Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday.
SOL Non-league crossover
SOUDERTON 65, PENNSBURY 47
Ignoring the early afternoon start time, both teams came out firing on all cylinders, and it was the host Indians opening up a 21-15 lead after one quarter. They took a 37-29 advantage into halftime on their way to the win.
“Pennsbury is a great team, they play fast and have a lot of guys who can hurt you,” Souderton coach Brendan Stanton said. “(Patrick) Jajua is really talented. I think he had 18 at halftime and outside of a one layup, they were all jumpers he just hit over us.
“We made some adjustments at halftime, and the guys responded. We were able to slow him down and disrupt their rhythm. Our defense and rebounding in the second half were the difference.”
The Indians outscored their visitors 28-18 in the second half on their way to the win.
Key players: Nate Rusike’s 23 points led the Indians. Koby Rollerson (15 points) and Chanse Salone (14 points) also finished in double figures. Marques Brown had nine points
For the Falcons, Patrick Jajua led the way with 22 points, and Kyle Breslin added 11 points.
Souderton coach Brendan Stanton:
–The game: “We’ve been practicing well, so it was nice to see that translate even after a loss. Today was a little funky with the early start time, but both teams shot it well in the first half.
“Offensively, I thought we had great balance and made smart decisions. They are an aggressive defensive team and really great in transition so that was key.
“Overall, it was probably our most complete game this year. Hopefully, we can build on this one.”
–Props: “Nate Rusike and Chanse Salone did what they have done all year, scoring and playmaking, but Koby Rollerson was aggressive from the jump today. When he does that, we are tough to guard.
“Marques Brown did an exceptional job defensively on (Patrick) Jajua in the second half to limit his looks. Levi Epps was rock solid for us as well. He rebounded, defended, and did the little things well.”
Up next: Souderton will be on the road at Upper Moreland for an SOL non-league crossover game Tuesday. Pennsbury will host North Penn in a non-league crossover on Saturday (12:30pm).
Pennsbury 15-14-12-6 47
Souderton 21-16-10-18 65
Pennsbury (47) – Patrick Jajua 22, Kyle Breslin 11, Brayden Clark 6, Brady Kent 3, Max Manga 3, Owen Hogancamp 2.
Souderton (65) – Nate Rusike 23, Koby Rollerson 15, Chanse Salone 14, Marques Brown 9, Levi Epps 2, Barrett Batesh 2.
NORTH PENN 49, BENSALEM 40
It was a slow start for both squads with the Knights managing just five points in the first quarter but holding a 5-3 lead over the visiting Owls. The Owls’ offense came to life in the second quarter, and they took an 18-14 lead into halftime. Michael Ellzy’s 10 points led the Owls in the half.
North Penn erased that lead with a 16-point third quarter and took a 30-29 edge into the final quarter when they outscored their visitors 19-11. Nolen Foust’s 9-for-10 effort at the foul line led the Knights. JC Wood had eight points in the quarter and 16 points in the second half.
Key players: JC Wood buried five 3-pointers and led the Knights with 19 points. Nolen Foust added 15 points, which included a near-perfect 9-for-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. Chris Kingkiner was the third Knight in double figures with 11 points, which included three 3-pointers.
For Bensalem, Michael Ellzy led the way with 17 points, which included four 3-pointers – three 3s in the Owls’ 15-point second quarter. Jacob Eberhardt added 10 points, which included a 6-for-6 effort at the foul line in the second half.
North Penn coach Cordell Lord:
–The game: “We did not shoot the ball well at all. They do a really good job playing in their 1-3-1, and they make teams settle for taking a lot of 3s, and that’s what we saw on film. It’s what we were a little bit baited to do tonight, but we did an extremely good job on the defensive end. They shot under 40 percent from the field. We just did a really good job of keeping them out of the lane, making them take tough shots. The majority of the shots they took tonight – I was happy with how contested our defense was, making them take some tough shots, and we continued to take it one possession at a time.
“In the second half, shots started to fall, and then we did a really good job of just executing at the end, taking care of the basketball and making free throws.”
–Props: “Chris Kingkiner had a great second half, taking care of the basketball and starting to score in different ways. Nolen Foust did a great job of making free throws at the end – he was 9-for-10 from the free throw line, and all of them were in the fourth quarter.
“JC Wood had a phenomenal second half. I think he was 1-for-5 or 1-for-6 in the first half, and in the second half, he just really got rolling. I think he was 4-for-5 from 3 in the second half, and he just started finding his shot.
“Other guys contributed in other ways of playmaking, taking care of the basketball, rebounding and playing solid defense overall.”
