Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Friday. PW/Quakertown photos courtesy of Michael Rice, and Bensalem/CR North photos courtesy of John Gleeson. Check back for galleries of both games: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f382701921
SOL Colonial Division
Pennridge 76, Souderton 67
Juniors Xavier Peters and Charlie Rising combined for 28 second-quarter points as Pennridge heated up and picked up its first win of the season at Souderton on Friday night.
After an 0-3 start to the season, needless to say, this victory was an important one for the Rams.
“We sure did (need the win),” said coach Dean Behrens. “The kids have been through a lot. A lot of weird things have happened. Unfortunately, we’ve had a couple of injuries, but the kids have bought in, they’re practicing hard, they’re playing hard.
“Tonight, we were down 8-0, 10-2, but we closed the first quarter only down 16-10. We were only down two possessions, this isn’t horrible. In the second quarter, we went off. The kids played a heck of a quarter.”
Peters finished with 30 points, while Rising had 19, senior Cole Gehlert added 14 and sophomore Rownan Smith had 11. As a team, the Rams were 19-for-19 from the free throw line.
“It’s not just about winning,” Behrens said. “What we try to explain to the boys is that body language is so important. Not just in basketball, but in class, at home, working. You want to look people in the eye.
“There’s a lot worse things in life than losing a basketball game. Play for your teammates, have fun – you’re playing with your buddies – and it’s a privilege to play with Pennridge across your chest. Play hard, have fun, be a great teammate. Those things are important no matter if you’re 30-0 and going to Hershey or 1-21.”
Bill Sackor led Souderton with 19 points, while Chanse Salone added 17 and Trey Bui 10.
Pennridge (1-3, 1-1 SOL) hosts CB East on Tuesday.
Souderton (2-2, 1-1 SOL) hosts Upper Merion in a nonleague game Saturday.
Pennridge (76)
Rownan Smith 5 0-0 11; Xavier Peters 10 8-8 30; Cole Gehlert 3 8-8 14; Dylan Horton 1 0-0 2; Charlie Rising 7 3-3 19. Totals 26 19-19 76.
Souderton (67)
Chanse Salone 6 2-4 17; Trey Bui 4 1-3 10; Bill Sackor 7 2-2 19; Clinton Kikonjo 2 0-0 5; Nolan Watkins 2 3-3 9; Thaddeus Harter 2 0-0 4; Kahlil Williams 0 3-6 3. Totals 23 11-18 67.
Pennridge 10 28 19 19 – 76
Souderton 16 11 18 22 – 67
3-point goals: P-Peters 2, Rising 2, Smith; S-Salone 3, Sackor 3, Watkins 2, Bui, Kikonjo
Central Bucks East 72, Central Bucks South 40
The Patriots drained 11 3-pointers, and a big second quarter was the difference as they remained unbeaten with a convincing win over rival CB South on Friday.
East led 18-11 after one quarter, but outscored the Titans 24-6 in the second to take a commanding 42-17 halftime advantage.
Jacob Cummiskey led all scorers with 16 points to go with six rebounds and four steals. Justin DiRoberto had four 3-pointers and 12 points, Nolan Behm had 10, Dhruv Mukund 10 points, five rebounds and five assists, and Bryce Lolas and Tyler Dandrea nine points each.
CB South was led by Connor Thompson’s 13 points.
CB East (4-0, 2-0 SOL) has a nonleague game Saturday against St. George’s Tech (Del.) as part of the All-City Classic at Abington.
CB South (1-3, 0-2 SOL) plays at CB West on Tuesday.
CB East (72)
Ryan McDonald 3, Jacob Cummiskey 16, Dhruv Mukund 10, Bryce Lolas 9, Tyler Dandrea 9, Justin DiRoberto 12, Nolan Behm 10, Caleb Lyzinski 1, AJ Molnar 3, Shane O’Hara-Jamison 2
CB South (40)
Kyle Moyer 1, Ben Harrison 1, Brett Barrett 4, Rostyslav Hryhorchuk 4, Dan Gies 8, Connor Thompson 13, Cole DiEmidio 2, Nick Zakrezewski 7
CB East 18 24 16 14 – 72
CB South 11 6 11 12 – 40
3-point goals: CBE-DiRoberto 4, Lolas 3, Cummiskey 2, Dandrea, Molnar; CBS-Thompson, Gies
SOL Patriot Division
Bensalem 64, Council Rock North 44
Noah Morris hit five 3-pointers in the first half and Bensalem jumped ahead with 41 points in the opening half on the way to the 20-point win over CR North Friday.
