In four SOL Patriot/Colonial crossover games, the Patriot Division earned a clean sweep. Check out all the recaps. CR South/CB East photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL CROSSOVER PATRIOT/COLONIAL
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 68, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 59
In a crossover game against the division-leading Patriots, the Golden Hawks trailed by five after one quarter but rallied to go on top 29-27 at halftime and then outscored their visitors in each of the final three quarters to notch the big win. East brought an impressive 8-1 record into Thursday’s contest.
“This win is huge,” Rock South coach Andrew Rogers said. “CB East is playing really, really well. They have a good program, they’re super well coached, so this was a good one for us. Our guys really fought hard tonight, and it paid off.”
Gavin Holloran and Shane Dawson were the offensive catalysts, scoring 22 and 20 points respectively. Holloran also had six assists while Dawson led the Golden Hawks under the boards with 10 rebounds to complete an impressive double-double.
“We were really patient on offense, and with being patient, they were able to pick their times to be aggressive within the scheme of what we were trying to do, and they really capitalized off of that,” Rogers said. “Once we were able to get a lead, they were able to keep us in offense, and that was able to give us really good spacing, so they were able to get to the rim and capitalize.”
The Golden Hawks turned a two-point halftime lead into a 44-38 lead after three quarters. Dawson scored 10 of his team’s 15 points in the third quarter. The foul line was the Golden Hawks’ ally in the fourth quarter, and no one was more effective than Holloran, who buried 13 of 14 attempts and scored 15 points in a quarter that saw the Hawks outscore the Patriots 24-21.
“Gavin (Holloran) did a really good job of knocking down foul shots,” Rogers said. “Anthony Burns and Gavin did a really good job of handling the pressure and keeping us in offense as they were trying to apply more pressure towards the end.”
Also for the Golden Hawks, Matt Robinson and Zach Schwartz both added eight points. Robinson also had three assists. Anthony Burns contributed five points, six rebounds and three assists. Chase Littig chipped in five points off the bench.
“Chase came in and gave us a big boost with his energy, and he hit a couple of timely baskets and played really well defensively,” Rogers said.
Rock South took 32 trips to the foul line – 24 in the final quarter. They connected on 23 of 32 for the game.
“This was a very good win for us,” Rogers said. “We’ve been really fighting along, and our kids are doing a tremendous job. We feel like we’re continuing to get better and better, and it’s good to see it pay off because they’ve been working really hard.
“Obviously, playing a team like CB East – they have all five guys on the floor that are skilled. They run a really good offense, so it was also a challenge for us defensively to lock in. It was really good for us to put a full four quarters together. We’ve shown a lot of really good things thus far, but I thought tonight we did a really good job of just being consistent throughout.”
The Golden Hawks’ first year coach lauded the play of Chase Littig off the bench.
For the Patriots, Liam Cummisky led the way with 19 points, which included five 3-pointers. He scored 11 of his points in the fourth quarter. Jacob Cummiskey and Tariq Toney-Bailey both added 11 points with Jacob Cummisky scoring eight of his points in the final quarter. Aidan Weaver had 10 points, and Brett Young, six points on a pair of 3s.
Council Rock South (5-5, 2-4 SOL) will host Holy Ghost Prep in a non-league game on Monday while Central Bucks East (8-2, 4-2 SOL) will be on the road at Bensalem on Tuesday.
Central Bucks East 18-9-11-21 59
Council Rock South 13-16-15-24 68
Central Bucks East (59) – Tyriq Toney-Baley 4 2-3 11; Jacob Cummiskey 5 1-1 11; Liam Cummiskey 7 0-0 19; Brett young 2 0-0 6; Nick Rivera 1 0-0 2; Aidan Weaver 4 2-2 10; TOTALS 23 5-6 59.
Council Rock South (68) – Gavin Holloran 4 13-14 22; Anthony Burns 2 1-2 5; Shane Dawson 7 4-8 20; Matt Robinson 3 0-0 8; Zach Schwartz 2 4-6 8; Chase Littig 2 1-2 5; TOTALS 20 23-32 68.
3-point goals: CBE – Liam Cummiskey 5, Brett Young 2, Tyriq Toney-Bailey; CRS – Shane Dawson 2, Matt Robinson 2, Gavin Holloran.
PENNSBURY 58, NORTH PENN 53
It had been a long time between games – 15 days to be exact, and the Falcons – shut down for COVID protocols – got off a slow start, falling behind by six after one quarter before rallying to earn the hard fought come-from-behind win.
“We haven’t played since the 20th of December and we haven’t practiced,” Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. “We’ve had two days of practice. We were shut down since the 21st, so a lot of things were going on with this one. I was just hoping we would be able to hold on in the first quarter, find our game legs and then hopefully get into the game flow as it went on.
“We just completely forgot how to defend in the first quarter. We tightened it up in the second and held them to nine points. It was back and forth in the third. We clearly just did not have our legs at all game-wise. That was clear with Evan (McNeely) and a few others from the free throw line, but it is what it is. Everyone is dealing with those issues, and we were able to grind it out and pick up a W against a good North Penn team.”
