Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. CR South/Tennent photos courtesy of Jon Sklut, and Hatboro-Horsham/Downingtown East photos courtesy of Ethan Sklut. Check back for galleries of both games. (Wissahickon/Harriton photos courtesy of Josh Stelzer/Wissahickon BB)
Non-league
Hatboro-Horsham 59, Downingtown East 57 (OT)
Shane Phillips hit four 3-pointers and scored 20 points as Hatboro-Horsham went on the road and edged Downingtown East in overtime for a big win in coach Bill Coleman’s debut with the program.
The Hatters –three years removed from a one-win season –won just five games last year and four the year before.
“We are trying to change the culture completely,” Bill Coleman said. “It was good to see them grind this out in OT an hour away from school and literally just completely focus in on what we were trying to do.
“There’s obviously a challenge in changing that culture, but the effort, the execution and the focus took a step in the right direction today. We have a long way to go, but as a coaching staff, we are so happy for these guys.”
Also for the Hatters, Ryan Smith added 13 points and Kenny Lutz 12.
Turning point: Phillips opened overtime with a 3-pointer, and then Ryan Smith and Kenny Lutz hit key free throws to help lift the Hatters to the win.
Players of the game: Shane Phillips (20 points), Ryan Smith (13 points), Kenny Lutz (12 points)
H-H coach Bill Coleman on the win: “It was a battle. For us, we went in with a scouting report – if we minimized their offensive rebounds and we take care of the ball, we’re going to put ourselves in the position to win.
“In the first half, it was 19-18 them, but they turned it around because they had a rebounding advantage of about 10. We flipped it in the second half and based on my stats – we had six turnovers in the first half and two in the second. We were able to flip the script on them in the second half. I kept on telling the guys – ‘If we keep on boxing out, if we keep on fighting for rebounds, and if we push or win the rebounding advantage in the second half, we have a chance of winning. They kept on grinding it out.”
—OT: “Ryan Smith and Kenny Lutz hit big free throws in overtime. Shane Phillips hit a 3 to start overtime, but Ryan and Kenny stepped up to the line and hit some big free throws to put us over the top. They got a shot off, but we were able to get the rebound with 3 1/2 or 4 seconds left.”
—Props: “Brad Davis was 5-for-6 from the free throw line, all in the third quarter, and he really helped settle us down defensively. Downingtown East played two games over the weekend. This was our first one with a new coaching staff who are trying to set high expectations, and that’s all we know, so they were a little bit nervous, and Brad was able to go in and settle us down and helped us out. I tell these guys – ‘As seniors, it’s not often where you have the ability to reset your career.’ They took a step in the right direction today.”
—Successful debut: ” I am so happy for these kids. It comes down to accountability. As a staff, we want to grow the program, and it’s definitely possible. It starts with the current set of guys and having them live up to what we expect but then building it within the middle school, elementary school and even St. Katherine’s CYO team locally, reaching out to them, and the kids that may consider going to La Salle, GA or Wood – hey, we’re an option because we’re going to help you get better as a player if that’s what you want to do.”
Next up: Hatboro-Horsham (1-0) plays at archrival Upper Moreland on Thursday night.
Hatboro-Horsham (59) – Ryan Smith 4 4-7 13; Sean McCue 2 3-4 7; Kenny Lutz 4 2-4 12; Shane Phillips 7 2-2 20; Brad Davis 1 5-6 7; Totals 18 16-23 59
Downingtown East (57) – Chase Krupansky 1 1-1 3; Connor Littlepage 3 0-0 7;Joey Pell 2 1-2 5; Brayden Phillips 2 4-4 8; Sergio Hunt 5 1-1 11; Holland Neff 6 5-9 20; Abraham Sesay 0 3-4 3; Totals 19 15-21
Hatboro-Horsham 12-6-16-17-8 59
Downingtown East 10-9-16-16-6 57
3-point goals: DE – Neff 3, Littlepage; HH – Shane Phillips 4, Kenny Lutz 2, Ryan Smith.
Abington 78, Frankford 47
Sophomore Xander Grasty scored 20 points to lead the way as Abington rolled visiting Frankford to improve to 2-0 on the season with a 31-point victory.
Jake Manigault added 16 for the Galloping Ghosts.
If the Ghosts needed pre-game inspiration, coach Dan Marsh gave it to them.
“I put quotes on the board, and my quote on the board today was ‘Choo choo,’” the Ghosts’ coach said. “They’re like, ‘What is that?’ I said, ‘Have you guys ever been on an Amtrak that goes 90 miles per hour?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah.’ I said, ‘It’s really hard to stop, right? Well, we’re the train – choo choo.’
