Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday.
Central Bucks West 55, Annapolis (MD) 50
Following an impressive win over Maryland’s Patuxent on Monday night, Central Bucks West faced an even tougher opponent in Annapolis, the host of the Capitol City Classic holiday tournament.
The Bucks pulled off the upset of a Panther squad that was a state semifinalist at the highest level just one season ago, and they did it on the Panthers’ home court.
Cal Reichwein led the Bucks (8-2) with 15 points while knocking down three triples.
“We went on a run in the fourth quarter, got a couple stops and were able to pull it out,” CB West coach Adam Sherman said. “They’re a very talented team, so it was a pretty big win for us. Cal hit some huge shots for us when we needed.”
CB West trailed by eight points after three quarters, 40-32, but the Bucks outscored Annapolis by 13 in the fourth with a huge offensive effort, closing the game with a 23-10 tear.
“Two guys who were really big for us were Luke Irons and Nico Munari,” Sherman said. “Luke was really solid for us defensively. He put a lot of ball pressure on their point guard and handled himself really well.
“Nico played strong on the inside. They had a big kid who was pretty strong inside and it was a huge factor.”
Irons finished with 12 points, six assists and four steals, while Owen Cooney added eight points and four rebounds. Munari scored only four points, but brought down six rebounds and dished out four assists. Connor Lynch came off the bench and played some important minutes, scoring 10 points in the process.
“This is a huge win for us,” Sherman said. “Just to see the kind of teams we’ll see if we make it to district playoffs, it was huge for us.
“Annapolis is a very athletic team and they try to speed things up. Down here, they should be a team with a pretty strong record, so this was a big game for us.”
Central Bucks West 13 7 12 23—55
Annapolis 13 7 20 10—50
Neshaminy 46, Lincoln 41
A young Redskins’ squad that is learning how to win used a fourth quarter rally to earn the come-from-behind win over Lincoln in the title game of the Deb Recupido Memorial Basketball Tournament.
“Having the seasons we had the last couple of years – even on the sidelines tonight, I never felt we were going to lose the game,” coach Jerry Devine said. “Whereas the last two years, if we were down, I would think, ‘Here we go…’ and we wouldn’t pull through, but we’re playing so well together as a team.
“We’re sharing the ball, and defensively, we’re playing great. I really feel like we’re together. There’s no dissension, and they’re starting to believe in themselves. It’s the first time in the last two years that being down I still felt we were going to win.”
Jack Spingler earned tournament MVP honors, contributing seven points, four steals and three assists. Zach Tredway had all eight of his points in the fourth quarter, and they were crucial. His two three-pointers gave the ‘Skins a lead they would not lose.
Cole Houseal contributed seven points, and Chris Arcidiacono, who buried a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter, added six points.
“That’s who we are – we’re just really balanced,” Devine said. “We don’t have one superstar. We have a bunch of role players playing together.”
The ‘Skins sealed the win with some clutch foul shooting down the stretch.
“We went back and forth where we had a one-point lead or two-point lead,” Devine said. “We went up four with three minutes left in the fourth and didn’t relinquish the lead.
“Zach Treadway hit two big foul shots to put us up five. Jack Spingler hit foul shots at the end to keep the lead. It never went to a one-possession game. They hit foul shots in the end. It just played out.”
With the win, the Redskins evened their record at 4-4 overall.
“It’s good for us,” Devine said. “We have two wins in a row to get back to 4-4. We thought we would be 5-3 at this point. The Tennent (overtime) loss – even though Tennent played tough, we just didn’t shoot the ball.
“We can lose anytime – we understand that. We’re not good enough to just go somewhere and win. We’re kind of where we thought we would be. It’s a process for our team.”
Eight games into the season, Devine is finding a rotation that works.
“We’re getting better,” he said. “We’ve got 10 guys that are almost exactly the same. For the first five or six games, we gave everybody opportunities. Now they’re starting to separate themselves. Now instead of going nine or 10, we have a solid seven or eight. We’re starting to fine tune what our rotation is, and we’re responding to it and playing better.
“Our practices are competitive. We practiced yesterday morning for two hard hours before our first game. We practiced today for two hard hours before our game. We came out a little sluggish. I think they were a little tired, but we can’t afford not to practice. We’re young guys, and the fact that we have 10 guys, we feel good subbing in. We started sluggish, but they came on at the end and did what they had to do.”
Pennsbury 63, Math, Civics and Sciences 61
For the second consecutive day, Pennsbury found a way to beat a talented team out of its conference.
Thanks to 21 points from St. Bonaventure-bound Derrick Woods, including a huge dunk to cap a 6-0 run late in the game, the Falcons finished off a back-and-forth game with Math, Civics and Sciences with a two-point win on the final day of the Pete and Jameer Nelson Holiday Classic at Widener University.
