Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Friday. Hatboro-Horsham/Upper Merion photos courtesy of Rimas Gaver. Bensalem/Dobbins & Pennsbury/Northeast photos courtesy of Greg Lindsay. Check back for galleries of all three games. CLICK HERE to view Suburban One Sports’ Boys’ Basketball galleries.
Bensalem Tournament
Pennsbury 49, Northeast 48
Some nights, things are sloppy, and a team just has to find a way to get things done. Pennsbury did that Friday.
The Falcons overcame a 5-for-12 shooting night from the free throw line, but after going 2–for-8 through the first three quarters, were able to put the game away going 3-for-4 in the fourth quarter.
“We felt like we had control of the game midway through the third quarter,” said coach Wes Emme. “One of their better players, Bobby Perry, went out of the game, but we weren’t able to put them away and it got tight. We didn’t handle the situational stuff well, and it was a make or break game. But when you lose the free throw battle and backboard battle, and end up winning, it’s a good thing. You take the win and be better tomorrow.”
Players of the game: Grayson Gozum (9 points, 4 assists, 2 steals, 5 deflections), Max Manga 8 points, 10 rebounds).
Coach Wes Emme said about the win: “Mitch Primola was kind of our unsung hero. He’s a three-year varsity player but wasn’t in the rotation the last two years. This year, he’s worked his way in and hit big 3s for us today.
“Max Manga had 10 rebounds and dominated the backboards against a team that was physical and athletic on the glass. Our freshman, Patrick Jajua, gave us a lot of big minutes. Grayson (Gozum) was our star of the game. He did everything to help us win this game.
“We only have two returning varsity players – two guys played varsity minutes last year (Mike) Roccograndi and Grayson. Manga played a little. So, in the back of your mind, you know you’re going to have messy moments, stuff you’ve got to clean up, like valuing the basketball. Those things you can clean up.”
Next up: Back at Bensalem Saturday, Pennsbury (1-0) plays Dobbins at 3:30 p.m.
Northeast (48) – EJ Parilla 1 1-2 3; Tahir Williams 2 4-8 9; Bobby Perry 6 1-2 13; Makai Autry 2 0-1 4; James Walker 2 0-0 4; Sharif Wallace 2 0-0 4; Jonathan Miller 5 0-0 11. Totals 20 6-13 48.
Pennsbury (49) – Mike Roccograndi 4 4-8 12; Connor Tyrrel 2 0-0 4; Grayson Gozum 3 1-2 9; Mitch Primola 3 0-0 9; Pat Jajua 3 1-2 7; Max Manga 4 0-2 8. Totals 24 5-12 49.
Northeast 6 15 11 16 – 48
Pennsbury 9 18 12 10 – 49
3-point goals: N-Williams, Miller; P-Primola 3, Gozum 2
Bensalem 60, Dobbins 54 (OT)
The Owls took a 40-32 lead into the fourth quarter of Friday’s season opener only to see Dobbins rally to even the score, sending the game to overtime where Amir Drummond scored eight of his team’s nine points. His 3-pointer after Dobbins scored first in OT gave the Owls a lead they would not lose.
Drummond led the Owls with 25 points while Christian Lee added 15.
“It was an exciting game,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “One stat that really stood out to me was we had 14 assists as a team, so the ball was moving – pass ahead, keep running. We had four or five kick-outs.
“We just got a lot of solid minutes. Everyone contributed. It was a true team victory. It was just great to come out on top.”
Also for the Owls, Jahmir Chapman had seven rebounds, four assists and eight points.
Key Stretch: Amir Drummond scored eight of Bensalem’s nine overtime points and helped salt the game away on the free throw line.
Players of the Game: Amir Drummond (25 points), Christian Lee (15 points)
Bensalem coach Ron Morris: “Basically, coming out first game of the season, we have four new starters. Amir (Drummond) started some games last year, so we knew offense would be slow, and we started a little slow offensively, but our defensive intensity was there. We played 11 guys in the first half. Everyone was solid – we got contributions from everyone. We just battled and battled and just grinded away.