“The whole game they kept going ‘choo, choo’ and the arm pulling down. It was fun. They’re a great bunch. I’m really looking forward to the season. They have a personality, which is great. We’ll see what happens. We have tougher tests. coming up.”
Key stretch: A 10-point game at halftime, a 15-6 third quarter blew the game wide open. The Ghosts tacked on 28 points in the fourth quarter to put it away.
Players of the game: Xander Grasty (20 points), Jake Manigault (16 points), Faizon Garland (12 points), Paul Glants (8 rebounds, 8 assists), Zion Hospedales (11 points)
Coach Dan Marsh on the win: “Tonight was a good test. It was their first game, and they were all business. They came in and they were ready to play. I don’t know how good they’re going to be. I told our kids, ‘I hope you’re ready to play because they are.’”
“The good thing about today’s game, they came out and tried multiple zones against us. We were able to get them out of their zone. They didn’t go man until the fourth quarter, and we scored 28 points in the fourth quarter. They couldn’t guard us. Xander was one of the guys getting to the rim. It was nice to see Xander get off.
“But Skit (Faizon Garland) really got our engines going. At one point, he had three and-ones in a row. He’s just such a little firecracker.”
Props: “Paul Glants has become one of the most unselfish people in the world. Paul only had two points, but he had eight rebounds and eight assists. He was just the floor general. He’s the perfect example of someone who’s setting his ego aside for the benefit of the team. He enjoys setting other people up.”
Next up: Abington (2-0) hosts CB West on Dec. 10.
Frankford (47)
Mykel Owens 3 2-2 8; Brendan Gage 0 0-2 0; Kasir Howes 1 2-2 4; Edriel Molina Lopez 4 3-4 14; Doran Ross 5 3-4 14; Jasir Jeffort 3 0-0 7.
Abington (78)
Kyler Pickron 4 0-0 9; Faizon Garland 5 1-1 12; Xander Grasty 8 4-4 20; Leo D’Arco 0 1-2 1; Michael O’Rourke 1 0-0 2; Jake Manigault 6 2-2 16; Amari Stone 1 1-1 3; Zion Hospedales 5 1-2 11; Declan Doyle 1 0-0 2; Paul Glants 1 0-0 2.
Frankford 10 15 6 16 – 47
Abington 19 16 15 28 – 78
3-point goals: F-Molina Lopez 3, Ross, Jeffort
Council Rock South 59, William Tennent 45
CR South broke the game open in the second quarter and went on to the 14-point win on the road on Thursday.
Player of the game: Golden Hawks sophomore MJ Thompson had 22 points and 10 rebounds.
CR South coach Andrew Rogers on the win: “I thought our guys responded pretty well. We talked earlier. We thought it was going to be about defense and setting the tone there. The boys did a really good job,
especially through the first half into the third quarter. I thought they did a good job guarding, allowing us to turn some defense to offense to get some easy points for us.
“Offensively, I thought we shared the ball pretty good. We got some good looks. Overall, it was a good night. Definitely some things early on that we saw we can work on, but I’m very happy with our effort. Early on, it’s about consistently having that effort all the way through.”
–Props: “Ryan Wekluk had seven points and also had four assists. Junior guard Ray Harland did a great job. He had three assists but just really kept us in the offense. Junior guard Pat Malone came in and gave us really good minutes. I thought it was solid across the board – we had four guys with seven points, and MJ led us with 22. I thought everybody did a good job.”
Next up: CR South (1-0) plays Harriton in the first round of the Phoenixville tournament on Friday. Tennent (0-1) plays CB East at Pennridge on Friday.
Council Rock South (59) – MJ Thompson 22, Ryan Wekluk 7, Owen McLean 7, Ray Haglund 7, Ryan Delp 7, Joey Madara 7, Patrick Malone 2
William Tennent (45) – Tre Stracuzzi 3; Luke Torok 13, Ryan Bula 6, Scott Scheller 5, Jayden Bright 12, Tony Pople 6
Council Rock South 14-20-18-9 59
William Tennent 7-10-16-12 45
3-point goals: CRS – MJ Thompson 2, Owen McLean, Ryan Delp; WT – Luke Torok 3, Tony Pople 2, Tre Stracuzzi.
Pennridge 55, Boyertown 36
Xavier Peters scored 15 points and played solid defense, as Pennridge shook off a slow start to get past host Boyertown in the Rams’ season opener on Tuesday night.