“It was a good win,” Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. “They have a kid who is a St. John’s commit and they play hard, but our entire team played hard. We knew it was going to be a street fight, and we were able to take advantage of our inside presence and pull out of a victory. I’m very proud of the effort the guys gave tonight.”
Cameron Jones also had a big game, scoring 16 points for Pennsbury. Mekhi Bryant and Juan Perez Jones each chipped in with 10.
Pennsbury, which is now 7-3 overall, led by three after one quarter and took a 26-25 lead into the half. The game remained extremely tight until the Falcons overcame a minimal deficit with their late-game run, which put Pennsbury on top by a score of 60-55. Woods scored 10 points in the fourth quarter, while Jones scored nine of his in the final period.
“It was a nail-biter pretty much the whole way,” Coleman said. “We were able to go up, get a stop and put it away from there. It was a good victory. We were able to give Derrick (Woods) some space and allow him some clean post-ups. Initially, they were jamming him and the screener, so he was getting held up. We got him some space to roll to the basket and he took advantage of it.”
Pennsbury 14 12 14 23—63
Math, Civics and Sciences 11 14 14 22—61
Bensalem 69, Bristol 66
Bensalem’s Nick Mulvey went 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter while helping the Owls to come out victorious in the final game of the Dick Dougherty Holiday Tournament at Bensalem High School.
The Owls (3-7) defeated Bristol by three points to win their second straight tournament game.
“The tournament itself was good,” Bensalem coach John Mullen said. “We beat Roxborough, and we did a lot of good things offensively and defensively in this game.
“We didn’t make foul shots, but we still came out with the win. Moving forward, hopefully we can string a few more wins together and get out of the hole we’re in when we start conference play up again.”
In the win, Bensalem’s huge second quarter was the difference, as the Owls erased a three-point deficit after one quarter to double up Bristol in the second (24-12) and take a 34-25 lead into the half.
Avery Nyekan, Neel Patel and Kevin Wade all led Bensalem with 12 points apiece. Mulvey added 11, while Rich Dean came off the bench to score eight.
“Rich played really well us for us,” Mullen said. “He’s a sophomore and we’re trying to get him to be the eighth guy in the rotation. That’s what we’re looking for moving forward this season.”
Bristol 13 12 14 27—66
Bensalem 10 24 12 23—69
North Penn 62, Methacton 58
North Penn’s Jared Melone scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter of the Knights’ win over Methacton in the Perkiomen Valley Holiday Shootout.
Kyle Hulmes added 18 points for the Knights while Joey Richards scored 11.
The game remained tight throughout, with North Penn leading by two after one quarter (20-18) and then finding itself tied at 33-33 going into the half. The Knights won the third quarter 14-10 and then played the Warriors even in the fourth quarter.
“I thought our kids played very hard both games,” North Penn coach John Conrad said. “They competed and we beat two good basketball teams and they played well. We have a couple tough games coming up and this should help us.”
The Knights are 6-5 on the season going into the break.
Methacton 18 15 10 15—58
North Penn 20 13 14 15—62
Upper Perkiomen 43, Upper Moreland 42
Upper Perkiomen’s Spensir Millsip was fouled while attempting a three-pointer from near halfcourt with 1.2 seconds remaining in regulation. The foul proved costly for Upper Moreland, which could only watch as Millsip knocked down all three free throws to help lead his team to a one-point win over the Bears in the consolation game at the Christopher Dock Holiday Tournament.
The Bears trailed by three after one quarter and by nine (27-18) at the half. Despite cutting the deficit to five, Upper Moreland still trailed by five points after three quarters (35-20) before fighting all the way back to take a lead in the final seconds, at least until Upper Perk hit its free throws.
Brendan O’Donnell led the Bears (4-6) with 12 points while James Martin added 11. O’Donnell knocked down three three-pointers.
Upper Moreland 13 5 12 12—42
Upper Perkiomen 16 11 8 8—43
Council Rock North 63, Ben Franklin 58
Council Rock North came out victorious in the Athletes Helping Athletes Classic consolation game, defeating Ben Franklin High in a game played at CR North High School.
Leading the way for the Indians was Matt Margolis, who finished with 17 points and seven rebounds. Riley Thompson earned all-tournament team honors while finishing with 16 points. Steve Nowmos added 12 points and nine rebounds for CR North, while Will Desautelle scored 10 points.
The Indians led by eight after one quarter (15-7) but saw Ben Franklin rally to make it a 26-23 game at the intermission. A 19-11 third quarter tear by Ben Franklin put the Indians in a four-point hole heading into the final quarter (42-34), but a 25-point fourth quarter gave the Indians the advantage.
CR North is 7-2 heading into the New Year.