“In the first half, Noah (Morris) caught fire, and they were timely 3s,” said Owls coach Ron Morris. “Any time there would be some momentum going for North, he would hit a big ‘3’. They were clutch 3s.
“it’s a credit to all the work he’s put in all offseason. He’s had games like that all spring, summer and fall, and it was great to see him be able to show that during the season, but it’s even more than just him. It’s the guys setting the screen, it’s the passes. It’s everything that goes into that to get him those open shots.”
Bensalem was in sync in that first half, leading 20-14 after one quarter and then by 20, 41-21, at halftime.
“It was a great team victory,” Morris said. “The guys are really buying into their roles. Going into a hostile environment – it’s a tough place to play, going against one of the best coaches in Bucks County. Derek Wright is back. He does a great job. I’ve learned a lot from him over the years. It was an honor to even coach against him.
“In that building, we haven’t fared well in my last 19 years of coaching, so to come out with a lot of energy – the boys came out with good energy.”
Even more so defensively, as the Owls kept the Indians from getting going.
“We got in foul trouble, so we got a lot of contributions from a lot of guys in different roles, Morris said. “We knew going in Oliver (Schaefer) and Grady (Burt)) were their two best offensive players, so we were trying to make them work for everything. We held Grady to five points in the first half, and Oliver might have had six, (and) four were from the foul line. We were just trying to make them work for everything.
“Nate Cooper did a really good job making Grady work, and Noah (Morris) did a really good job making Oliver work. Then we just had different guys going at them throughout the game. One of them coming off the bench was Jahmir Chatman. Because we were in foul trouble, he came in. He knew his role was to defend and rebound, and he did a really good job with it.
“Amir Drummond had a really good game.
He’s really bought into his role. He’s our sixth man, but as we say, in our program, we really have six starters. We’re blessed. He played really well defensively, which then allowed him to be confident offensively, and he’s really hard to take the ball from.
“Antonio (Morris) got in foul trouble, but he didn’t force anything. When other guys were scoring, he was patient. Down the stretch, with Antonio, Amir and Noah handling the ball, it really helps us to have good guard play.
“Jaidyn Moffitt did good – in the first half, he had some big buckets down low.
“It was a total team effort. It’s really good to get another road win. Opening the league back-to-back on the road and getting two wins is hard to do. We’re really pleased with the effort we got so far.”
Noah Morris finished with 17 points, Drummond had 12 and Antonio Morris had 11 to lead Bensalem.
CR North was led by Burt’s 16 points.
Bensalem (2-0, 2-0 SOL) has its home opener Tuesday against Pennsbury.
CR North (2-2, 1-1 SOL) plays host to rival CR South on Tuesday.
Bensalem (64)
Antonio Morris 3 5-6 11; Noah Morris 7 0-0 17; Micah White 3 0-0 6; Amir Drummond 5 2-5 12; Nate Cooper 2 0-0 5; Idris Savadago 1 0-0 2; Jayden Mathew 1 0-0 2; Jaidyn Moffitt 2 5-6 9. Totals 24 12-19 64.
CR North (44)
Grady Burt 7 0-0 16; Oliver Schaefer 1 4-4 6; Jack Curry 1 0-0 3; Tyler Rodowicz 2 4-4 6; Riley Haggerty 1 3-4 5; Andrew O’Keefe 2 0-1 4; Brendan Green 2 0-0 4. Totals 14 9-13 44.
Bensalem 20 21 15 8 – 64
CR North 14 7 13 8 – 44
3-point goals: B-N Morris 5, Cooper; CRN-Burt 2, Curry
SOL Liberty Division
Upper Dublin 65, Wissahickon 47
Ryan Mulroy scored 11 of his team-high 24 points in a huge second quarter, as Upper Dublin turned it on and pulled away from rival Wissahickon in Liberty Division action Friday.