Connor Murray and Marley Steward had eight points each for the Rams.
Turning point: Trailing 21-20 at the half, Pennridge outscored Boyertown 24-4 in the decisive third quarter to take control of the game.
Coach Dean Behrens on the win: “It was a good win for us, a great win. We had a tough season last year. Let’s be frank about it – we really had a couple tough things happen to our kids. Marley snapped his leg on December 1st of last year. Now, 367 days later, Marley gets to play a real basketball game. I thought that was awesome.
“Two other kids were battling stomach issues. One, Jake Bulger, has played since he was a freshman. Charlie Rising was in the hospital for five days. It’s great they got to play as seniors after what they’ve been dealing with medically.
–Surviving a slow start: “Tonight was tough for us. It wasn’t the best game in the first half. At one point we were down 11-3 and were 1-for-15 from the floor. We then went on a little run at the 4-minute mark of the second quarter. We came out in the third quarter and the ball started going in the basket. I thought our defensive intensity went up. We were taking good shots the whole game, but they started to go in for us.
“We got everybody in the game. It’s a good way to start the season.”
–Props: “Xavier led the team with 15. It was the first game – he probably left 6 points on the board, but it was a solid 15. He got into transition really well. The thing about Xavier is he really locked down the point guard from Boyertown. His on the ball defense is tough, really tough. I think that’s overlooked a lot of the time.
“We’re going to be a team that can’t rely on one guy. We have to move the basketball, make the extra pass, celebrate making the extra pass to get their teammate the best shot possible.
“Connor Murray, a 10th-grader, played extremely well. He really solidified things for us in the second half.”
Next up: Pennridge (1-0) hosts Lansdale Catholic in another nonleague game on Friday.
Pennridge (55)
Rownan Smith 3 0-1 6; Marley Steward 4 0-0 8; Cade Bachman 1 0-2 2; Xavier Peters 5 2-2 15; Jake Bolger 1 0-0 2; Jake Dietl 1 1-1 3; Ryan Schwind 3 0-0 7; Will Wallace 1 0-0 2; Connor Murray 3 1-2 8; Sam Cognale 3 1-2 8; Ryan Flood 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 4-8 55.
Boyertown (36)
Coleman 1 0-0 2; Schreiner 1 1-2 3; Kircher 2 0-1 4; Luft 0 2-2 2; Kearn 4 2-2 14; Pretle 3 0-0 8; Martinez 1 0-1 2; Berdito 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 6-10-36
Pennridge 6 14 24 11 – 55
Boyertown 11 8 4 13 – 36
3 point goals: P – Peters 3, Schwind, Murray
Souderton 75, Faith Christian 46
Nolan Watkins scored 20 points, including 15 in the first half and four 3-pointers, as Souderton jumped ahead of visiting Faith Christian for the 29-point home win.
Thaddeus Harter had 15 points and three 3-pointers, while Chanse Salone chipped in with 14.
As a team, the Indians hit nine 3-pointers.
Key Stretch: Salone scored eight points and Watkins seven in a 21-4 first quarter for the Indians, who were off and running.
Coach Okoteh Sackitey: “I’m proud of the effort and the way we were able to respond to their runs in the second and third quarters. It was nice to get out to a strong start in the first quarter. We came in really focused and really aggressive.
“Chanse got us started with a nice ‘3’ on the first play of the game and did a great job facilitating the offense and defending on his way to 14 points. Nolan Watkins hit four 3’s and defended really well. Our bigs – Thaddeus Harter (15 points) and Grady Kovach – did a great job of protecting the rim. Dylan Quinn and Grady scored their first varsity points.”
Next up: Souderton (1-0) hosts West Chester Rustin in a first round game of the Jim Church Tournament on Friday night (8 pm).
Faith Christian (46)
Roley 2 0-0 6; Grant 3 1-2 7; K. Hughes 3 1-1 7; Paul 2 0-0 5; Verbit 6 8-10 20; C. Hughes 0 1-2 1.
Souderton (76)
Chanse Salone 5 0-0 14; Trey Bui 1 0-0 3; Chris Lewis 1 2-2 4; Nolan Watkins 7 2-2 20; Nate Rusike 4 0-0 8; Thaddeus Harter 6 0-0 15; Grady Kovach 4 0-0 8; Dylan Quinn 1 1-3 3.
