Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday.
SOL Colonial Division
Central Bucks South 69, Central Bucks East 57
It was another battle of Central Bucks schools, and CB South took over sole possession of first place in the Colonial Division with a start-to-finish win over previously unbeaten CB East.
“It was just a great game,” said Titans coach Jason Campbell. “Our guys came out ready to play. We learned from the (CB West game last week). There was a huge crowd, it was Coaches vs. Cancer, and we came out and tried to do too much. Tonight, I told the guys to play like they normally play. It was 5-0 right away. We got off to a great start.”
Tyler Meinel scored six points in the first quarter, and Chris Granito had a 3-pointer, as South went up 13-8.
In the second quarter, Michael Farley hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 10 of his 14 points and by halftime the lead was 31-18
After South upped its lead to over 20 in the second half, it became a free throw shooting contest in the fourth and the Titans stepped up. Joe Rooney (team-high 16 points) and Granito (12 points) both went 6-for-6 from the line in the fourth.
As a team, South was 22-for-24 from the line in the fourth quarter and 31-for-35 for the game.
Meinel had 11 points for the game, and Bryan Delara, starting at point guard, scored seven.
Defensively, the Titans also kept East’s potent offensive attack in check.
“I thought our defense, overall, was the highlight of the game,” Campbell said. “We did a good job defending the perimeter most of the game. East is a strong 3-point shooting team, and we kept them in check. I think they had one 3-pointer made in the first half.
“Overall, it was an awesome win for our guys. It’s big. It gives them confidence and momentum heading into Thursday against North Penn.”
Over the holiday week off, South (4-1, 3-0 SOL) is scheduled to play two games at Spring-Ford – against Emmaus and Upper Darby. Despite shutdowns around District One in recent days, Campbell is approaching things as though they’re going to be playing as scheduled in and out of the league.
“We’re going as planned,” Campbell said. “If you look at our division, I feel confident that at least the teams in our division are going to keep playing. Pennridge, Souderton, North Penn – we’re teams that are going to keep playing and not shutting down. Maybe, if we have to, we’ll go back to masking up. That’s what we did last year. Ultimately, I think we need to keep playing. People just need to be more aware of what’s going on.”
Liam Cummiskey and Joshua Lyzinski had 12 points each for CB East, while Jacob Cummiskey had 11. The Patriots (4-1, 2-1 SOL) will look to get back in the win column Thursday night when they play at CB West.
CB East (57)
Tyriq Toney-Bailey 2 0-1 5; J. Cummiskey 3 5-6 11; L. Cummiskey 4 3-7 12; Brett Young 1 0-1 2; Aidan Weaver 1 0-0 2; Ryan Lenahan 1 0-0 3; Kyle Berndt 3 0-0 8; Joshua Lyzinski 4 3-4 12; Joey Giordano 0 2-2 2. Totals 19 13-21 57.
CB South (69)
Joe Rooney 3 8-8 16; Chris Granito 1 9-10 12; Bryan Delara 2 2-2 7; Tyler Meinel 5 0-1 11; Michael Farley 4 4-6 14; Jay Macalindong 1 4-4 6; Aidan Van Zanten 0 2-2 2; Flynn Carroll 0 1-2 1. Totals 16 31-35 69.
CB East 8 10 7 32 – 57
CB South 13 18 14 24 – 69
3-point goals: CBE-Berndt 2, Toney-Bailey 1, L. Cummiskey 1, Lennahan 1, Lyzinski 1, CBS-Rooney 2, Farley 2, Granito 1, Delara 1, Meinel 1
Central Bucks West 58, Pennridge 54 (OT)
CB West needed a win after four straight losses to start the season and got one on the road Tuesday night, knocking off Pennridge in overtime.
“We started off real well,” said coach Adam Sherman. “We defended well, had a couple nice possessions to start the game and went up 10 points. By halftime, we were only up eight. Then, (Pennridge) had a strong third quarter, we had a few empty possessions, and they made a few tough shots.
“In the fourth quarter, they got the lead and we came back. Matt Engle hit a big ‘3’, John Lee had a big finish and Bowen Gugger had a big steal and foul that helped turn the tide. We had a chance to win it in regulation, held it for a last shot, got a solid look at it and it was in and out.
“In overtime, we were able to get the lead to start and we made free throws to put the game away.”
Lee had 21 points and 10 rebounds for an impressive double-double to lead the Bucks, while Engle added 10 (two 3-pointers). Donte Mancini and Charlie Cashman (two 3-pointers) chipped in with eight and seven points respectively. According to Sherman, Bowen Gugger (four points) and Michael Fountain (four points) played tough defense and rebounded the ball well while Joey Gallagher, Colin McKenna and Nick Tenaglia added great perimeter defense in the team win.
“Defensively, Dante Mancini and Charlie Cashman did a good job against their two guards (Justin) Nicholas and (Matt) Campione,” Sherman said. “We played solid defense and they did a good job of forcing them to shoot tough shots.”
