Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 58, CONSTITUTION 57
With time winding down and the Colonials trailing by two, it looked as though they might not even so much as manage a shot for the tie. They did better than that as Cheo Houston buried a three-pointer from the corner as the buzzer sounded, giving PW the thrilling win on Saturday in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Archbishop Wood.
“We’re not making it easy,” coach Jim Donofrio said. “The best thing about our team right now it shows great heart to win, so we’ll take it, but at some point, light bulbs have to go off. Otherwise, this whole thing is a mirage.”
Donofrio described the sequence leading up to Houston’s game winner.
“Jason Paul – it looked like he was playing bocce and rolled the ball to our point guard, Danny Cooper, who had to pick it up and couldn’t get a shot off, so he made one extra pass at the two-second mark,” the Colonials’ coach said. “Cheo – who I just yelled at two minutes earlier not to shoot a three – hits the game winner. That is brilliant reverse psychology coaching.”
Prior to Houston’s heroics, Ahmad Williams, according to Donofrio, buried a big shot to keep it close.
“Ish Horn had a great first half, and he had a 20-point night last night, so he’s really breaking out,” the PW coach said. “I thought we defended well. It’s an interesting start.”
The Colonials, who led 17-16 after one quarter, took a 28-24 lead into halftime and added to that with a 20-13 third quarter burst to go on top 48-37. Constitution came roaring back, and it looked as though the Generals might steal a win, but the Colonials prevailed.
With the win, PW improved to 4-0 on the early season, but it hasn’t been easy.
“Our first game was playing against our own family member, Chuck Moore, at home against Coatesville – that was a dumb idea, but we got lucky,” Donofrio said of the former PW standout who is now the Red Raiders’ head coach. “Then we’re playing a really good Shanahan team and we’re losing by nine in the fourth quarter, and we won that. Then (on Friday) we were down to Wissahickon 20-6, and we won that.
“This game, however, is even more interesting because you could easily put your head down when you’re winning the entire game, you have the ball in your hands and you’re up 12, and it feels like it’s going to be a comfortable double-digit lead.”
That didn’t happen.
The Colonials watched their lead slip away as they struggled against Constitution’s press.
“This is stuff you work on in practice and have been working on since third grade,” Donofrio said. “We’ve got to advance with the concentration, and we’ll just keep doing it.
“To literally end up down two with 10 seconds to go, you have every reason to give up and yet we don’t, so I think it’s a huge sign of character.”
Ish Horn led the Colonials with 13 points. Houston and Ahmin Williams – who fouled out late in the fourth quarter – both had 11 points, and Naheem McLeod and Ahmad Williams each added eight points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-0, 1-0 SOL) will host Upper Dublin next Friday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 17-11-20-10 58
Constitution 16-8-13-20 57
Plymouth Whitemarsh (58) – Ish Horn 13, Naheem McLeod 8, Ahmin Williams 11, Cheo Houston 11, Ahmad Williams 8, Devon Lawrence 2.
Constitution (57) – Green 19, Diabate 2, Hammonds 2, West 3, Waters 18, Brown 3, White 2, Wills-Worthy 8.
HARRY S TRUMAN 54, PLUMSTEAD CHRISTIAN 47 (OT)
The Tigers needed some late-game heroics to capture the title of the Chic D’Angelo Coaches vs. Cancer Tourney at Bristol. With Truman staring at a 42-39 deficit and time about to expire in regulation, senior Rasheid Newkirk buried a three-pointer to knot the score and send the game into overtime.
“They were playing in a zone,” coach Byron Conover said of the sequence leading up to Newkirk’s clutch shot. “I got one of my senior shooters in – Rasheid Newkirk. We worked the ball around.
“One of my kids – Danell Snelling – caught it up top, he penetrated, he threw over to Zierr Reid, and Zierr Reid hit Rasheid for a wing three. He knocked it down.”
Danell Snelling – who earned tournament MVP honors – took care of business in OT, scoring six of his game-high 24 points as the Tigers outscored the Flyers 12-5.
“I’m happy for the kids,” Conover said. “We’re a young team. We only have two fulltime starters back – we graduated seven seniors off last year’s team.
“We’re young as far as varsity experience, so I was a little apprehensive playing in this tournament, but you know what, our kids pulled through in the young season.
“We’re learning. I told the kids, ‘Embrace the moment.’ I’m happy we won the tournament, but we all know it gets real on Tuesday night when the Suburban One League starts. We have two heavyweights next week with Council Rock South and Bensalem. We respect their programs, and the kids know it gets real on Tuesday.”
One night earlier, the Tigers – behind 20 points from Snelling – defeated Bristol on its home court 65-54 in front of a raucous crowd. They didn’t take a lead until midway through the third quarter.
“We easily could have lost both of these games,” Conover said. “Friday night we played against Bristol – we only get to play Bristol once every 10 years.
“The gym was packed. There wasn’t a seat to be found, standing room only. It’s Bristol Township/Bristol Borough, a lot of families. I tell you what – those Bristol kids are tough-minded kids. With me with an inexperienced team – first of all, it’s a small gym. We’re used to playing on big courts, and we had a hard time adjusting, but we pulled through.”