“I told the guys after the game in the locker room, ‘When you wear the B, that’s what we do. We’re grinders. We just work hard, don’t let anyone work us out.’ We were able to pull it out in overtime.”
–The fourth quarter: “We didn’t shoot foul shots well in the fourth quarter as a team. They tied it up, and we held the ball for about a minute. We had a look at the buzzer, but unfortunately, it didn’t fall, and it went to overtime.”
–Drummond owns OT: “Amir stepped up in overtime. I know he was a little upset because he missed a shot at the end of regulation. We told him, ‘You’re a shooter – keep shooting,’ and he hit a big 3 after they scored the first bucket.
“Amir a three-level scorer, he’s really fast – hard to stay in front of. He was able to score, he rebounded well – he had five rebounds. He took a charge, Christian Lee took a charge also, which we’ve been stressing to these guys.”
–Lee delivers: “Christian Lee had a great game shooting. He’s a really good shooter. He was a contributor last year off the bench. He got hurt in July – he broke his fibula, and we thought it was going to be a six-week injury. He’s a soccer player also. Unfortunately, the injury didn’t heal quick enough. He missed his whole soccer season, and he’s been working extremely hard. He comes in before school and gets shots up, so it was really nice to see the ball go through the hoop.”
–Mayfield sparks defense: “I can’t talk enough about Aidan Mayfield’s defense. The kid Jarrell Little on their team is really good. He had 25 points, but that kid worked so. When Mayfield was on him, he struggled to score. He’s real physical. It’s fun to watch the defensive intensity we play with.”
–More props: “Mikey Kramer is a senior, and he’s a baseball player. He played ninth grade and the last two years he did not play basketball. To get him back was really nice. He’s a big kid, he’s strong, he’s athletic, he doesn’t back down to anybody.
“Dymaire Johnson is a junior who’s a first-year varsity player. He was really good on the offensive glass, getting tip-outs, playing good defense.”
–A new world: “It’s our first game, and especially with a new group like this – we have to teach them every single thing. It’s not their fault, but they don’t know. We had to work on our warmup before the game. I told them when they could sit down, when they could stand. Stuff you forget when you have a veteran team. Then the veterans leave, and you have a new group.”
–Tip of the hat to Dobbins: “I can’t say enough about (Dobbins) coach (Derrick) Stanton. They only had seven kids. They had a couple kids hurt. They run some really good sets, and they play hard. It was not an easy game. As I tell the kids, if it was easy, everyone would do it. We won today, and now we go back at it against tomorrow.”
Next up: Bensalem (1-0) hosts Northeast in its second game of the tournament Saturday at 5 p.m.
Dobbins (64) – Jarrell Little 25, Malachi Baldwin 6, Khaleef Agbemhia 6, Hanaet Davis 7, Hason Laws 2, Troy Riley 2, Tylee Richardson 6
Bensalem (60) – Jahmir Chatman 8, Aidan Mayfield 3, Christian Lee 15, Amir Drummond 25, Dymeire Johnson 2, Micheal Kramer 5, Jacob Eberhardt 2
Dobbins 12 6 14 16-6 – 54
Bensalem 8 13 19 8 9 – 60
Pennridge Tournament
Central Bucks East 81, William Tennent 74
After struggling defensively in the first half – Tennent took a 45-40 lead into halftime, CB East stormed back to take control in the second half, eventually pulling away and outscoring Tennent in the season opener for the Patriots.
“We waited a little longer to get started than most of the area teams, so it was nice to finally open the season tonight,” said CB East coach Erik Henrysen. “A win makes it even that much better.
“The game was probably entertaining for the fans in the first half. There was a ton of scoring. We’ve focused on defense since our scrimmages, so for me, it was less than ideal.”
Players of the Game: Nolan Behm (24 points, 8 rebounds), Shane O’Hara-Jamison (15 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), Graham Smith (9 points, 7 assists); Jayden Bright (20 points), Tre Stracuzzi (19 points).