Up next: North Penn will be on the road at Pennsbury for an SOL non-league game Saturday (12:30pm).
“Wes (Emme) has his boys playing really well,” Lord said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence, and they’re pretty high in the district rankings right now. So, it will be another great challenge for us, and we’re excited for it.”
Bensalem will travel to Upper Dublin Tuesday for a non-league crossover game Tuesday.
Bensalem 3-15-11-11 40
North Penn 5-9-16-19 49
Bensalem (40) – JJ Bourelly 3 0-0 6; Naman Parmar 1 0-0 2; Alex Per 1 0-0 3; Lugo 1 0-0 2; Michael Ellzy 5 3-4 17; Jacob Eberhardt 2 6-6 10; TOTALS 13 9-10 40.
North Penn (49) – Chris Kingkiner 4 0-0 11; Nolen Foust 2 9-10 15; JC Wood 7 0-0 19; Wyatt Martin 2 0-2 4; Aaiden Thomas 0 0-2 0; TOTALS 15 9-14 49.
3-point goals: B – Ellzy 4, Per; NP – Wood 5, Kingkiner 3, N.Foust 2.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 55, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 28
Sparked by the 20-point effort of Shane Phillips, the Hatters notched their fifth win in as many games. In a preview of things to come, Phillips buried a pair of 3-pointers in a first quarter that saw the Hatters open up a 14-6 lead.
By halftime, the Hatters had a 30-15 lead with Kenny Lutz leading the charge with 12 points in the half.
Key players: Shane Phillips buried six 3-pointers in his 20-point effort – three in a 20-point third quarter. Kenny Lutz finished with 12 points. Jaden Thompson and Kevin Stroup both had nine points.
For the Lions, Rocco Massimino led the way with 13 points, which included a near-perfect 9-for-10 effort at the foul line. For the game, the Lions buried 13 o 15 from the charity stripe.
Up next: Hatboro-Horsham will travel to Harriton for a non-league game Saturday (12:30pm), and New Hope-Solebury will host MaST Charter in a non-league game Friday.
Hatboro-Horsh. 14-16-20-5 55
New Hope-Solebury 6-9-9-4 28
Hatboro-Horsham (55) – Jayden Tion 0 2-2 2; Corbin Miller 1 0-0 3; Kenny Lutz 5 0-0 12; Jaden Thompson 4 1-2 9; Kevin Stroup 2 4-6 9; Shane Phillips 7 0-0 20; TOTALS 19 7-10 55
New Hope-Solebury (28) – Blake McCagg 1 4-5 6; Aiden Wenner 1 0-0 2; Noah Kolen 1 0-0 2; Rocco Massimino 2 9-10 13; Linus MacKenzie 1 0-0 3; Garrett Nuzolo 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 7 13-15 28.
3-point goals: HH – Phillips 6, Lutz 2, Miller, Stroup; NHS – MacKenzie.
ABINGTON 60, UPPER MORELAND 49
The visiting Ghosts led by two after one quarter and added to that lead with a 20-point second quarter, going into halftime with a 34-28 lead. Xander Grasty’s 13 points – which included a pair of 3s – led the Ghosts in the half. Faison Garland and Kyler Pickron both had six points in the half.
A 14-8 third quarter by the Ghosts included a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line by Amare Stone and five points from Grasty, which included a 3-for-3 effort at the charity stripe.
Key players: Xander Grasty led the Ghosts with 20 points. Kyler Pickron and Amare Stone both had nine points, and Faison Garland had eight.
Abington coach Dan Marsh: “It was a competitive rivalry game. It was fun.”
Up next: Abington will host Cheltenham in an SOL non-league crossover game Saturday (1:30pm), and Upper Moreland will host Jenkintown in a non-league game Saturday (12:30pm).
Abington 14-20-14-12 60
Upper Morelan 12-16-8-13 49
Abington (60) – Kyler Pickron 3 2-2 9; Amare Stone 2 5-7 9; Malcom Lucas 1 2-2 4; Xander Grasty 6 6-8 20; Faison Garland 3 2-4 8; Ian Burmester 2 2-2 8; Ray Rice 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 18 19-25 60.
Upper Moreland (49) – Nate Best 2 7-10 12; Andrew Hamill 1 0-0 2; Brody Hughes 1 0-0 3; Cannon Campbell 6 3-4 18; Jose Hernandez 4 2-2 12; D. Whetstone 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 15 13-18 49.
3-point goals: A – Grasty 2, Burmester 2, Pickron. UM – Campbell 3, Hernandez 2, Best.
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