West (1-4, 1-2 SOL) was able to get that key first win and is scheduled to play rival CB East at home on Thursday. Sherman is optimistic his team will keep playing despite a rash of postponements this week due to COVID-19.
“We’ve heard a lot of stories of a lot of teams getting shut down,” he said. “It’s scary, it’s frustrating. We’re hoping we’ll still be OK. There haven’t been any cases on our team. We’ve had a lot of flu, but we haven’t had any COVID. Every time, a kid gets the flu, everybody gets COVID tested to be on the safe side, so we’ve been dealing with that.”
Pennridge (1-4, 0-3 SOL) was led by Campione with 19 points and Nichols with 10. The Rams, who have lost four straight, look to get back on track Thursday at Souderton.
CB West (58)
Matt Engle 4 0-0 10; Charlie Cashman 2 1-3 7; Dante Mancini 2 2-3 6; Colin McKenna 1 4-4 6; Bowen Gugger 1 2-2 4; John Lee 8 3-5 21; Michael Fountain 2 0-0 4. Totals 20 12-17 58.
Pennridge (54)
Caden Fisher 3 0-0 7; Justin Nichols 5 0-2 10; Matt Campione 8 3-7 19; Xavier Peters 1 2-2 4; Tommy Cramer 2 3-4 8; Gannon Perlini 1 0-0 3; Ryan Hass 1 0-0 3. Totals 21 8-15 54
CB West 17 11 10 14 6 – 58
Pennridge 8 12 18 14 2 – 54
3-point goals: CBW-Engle 2, Cashman 2, Lee 1; P-Fisher 1, Cramer 1, Perlini 1, Hass 1
SOL Freedom Division
William Tennent 65, New Hope-Solebury 40
The Panthers were without their head coach, as Robert Mulville was away from the team due to COVID-19, but assistant John Stanfield stepped in, and Tennent played well, blowing past New Hope on Tuesday.
“We just try to treat every day like it’s a regular day, every game like a regular season,” Stanfield said. “Even with coach (Mulville) out, we approach everything as if he were here, as far as game preparation, even the way we hand out the scouting reports.
“And even though he’s not here, coach still has a say. We’re in touch with him two or three times a day and he’s watching the games (on live streams) and communicating with us about game plans.”
Kirby Mooney led Tennent with 22 points and nine rebounds, while Jay Henry had 13 points and three assists. The Panthers led the game 19-9 after one quarter and never looked back.
“Coach always has us offensively trying to get touches within the paint,” Stanfield said. “Whether it’s a rip and drive into the paint or a pass into the paint to get defense to move out. We want to spread things out and get people to the rim. And if that’s not open, kick it out and hit some 3s.”
Tennent (2-3, 2-1 SOL) plays at Upper Moreland on Thursday. New Hope (0-6, 0-3 SOL) plays at Wissahickon.
William Tennent (65)
Jay Henry 5 2-3 13; George Marion 2 0-0 6; Kirby Mooney 9 3-3 22; Isaiah Dawson 2 0-0 5; Connor Filthian 1 0-0 2; Timmy Stanfield 3 0-0 7; Danny Scheller 1 0-0 2; Brandon Beluch 2 1-2 5; Evan Devor 1 0-0 3.
William Tennent 19 11 18 17 – 65
New Hope 9 6 14 11 – 40
3-point goals: WT-Marion 2, Henry, Mooney, Dawson, Stanfield; NHS-Albano 4, Demby 2, Hildebrandt (1)
Upper Moreland 31, Springfield Twp 30
Rasheem Lancit hit his second 3-pointer of the game with 25 seconds left to give the Golden Bears the lead, and they put the game away for the close win over Springfield in a defensive struggle in the Freedom Division.
“Springfield did a nice job defensively on us,” said UM coach Dan Heiland. “A lot of shots on both sides were in and out. There was a lot of missed opportunities. The X-factor, I guess, was holding Springfield to 30 points and getting a big shot at the end of the game.”
After the team came up with a defensive stop, freshman Colson Campbell then made it a four-point game with a pair of free throws late to put it away.
“It was the whole team, collectively,” Heiland said about the defensive effort. “Matt Tiernan made the biggest impact defensively, with his presence in the lane. He did a good job stopping (Springfield’s) top player in the post and on the perimeter.”
Tiernan led the Bears with 14 points, while Lancit finished with eight
It was the first league win for UM (2-3, 1-2 SOL).
“We have a lot of upperclassmen, but not many of them have a ton of varsity experience,” Heiland said. ”We’re getting those guys up to speed, playing with the guys on the team that have been here the last couple of years. We do have some young pieces as well that we’re trying to bring along as quickly as possible. The biggest thing is to give effort all of the time.”