CB East coach Erik Henrysen about the win: “We struggled defensively in transition. It felt like Tennent kept responding immediately to every positive offensive possession we had. Tre Stracuzzi had 16 in the first half with four ‘3s’ for them, and Jay Bright was giving us fits. Our game had more points scored in the first half than (the second game, Pennridge vs Lansdale Catholic) had in their whole game.
“We finally put together a quarter of defense. Henry Bartchak got his first minutes in the third quarter. He really made an impact and his pressure on the ball threw off their rhythm just enough.”
–Props: “(Nolan) Behm was outstanding. He’s our only returning guy that saw significant minutes last year. He’s embraced leadership and did a little bit of everything tonight.
“Our team is new and most of our guys are figuring their way. There are a lot of teams in similar situations. I liked how we responded to some adversity tonight. We got down by eight but didn’t panic. Composure is something we can build on.”
Next up: CB East (1-0) is back at Pennridge Saturday against Lansdale Catholic at 3:30 p.m. Tennent (0-2) plays Pennridge at 6:30 p.m.
CB East (81) – Nolan Behm 24, Shane O’Hara-Jamison 15, Graham Smith 9, AJ Molnar 17, Connor Mekanik 13, Quinn White 3
Tennent (74) – Tre Stracuzzi 19, Jayden Bright 20, Luke Torok 3, Tony Pople 9, Ryan Bula 9, Scott Scheller 5, Matt Weigner 4, Braden Goldberg 5
CB East 24 16 17 24 – 81
Tennent 25 20 9 20 – 74
3-point goals: CBE-O’Hara-Jamison 3, Molnar 2, Behm, Smith, White; WT-Stracuzzi 4, Torok, Pople, Goldberg
Pennridge 42, Lansdale Catholic 40
Xavier Peters scored a team-high 11, as Pennridge survived a back-and-forth game and held on as visiting LC couldn’t convert late chances in this one.
The Rams led 11-4 after one quarter but found themselves deadlocked 20-20 at halftime. They outscored their visitors 13-5 in the third quarter and then held off a Crusader comeback attempt in the fourth.
Also, for the Rams, Ryan Schwind had nine points and Ryan Flood 7.
Next up: Pennridge hosts William Tennent at 6:30 in the final game of the tournament on Saturday.
LC (40) – Alymer 2 0-0 5; Romaro 7 3-3 18; Webb 1 0-2 2; Cobold 1 0-1 2; Holdsworth 6 1-2 13. Totals 17 4-8 40.
Pennridge (42) – Rownan Smith 2 1-2 6; Marley Steward 1 2-2 4; Xavier Peters 3 3-6 11; Jake Bolger 1 0-0 2; Ryan Schwind 3 2-2 9; Connor Murray 1 0-0 3; Ryan Flood 2 2-2 7. Totals 13 10-14 42.
LC 4 16 5 15 – 40
Pennridge 11 9 13 9 – 42
3-point goals: LC – Alymer, Romaro; P-Peters 2, Smith, Schwind, Murray, Flood
Cheltenham Tipoff
Samuel L. Fels 61, Cheltenham 57
Cheltenham shook off a slow start, especially on the defensive end, battled back into the game, but Fels out-executed the Panthers down the stretch to post the four-point win on Friday night.
“Give credit to Fels, but we were sloppy,” said Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury. “We’re a young group, but no excuses. It was 57-57 with about a minute 30 or two minutes left. They ended up getting a basket. We had several opportunities later but just didn’t cash in.”
Player of the Game: Osei Johnson (22 points, 3 3-pointers)
Coach Patrick Fleury on the loss: “I’ll take full responsibility for it. I’ve got to put them in better positions and just continue to push them throughout. We scheduled this first game for a reason. With this young group, we wanted them to go through adversity as much as possible, so this game did that, and we’ll just continue to grow.
“Hats off (to Fels), we got beat tonight. Our focus is – you can’t win the championship in the first game. We just needed to buckle down and do what we need as a unit to get where we need to get.”
Next up: Cheltenham (0-1) hosts Frankford at 5:30 Saturday.
