Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action.
Boys
BENSALEM 49, PENNSBURY 46
Pennsbury, according to Bensalem coach Ron Morris, is a difficult place to play for opposing teams. Thursday’s game was especially emotional since the Falcons honored the memory of one of their own. Joey Monaghan, a 2017 Pennsbury grad who was a member of the basketball team, lost his courageous battle with cancer on Sept. 22, 2022.
“We knew going in and playing in an atmosphere like playing at Pennsbury – it’s always tough going in there,” Morris said. “They had a great crowd tonight. They were honoring Joey Monaghan, who was an awesome, awesome person. I coached against him, I worked at camps in summer that he was at, and then he worked with us at camps for a long time.
“So just getting to know him over the years – he was such an awesome person, and it was an honor to be part of a night where they were remembering him and honoring Joey.”
Morris took steps to ensure his team would be ready to play in front of what promised to be a fired -up and loud crowd.
“They always have a good student section,” the Owls’ coach said. “To prepare for that atmosphere, us as a staff yesterday decided we were going to practice the whole practice with loud music, so we had loud music playing on our sound system the entire practice because we knew tonight they wouldn’t be able to hear us.
“The kids just did a great job. We always talk about staying ready because roles change, goals don’t. Play the role to the best of your ability, and tonight Jaidyn Moffitt stepped up in a big way, which was awesome to see. Last game, Nate (Cooper) stepped up. This game, Jaidyn stepped up.
Moffitt was a major contributor in Thursday’s win, scoring 11 points. Eric Gonzalez’s 18 points led the Owls while Antonio Morris added 16.
Gonzalez had 10 first-half points while Morris had eight – all in the second quarter, and the Owls, who trailed 13-10 after one quarter, took a 23-21 lead into halftime.
Bensalem took a 39-37 lead into the final quarter when the Owls edged their hosts 10-9 to earn the hard-fought win.
“Eric and Antonio are a really good combo,” Morris said. “Eric was carrying us offensively early, and then Eric got in foul trouble and Antonio stepped up. Antonio had a big third quarter.”
For the Falcons, Connor Taddei had a big game, burying three 3-pointers and finishing 7-for-7 at the foul line for a game-high 20 points. He had eight points in the first half and kept the Falcons in it with 12 in the second half. Ty Kocak added 11 points, nine in the second half. Mike Roccograndi added seven points, and Teddy Mangan had six.
Gonzalez, Antonio Morris and Moffitt accounted for 45 of the Owls’ 49 points, but coach Morris praised the efforts of several players whose contributions won’t show up in the box score.
“We just keep grinding, keep working,” Morris said. “Noah (Morris) does a lot of great things out there. He’s always in the right place. He was playing Tyler (Kocak) tonight. Tyler’s an awesome player. We just kept throwing different guys at Tyler to wear him down and slow him down because we know how good he really is.
“Micah White continues to do good things out there, defending and rebounding. Jack (Wineburg) is the ultimate glue guy that does a whole lot of stuff out there that doesn’t necessarily show up in the box score, but he continues to perform at a high level. We work through it, we grind. It’s always great to get a victory on the road and even better to gain a league victory on the road. We’re gaining tons of experience right now. Four of our first five games were on the road and all in tough atmospheres. This group definitely perseveres through a lot. We just grind and stay ready and be ready when your number is called.”
Morris tipped his hat to Pennsbury first-year coach Wes Emme.
“It’s great to see what coach Emme is building,” the Owls’ coach said. “Pennsbury has always had a great tradition, and he’s continuing that and going to build it even more. His kids play extremely hard. You can tell he and his staff are going a good job.
“To get a win against Pennsbury at Pennsbury is very difficult.”
Bensalem (5-0, 3-0 SOL) will host Harry S Truman on Tuesday, and Pennsbury (2-3, 1-2) will host Council Rock South on Tuesday.
Bensalem 10-13-16-10 49
Pennsbury 13-8-16-9 46
Bensalem (49) – Eric Gonzalez 5 6-10 18; Micah White 1 0-0 2; Amir Drummond 0 0-2 0; Antonio Morris 6 4-8 16; Jack Wineburg 1 0-0 2; Jaidyn Moffitt 4 3-4 11; TOTALS 17 13-24 49.
Pennsbury (46) – Teddy Mangan 1 4-4 6; Mike Roccograndi 3 0-0 7; Sam Callahan 0 0-1 0; Connor Taddei 5 7-7 20; Ty Kocak 4 2-6 11; Ryan Zuckerman 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 14 13-18 46.
3-point-goals: Bensalem – Eric Gonzalez 2; Pennsbury – Connor Taddei 3, Mike Roccograndi, Ty Kocak.
Non-league
MALVERN PREP 74, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 46
Wednesday, Dec. 14
Non-league
UPPER MORELAND 77, INTERBORO 47
The Golden Bears raced out of the gate to a 24-8 lead after one quarter and took a 46-26 lead into halftime on their way to the no-doubt-about-it win.
Four UM players finished the game in double figures, led by Jon Clark with 17 points. Nigel Adamason added 16 points, Alex Best had 13, and Colson Campbell scored 11 points.
Ten players contributing scoring for the Golden Bears.
Upper Moreland (3-2, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township on Friday.
Upper Moreland 24-22-24-7. 77
Interboro 8-18-8-13. 47
Upper Moreland (77) – Nigel Adamson 7 2-7 16; Alex Best 5 0-0 13; Jon Clark 6-5-9 17; Ralph Tyler 1 0-0 2; Jaryd Meehl 3 0-0 7; Anthony Carson 1 0-0 2; Jimmy Pearce 1 0-0 3; Sean Murphy 2 0-0 4; Colson Campbell 5 1-1 11; Aidan Tuffy 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 32 8-19 77.
Interboro (47) – E.Jeffrey 3 0-0 6; Z.Collings 1 0-0 3; N.Ali 5 2-4 13; P.Brennan 1 1-2 4; A.Kamara 3 0-0 8; D. Guntey 2 0-1 4; A Smith 1 2-2 5; F.Pewa 1 1-2 4; TOTALS 17 6-11 47.
3-point goals: UM – Alex Best 3, Jaryd Meehl, Jimmy Pearce; Interboro – A.Kamara 2, Z.Collins, N.Ali, P.Brennan, A.Smith, F.Pewa.
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