“It’s always good to beat Wiss,” said UD coach Derek Brooks. “It’s an intense environment. It’s a fun environment, but always intense.”
For the Flying Cardinals, their fourth win in four games wasn’t easy by any stretch, as they fell behind by as many as nine in the first quarter. That changed, however, in a second quarter that saw the Cardinals score 23 points, including 7-for-8 from the free throw line.
“They actually jumped out to a little bit of a lead on us in the first quarter,” Brooks said. “We ended going to our press at the end of first, just to get another possession. We got a turnover and scored, then got another turnover and scored again at the end of the quarter. We said we’re riding it until they can beat it consistently.
“We won the second quarter 24-9 and 18-4 in the third quarter. We were able to get out in transition and run.”
Brady Fogle added 17 for UD, going 10-for-11 from the foul line. Nate Cohen scored eight points in the third quarter.
Dom Vacchiano scored 21 points for Wissahickon, while Josh Palutis added eight.
UD (4-0, 2-0 SOL) next plays at Abington on Tuesday.
Wissahickon (1-3, 1-1 SOL) is at Quakertown on Tuesday.
Upper Dublin (65)
Kobe Bozemore 2 0-0 4; Brandon Altman 1 0-0 3; Brady Fogle 3 10-11 17; Ryan Mulroy 9 4-7 24; Idris Rines 0 4-6 4; Nate Cohen 3 0-0 8; Chris Kohlbrenner 2 0-0 5. Totals 20 18-24 65.
Wissahickon (47)
Michael Maltin 0 0-2 0; Brayden Ryan 1 1-2 4; Nico Vacchiano 3 0-0 7; Caj Jones 0 4-6 4; Gabe Lassiter 1 1-2 3; Josh Palutis 3 2-2 8; Dom Vacchiano 7 3-4 21. Totals 15 11-18 47.
Upper Dublin 11 23 18 13 – 65
Wissahickon 16 9 4 19 – 47
3-point goals: UD-Mulroy 2, Cohen 2, Altman, Fogle, Kohlbrenner; W-D.Vacchiano 2, N. Vacchiano
Abington 57, Hatboro-Horsham 30
The Galloping Ghosts broke open a close game with a 17-7 second quarter and then blew the game open in the second half for the big bounce-back win over Hatboro-Horsham on Friday.
Abington led 27-12 at halftime and then 47-23 after three quarters.
Jeremiah Lee had 11 points, four steals, four rebounds and one block. Aaron Jones had 10 points.
Jon Roberts had four points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
“Jon Roberts played fantastic for us,” said Ghosts coach Dan Marsh.
In all, Abington had 15 different players score on a night in which it shot 37.5 percent (21-for-56) from the field and 21.4 percent (3-for-14) from 3-point range.
H-H was led by Shane Phillips’ 13 points.
Abington (3-1, 1-1 SOL) hosts Upper Dublin in a Liberty Division game Tuesday.
H-H (1-3, 0-2 SOL) hosts Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday.
Abington (57)
Damon Rawls 2 0-0 4; Lathan Martin 1 0-0 3; Aaron Jones 4 1-1 10; Jade Flournoy 4 0-1 9; Jeremiah Lee 4 3-4 11; Jake Manigault 2 1-1 5; Paul Glants 0 2-2 2; Kamari Brasher 0 1-2 1; Jon Roberts 2 0-1 4; Kellen Ingram 0 2-2 2; Xander Grasty 1 0-0 2; Khalid Jenkins 0 1-2 1; David Phillips 0 1-2 1; Zion Hospedales 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 12-18 57
Hatboro-Horsham (30)
Ryan Smith 0 1-2 1; Kenny Lutz 2 4-7 8; Amir Crews 0 1-2 1; Jaden Thompson 0 4-6 4; Vaughan Craig 1 1-3 3; Shane Phillips 4 2-2 13. Totals 7 13-22 30.