Saturday’s title game against Plumstead was a marked contrast to Friday’s opener.
“Today there weren’t as many people in the gym, so we kind of had to find our own energy,” Conover said. “We really don’t know a lot about Plumstead. Half my kids were saying, ‘Coach, is Plumstead in Pennsylvania?’ They had no idea.
“They don’t know anything about us, and we don’t know anything about them.”
The Tigers jumped out to a 17-9 lead after one quarter, but the Flyers came back to make a 23-21 game by halftime.
“My kids got out to an 8-0 lead, and Plumstead burned two timeouts right away,” Conover said. “I think my kids got a little complacent, and we only scored six in the second quarter.”
Plumstead led by one after three quarters, but the Tigers rallied to knot the score on Newkirk’s last-second heroics. Truman controlled play in overtime. While Snelling accounted for six points in OT, Jeff Nixon had four points in OT.
“I think we wore them down a little bit, and we got to the line a lot,” said Conover, going on to note the significance of winning the tournament title.
“Just confidence-wise – even though they were smaller schools, Bristol and Plumstead gave us everything,” the Tigers’ coach said. “They came to play.”
The Tigers will have two home games next week and then will compete in a holiday tournament at Holy Ghost Prep. When they return in January, nine out of their next 10 games will be on the road.
“I told my guys they’re going to go through adversity,” Conover said. “I’m glad they got mentally tough – we got mentally tough in that last overtime period.
“We got on them face to face and shut them down a little bit and wore them down, but we’re going to have to play 300 percent better because Council Rock South – Derek Wright has got those guys on a roll.”
Harry S Truman (3-0) will open conference play on Tuesday when the Tigers will host Council Rock South.
Plumstead Christian 9-12-10-11-5 47
Harry S Truman 17-6-7-12-12 54
Harry S Truman (54) – Danell Sneling 24, Rasheid Newkirk 6, Kelechi Ogbonna 11, Jeff Nixon 4, Dwight Gursey 2, Zierr Reid 1, CJ Jackson 6.
SOUDERTON 55, METHACTON 47
DJ Landis had a breakout performance for the Indians in Saturday’s non-league win, finishing with 17 points to lead all scorers.
“We know he’s got that kind of offensive game, and we know he can score like that, but the energy and intensity that he brought today was unbelievable,” coach Tim Brown said. “Defensively, rebounding – he was everywhere.
“We’re confident that he can give us that down low, but when he brings everything else, he’s really good.”
If there’s a player on the Indians’ roster deserving the title of most improved, the junior power forward is the no-brainer choice after his ascent from seldom-used jayvee player last year to varsity contributor this season.
“Honestly, he didn’t get too much time on jayvee last year,” Brown said. “His offseason this year was unreal.
“He put in so much work, and he improved so much. He’s grown, he’s lost weight, and he’s grown maturity-wise, so he’s really taken some big steps. We’re taking it a little slow with him on the varsity just because he’s gone from getting five minutes of jayvee time a game to now he’s getting a lot of varsity time. He’s been great.”
The Indians – who took a 27-21 lead into halftime – led throughout the contest only to see the Warriors take a one-point lead early in the fourth quarter. Mike Bealer buried a three to give the Indians a lead they would not lose.
Bealer finished with 17 points in another standout effort.
“He’s been great,” Brown said. “He’s been great at keeping his head because everybody has been face guarding him.
“I’m sure everybody’s game plan is to stop Bealer. He’s just been finding different ways to score and get his teammates involved, he’s opening up spaces for his teammates, and there’s just positivity in his energy.”
Also contributing in ways that didn’t show up in the box score was point guard Matt Cartwright, who chipped in four points.
“Matt is our coach on the floor,” Brown said. “He runs the show for us and keeps us very calm.
“He did a great job tonight because Methacton did a great job of putting pressure on our ball screens, and Matt just handled it. He handles anything that anyone throws at him. He’s just a very professional kid.”
Jake Groller is the Indians’ defensive stopper.
“Jake has been guarding the other team’s best player every time, and he’s just a huge energy guy,” Brown said. “He’s kind of the do the dirty work kind of guy, so he’s been great for us as well.”
Noah Horas and Trevor Watts both added six points for the Indians.
Souderton has won back-to-back games after its disappointing showing in a loss to Perkiomen Valley at the Wells Fargo Center.
“After that game on Wednesday against Perk Valley, we had a long talk about the team, and we all put everything out on the table,” Brown said. “Since then, they’ve been all in and had so much energy from everybody that it’s huge for our confidence to see if you give energy, you’re going to get results. For them to say all those things and to see it happen is absolutely huge.”
Souderton (3-2, 1-0 SOL) will host Pennridge on Thursday.
