torok 3, Imad Abunima 11; Vince Salprizio 3, Tre Stracuzzi 3.
Upper Dublin 16 25 21 8 – 70
William Tennent 16 9 14 9 – 48
3-point goals: UD-Fogle 5, Cohen 2, Kohlbrenner, Mulroy, Castromiento, Kukla
Upper Moreland 67, Wissahickon 61
Halftime adjustments were needed, and Upper Moreland did that and turned it up a notch defensively to pull out a key crossover win over Wissahickon on Friday night.
The Golden Bears trailed for much of the first half, but got back into the game defensively in the third and then outscored the Trojans 25-14 in the fourth quarter.
“Wiss did a nice job out of the gate,” said UM coach Dan Heiland. “They got out to a 16-11 lead in the first quarter. They were up eight at halftime.
“In the third quarter, we had a nice stint on defense, limited them to only 11 points. We were down five at the end of the quarter, but in the fourth quarter, every ball became ours. We were rebounding more aggressively.”
Sean Murphy led the Bears with 16 points, while Alex Best had 13, Brayden Martin 11 and Colson Campbell nine points.
UM was also 21-for-29 from the free throw line, compared to 8-for-17 for Wissahickson.
“To get 20-plus points from the free throw line is obviously huge,” Heiland said. “It’s a testament to our guys being able to get to the basket, drawing enough contact and getting the calls.
“Defensive tempo, rebounding and execution are the three things that led us tonight. Sean Murphy had 16, Alex Best 13 and Brayden Martin 11, and Colson and Nate Best did a nice job controlling the pace of tempo and distributing it to our shooters.
“Defensively, we had strong bench performances from Jimmy Perce, a senior and Larry Hughes, a sophomore. They caused havoc out there. They came off the bench and did all the little things. They brought energy off the bench.”
Brayden Ryan and Dom Vacchiano had 20 points each for the Trojans. Ryan scored eight points, which included two 3s, in the Trojans’ 20-point second quarter. Vacchiano had six points on two 3s in the quarter.
“It was a hard-fought battle,” Wiss coach Kyle Wilson said. “(We) led for three quarters but could not close it out down the stretch
Upper Moreland (8-5, 5-3 SOL) is off until next Friday when the Golden Bears will travel to Quakertown for a crossover game.
Wissahickon (3-8, 3-4 SOL) will host Central in a non-league game on Saturday at 12:30 p.m.
Upper Moreland (67)
Nate Best 2 0-1 4; Alex Best 3 7-9 13; Colson Campbell 3 2-4 9; Anthony Carson 1 0-0 2; Jimmy Perce 1 4-4 6; Sean Murphy 5 4-7 16; Brayden Martin 4 1-2 11; Larry Hughes 2 2-2 6. Totals 21 21-29 67.
Wissahickon (61)
Brayden Ryan 7 2-2 20; Nico Vacchiano 2 3-7 7; Caj Jones 1 1-4 4; Gabe Lassiter 0 0-2 0; Josh Palutis 5 0-0 10; Dom Vacchiano 7 2-2 20. Totals 22 8-17 61.
Upper Moreland 11 17 14 25 – 67
Wissahickon 16 20 11 14 – 61
3-point goals: UM-Martin 2, Murphy 2; W-Ryan 4, D. Vacchiano 4, Jones
Quakertown 67, Springfield Twp 38
A slow start didn’t deter Quakertown Friday night, as it ended up scoring 21 points in the first quarter and blew out Springfield in a crossover game.
“This was a nice recovery game for us,” said Quakertown coach Tony DaCosta. “All the things we wanted to do Wednesday night (against CB West), we did tonight, in terms of defense, offense and getting everybody on the same page.
“I thought we defended well. I thought we defended well Wednesday night, but we struggled offensively. In Suburban One basketball, it’s tough to win when you’re not putting up the points.”
Friday, Miles Longacre finished with a game-high 21 points for the Panthers, 12 of which came in the first quarter. Sam Wilkin also was in double figures with 11 points. Overall, 11 different players scored in the game for Quakertown.
“We were actually down 5-0, because we missed some shots,” DaCosta said. “We got our legs underneath us, got in transition and made things easier for us.
“Give credit to (Springfield). They did a nice job on their end of the floor, but as the game wore on, we were able to find ourselves.”
Bob Hartman had 13 points to lead Springfield. Aiden Hood added seven points and seven rebounds, and Will McLaughlin had six points, five assists and four steals.
Quakertown (7-6, 3-4 SOL) will host William Tennent in a crossover game on Tuesday.
Springfield Twp (1-8, 1-6 SOL) will host Science Leadership Academy in a non-league game Monday.
Quakertown (67)
Sam Wilkin 4 2-2 11; Kyle Rosenberger 1 0-0 2; Miles Longacre 7 6-8 21; Anthony Callan 3 0-0 7; Ethan Tomlinson 2 0-0 5; Tanner Clancy 2 0-0 5; Jameson Sykes 2 1-1 5; Gavin Mushrush 1 0-0 2; Colin Ficco 1 0-0 2; R.J. Ficco 1 0-0 2; Matt Thomas 2 0-0 5. Totals 26 9-11 67.
Springfield (38)
Bob Hartman 5 1-2 13; Spearman 0 2-2 2; Aiden Hood 1 5-6 7; Brandon Thompson 1 0-0 2; Will McLaughlin 1 3-4 5; Harry Bates 0 1-2 1; Will Cooney 1 0-0 3; Julian Ciasullo 2 1-1 5. Totals 11 13-17 38
Quakertown 21 15 20 11 – 67
Springfield 11 5 13 9 – 38
3-point goals: Q-Wilkin, Longacre, Callan, Tomlinson, Clancy, Thomas; S-Hartman 2, Cooney
Plymouth Whitemarsh 78, New Hope-Solebury 33
Jaden Colzie – who was recognized prior to the game for surpassing the 1,000-point milestone – scored 12 first-quarter points and
finished with a team-high 24 points as Plymouth Whitemarsh jumped ahead early and never looked back in this one.
Mani Sajid had a big game for PW too, with 22 points. Josh Harris added nine points.
Liam Ross scored a team-high 12 points for New Hope, 10 of which came in the second half. The Lions were held to just four points in the fourth quarter.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (7-4, 5-2 SOL) will travel to Lower Moreland on Tuesday for a crossover game.
New Hope-Solebury (0-8, 0-6 SOL) will be on the road at Abington on Tuesday.
New Hope (33)
Heath Miller 2 0-0 4; John Nettles 3 0-0 6; Rocco Massimino 3 2-3 8; Liam Ross 4 4-9 12; Dylan Fitzgerald 1 1-1 3. Totals 13 7-13 33.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (78)
Jaden Colzie 9 2-2 24; Ben Marsico 1 0-0 3; Jack Hayes 1 0-2 2; Mani Sajid 9 2-4 22; Michael Pereira 1 1-2 3; Kyle Gallagher 1 0-0 3; Josh DeJesus 1 0-0 2; Josh Harris 4 0-0 9; Caleb Bridgeman 2 2-2 6; Jah Pendergrass-Sayles 2 0-0 4. Totals 33 5-12 78.
New Hope 8 12 9 4 – 33
PW 18 18 26 16 – 78
3-point goals: PW-Colzie 4, Marsico, Sajid 2, Gallagher, Harris
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