Fels (61) – Shamar Parker 3, Mikey Freeman 17, Israel Moronta-Mendez 1, Noah Scurry 13, Izaaz Korengay 18, Emerson Suarez 4, Namire Green 5
Cheltenham (57) – Kamal Mason 5, Mark Hill 4, Osei Johnson 22, Salim Kelly 8, Isaias Vargas 4, Justin Ezeukwu 9, Jaedin Mosley 2, Tyree Martin 3
Fels 25 9 17 12 – 61
Cheltenham 14 21 11 11 – 57
3-point goals: F-Freeman, Green; C- Johnson 3, Ezeukwu 2, Kelly
Phoenixville Tournament
Council Rock South 57, Harriton 50
Close most of the way, CR South did what it took to put the game away in the fourth quarter to take this opening round game in Phoenxiville.
“Credit to our guys for sticking with it,” said coach Andrew Rogers. “There were a couple instances where we’d get a lead, but credit to Harriton, they hung around, put pressure on us and were able to get some stops. There were things we saw that we can clean up, but I thought our guys did a good job of hanging around and they made plays when they needed to.”
Players of the game: MJ Thompson (27 points), Ryan Delp (20 points)
Coach Andrew Rogers on the win: “We made a couple stops and our guys had a couple big rebounds.
“Ryan Delp had a big ‘3’ to extend the lead. He had a real good first quarter, and then came alive for us at the right time and gave us some timely buckets when we needed it. MJ Thompson had some timely buckets and made some big stops and rebounds.
“We got a little bit from everybody. The two guys (Delp and Thompson) obviously give us a lot of scoring, but Ryan Wekluk did a great job sticking with it. He got some good looks, but shots weren’t falling for him, but he did a good job and locked in defensively and had a couple big rebounds down the stretch. Ray Haglund is doing a good job handling the ball for us and Joey Madara and Pat Malone gave us good minutes off the bench.
Next up: CR South (2-0) plays at Phoenixville Saturday at 1 p.m.
CR South (57) – Ray Haglund 3, Ryan Delp 20, Pat Malone 2, Joey Madara 2, MJ Thompson 27, Ryan Wekluk 3
Harriton (50) – Novick 8, Belcher 19, Gallagher 12, Spence 6, Chadcowski 1; Klein 6
CR South 17 10 15 15 – 57
Harriton 12 14 16 19 – 50
Pottsgrove Tournament
Pottstown 66, Lower Moreland 48
The Lions trailed by just a 28-23 score at halftime, but the Trojans all but put the game out of reach with an 18-8 third quarter.
Zack Kendall’s 13 points led the Lions. Andre Zoubroulis add 12 points.
Next up: LM (0-1) plays host Pottsgrove in the second game of the tournament Saturday at 2 p.m.
Lower Moreland 11-12-8-17 48
Pottstown 19-9-18-15 66
Pottstown (66) – Whitehurst 11, D.Duren 4, C.Boyles 10, I.Wallon 4, A. Lofton 4, K. Robinson 8, E.Butler 21, M.Williams 4.
Lower Moreland (48) – Zack Kendall 13, Andre Zoubroulis 12; Jonathan John 5, Tom Maloney 6, Chase Carroll 6, Shawn Mertens 6
3-point goals: P – C.Boyles 2, K.Robinson 2, E.Butler 2, S.Whitehurst, LM – Andre Zouboulis 2, Chase Carrol 2, Shawn Mertens.
Jim Church Tournament
Upper Dublin 58, Downingtown West 37
Noah Cohen led a balanced UD scoring attack with 15 points, as the Flying Cardinals jumped up early and blew past Downingtown West on Friday.
Ryan Mulroy had 12 points, 10 in the first half for UD. Idris Rines was 7-for-10 from the free throw line for 11 points, while Kobe Bazemore added 10 points.
UD, which led 16-7 after one quarter, took a 30-16 lead into halftime and never looked back.
Next up: UD (2-1) plays Souderton in Saturday’s championship game.
Upper Dublin (58) – Kobe Bazemore 10; Noah Cohen 15, Ryan Mulroy 12, Idris Rines 11, James Castronueno 3, Brandon Altman 3, Reilly McLaughlin 2, Horace Jackson 2, Benji Ravitz 1.
