Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday. Pennsbury/Episcopal photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography; photos of Plymouth Whitemarsh/Prendergast and Abington/Arch Bishop Carroll provided by Larry Small. Check back for a gallery…CLICK HERE to go directly to the BOYS' BASKETBALL GALLERY.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 64, BONNER-PRENDERGAST 60 (2 OT)
Unlike college basketball, there's no such thing as a PIAA selection committee to determine and seed postseason participants.
If there were such a thing, however, the Colonials wouldn't have to worry about their resume speaking for itself. Pushed to the brink several times by a Friars team pegged as a sleeper contender in the Philadelphia Catholic League, Plymouth Whitemarsh survived the latest test in its grueling season-opening schedule as part of the Pete and Jameer Nelson Classic at Jefferson University.
"All you can do is realize you're seven games in and not 20 games in," coach Jim Donofrio said. "It's an interesting idea that you can kind of get ahead of yourself and start worrying about what you're capable of down the road. Well, that's a long way away."
The Colonials already own wins over Archbishop Carroll and defending PCL champion Archbishop Wood this month.
PW was by no means perfect during Friday’s game, especially during the hectic final minutes of regulation and in both overtimes, but with every opportunity to crack, the experienced Colonials never did.
Game MVP Ahmad Williams led PW with 15 points while Ish Horn scored 14 and Naheem McLeod added 12. Ahmin Williams and Alan Glover each scored eight and provided much-needed energy and hustle in the final acts of the game that helped PW emerge victorious.
"The best thing about it is we just believe we should win basketball games," Donofrio said. "That's a pretty important trait."
PW led after each of the first three quarters and had a 35-25 lead two minutes into the third frame. Bonner-Prendergast switched into a halfcourt trap defense and started to get PW to turn the ball over or take rushed shots.
Led by Isaiah Wong, B-P then cut into the lead with a 9-2 run to end the third and the teams would trade scores for most of the fourth quarter.
"We have been working on it for a year now, trying to get really perfected at and I just think we don't quite see it yet," Donofrio said of playing against the trap. "When we see it, we're going to be at the next level."
PW's slight recklessness late in the game certainly helped the Friars get in position to first force overtime with a buzzer-beater to end the fourth and again to tie it up with less than 10 seconds to go in the first extra period.
"The difference is there's a resolve to us we didn't have last year," Donofrio said. "Last year we were 5-3 in nonleague and blinked in a couple of games that this year, we're not blinking in. We're not making it easy but the good new is – if most of those were self-made mistakes, then we know we can fix them."
PW finally got some separation in the second overtime after Horn broke a 58-58 tie on an Ahmin Williams pass, then Glover found McLeod for a 62-60 lead. There were still a couple moments of chaos to get through, but after Glover's outlet pass found Horn for a dunk with 12 seconds left, the Colonials could exhale.
There's one last big test in 2017 for PW (7-0, 2-0 SOL), which faces reigning 3A state champion Neumann-Goretti on Sunday in a 1 p.m. tip at Chestnut Hill College.
"My biggest fear going into December was are we at least going to go .500 in this," Donofrio said. "You could play great in this stretch and be 4-4, 3-5, 5-3. We're at seven, now we've got incentive and we just have to hope we're healthy."
Plymouth Whiemarsh 15-14-8-13-6-8 64
Bonner-Prendergast 9-16-9-16-6-4 60
PW: Ahmad Williams 15, Ish Horn 14, Naheem McLeod 12, Alan Glover 8, Ahmin Williams 8, Danny Cooper 5, Jason Cherry 2.
BP: Isaiah Wong 18, Tyreese Watson 9, Ajiri Johnson 10, Tariq Ingraham 15, Donovan Rodriquez 4, Mahir Sharif 4.
PENNSBURY 54, EPISCOPAL ACADEMY 45
The Falcons weren’t especially fond of their 10:30 a.m. start time Friday at the 13th Annual Pete & Jameer Nelson Classic at Jefferson University.
“We literally were down 15-0 at one point and ended the first quarter 15-6,” coach Bill Coleman said. “We got down again by 17 in the second quarter.”
That was the bad news. The good news was the Falcons displayed remarkable resiliency, coming all the way back from that early hole to earn the impressive win.
“Our goal as we got through the first half of the second quarter was to go into halftime down eight and really set the tempo,” said Coleman, whose team did better than that, trailing EA 25-17 at the intermission. “They got the ball to start the second half, and we got a steal off the inbounds, and that really kind of set the tempo for the rest of the game and the way it was played.
“We were able to really get up on them defensively, forced some people into quicker shots than they were used to normally taking, and go from there.”