3-point goals: A – Lathan Miller, Aaron Jones, Jaden Flournoy; HH -Phillips 3
Abington 10-17-20-10 57
Hatboro-Horsham 5-7-11-7 30
Plymouth Whitemarsh 67, Quakertown 29
The Colonials scored 27 points in the first quarter, taking command early in this one and never looking back on the way to the lopsided win over the visiting Panthers.
Mani Sajid scored 10 points in the first quarter and finished with a team-high 17 points. Jayden Colzie, who finished with 14 points, added seven points in the first quarter, while Ben Marsico hit a pair of 3-pointers, as part of a 15-point effort.
“To defensively be at 29 is nice,” said PW coach Jim Donofrio. “The pace, the energy we like to play at, the disruption, but it also comes with discipline. In the whole offseason, I didn’t see if it would get there, and then all of a sudden, for some reason, tonight, in the third quarter, they just clamped down. Up 22 at half, they clamped down again. That’s kind of what the killer teams do, so they’re listening.
“Mani Sajid is special. Jaden (Colzie) is playing like a Division 1 point guard. I hope someone notices him.”
Friday’s big win came on the heels of an emotional 68-66 win over Abington.
“We learned really fast,” Donofrio said. “We went from Abington up 19 (at halftime) to almost losing a game and panicking and me thinking, there’s not enough bite or teeth in the defense at the highest level of energy that we like to do to all cylinders turning on for the entire game.”
Friday’s game was a different story.
The Colonials, who led 27-7 after one quarter, took a 41-19 lead into halftime and then outscored the Panthers 18-6 out of halftime in a third quarter that included three 3s by Sajid.
“I was trying to remind them at halftime that in coaching some great teams over the years they had one common denominator – they didn’t care what the halftime score was, they just kept getting better,” Donofrio said. “They don’t do that react thing where – oh, we’re up 10, let’s relax. If you can develop that characteristic, you’re different. We were worried, are we going to have that?
“Boy, the kids were terrific offensively again, and we shared the ball even more. I was highly impressed by our unselfishnessall. Benny Marsico hit five straight 3s – he was 5-for-5. I pulled him in the middle of the first and put Jack Hayes in. His name is correct, he’s a jack of all trades, and he just was going so well that Benny sat the rest of the second. He came out in the third quarter and hit three straight 3s. When you start to see that stuff – I was very nervous about this game because I still don’t know what we are. We’re answering some questions.”
Sam Wilkin scored 10 of his team-high 12 points in the first half for Quakertown.
“Quakertown has got big, strong guys and experienced guys, so it’s a little bit of an early struggle for them, I know, but still, you give them great respect,” Donofrio said. “They’ve been together a while, and that’s very dangerous in high school. When we get introduced, we look like the jayvee team a lot of times physically. We don’t look very big; we’re not very big. We have no truly big person, but that’s the way the game’s played today anyway.”
PW (2-0, 2-0 SOL) plays at Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday.
Quakertown (1-3, 0-2 SOL) has a nonleague game Saturday night at home against Owen J. Roberts.
Quakertown (29)
Sam Wilkin 5 2-4 12; Kyle Rosenberger 0 2-2 2; Miles Longacre 2 3-3 7; Ethan Tomlinson 0 1-2 1; Tanner Clancy 1 0-0 3; Matt Thomas 2 0-0 4.
PW (67)
Jaden Colzie 5 2-2 14; Ben Marsico 5 0-0 15; Terron Davis 1 0-0 2; Jack Hayes 1 2-3 4; Mani Sajid 7 0-0 17; Eddie Petruno 2 0-0 6; Jah Pendergrass-Sayles 4 0-0 9;
Quakertown 7 12 6 4 – 29
Plymouth Whitemarsh 27 14 18 8 – 67
3-point goals: PW-Marsico 5, Sajid 3, Colzie 2, Davis, Hayes, Pendergrass-Sayles
SOL Freedom Division
Cheltenham 59, Lower Moreland 45
Kevin Addison had a big second quarter and Nile Tinsley followed that up with a big third quarter for the Panthers, who pulled away to defeat visiting Lower Moreland by 14 in a SOL Freedom game on Friday.