Souderton 13-14-13-15 55
Methacton 8-13-18-8 47
PENNSBURY 64, VALLEY FORGE MILITARY ACADEMY 46
The Falcons, who led by just one point after the first quarter, took a 27-18 lead into halftime of the opener at Saturday’s Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Archbishop Wood. Mark Flagg scored 13 of his team-high 20 points in the half. The Falcons added to that lead in the second out, outscoring VFM 37-28 to win going away.
While Flagg led the way, Addison Howard added 11 points, and Billy Warren had nine. Tyler Sessa-Reeves added seven points.
Pennsbury (3-1, 0-1 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Thursday in a rivalry game.
Pennsbury 11-16-18-19 64
Valley Forget Military 10-8-11-17 46
Pennsbury (64) – Raylil Winton-Law 5, Addison Howard 11, Josh Arruda 6, Billy Warren 9, Tyler Sessa-Reeves 7, Joey Monaghan 4, Mark Flagg 20, V. Ward 2.
ROMAN CATHOLIC 74, ABINGTON 66
The Ghosts – who led by as many as 14 – doubled up the Cahillites 22-11 in the first quarter, but things changed in a hurry in a second quarter that saw Roman close out the half with a 23-14 tear to trim Abington’s lead to 36-34 at the intermission at the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Archbishop Wood.
The Cahillites benefitted from the fact that Abington was whistled for its seventh foul just over a minute into the second period. Roman took 30 trips to the foul line in Saturday’s game while the Ghosts had just 14, converting 12 of those opportunities into points.
With just over a minute remaining in regulation, the Ghosts saw a 66-65 lead disappear when the Cahillites nailed a three-pointer in the corner to go on top by two. The Ghosts were whistled for an offensive foul at the other end, and they did not score the rest of the way.
Eric Dixon turned in a monster performance for the Ghosts, finishing with 27 points – which included a 6-for-7 effort from the foul line – and 13 rebounds. Robbie Heath added 22 points – including 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. He also had five rebounds and four assists. Lucas Monroe contributed six points and six rebounds, and Joseph O’Brien had four points and four blocked shots.
Abington (4-2, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Tuesday.
Abington 22-14-14-16 66
Roman Catholic 11-23-13-27 74
Abington (66) – Eric Dixon 27, Robbie Heath 22, Joseph O’Brien 4, Lucas Monroe 6, Robert Young 2, Eric Dougherty 3, Darius Brown 2.
EMMAUS 70, PENNRIDGE 46
The Green Hornets took a 30-29 lead into halftime and then blew the game wide open in the second half, limiting the visiting Rams to single digits in both the third and fourth quarters while closing out the game on a 40-17 tear.
David Kachelries torched the Rams for 31 points, which included four three-pointers. The brilliant offensive performance vaulted Kachelries into fourth place on the all-time scoring list at Emmaus.
Keeping the Rams in it in the first half was sophomore Sean Yoder, who scored eight of his team-high 14 points in a second quarter that saw Pennridge score 18 points. Kyle Yoder had all 10 of his points in the first half. No other Ram player scored more than five points.
Pennridge (2-3, 0-1 SOL) will host Central Bucks East on Tuesday night.
Pennridge 11-18-8-9 46
Emmaus 13-17-18-22 70
Pennridge (46) – Sean Yoder 14, Ryan Kinky 2, Kyle Yoder 10, AJ DeMarco 5, Tyrese Lewis-Eutsey 4, Mike Molettiere 5, Ryan Cuthbert 4, Jon Post 2.
Emmaus (70) – Matthew Kachelries 13, David Kachelries 31, Daryn Lewis 6, Eric Cichocki 6, Josh Artis 4, Bryce Diehl 4, Corey Riegel 2, Zach Sabol 4.
ARCHBISHOP RYAN 56, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 31
Ryan opened up an 18-7 lead and took a 25-15 lead into halftime. The Raiders blew the game open with a 16-7 third quarter on their way to the win.
Drew Burton led the Indians with nine points while Noah Ehlin and Eric Levine had eight each.
Council Rock North (1-4, 0-1 SOL) will travel to Glen Mills for a non-league game on Monday.
Council Rock North 7-8-7-9 31
Archbishop Ryan 18-7-16-15 56
FREEDOM 61, QUAKERTOWN 54
The Panthers trailed by just one after one quarter (14-13) but found themselves on the short end of a 27-22 halftime score. They never could make up the ground they lost and had no answer for Freedom's Lewis Hargett, who led all scorers with 30 points.
JR Grimmage the Panthers with 17 points while Ryan Howard added 14, which included three three's. Kevin Juszynski connected on three three-pointers for nine points, and Dakota Suchanec chipped in with six points.
Quakertown (0-3) will travel to Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday for its conference opener.
Quakertown 13-9-11-21 54
Freedom 14-13-16-18 61
Quakertown (54) – Jon Rey 1, Ryan Howard 14, Jashua Rodriquez 2, Nick Drosnock 5, Dakota Suchanec 6, JR Grimmage 17.
Freedom (61) – Deshawn Polk 9, Tyler Muniz 2, Calil Cappell 3, Nicholas King 4, Justin Benton 8, Kenneth Bel 2, Malek Mims 2, Malik Harrington 1.
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