The Falcons seized control of the game with a 19-6 third quarter surge to go on top 36-31 heading into the final frame. Jake Martell, who did not score in the first half, came off the bench to score seven points in the frame.
“Everyone contributed, but the energy went up through the roof when Jake Martell came into the game,” Coleman said. “You look at Jake, and he’s one of our smallest players, but the kid’s a fighter.
“He doesn’t know the word quit, he doesn’t know the word stop. He just has three words – full steam ahead. His energy off the bench was fantastic, and that kind of flipped the game for us, and he hit some big shots for us too when we took the lead in the third quarter.”
Raylil Winton led the Falcons with 15 points. Collin Connor added 13, and Gary Francis was the third Falcon in double figures with 10. Martell added nine points, all in the second half.
“This was a huge win for us,” Coleman said. “Everyone knows we’re inexperienced, we’re young at some spots.
“The schedule was put together to challenge us. If you really look at it, you’ll see the teams we’re playing are no joke. It was meant to really get these guys to understand how hard they have to play. Unfortunately, in the first two games in the league, it didn’t work out that way, but I think our guys are starting to fully understand the amount of effort and focus and the attitude they have to come into games with. I think they’re starting to figure that out.”
Pennsbury (2-5, 0-2 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Thursday for a 6 p.m. contest.
Pennsbury 6-11-19-18 54
Episcopal Academy 15-10-6-14 45
Pennsbury (54) – Jake Marell 9, Collin Connor 13, Raylil Winton 15, Josh Arruda 3, Chad Weldon 4, Gary Francis 10.
Episcopal Academy (45) – Fitzpatrick 7, Hershey 3, Phillips 2, Capitano 11, Dade 11, O’Reilly 4, Lesher 7.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 52, BALDWIN (Pittsburgh, Pa.) 48 (OT)
The Patriots rebounded from a loss in Thursday’s opening round of the KSA Events Holiday Tournament to win an overtime thriller. Kyle Cassidy led the Patriots, finishing with a double-double that include 20 points and 10 rebounds. The senior guard was the star of overtime, scoring six of his team’s 10 points in the extra period.
Baldwin took a 21-16 lead into halftime, but the Patriots evened the score with a 14-9 third period. It looked as though the Patriots might win it in regulation, but Baldwin had other ideas, knotting the score on a 3-pointer with three seconds remaining in regulation.
East converted 6-of-7 at the foul line in overtime. For the game, the Patriots were 18-of-21 from the charity stripe while Baldwin connected on 4-of-8. The Patriots shot 15-of-42 from the field.
Also for the Patriots, Leo Masterson had 12 points while Collin Stein and Joe Jackman each added six points. Jackman had a pair of 3-pointers. Nick Roggio – despite battling the flu – blocked five shots, and Stein led the defense with five steals.
Central Bucks East (6-2, 2-0 SOL) will face Beckman (Calif.) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. as the Patriots continue play in the KSA Events Holiday Tournament (Grey Bracket) in Orlando, Fla.
Central Bucks East 9-7-14-12-10 52
Baldwin 9-12-9-12-6 48
Central Bucks East (52) – Ben Markowitz 4, Kyle Cassidy 20, Collin Stein 6, Jesse Rivera 2, Leo Masterson 12, Joe Jackman 6, Nick Roggio 2.
Baldwin (48) – Jenkins 23, Barr 2, Staley 2, Goga 1, Flumare 21.
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 57, HOLY GHOST PREP 51
Twenty-four hours after dropping a 70-69 heartbreaker to Lincoln in the opening round of the Jack Schott Memorial Tournament at Holy Ghost Prep, the Titans rebounded to defeat the host Firebirds.
South led by just two after one quarter but took a 30-22 lead into halftime. They led by double digits heading into the final quarter (40-30) before the Firebirds staged a late surge.
Ian McCaw’s 15 points led the Titans. Tom Kuypers added 14, and Nate Robinson had 11. Alex Dietz chipped in six points.
Central Bucks South (5-2, 2-0 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West on Wednesday night.
Central Bucks South 16-14-10-17 57
Holy Ghost Prep 14-8-8-21 51
Central Bucks South (57) – Brady Prezelski 1, Cole Prezelski 4, Nate Robinson 11, Brock D’Aulerio 3, Jack Johns 3, Alex Dietz 6, Tom Kuypers 14, Ian McCaw 15.
Holy Ghost Prep (51) – Greg Sylvester 9, Jack Elliott 13, Tyler Mish 1, Jack Rittenmeyer 7, Greg Calvin 2, Sean Elliott 3, Sean Sylvester 16.