The Falcons, who trailed 19-13 after one frame, outscored the visiting Knights 15-9 in the second quarter and 45-34 over the final three quarters.
“We were able to contain some guys in the second quarter and the second half, and that limited their dribble penetration,” Coleman said. “They’re very good at driving and kicking to their shooters, and we were able to limit that.
“We also were able to get in the paint a lot and take advantage of some of the size advantages we had with our guards. It was a good game.”
Ty Kocak’s 17-point effort led the Falcons, and Aidan McCormack added 15 and finished with an impressive double-double. The 6-2 senior guard controlled play under the basket, pulling down 16 rebounds in a contest that saw the Falcons hold a 40-30 edge on the boards.
“He’s a very athletic kid,” Coleman said of McCormack, who also had three assists, two steals and one block. “If someone doesn’t get a body on him, he has a lot of bounce, and it’s not just the first bounce. He’s got a second, third and fourth bounce in his legs that a lot of people can’t match. He was spectacular on the boards tonight.
“I challenged him on that. Last year, he lived on the boards both offensively and defensively, made a living off the boards. He kind of went away from that a little bit, but I got on him the last two days of practice. It was good for him to have 16 boards.”
Justin Hedges was the third Pennsbury player in double figures with 11. Connor Taddei added nine points. Evan McNeely, who came into the game averaging 19 points a game, was held to just three points, but he still made his presence felt, contributing nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
For the Knights, Ryan Deininger’s 16 points led the way. He also had a team high nine rebounds. Milind Pulugura added 12 points, which included a pair of 3s. Norman Gee had eight points. Joe Larkins added six rebounds but was held to just three points.
“North Penn has very good pieces – they have Larkins and Gee and Sgro, and they definitely can go,” Coleman said. “They want to get out in transition, and we were able to limit that after the first quarter. That’s all the first quarter was – transition points.
“And they have a good mix of size. They have Pulugura, and Deininger gave us a little problem tonight. They have a good balance When they get going downhill and getting into the paint and kicking out to their shooters, they’re tough to match up with.”
Pennsbury (4-1, 3-1 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Tuesday, and North Penn (5-5, 3-3) will host Neshaminy on Tuesday.
North Penn 19-9-15-10 53
Pennsbury 13-15-14-16 58
North Penn (53) – Mario Sgro 1 0-0 3; Terhan Wright 2 0-0 5; Norman Gee 3 0-0 8; Ryan Zeltt 3 0-1 6; Joe Larkins 1 1-2 3; Ryan Deininger 8 0-2 16; Milind Pulugura 5 0-0 12; TOTALS 23 1-5 53.
Pennsbury (58) – Justin Hedges 4 3-5 11; Aidan McCormack 5 5-8 15; Chris Terry 1 0-0 3; Connor Taddei 3 2-2 9; Evan McNeely 1 1-5 3; Ty Kocak 7 1-2 17; TOTALS 21 12-22 58.
3-point goals: NP – Norman Gee 2, Milind Pulugura 2, Mario Sgro, Terhan Wright; Pennsbury – Ty Kocak 2, Chris Terry, Connor Taddei.
BENSALEM 67, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 53
Sparked by the 21-point effort of senior Jeremy Rodriguez, the Owls won for the seventh time in eight games in league play, scoring early and often on their way to the decisive win in their first crossover game of the season.
“They’re big games, and we know coming into it that we’re going against teams that are really good,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “Jason (Campbell) does an awesome job with that program. They have a lot of returning guys, and we knew we had to start fast to have a chance.
“We played a complete game defensively, which led to a lot of easy offense. It was a complete team game. “
The visiting Owls established the tone for the game in the first quarter, outscoring the Titans 18-9. They added to that lead with a 20-point second quarter and took a commanding 38-21 lead into halftime.
“We came in, we were focused, we knew CB South was a good team, and the guys were really locked in, and we got after it on the defensive end,” Morris said. “We got some early stops, we made them work, we were able to get out in transition, and our speed definitely helped us tonight. It got them in some foul trouble, and we were hitting shots as well.
“Jeremy Rodriguez started fast, he had some early buckets Tra (Edwards) came in and gave us a real nice spark off the bench.
“Aaron (Sanders) was solid. Allen (Myers) was awesome on defense and did a real good job on their big guy (Michael Farley). The kid is really good, and Allen made him work really hard. He also got a lot of rebounds.”
The Owls added to their lead in the third quarter and took a 57-34 lead into the final quarter.
In addition to Rodriguez, Aaron Sanders added 15 points and Tra Edwards had 12. Jake DeLange contributed seven points.
“Anybody can step up,” Morris said. “Tonight, Jeremy was the guy, but Tra (Edwards) scored, Aaron (Sanders) scored. “Antonio (Morris) sparked us, he got some nice offensive rebounds, and he had a nice layup. Jack Wineburg continues to do a little of everything.
