Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Wednesday and Thursday nights.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 57, PENNSBURY 56
Austin Thomas scored on a floating bank shot at the buzzer, capping a remarkable comeback and propelling the Golden Hawks to the upset win over conference-leading Pennsbury.
“It was very exciting,” coach John Easterly said. “Our boys – they were tough tonight. We battled with a very good team and came out on top.
“We’ve had six losses this season, and in every one of those losses, we’re in the games. The kids are starting to realize when you’re playing against good teams you have to play with poise and you have win the 50-50 battles. They did that tonight, and they came out on top.”
The Golden Hawks – trailing by five with a minute remaining – needed all the toughness they could muster to pull this one out.
“We made some big shots at the end of the game,” Easterly said.
Big hardly covers it.
The comeback began when Mike Stock buried a shot with 52 seconds remaining to make it a three-point game. Ten seconds later, the Falcons connected on 1-of-2 from the foul line to go back on top by four, but things got real interesting when – with 16 seconds remaining – Kevin Newbert nailed a three-pointer to pull the Golden Hawks to within one.
The Golden Hawks fouled immediately, and the Falcons misfired on a pair. With five seconds remaining, the Falcons – 6-for-16 from the stripe in the final quarter – had another chance at the line but again missed a pair. This time the Golden Hawks made it hurt when Thomas connected for the game winner as time expired.
Newbert led the Hawks with 15 points to go along with seven assists, five rebounds and four steals in a standout effort. Alex Nordenholt added 13 points and Thomas, 11 points. Ryan Boyd had eight points and Michael Krepich added six on a pair of threes. One of the game’s unsung heroes was Stock, who pulled down six rebounds and also drew three charges.
“Mike Stock again had a great game for us,” Easterly said. “He had rebounds and drew (three) charges and was just composed at the end of the game and kept our young guys focused in a big game like that.
“I’m very, very proud of how he played and his effort. He didn’t score a lot of points, but he did everything you could possibly think of to help us win that game.”
Sparked by seven points from Nordenholt, the Golden Hawks led 13-6 after one quarter, and they took a 31-23 lead into halftime. The Falcons – behind eight points from Addison Howard and six from Mark Flagg – erased that deficit with a 22-9 third quarter burst to go on top 45-40. They still led by five (55-50) with a minute remaining when the Golden Hawks staged their heroic comeback.
The win came on the heels of a one-point loss to archrival Council Rock North two days earlier.
“Derek (Wright) does such a great job getting his guys prepared for games, and they’re always tough,” Easterly said. “They’re tough kids, they’re tough players, and our kids realized how tough you have to play to win against good teams.
“We were in that game against North, and they were just a little bit tougher than us on Tuesday. Our guys took that game and learned from that, and they came out here, and we were the tough team tonight.
“We were tough against a Pennsbury team that is a very good squad and also plays as tough as you’re going to get in our league. This was a game where we matched their toughness and came out on top.”
Flagg (17 points) and Howard (15 points) led the Falcons. Tyler Sessa-Reeves added nine points and Isaiah Carpenter had eight.
Council Rock South (5-6, 3-3 SOL) will be on the road at Neshaminy on Tuesday, and Pennsbury (8-3, 5-1) will host William Tennent on Tuesday.
Pennsbury 6-17-22-11 56
Council Rock South 13-18-9-17 57
Pennsbury: Addison Howard 15, Vaughn Ward 2, Corey Dea 1, tyler Sessa-Reeves 9, Isaiah Carpenter 8, Mike Alley 2, Rob Daley 2, Mark Flagg 17.
Council Rock South: Austin Thomas 11, Michael Krepich 6, Alex Nordenholt 13, Kevin Neubert 15, Mike Stock 3, Ryan Boyd 8.
Wednesday, Jan. 5
PENNRIDGE 69, NESHAMINY 51
The Redskins – under interim head coach John Mason – hung with the high-scoring Rams for a while, trailing by just a 21-18 score after one quarter, but the Rams put some distance between themselves and their visitors with a 19-11 second quarter surge to go into halftime with 40-29 lead. A 20-6 third quarter burst put the game out of reach.
Dan Long led all scorers with 19 points while Max Wagner added 14 and Devon Balmer, 10. Kyle Yoder chipped in with six points.
Billy Warren had a big game for the ‘Skins, finishing with 17 points. Anthony Papeo had nine while Shammond Thomas and Matt McGinty both had seven.
Pennridge (10-2, 4-1 SOL) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Friday while Neshaminy (0-5) will be at Harry S Truman on Friday.
Neshaminy 18-11-6-16 51
Pennridge 21-19-20-9 69
Neshaminy: Shammond Thomas 7, Matt McGinty 7, Billy Warren 17, Francis Robles 3, Anthony Papeo 9, Zach Tredway 5, Charles Domonic 3, Chris Arcidiacono 3.
Devon Balmer 10, Dan Long 19, Sean Yoder 4, Stephen Lowry 4, Ryan Kinky 3, Kyle Yoder 6, Ryan Galloway 2, Ryan Cuthbert 5, Nick Tarburten 2, Max Wagner 14.
UPPER MERION 61, JENKINTOWN 47
Matt Faw was all but unstoppable in Wednesday’s non-league contest, scoring 30 points and leading the Vikings to a win that snapped an eight-game winning streak for the Drakes.
The Vikings led 14-9 after one quarter and took a 25-19 lead into halftime. They put the game away with a 17-11 third quarter to go on top 42-28.
Ethan Miller added 14 points while Chris Carita and Isaiah Graham-Mobley both had six points.
Upper Merion (5-4, 2-3 SOL) will play a non-league game at Pope John Paul II on Saturday.
Jenkintown 9-10-11-17 47
Upper Merion 14-11-17-19 61
Jenkintown: Carl Robinson 4, Colin Mulvaney 8, Andres Madden 6, Jameson Kolb 15, John Contoudis 3, Frank Sobolewski 11.
Upper Merion: Aidan Newell 3, Ethan Miller 14, Isaiah Graham-Mobley 6, Matt Faw 30, Chris Carita 6, Andrew Persaud 2.
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