PENNRIDGE 48, GOVERNOR MIFFLIN 26
Sparked by the 13-point efforts of Sean Yoder and Jon Post, the Rams rebounded from an opening round loss to win Friday’s consolation game at the Boyertown Holiday Tournament.
Pennridge, which led 10-5 after one quarter, took a 23-13 lead into halftime and upped its advantage to 36-19 after three quarters, outscoring Governor Mifflin 25-13 in the second half. In addition to Yoder and Post, Mike Molettiere had eight points.
Pennridge (5-3, 0-1 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Wednesday.
Governor Mifflin 5-8-6-7 26
Pennridge 10-13-13-12 48
Governor Mifflin (26) – Harman 4, Walmer 2, Stauber 5, Magwood 2, Wall 3, Klahr 6, Alveraz 4.
Pennridge (48) – Sean Yoder 13, Brett Henofer 2, Jake Pestrak 2, Mike Molettiere 8, Tyrese Lewis 4, Pat Gillespie 2, Jon Post 13, Colin Post 4.
ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 70, ABINGTON 56
Abington has undoubtedly seen enough of the PCL teams to last for quite some time. Six days after the Ghosts suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of Neumann-Goretti, they fell to Archbishop Carroll at the 13th Annual Pete & Jameer Nelson Classic at Jefferson University on Saturday.
Carroll held just a one-point lead at halftime, 29-28, but extended that to 48-43 heading into the final quarter. The Patriots owned the fourth quarter, outscoring the Ghosts 22-13 to win going away.
Three Ghosts players finished the game in double figures. Eric Dixon – who buried 10-of-16 shots from the floor – led the way with 23 points to go along with six rebounds. Lucas Monroe added 17 points and six boards, and Robbie Heath had 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists. The rest of the team combined for just five points.
The Ghosts’ shooting stats for the game (21-of-54, 38.8 percent) were remarkably similar to their stats against Neumann-Goretti (21-of-56). Abington could not buy a shot from long range against Carroll, connecting on just 3-of-19 from the beyond the arc (15.7 percent). They buried 11-of-19 at the foul line.
Abington (4-2, 2-0 SOL) will host Neshaminy on Wednesday in a battle of SOL National Conference unbeaten squads.
Archbishop Carroll 14-15-19-22 70
Abington 16-12-15-13 56
Archbishop Carroll (70) – Butler 16, Anderson 17, Hoggard 17, House 6, Little 12, Ketner 2.
Abington (56) – Eric Dixon 23, Robbie Heath 11, Lucas Monroe 17, Xavier Crawford 2, Hasan Whitby 3.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 39, UPPER MERION 36
The Hatters opened up an early lead and then withstood a late comeback by the Vikings in the consolation game of the Triangle Club Tournament. Hatboro-Horsham led 33-20 after three quarters before the Vikings closed out the game with a 16-6 fourth quarter tear.
Chris Edwards led the Hatters with 11 points. Solomon McNair and Khalid Johnson both had eight. Jake Schalki added seven.
Hatboro-Horsham (3-3, 1-1 SOL) will travel to Quakertown on Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 11-12-10-6 39
Upper Merion 7-7-6-16 36
LINCOLN 70, HARRY S TRUMAN 53
Lincoln benefitted from Tiger turnovers and missed opportunities to earn the win in the title game of the Jack Schott Memorial Tournament. The Tigers also struggled to adjust to Lincoln’s size.
“Their size and length messed with our heads – they were huge,” coach Byron Conover said.
Harry S Truman (5-1, 1-0 SOL) will travel to Phoenixville for a non-league game on Wednesday.
Thursday, Dec. 28
ALCOA 64, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 43
The Bucks, who trailed by five after one quarter, found themselves on the short end of a 33-24 score at halftime of Thursday’s opening round game at the Franklin Roads Academy Holiday Tournament. Alcoa added to its lead in each of the final two quarters on its way to the win.
Collin MacAdams led the Bucks with a double-double that included 16 points and 11 rebounds. Shane McCusker added 12 points and four rebounds, and Jack Neri had nine points and five rebounds.
Dante Harris led Alcoa with 24 points.
Central Bucks West (4-2, 2-0 SOL) faced host Franklin Roads Academy on Friday at 7 p.m.
Central Bucks West 9-15-11-8 43
Alcoa 14-19-15-16 64
Central Bucks West (43) – Shane McCusker 12, Jack Mulhearn 2, Collin MacAdams 16, Jake Reichwein 4, Jack Neri 9.
Alcoa (64) – Dante Harris 24, Michael Ayl 14, Isiah Cox 8, Mekhi Carter 9, JR Jonas 2, Tristan Bletenski 4, Garrett Rogers 1, Ahmed Sontren 2.
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