“Jake DeLange again had a nice start to the game. He’s getting back in the groove, and he played well defensively. Eric Gonzalez was able to handle their pressure up top. They switched from man to zone, and we were able to handle their pressure really well tonight. It was just a very complete team win.”
For the Titans, Joseph Rooney’s 13 points led the way. Brady Moore added nine while Farley and Aidan Van Zanten both had six.
Bensalem (7-2, 5-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday, and Central Bucks South (5-4, 4-2) will travel to William Tennent for a non-league game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Bensalem 18-20-19-10 67
Central Bucks South 9-12-13-19 53
Bensalem (67) – Jeremy Rodriguez 21, Aaron Sanders 15, Tra Edwards 12, Jake DeLange 7, Antonio Morris 5, Allen Myers 4, Jack Wineburg 2, Nikita Schafer 1.
Central Bucks South (53) – Joseph Rooney 13, Brady Moore 9, Michael Farley 6, Aidan Van Zanten 6, Jesse Rotunno 5, Tyler Meinel 5, Sean Rieber 4, Bryan Delara 3, Flynn Carroll 2.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 54, SOUDERTON 27
The visiting Indians turned in a relentless defensive effort, limiting Souderton to just eight first-half points while opening up a 31-8 halftime lead on their way to the convincing crossover win.
“We came in with a really good plan on how to attack them on the offensive side and how to defend their sets on offense,” said assistant coach Tyler Sessa Reeves, who was filling in for Jesse Krasna. “The boys bought in to what we were trying to do and executed.
“We emphasize playing really hard and bringing a lot of energy, and that’s exactly how the boys started the game. Souderton is a very disciplined team and run their sets really well, so we knew we had to bring the energy especially at their place. Everybody played the role really well, and we were able to make free throws down the stretch and finish strong. Really proud of the boys and their effort tonight.”
Sparked by the hot hand of Bernie Parent, the Indians raced out of the gate to a 17-6 lead after one quarter. Parent buried a pair of 3s and scored 10 of his game-high 16 points in the quarter. The Indians outscored their hosts 14-2 in the second quarter with Logan Saifer accounting for seven of those points.
Rock North put an exclamation point on the win, burying 11 of 12 shots from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Jack Blum led the way, connecting on 7 of 8.
In addition to Parent, Blum and Saifer both added nine points while Adam Mahtat had eight.
Krasna, who watched the game livestream, lauded his team’s defensive effort.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team effort,” the Indians’ coach said. “Adam Mahtat held an all-league forward to zero points. Ryan Burkett, Bernie Parent, Logan Saifer and Jack Blum defended the perimeter flawlessly.
“Shane Anhalt and Julian Matera came off the bench and handled pressure. Everyone who stepped on the floor played with heart and confidence and we got great shots because we played together offensively. We are really fortunate to have so many hardworking and selfless players in our program and watching from afar was a good reminder of that.”
Krasna also tipped his hat to his assistants, who filled in for him in his absence.
“Our assistant coaches have invested a lot of time and energy into preparing for the season over the last nine months,” the Indians’ head coach said. “Kevin Gallagher, Andy Krasna, Chris Clark, Rob Sikora and Doc Burton have gotten our boys ready to play all season alongside tonight’s head coach Tyler Sessa Reeves.
“Tyler is 22 years old, he just graduated from West Chester in December, and he managed to be a full-time student and a dedicated coach for us the last two years. He has been so committed to helping our program grow year round, and the boys played really hard for him tonight. To coach your first ever high school game midseason, without much warning, when the game is moved up a day earlier than expected — that’s not an easy spot to be in and he handled being thrown into the fire with so much poise that it definitely rubbed off on our kids.”
Jay Bonnet’s six points on two 3-pointers led the Indians, who connected on seven 3s but had just four two-point baskets.
Council Rock North (8-2, 4-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks South on Tuesday, and Souderton (8-3, 3-3) will be on the road at Harry S Truman.
Council Rock North 17-14-6-17 54
Souderton 6-2-11-8 27
Council Rock North (54) – Matt Henricksen 1 0-0 2; Oliver Schaefer 0 2-2 2; Shane Anhalt 2 0-0 4; Bernie Parent 5 3-4 16; Adam Mahtat 4 0-0 8; Jack Blum 1 7-8 9; Ryan Burkett 1 2-2 4; Logan Saifer 2 5-8 9; TOTALS 16 19-24 54.
Souderton (27) – Jay Bonnet 2 0-0 6; Shaun Purvy 1 0-3 3; Chris Towsen 2 0-0 5; James Blair 1 0-0 3; Levi John 2 0-0 5; Chase Scheuren 1 0-0 2; Zimmerman 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 10 0-3 27.
3-point goals: CRN – Bernie Parent 3; Souderton – Jay Bonnet 2, Shaun Purvy, Chris Towsen, James Blair, Levi John, Zimmerman.
Non-league
HOLY GHOST PREP 70, NESHAMINY 66 (OT)
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