Downingtown West (37) – Whitfield 4, Kimble 4, Moore 7, Gelling 1, Biller 3, Fromhortz 9, Critchley 4; Raines 5
Upper Dublin 16 14 17 11 – 58
Downingtown West 7 9 7 14 – 37
Souderton 56, West Chester Rustin 35
Defense was the name of the game, as Souderton picked up an impressive victory over visiting Rustin on Friday night.
“It was a nice team win,” said Indians coach Okoteh Sackitey, who teams took a 25-14 lead into halftime. “The defense is what stood out to me – holding them to 14 points at halftime, 22 after three quarters. We were just flying around. We forced 23 turnovers. The effort on defense was outstanding. We need to keep that up all year. It was a good night defensively. The defense turned to offense for us. “
Players of the Game: Nolan Watkins (17 points), Nate Rusikie (14 points).
Coach Okoteh Sackitey on the win: “We struggled to shoot the ball from ‘3’. Nolan Watkins hit our first ‘3’ of the game early in the third quarter, and I think that got us going, and we all just felt a little more confident after that. He was our leading scorer again with 17 points.
“Nate Rusike joined Nolan in double figures with 14. Chanse Salone was an amazing point guard again, Chance Salone was an amazing defender again. He had a really good game. He only had seven points, but if you watched the game, his imprint was loud.”
–Chairman of the boards: “Also, if you watched the game, Grady Kovach’s imprint was just extremely loud and so clear. My assistant coach was doing his best to keep up with the rebounding stats as we went along, and Grady had eight offensive rebounds (15 rebounds overall) and was a force on defense. He didn’t stuff the stat sheet on points, but his impact was remarkable.
–Saturday showdown against Upper Dublin: “We’re excited for that one. We know that’s going to be a really good test. They looked strong tonight. They beat us by four last year, so we feel like we can play with the team and compete with them. We know it’s going to be a battle. I’m glad they’re in the tournament. They’re a really worthy competitor and rival. They’re going to bring out the best in us, and it’s going to be a good game. We’re excited for it.”
Up next: Souderton (2-1) will face Upper Dublin Saturday at 4 pm.
Rustin (35) – Mallry 5 1-2 12; Ward 0 1-2 1; Batchelor 1 0-0 2; Linkehort 2 1-3 5; Peters 1 0-0 2; Lucenius 6 1-4 13. Totals 16 2-11 35.
Souderton (56) – Chanse Salone 3 1-2 7; Trey Bui 1 0-00 2; Evan Eraydin 1 0-0 3; Chris Lewis 1 0-0 3; Nolan Watkins 6 4-4 17; Nate Rusike 6 2-2 14; Thaddeus Harter 3 0-0 6; Grady Kovach 2 0-0 4. Totals 23 7-8 56.
Rustin 7 7 7 13 – 35
Souderton 15 10 19 12 – 56
3-point goals: R- Malley, Ward; S-Eraydin, Lewis, Watkins
Nonleague games
Lincoln 49, Harry S Truman 47 (OT)
The Tigers battled to the end but came up short at Lincoln on Friday afternoon, after rallying from 10 points down in the third quarter.
“The boys played hard in a touch environment,” said coach Randolph Jackson.
Players of the Game: Jaden Luchansky (16 points, 4 3-pointers), Dwayne McCoy (9 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks), Adul-Aziz Diallo (4 FTs to tie in OT)
Next up: Truman (0-2) looks for win number one on Tuesday at Quakertown.
Truman (47) – Julius Rodgers 7, Jaden Luchansky 16, Davae Vaughn 6, Adul-Aziz Diallo 6, Dyson Brown 2, Dwayne McCoy 9
Lincoln (49) – Salaree 3, Rosa Jr. 14, Smith 8, Russell 4, Muhammad 9, Barr 5, Hall 6, Sanchez 1
Truman 10 7 15 15 – 47
Lincoln 12 15 12 14 – 49
3-point goals: T- Luchansky 4, Rodgers, Vaughn; L- Rosa Jr. 2, Muhammad 2, Barr, Salaree
Central Bucks South 62, Quakertown 24
Ben Harrison and CB South had a big first half, as the Titans picked up their first win of the season Friday, going on the road to thump Quakertown.