As far as the COVID-19 shutdowns that have crept up this week and forced a few postponements in the SOL, UM is preparing to play.
“It’s kind of day-by-day, hour-by-hour,” Heiland said. “It changes every so often, with games being cancelled or postponed, but we have a pretty good directive at our school. We’re doing the right things in and out and school, but you can only control it so much. We don’t want to be one of those teams that has to cancel games.”
UM hosts William Tennent on Thursday.
Dylan McKenzie and Kyle Smythe had eight points each for Springfield. Smythe and Harry Rittenhouse led the Spartans on the boards as both pulled down seven rebounds.
The Spartans (3-2, 1-2 SOL) are scheduled to host Lower Moreland on Thursday.
Upper Moreland (31)
Matt Tiernan 14, Rashim Lancit 8, Byron Hopkins 4, Bo Meakim 3, Colson Campbell 2
Springfield (30)
Dylan McKenzie 8, Ben Cooney 4, Brett Smith 5, Harry Rittenhouse 5, Kyle Smythe 8
3-point goals: UM-Lancit 2, Meakim 1
SOL Liberty Division
Abington 62, Hatboro-Horsham 43
Fhenyx Scott and Derrius Lucas scored 19 points each as Abington built a double-figure lead before half and went on to the 19-point win in the second half.
Lucas also had nine rebounds for the Galloping Ghosts (2-3, 2-1 SOL), who won their second straight league game after opening the season with three losses in a row.
“Fhenyx Scott played well for us,” said Ghosts coach Charles Grasty. “I thought our energy was a lot better than it’s been lately. We’ve been getting off to slow starts. We’ve been scoring like 40 points, 43 points, so we wanted to up-tempo a little bit. We worked on some tempo, and I thought we were able to speed them up a little bit.”
Scott and Damon Rawls had four steals each as well, while Connor Fields finished with 11 points. Abington is also happy to have senior point guard Jimmy Marino back in the lineup.
“That’s been huge,” Grasty said. “He’s a senior, and his leadership – he’s been with us for three years. He gets our guys in the right position. They’re very comfortable with him and he helps us make plays. Not that the other lineup didn’t, but he definitely changes the outlook of our team.”
Abington (2-3, 2-1 SOL) is scheduled to play at Plymouth Whitemarsh in a key Liberty Division game on Thursday night, but things remain up in the air as several SOL teams have postponed games this week due to COVID-19.
“We’re glad and scared at the same time, because we want our guys to have some type of – I don’t want to call it normalcy – but just enjoy it,” Grasty said. “At the same time, you just don’t know what’s going on. Everybody is going through it.”
Hatboro-Horsham (0-5, 0-3 SOL) was led by Noah Schlosser with 21 points, but the Hatters were just 16-for-41 from the field. They host Quakertown on Thursday.
Abington (62) Jeremiah Lee 3 0-0 7; Fhenyx Scott 7 3-4 19; Derrius Lucas 8 3-3 19; Connor Fields 5 1-3 11; Paul Glants 2 0-0 4; Elijah Louis-Benjamin 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 26 7-10 62.
Hatboro-Horsham 14-9-14-7 43
Abington 19-16-16-11 62
Wissahickon 61, Quakertown 42
Josh Twersky hit three 3-pointers and scored 23 points as Wissahickon broke open a close game with a huge second quarter on the way to the 19-point win over Quakertown.
The Trojans led 11-7 after one but scored 23 points in the second quarter as their lead swelled to 34-15 by halftime. Twersky had 12 points in the second quarter.
Dom Vacchiano added 18 points for Wissahickon.
Quakertown was led by Ty Wilkin’s nine points.
Wissahickon (3-2, 2-1 SOL) hosts New Hope-Solebury on Thursday. Quakertown (1-5, 0-3 SOL) plays at Hatboro-Horsham.
Quakertown (42)
Sam Wilkin 2 1-2 5; Kyle Rosenberger 1 2-2 4; Ethan Tomlinson 1 3-4 5; Ty Wilkiin 1 6-9 9; Brendon Ruzicka 2 0-0 5; Stephan Frumuselu 1 1-2 3; Max Morris 1 0-0 3; Miles Longacre 1 0-0 2; Anthony Callan 2 2-3 6. Totals 12 15-22 42.
Wissahickon (61)
Gabe Lassiter 1 0-0 2; Josh Twersky 9 2-3 23; Brayden Ryan 3 0-0 6; Jaylen Williams 2 0-0 5; Morgan Wilson 2 3-4 7; Phil Dias 0 0-1 0; Dom Vacchiano 7 2-4 18. Rondale Stewart 0 0-2 0. Totals 24 7-11 61.
Quakertown 7 8 8 19 – 42
Wissahickon 11 23 14 13 – 61
3-point goals: Q-T. Wilkin 1, Ruzicka 1, Morris 1; W-Twersky 3, Vacchiano 2, Williams 1
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