Faith Christian 4 15 14 9 – 46
Souderton 21 17 18 19 – 75
3-point goal: FC-Roley 2, Paul; S-Watkins 4, Harter 3, Salone, Bui
Springfield Twp 70, Renaissance Academy 54
Bob Hartman led the way with 18 points as Springfield pulled away from Renaissance Academy for the nonleague win on Tuesday.
Players of the Game: Bob Hartman (18 points, 4 assists), Brandon Thompson (11 points), Chadrack Kiamba (11 points, 8 rebounds)
Coach Rob Fusaro on the win: “I really liked at the end where it was a little bit tighter of a game, and we closed it out and extended the lead. We really controlled the ball and controlled the game towards the end. So that really helped, and they were really, really disciplined at the end – taking good shots, running through the offense really well. I was especially pleased about that because it shows the maturity of our group, which is really nice.”
Props: “Bob Hartman played great – he took good shots, made big shots, controlled the game. Aiden Hood, Will Cooney and Julian Ciasullo played really well, scoring and just picking their spots. They all as a group collectively just were very strong and solid, which is really nice to see. It was nice to have a tougher game to fight through and grind out a win, which is great.”
Next up: Springfield (2-1) hosts Science Leadership Academy on Monday.
Renaissance Academy (54)
Picard 1 0-0 3; Hunter 1 2-4 5; Johnson 2 1-2 7; Breazeak 5 4-7 14; Greer 6 0-0 14; Norton 0 1-2 1; Cromarie 2 0-0 5; Tower 2 0-2 4; Totals 19 8-17 53,
Springfield Twp (70)
Brandon Thompson 2 7-7 11; Bobby Hartman 5 6-6 18, Jack McGuickin 1 1-2 3; Chadrick Kiamba 4 3-4 11; Aiden Hood 2 3-6 8; Julian Ciasullo 3 1-2 9; Hunter Davis 1 0-0 2; Will Cooney 3 1-2 8; Totals 21 22-29 70.
Renaissance Academy 16-15-13-9 53
Springfield Twp 21-19-16-14 70
3-point goals: RA – Picard, Hunter, Cromarie, Johnson 2, Greer 2; S – Hartman 2, Ciasullo 2, Hood, Cooney
Upper Dublin 57, La Salle 50
Idris Rines scored 22 points, and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter as Upper Dublin jumped up and then held off La Salle for a huge road nonleague win.
Ryan Mulroy had 11 for UD, while Noah Cohen added eight.
UD coach Derek Brooks on the win: “We really beefed up the schedule. We have a lot of returners from last year and we want to challenge ourselves as much as we can early in the year.
“It’s a local rivalry. The schools are so close, so many kids in our area go to La Salle, the kids all know each other. It’s a fun environment.
“It was an intense, very physical game. It felt like a football game. We struggled at first to handle that physicality, then we handled it pretty well, and ultimately did enough to hang on and get a win.”
Up Next: Upper Dublin (1-1) plays Downingtown West Friday in the opening round of the Jim Church Tournament at Souderton (6:30 pm).
Upper Dublin (57)
Kobe Bazemore 2, Noah Cohen 8, Ryan Mulroy 11, Idris Rines 22, Justin Rosdale 7, Reilly McLaughlin 7
La Salle (50)
Joey O’Brien 15, Nick Parisi 18, Grayson McKeough 8, Hayes Altomore 2, Nick Neri 6
Wissahickon 58, Harriton 37
The got off to a strong start on their home opener, dominating play from the outset and opening up a 20-4 lead after one quarter.
Ben Schwartz scored 8 of his 14 points in the first quarter, and Nico Vacchiano scored 12 of his game high 29 in the opening frame, and the Trojans never looked back.
“We played solid defense throughout the game,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said.
Next up: Wissahickon (1-0) plays at North Penn on Friday.
Harriton (37)
Tenzin Wangyd 2 0-0 5; Henry Belcher 3 3-4 9; Cole Chokowski 1 0-0 2; Cam Spence 1 0-0 2; Billy Wurtzel 1 1-2 2; Sean Gallagher 5 4-6 16; Jonah Schneider 0 0-2 0; Totals 13 8-14 37.
Wissahickon (58)
Michael Maltin 1 2-2 4; Chris Lee 2 0-0 4; Owen Haughey 1 0-0 3; Nico Vecchione 9 8-15 29; Malachi Hodges 2 0-0 3; Ben Schwartz 3 7-8 14; Delmar Taliaferro 1 0-0 2; Totals 18 17-25 58.