“Nile Tinsley had a great floor game,” said Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury. “We know he can score the ball, but we’ve been harping on him to just try to do other things. He took heed to that, and in the first half had five rebounds and two assists.
“In the second half, he got going and had all 12 of his points in the second half, and they were efficient points, so we were grateful for that.
“Kevin Addison came in today and was a spark. He had 12 points and is a pure athlete, a Division I athlete. We’re just working on getting him to see that.
“Kamal Mason, our freshman, is leading us off the bench very well. Osei Johnson was very, very solid. He’s just the type of kid that does what has to be done. He only had five. He could get you 15-20 easy, but he finds other ways to impact the game.”
Addison scored 10 of his 12 points and 10 of his team’s 18 points in the second quarter, as Cheltenham pushed its lead to 31-23 at halftime.
Lower Moreland was led by Kevin Hegedus’ 19 points, while Carl Barnette added nine. The Lions trailed by just five after one and kept the score low and gave themselves a chance.
“Tonight our energy wasn’t there,” Fleury said. “Credit to Lower Moreland. They had a part in that, but we have to find a way as a boundary school to fall back in love with just where we are, what we are and what we stand for as a whole. That’s the challenge with everything that goes on around high school sports in general. Blocking out that noise and just focusing on who we are and what we are, and just playing for one another.
“I always tell them, the games are important, but the friendships will last 20-30 years. Everything in this age is about information and numbers and videos. I just try and tell them, the genuine people, the hardworking people, those that care about others, those are the people, whether you win or lose, that are successful.
“I’m just trying to get us to measure our success differently. No matter how long I’m here or whatever the case is, just making sure that whoever comes behind and whoever is current, just understands that nothing is more important than the brotherhood.
“Tonight, we were focusing on that. I think energy-wise we just have to stick with each other and block out that noise. That’s the toughest part. It’s a tough game with the landscape of it, as our staff recognizes that our kids are the most important. Whoever is there for us, that’s who we invest in, and we just ask that the kids do the same.”
Cheltenham (3-1, 2-0 SOL) plays at William Tennent on Tuesday.
LM (1-2, 0-2 SOL) plays at New Hope-Solebury on Tuesday.
Lower Moreland (45)
Carl Barnette 2 4-6 9; Mason Tammaro 4 0-2 8; Kevin Hegeous 7 0-0 19; John Kroll 2 1-2 5; Nathan Fellah 1 2-7 4.
Cheltenham (59)
Kamal Mason 3 2-2 8; Josiah Hutson 3 1-2 9; Aidan Wilson Worley 0 1-2 1; Kevin Addison 5 2-4 12; Chris Harmon 1 1-2 3; Osie Johnson 1 2-2 5; Salim Kelly 1 0-0 3; Asante Johnson 1 0-0 2; Chris Jones 0 2-2 2; Nile Tinsley 5 0-0 12; Peyton McClendon 1 0-2 2.
Lower Moreland 8 15 10 12 – 45
Cheltenham 13 18 13 15- 59
3-point goals: LM-Hegeous 5, Barnette; C-Hutson 2, Tinsley 2, Johnson, Kelly
Springfield Township 49, New Hope-Solebury 42
Led by Brandon Thompson’s 22 points, Springfield picked up its first win of the season at home Friday against New Hope-Solebury.
“We have a really young group – juniors and sophomores – and it was really nice to see them finish out the game with some pace and poise and just execute,” said Spartans coach Rob Fusaro. “There were a lot of big plays down the stretch, and just for them to come out with a win was really good for them to get some confidence going.
“A lot of it is gaining experience, learning how to play. We have a really good group that’s a really tight-knit group. They’re really invested which is nice. They’ve been really enjoyable to be around.”
Springfield led most of the way, but New Hope hung tough before the Spartans were able to stretch the lead in the fourth and put the game away.
“Brandon Thompson had a really nice game,” Fusaro said. “He was consistent and led us in scoring. Bob Hartman, Aiden Hood and Will McLaughlin hit some really big shots. Will hit a big 3, we hit some big free throws. All those guys had a really solid game, which is nice.”
Hood finished with nine points for the Spartans, while Hartman had eight.
For New Hope, Liam Ross scored 23 of his team’s 42 points.
