Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday. CB West/CB South photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Neshaminy/Pennsbury photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for a gallery of both games.
SOL Patriot Division
NESHAMINY 81, PENNSBURY 78 (3 OTs)
In the end, it came down to free throws – and both teams took plenty and made plenty, but it was the Redskins – behind the calm composure of sophomores Emeer Coombs and Nate Townsend at the foul line – earning the win in Thursday’s thriller.
“It was a crazy game,” Neshaminy coach Mark Tingle said. “We were down to eight varsity players total that we had suited up. I brought up two JV players, and it was close to having them go in with everybody in foul trouble.
“We’re down a starter (Evan Esposito) because he as the flu. We’re down another reserve – Lucas Maher – for the flu, so we weren’t deep, but it was an unbelievable game. The crowd was great. Both teams had a great student section. It was a great rivalry game.”
Coombs sank 12-of-16 at the charity strike with all except two of those coming in the overtime periods. He also had a pair of baskets, scoring 16 of his game-high 23 in OT. Coombs also had five rebounds and four assists. Townsend buried 5-of-6 at the charity stripe in overtime and scored nine of his 18 points in overtime. He also had eight rebounds and six assists.
“I start two sophomores, and there’s a reason,” Tingle said. “They just have a little fight in them, and they don’t back down. We had a really good offseason, and they got used to the speed of the game.”
Senior Kade Benjamin, who was 7-for-10 at the foul line, also had a huge night for the Redskins, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds. 
Fourteen of his points came in regulation.
“Pennsbury doesn’t really have a big big, and it was more our guards getting into the paint and being able to dish it off for him to finish, and he made free throws too,” Tingle said.
All told, the two teams combined for 81 foul shots with the Redskins connecting on 31-of-45 while the Falcons buried 21-of 36.
The Redskins lost Sean Curley – who also finished in double figures with 12 – to five fouls in the first overtime. Curley also had five rebounds and four assists.
“Our two sophomore guards had four fouls in the first overtime,” Tingle said of Coombs and Townsend. “Thank god, they didn’t get another foul because they handled the ball instead of Sean, who would normally handle the ball.
“Since we had a lead, they kept fouling them, and they made free throws and really stepped up big. Other guys like Colin Cloud and Boima Gobah stepped up. Colin Cloud drew a huge charge in one of the overtimes.”
The two teams battled to an 11-11 tie after one quarter, but the Falcons – behind nine points from Aidan McCormack and six points from Evan McNeely – outscored the Redskins 19-11 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 30-22 lead. They still led by seven heading into the final quarter when the Redskins closed it out with a 15-8 tear. Bejamin’s six points led the way.
“It was just one of those games that was even at the start,” Tingle said. “The second quarter we got cold shooting. We had great looks but just got cold. That’s why they went up.
“The whole game was just a back-and forth-battle. It was just a great game. We had an opportunity to win it in the fourth quarter, missed a shot. We had an opportunity in the first overtime and
missed it. In the second, they had the ball and tied it up after an offensive rebound at the buzzer. The third overtime we were up three, we had a guy at the line who missed both, but because he missed both, the clock ran out. They had guys fouling out, we had guys fouling out.”
The Falcons got clutch 22-point performances from both McCormack and Neely. McCormack also had 13 rebounds and McNeely had 11 boards and four assists. The duo was a combined 13-for-21 at the charity stripe. Also contributing double-digit scoring efforts were Ty Kocak (15 points) and Teddy Mangan (10 points). Justin Hedges added seven points.
“They’re a good team, so it’s definitely a good win,” Tingle said. “The league is going to be a tough test every night. The league is pretty good top to bottom.”
Neshaminy (3-0, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Conwell-Egan on Friday for a non-league game. Pennsbury (2-1, 1-1) will travel to Chichester for a non-league game Saturday at 1:30 p.m.
Pennsbury 11-19-12-8-6-11-11 78
Neshaminy 11-11-13-15-6-11-14 81
Pennsbury (78) – Justin Hedges 2 1-3 7; Aidan McCormack 7 6-11 22; Connor Taddei 0 2-3 2; Evan McNeely 6 7-10 22; Teddy Mangan 4 1-2 10; Ty Kocak 5 4-7 15; TOTALS 24 21-36 78.