Harriton 4 12 10 11 – 37
Wissahickon 20 12 13 13 – 58
3-point goals: W – Nicol Vecchione 3, Owen Haughey; H – Sean Gallagher 2, Tenzin Wangyd.
Spring-Ford 48, North Penn 34
Ahmaar Godhania led North Penn scorers with 14 points, but the Knights struggled from the field and lost for the first time this season against a tough Spring-Ford squad on Tuesday night.
North Penn shot just 31 percent from the field. Aiden Atkinson had 11 points.
Coach Cordell Lord about the North Penn loss: “(Joe) Dempsey is one of the best coaches in our area, and he does a great job of making things difficult for the other team. He gets in and out of so many things on both ends of the floor, and he has some really high level players.
“I felt as though we did a solid job guarding the ball and making things tough for them overall, I just felt like they were able to gain some momentum especially after some tough baskets made by Jacob.
“We also came down to earth a little bit tonight as we struggled to make some shots and could not find our rhythm. This is a growing lesson for our team, as we need to continue to rely on the details and be focused on controlling what we can control. It is a quick turnaround so it will be a good test to see how we play tomorrow against a solid Neshaminy team.
Next up: North Penn (2-1) is back in action against Neshaminy on Wednesday.
North Penn (34) – Ahmaar Godhani 4 4-6 14; Aiden Atkinson 5 0-0 11; Gabe Altemus 1 2-4 4; Lee Hammond 1 1-2 3; Wiley Martin 1 0-0 2; Totals 12 7-12 34.
3-point goals: NP – Godhani 2, Atkinson.
Holy Ghost Prep 67, Central Bucks South 62
Close most of the way, Holy Ghost Prep pulled away in the fourth quarter to get past CB South on Tuesday night.
Connor Thompson led the Titans with 15 points, while Leo Medwid added nine.
Next up: CB South (0-3) plays at Quakertown on Friday.
Holy Ghost Prep (67)
Sharlin 5 1-2 13; McDonald 3 3-7 12; Segarauch 4 1-2 10; Stenarda 1 1-2 3; Farrell 2 0-1 5; Condon 1 0-0 2; Varella 3 7-10 13; Milici 1 0-0 3; Nahill 2 1-2 6.
CB South (62)
Cole DiEmidia 1 2-3 4; Alex Shahin 1 0-0 2; Brett Barrett 4 0-0 8; Nicholas Zakrzewski 1 0-0 3; Dan Gies 3 0-0 8; Shane Farrell 2 3-3 7; Connor Thompson 4 4-4 15; Ben Harrison 3 0-0 6. Leo Medwid 3 2-2 9.
Holy Ghost 14 19 11 22 – 67
CB South 11 22 11 18 – 62
3-point goals: HGP – Sharlin 2, Segaravich, Farrell, Milici, Nahill; CBS – Thompson 3, Farrell 2, Gies
Academy Park 45, Harry S. Truman 43
Jaden Luchansky had 11 points for Truman in the loss. Dwayne McCoy finished with eight points and 18 rebounds, and Tre Winton had eight.
Next up: Truman (0-1) plays at Abraham Lincoln on Friday afternoon.
Owen J. Roberts 57, Quakertown 34
Aiden Burgy led the Panthers with nine in their season-opening road loss to Owen J. Roberts in the season opener.
A very young Quakertown team hung tough early but fell behind 31-19 at halftime, and OJR was able to put it away in the second half.
Up Next: Quakertown (0-1) hosts CB South on Friday.
Quakertown (34) – Jameson Skyles 2 0-0 4; Trae McCray 1 1-1 3; Matt Thomas 2 1-3 5; RJ Ficco 2 0-0 4; Aiden Burgy 3 2-4 9; Mason Rush 1 3-4 6; Joey Bodnar 0 1-2 1; Totals 12 8-14 34.
Owen J Roberts (57) – Danny Walker 3 2-2 10; Elijah Wilson 1 0-0 2; Ryan Holmburg 4 0-0 10; Elijah Kline 6 5-7 17; Ryan Simpson 2 0-0 6; Dazh Rose 2 0-0 4; Dylan Drumheller 0 1-2 1; Roman Storti 1 0-0 3; Gavin Wiinnick 2 0-0 4; Totals 21 8-11 57.
Quakertown 13–6-7-8 34
Owen J Roberts 20-11-15-11 57
3-point goals: Q-Aiden Burgy, Mason Rush; OJR – Danny Walker 2, Ryan Holmburg 2, Ryan Simpson 2, Roman Storti.
MaST Charter defeated New Hope-Solebury 67-28
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