A 17-4 first quarter set the tone, as the Titans’ Brett Barrett hit a pair of 3-pointers to get things going.
Harrison finished with a team-high 16 points, 11 in the first half. Barrett had 10. Leo Medwid chipped in with seven.
Next up: CB South (1-3) hosts Neshaminy on Monday.
CB South (62) – Brett Barrett 4 0-0 10; Nick Zakrzewski 2 1-1 6; Dan Gies 1 1-2 4; Shane Farrell 2 0-0 5; Connor Thompson 3 0-0 7; Ben Harrison 7 1-3 16; Davis Van Zanten 1 1-1 3; Chase Ross 1 0-0 2; Kayode Adebayo 1 0-0 2; Leo Medwid 3 1-1 7.
Quakertown (24) – Trae McGray 1 0-0 2; Jameson Sykes 1 0-0 2; RJ Ficco 2 0-0 4; Matt Thomas 3 0-0 6; Gavin Mushrush 2, Aiden Burgey 1 0-0 2; Mason Rush 2 2-2 6.
CB South 17 18 17 10 – 62
Quakertown 4 11 7 2 – 24
3-point goals: CBS-Barrett 2, Gies, Thompson, Harrison
Neshaminy 42, Central Bucks West 41
Sophomore Logan Gale knocked down a pair of free throws with four seconds remaining and that proved to be the difference as Neshaminy went on the road to edge CB West on Friday.
“A lot of new faces, and two of the faces we have coming back are injured right now – our starting point guard and two reserves,” said Neshaminy coach Mark Tingle. “We’re pulling out wins right now and fighting.”
Players of the game: Gale (20 points, 4-5 FTs, 8 points in fourth quarter, 5 rebounds, 4 assists), Max Currie (7 points, 9 rebounds); Roman Kulesa (24 points).
Neshaminy coach Mark Tingle on the win: “It was a team effort. The defense from both teams played really well, honestly. Both teams didn’t take advantage of good looks, but it was good defense for both teams.
“We’re finding ways to win, missing two rotation guys (Jason Leiva and Gavin Meehan). Hopefully, we’ll get them back in a couple of weeks.”
Next up: Neshaminy (3-1) plays at CB South on Monday. CB West (2-2) plays at Abington on Tuesday.
Neshaminy (42) – Eriq Gold 2 0-0 6; Logan Gale 7 4-7 20; Shane West 2 2-2 7; Cadenn Amati 0 1-2 1; Max Currie 2 3-4 7; Jason Gilardi 0 1-2 1.
CB West (41) – Roman Kulesa 9 2-2 24; Max Milillo 1 2-4 5; Dan Pellegrini 2 1-2 6; Connor Cho 1 0-0 2; Gavin Reichner 0 0-2 0; Isaiah Rubenstein 1 2-2 4.
Neshaminy 8 10 10 14 – 42
CB West 11 9 7 14 – 41
3-point goals: N-Gale 2, Gold 2, West; CBW–Kulesa 4, Milillo, Pellegrini
Hatboro-Horsham 72, Upper Merion 46
The Hatters bounced back from their loss the previous night against Upper Moreland with a victory over Upper Merion on Friday night. 
Shane Phillips’ 24 points, which included a 8-9 effort from the free throw line, helped lead the Hatters to the victory. Ryan Smith had 16 points and Jaden Thompson added 14. For Upper Merion, Isaiah Robinson led the way with 12 points.
Key Stretch: H-H held the Vikings to just seven points in the third quarter.
Hatboro-Horsham coach Bill Coleman about the win: “It was great to be able to get right back on the court after yesterday’s tough loss to Upper Moreland. I do think our guys were still feeling it a bit from and came out just a bit unfocused. However, they were able to get their feet under them quickly and get our defense moving in the right direction.