Neshaminy (81) – Joey Zack 0 2-2 2; Emeer Coombs 5 12-16 23; Colin Cloud 0 0-2 0; Kade Benjamin 6 7-10 19; Boima Gobah 1 0-0 2; Nunzio Zydzik 2 0-2 5; Sean Curley 4 3-3 12; Nate Towsend 5 7-10 18; TOTALS 23 31-45 81.
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Evan McNeely 3, Justin Hedges 2, Aidan McCormack 2, Teddy Mangan, Ty Kocak; Neshaminy – Emeer Coombs, Nunzio Zydzik, Sean Curley, Nate Townsend.
BENSALEM 78, HARRY S TRUMAN 59
The Owls needed a bounce-back win after Tuesday’s heartbreaker that saw them allow a 20-point first-half lead slip away in a loss to Pennsbury. They got just that.
“I was most pleased with our effort after a tough loss on Tuesday,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “We got up big, and Pennsbury made a nice run. It was a tough atmosphere to play in, and our guys are inexperienced. We got caught up in that hostile environment, and Pennsbury did a good job.
“It was good to see the kids respond. It was nice to see them come out and not make the same mistakes again. It was a total team effort across the board. It’s always good to see kids have success after they get knocked down.”
The Owls, who led 25-17 after one quarter, took a 42-32 advantage into halftime. Any thoughts of a Truman comeback were put to rest in a third quarter that saw the Owls outscore their visitors 20-9 to go into the final quarter with a 62-41 lead.
“Truman played well,” Morris said. “Coach (Tyrone) Lewis does a good job. They shot the ball really well tonight, and they played really disciplined.
“I was really pleased with our balanced scoring. It was pretty much across the board, and we got a lot of points in transition, which we try to do.”
The Owls’ balance was underscored by the fact that 10 players put their names in the scoring column and three players finished in double figures – none with more than 13 points. Aaron Sanders led the way with 13 points while Jeremy Rodriguez and Allen Myers each added 12 points. Jack Wineburg and Tra Edwards both contributed nine points while Antonio Morris had eight and Eric Gonzalez, seven points.
Truman’s Franz Fabian scored a game high 15 while Makai Jackson added 12 points, Tylin Carrington had 10 and Wyatt Spinks contributed eight points.
Bensalem (2-1, 1-1 SOL) will face Father Judge in a non-league game in the Diane Mosco Foundation Shootout on Saturday at 5 p.m. Harry S Truman (1-3, 0-2) will host Neshaminy on Monday.
Harry S Truman 17-15-9-18 59
Bensalem 25-17-20-16 78
Harry S Truman (59) – Shanbul Lewis 2 1-2 5; Anthony Masterson 1 0-0 3; Tylin Carrington 4 0-0 10; Michael Burns 1 0-2 2; Franz Fabian 5 3-5 15; Wyatt Spinks 3 0-1 8; Makai Jackson 5 1-2 12; Antonio Carr 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 23 5-12 59.
Bensalem (78) – Jeremy Rodriguez 5 0-0 12; Tra Edwards 4 0-0 9; Allen Myers 4 4-6 12; Eric Gonzalez 2 2-2 7; Aaron Sanders 5 2-4 13; Matt Ebner 1 0-0 3; Antonio Morris 3 2-2 8; Jack Wineburg 4 0-1 9; Sadeq Wahab 0 2-2 2; Zack Belson 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 29 12-17 78.
SOL Colonial Division
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 65, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 51
Sparked by the hot hand of Michael Farley, the Titans – who trailed 11-10 after one quarter – seized control of Thursday’s rivalry game with an 18-3 second quarter on their way to the big win in a spirited Coaches for Cancer contest.
Farley had three field goals and was 6-for-6 at the foul line in the second quarter, scoring 12 of his game-high 22 points in the frame. He also had five rebounds, three assists and two blocks in the contest.
“The difference between the first and second quarter for us offensively was that we stopped trying to play with all this adrenaline in the first quarter – it’s a big rivalry game, and I talked about playing within yourself and not trying to do too much,” South coach Jason Campbell said. “I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I know how the Coaches vs. Cancer works and playing against your sister school. Unfortunately, my words only go so far, and when the adrenaline kicks in for young high school boys, they stop thinking a little bit. I thought we forced too much, didn’t play team basketball, and we gave West some opportunities to go to the other end and get good looks. They were playing rushed too.
“Between the first and second quarters, I told the guys – ‘You got your adrenaline out, the fans are here to support you. I promise you if you play inside-out and you share the ball, all the other stuff will take care of itself,’ and it did. In the second quarter, Michael Farley took over.”