Springfield (1-3, 1-1 SOL) next plays at Upper Moreland on Tuesday.
New Hope (0-4, 0-2 SOL) has a nonleague game Saturday at Lehigh Valley Academy.
New Hope-Solebury (42)
Heath Miller 0 1-2 1; John Nettles 2 0-0 5; Rocco Massimino 2 4-6 8; Jonathan Gormley 2 0-0 5; Liam Ross 9 5-9 23; Totals 15 10-17 42.
Springfield (49)
Bob Hartman 2 4-8 8; Aiden Hood 2 5-7 9; Brandon Thompson 9 3-8 22; Will McLaughlin 1 3-6 6; Will Cooney 1 1-2 4; Totals 15 16-31 49.
3-point goals: Springfield – Brandon Thompson, Will McLaughlin, Will Cooney; NH-S – Rocco Massimino, Jonathan Gormley.
New Hope-Solebury 7-9-13-13 42
Springfield 11-10-12-16 49
Nonleague
Neshaminy 53, Norristown 36
If the Redskins needed a bounce-back win after Thursday’s disappointing loss to Council Rock South, they got just that.
“We needed this,” coach Mark Tingle said. “We shot terrible yesterday – 1-for-28 from 3-point and 19-for-51 total versus CR South.”
Friday’s game didn’t exactly start out on a promising offensive note as the ‘Skins scored just five points in the opening quarter, but they had the lead since Norristown managed just one. Neshaminy took an 18-10 lead into halftime. Jason Leiva’s six points led the Redskins.
Sparked by 17 points from Emeer Coombs, the Redskins outscored the Eagles 35-27 in the second half.
Coombs finished a big night with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists. He also did the job on the free throw line, going 11-for-14 for the game. Max Currie added 11 points for Neshaminy.
For the game, the Redskins connected on 15 of 21 at the charity stripe.
Neshaminy (2-3) has another nonleague game scheduled for Monday, at home against Upper Merion.
Neshaminy (53)
Emeer Coombs 5 11-14 22; Ryan Meehan 2 0-0 4; Max Currie 5 1-2 11; Jason Gilardi 1 0-0 2; Jason Leiva 2 3-3 8; Guy Horton 1 0-2 2; Jeff Walker 1 0-0 2; Logan Gale 1 0-0 2. Totals 18 15-21 53.
Norristown (36)
Ryan 3 2-4 8; Daniels 4 2-2 12; John 1 0-0 3; Giddens 0 2-3 2; Bond 0 1-2 1; Tuggle 4 0-0 10. Totals 12 7-11 36
Neshaminy 5 13 16 19 – 53
Norristown 1 9 13 14 – 36
3-point goals: Ne-Coombs, Leiva
Sankofa Freedom 62, North Penn 59
Sankofa took a 34-23 lead into halftime and then held off a fourth quarter rally by the Knights.
Tre Simpson scored 25 points for North Penn – 13 in the first half and 12 more in the second. Ahmaar Godhania scored 15 points, which included three 3-pointers. Corey Meade scored all eight of his points in the fourth quarter.
North Penn (3-1) returns to league play Tuesday at home against Souderton.
North Penn 11-12-15-21 59
Sankofa Charter 15-19-13-15 62
North Penn (59)
Ahmaar Godhania 5 0-0 13; Lee Hammond 2 2-2 7; Norman Gee 1 0-0 2; Nolen Foust 0 1-2 1; Corey Meade 4 0-3 8; Gabe Altemus 1 0-0 3; Tre Simpson 10 5-7 25; TOTALS 23 8-14 59.
Sankofa Freedom (62)
Asim Hardy 4 5-7 13; Nasir Williams 3 4-4 12; Nafise Dubose 2 1-1 5; Jasir Henderson 6 1-2 18; Nasir Brown 2 1-2 5; Jameel Brown 1 2-2 4; Damon Holt 2 1-2 5; TOTALS 20 15-20 62.
3-point goals: NP – Ahmaar Godhania 3, Lee Hammond, Gabe Altemus; Sankofa – Jasir Henderson 5, Nasir Williams 2.
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