“Right now, we are still in major correction mode of some bad habits, however, we can see them starting to apply the things our coaching staff is working on in practice. We have a ton of room for improvement and growth so it’s just exciting to see them start getting it.”
Next up: Hatboro-Horsham will travel to Boothwyn Wednesday to visit Clyde Jones and the Chichester Eagles.
Upper Merion (48) – Isaiah Robinson 3 4-5 12; Chase O’Donnell 1 1-2 3; Kylee Hill 2 2-4 6; Anderson Brown 1 0-0 2; Jackson Solley 2 0-0 4; David Peck 1 0-0 3; Kody Gansky 3 0-0 7; Hunter Hope 2 0-0 4; Eric Green 2 1-2 5; Totals 17 8-13 46.
Hatboro-Horsham (72) – Ryan Smith 5 3-3 16; Sean McCue 3 0-0 6; Kenny Lutz 4 0-1 9; Jaden Thompson 4 5-5 14; Shane Phillips 6 8-9 24; Brad Davis 1 0-0 3; Totals 23 16-18 72.
Upper Merion 13-14-7-12 46
Hatboro-Horsham 15-22-20-15 72
3-point goals: UM – Isaiah Robinson 2, David Peck, Kody Gansky; H-H – Shane Phillips 4, Ryan Smith 3, Kenny Lutz, Jaden Thompson
Wissahickon 45, North Penn 38
Wissahickon overcame a rough night at the free throw line and was able to pick up the big nonleague win on the road against the Knights.
For the game, the Trojans were just 6-for-18 from the line.
Still a very young team, Wissahickon did some little things to pick up the win.
“Two of our guys who struggled on the line played varsity last year and are pretty reliable guys from the free throw line,” said coach Kyle Wilson. “I don’t know what it was. Maybe it’s something we haven’t stressed enough in practice.
“We try to stress to our guys to be defensively connected. No guy is on an island. (North Penn) is a really good basketball team. I’m sure their guys aren’t feeling it right now, they’re 2-3, but Cordell (Lord), he’s in his first year and is doing a really good job with them.
For North Penn, it was their fifth game in seven days to open the season. The first four games were on the road – two games at Notre Dame Green Pond and then road games at Spring-Ford and Neshaminy. Friday’s game was the first home game for the Knights, who were led by Lee Hammond’s 11 points.
Key stretch: Nico Vacchiano scored nine points in the fourth quarter as the Trojans were able to pull away for the win.
Players of the game: Nico Vacchiano (24 points, 9 rebounds, 4 steals), Ben Schwartz (10 points, 5 assists); Lee Hammond (11 points, 5-6 FT)
Coach Kyle Wilson on the win: “We keep telling our guys, we may be young and inexperienced, but even if we’re struggling offensively, if defense is our staple, we can stay with anybody.
“It’s nice to get contributions from guys at different positions. Nico is one who scores the ball and in bunches but does so many other things I’m proud of. Mason Stelzer did a real nice job on their one kid, Ahmaar (Godhania). I know he’s been scoring for them, but he made him take tough shots tonight.”
Next up: Wissahickon (2-0) next hosts Upper Moreland on Tuesday. North Penn (2-3) is off until Wednesday when it plays at Engineering & Science.
Wissahickon (46) – Mason Stelzer 3 0-0 7; Michael Malton 0 0-4 0; Chris Lee 1 0-0 2; Nico Vacchiano 10 4-8 24; Grant Ajumian 1 0-1 2; Ben Schwartz 3 2-3 10; Delmar Taliaferro 0 0-2 0. Totals 18 6-18 45.
North Penn (38) – Ahmaar Godhania 2 2-2 8; Lee Hammond 2 5-6 11; Shane Ward 2 0-0 4; Aiden Atkinson 2 0-1 4; Wyatt Martin 1 2-2 4; Gabe Altemus 3 1-4 7. Totals 12 10-15 38.
Wissahickon 10 13 6 16 – 45
North Penn 9 5 8 16 – 38
3-point goals: NP-Hammond 2, Godhania 2. Wiss – Mason Stelzer; Ben Schwartz 2.
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