Jay Macalindong had a pair of field goals in South’s 18-point tear. He finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.
“Jay Macalindong had a tremendous game,” Campbell said. “He controlled our offense from that point. He was able to get to the rim 
and get buckets. He was just so tough. He played a ton of minutes. He’s our floor general out there, and I thought he did an incredible job of finding opportunities to score, getting to the rim and going by his man.”
The Titans, who led 28-14 at halftime, outscored the Bucks 24-13 in the third quarter and took a 52-27 lead into the final quarter. Farley added six points in the third quarter. Chris Granito had a pair of 3-pointers in the frame.
“Chris Granito hit two big buckets on back-to-back possessions – I thought he played great,” Campbell said. “He was sick and came back for the Souderton game. Today he started to get back to himself. He was just all over the place, making plays.
“We have five guys that can put the ball in the basket. You’re never going to get all five to put up 10-plus on the same night, but they’re going to give you enough while the other guys are scoring. Two or three guys are going to get in double figures every night and the others are willing to not force shots and let the other guys have the clean look, and we did that in the second, third and most of the fourth quarter.
“It was a nice win for us, and it was a great cause – Coaches vs. Cancer. (Athletic director) Chas Cathers did a really nice job of making sure it was organized, getting people involved to raise money for the cause, so I’m curious to see how much they raised. He deserves props for what he did, what our parents club did and what all the other clubs did. It was a nice night.”
Granito finished with 10 points. Tyler Meinel added five rebounds and two blocks.
For the Bucks, John Lee’s 11 points led the way. Donte Mancini added nine points, and Bowen Gugger had seven points.
Central Bucks South (3-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday, and Central Bucks West (0-4, 0-2) will be on the road at Pennridge on Tuesday.
Central Bucks West 11-3-13-24 51
Central Bucks South 10-18-24-13 65
Central Bucks West (51) – Matt Engle 4, Kyle Kubit 7, Charlie Cashman 1, Joe Gallagher 5, Donte Mancini 9, Colin McKenna 2, Bowen Gugger 7, John Lee 11, Michael Fountain 5.
Central Bucks South (65) – Jay Macalindong 17, Aidan Van Zanten 2, Joe Rooney 5, Chris Granito 10, Flynn Carroll 3, Tyler Meinel 4, Michael Farley 22, Sean Rieber 2.
Non-league
HOLY GHOST PREP 61, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 32
Thursday’s non-league game at Holy Ghost started out on a good note for the Lions, who led 15-13 after one quarter. Miles Demby accounted for seven of those points, burying a pair of 3-pointers and sinking 1-of-2 at the foul line.
Momentum swung firmly in the Firebirds’ favor in a second quarter that saw the hosts erupt for 18 points while the Lions managed just four. The Firebirds took a 31-19 lead into halftime and added to that in the second half.
Fifteen players saw action for a deep and talented Ghost squad that received scoring from 12 different players.
The Lions were led by the 11-point effort of Demby. Charlie Albano added six points on a pair of 3-pointers and Justin Lehman also had six points.
New Hope-Solebury (0-4, 0-1 SOL) will host Lower Moreland on Friday.
New Hope-Solebury 15-4-7-6 32
Holy Ghost Prep 13-18-18-23 61
New Hope-Solebury (32) – Dylan Hildebrandt 2 0-1 4; Justin Lehman 3 0-0 6; Charlie Albano 2 0-0 6; Miles Demby 3 3-4 11; Liam Ross 2 0-0 4; Brian Demby 0 1-3 1; TOTALS 12 4-8 32.
Holy Ghost Prep (61) – Shane Reilly 7 0-1 16; Noah McDermott 1 0-0 2; Mark Tomasetti 1 1-2 3; Dan Raksnis 1 0-0 3; Dylan Shead 1 2-3 4; Seamus McDermott 1 0-0 2; Dasani McNeely-Bronson 0 1-2 1; Ian Hendrix 5 0-0 13; Ryan Sylvester 2 1-1 5; Jason Brown 1 0-0 2; Mel Lindsey 1 2-2 5; Sean McGrenehan 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 23 7-11 61.
3-point goals: NHS – Charlie Albana 2, Miles Demby 2, Holy Ghost – Ian Hendrix 3, Shane Reilly 2, Dan Raksnis, Mel Lindsey, Sean McGrenehan.
CONWELL-EGAN 57, LOWER MORELAND 53
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