Ben Franklin 7 16 19 16—58
Council Rock North 15 11 12 25—63
St. Anthony’s (NY) 53, Central Bucks South 52
Central Bucks South couldn’t recover from a slow start and fell by one in a heartbreaker to St. Anthony’s of New York in the Athletes Helping Athletes tournament final at Council Rock North High School.
St. Anthony’s led by seven at the half, 24-17. The Titans outscored St. Anthony’s 20-15 in the third quarter to make it a 39-37 game, but they fell short by the slimmest of margins.
Josh Brodie led the Titans with 11 points, while Chris Hones and Ryan Joerger each scored 10. The Titans are 6-4 on the season.
St. Anthony’s 10 14 15 14—53
Central Bucks South 8 9 20 15—52
Christopher Dock 49, Springfield 42
One day after surprising Upper Moreland with a win in the first round of the Christopher Dock Holiday Tournament, Springfield came out on the wrong end of the scoreboard against the host Pioneers in Tuesday’s title game.
The Spartans led by three at the half (20-17), but they scored just five points in the third quarter as the Pioneers – who outscored the Spartans 32-22 in the second half – came back to win their own tournament.
DeAndre Johnson led the Spartans effort with 11 points while Brendan Dugan added eight. Ryan Daly and Justin Hill each scored seven.
The Spartans led by nine after one quarter (12-3), with the Springfield defense allowing just three points, but things went downhill fast for the Spartans but things went downhill after that.
Springfield 12 8 5 17—42
Christopher Dock 3 14 16 16—49
Central 62, Norristown 53
Norristown and Central were deadlocked 27-27 at the intermission, but Central outscored the Eagles 21-15 in the third quarter and 35-26 in the half to earn the win in the Triangle Club Tournament consolation game at Norristown High School.
Roy Green led the Eagles with 14 points and five assists while Darryl Carr added nine. Kether Messiaz had eight points. Rashon Wiggins led the Eagles (4-4) under the boards with 11 rebounds. Khalif Sinclair had three steals.
Khalil Williams (26 points), Gregory Holdsman 918 points) and Curtis Barker (11) led Central.
Central 16 11 21 14—62
Norristown 14 13 15 11—53
Woodson (VA) 74, Harry S. Truman 55
Harry S. Truman went into the fourth quarter down just five points, but the Tigers were outscored 20-6 in the final in their loss to Woodson (VA) in the Jack Schott Memorial Holiday Tournament at Holy Ghost Prep High School.
The Tigers were led by Tyquan Law’s 16 points. Law was named to the all-tournament team. Tramere Adams added 11 points for Truman (3-5).
Woodson 15 26 13 20—74
Harry S. Truman 15 20 14 6—55
Kennett 65, William Tennent 53
William Tennent fell to Kennett in Tuesday’s consolation game of the Unionville Holiday Tournament.
Tennent trailed by 13 after one quarter (23-10) and never recuperated. John Ryan led the Panthers with 15 points, while Kevin Simonsin and Kyle Lewicki each scored 13 in the losing effort.
Kennett was led by Jackson Hyland’s 25 points.
William Tennent 10 11 18 14—53
Kennett 23 10 14 18—65
Stroudsburg 52, Hatboro-Horsham 44
Hatboro-Horsham fell to Stroudsburg in a Hazleton Holiday Tournament consolation game at Hazleton High School.
Walter Kimble led the Hatters with 19 points. David Robinson added eight.
The Hatters led by four after one quarter (14-10), but lost that lead in the second and trailed 24-21 at the half. Stroudsburg, which led 36-34 after three quarters, closed things out with a 16-10 fourth quarter.
Hatboro-Horsham 14 7 13 10—44
Stroudsburg 10 14 12 16—52
Upper Merion 39, KIPP DuBois Collegiate Academy 31
Ethan Miller led Upper Merion with 16 points in an eight-point win over KIPP DuBois Collegiate in a holiday tournament game at Neshaminy High School.
Aidan Newell added nine points for the Vikings, while Matt Faw finished with seven.
It was the first win of the season for Upper Merion, which had lost its first eight games of the season before Tuesday night.
“It feels great (to get our first win),” Upper Merion coach Jason Quenzer said. “It’s more so for the guys. They needed something to hang onto for all the work we put in. You have to see in their eyes that it wasn’t easy not winning, but we know it’s a process. We’re starting four sophomores and a junior, so we’re young and they’re getting experience, but the win feels good.”
The Vikings allowed just 12 first-half points, leading by 10 at the break. Overall, it was Upper Merion’s defense which stepped up the most to get the win. Faw led the defense with four steals, while Isaiah Graham-Mobley pulled down 12 rebounds.
“Our guys were good,” Quenzer said. “We wanted to keep them out of the paint and guys like Matt (Faw) and Isaiah were definitely a big inside presence.”
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