Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Wednesday.
BENSALEM 58, NESHAMINY 53
The Owls jumped out to a double-digit lead in their SOL opener on Wednesday night and then withstood a gutsy rally by the Redskins to earn the win. Rich Dean led the inexperienced Owls with 18 points and also provided much needed leadership down the stretch.
“He played really well,” coach Mike McCabe said. “He stepped up, and he was one of the guys that really remained calm for us.”
B.J. Jones (11 points) and Brian Quarterman (10 points) also finished in double figures. Anthony Greene added eight points and Ward Roberts, six points, for the Owls, who connected on five three-pointers.
Bensalem appeared to be in command, turning an 18-17 lead after one quarter into a 34-24 halftime advantage.
“We came out and we switched up the defense a little bit – went to some zone and pulled away,” McCabe said.
The Owls took a 44-31 lead into the final quarter only to watch the Redskins battle back to make things real interesting, trimming the Owls lead to three. Bensalem battled and held on for the win.
“It was a hard fought win,” McCabe said. “We had a 10-12 point lead through the third quarter, and then they just came at us. They fought back on us.
“We turned the ball over. You could tell we’re a really inexperienced team at the varsity level, and we literally hung on for our lives. We shot less than 50 percent from the foul line. We hung in there and we got our first win at home, so that was good for us.
“We have a brand new defensive system and offensive system, and it’s going to take us a while. We’re looking forward to improving, and that’s what we’ve got to keep doing.”
The Owls connected on just 13-of-29 from the foul line. The Redskins struggled from the line as well, making just 7-of-19.
Shammond Thomas led the ‘Skins with 18 points, and Fran Robles added 14. Zach Tredway contributed eight points.
Bensalem (1-1, 1-0 SOL) will host Council Rock South on Tuesday, and Neshaminy (0-1 SOL) will travel to Abington on Tuesday.
Neshaminy 17-7-7-22 53
Bensalem 18-16-10-14 58
Neshaminy: Shammond Thomas 18, Matt McGinty 3, Fran Robles 14, Anthony Papeo 2, Zach Tredway 8, Charles Dominick 3, Chris Arcidiacono 5.
Bensalem: Brandon Vaughn 2, Rich Dean 18, Anthony Greene 8, Ward Roberts 6, BJ Jones 11, Brian Quarterman 10, John Dumeny 3.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 57, HARRY S TRUMAN 42
Austin Thomas and Alex Nordenholt had big nights offensively, finishing with 18 and 17 points respectively, but the junior guards weren’t the only story of the Golden Hawks’ win in their SOL opener Wednesday.
“They did a great job tonight,” coach John Easterly said of Thomas and Nordenholt. “Both of them definitely have the ability to put points on the board, and they’ve been doing that in each of our games.
“One of the big differences tonight was Kevin Newbert, our point guard. Defensively, he played extremely well, and that’s key when you have three guards playing as well as those three did tonight.”
Newbert finished the night with five points, seven assists, five rebounds and three steals. Also coming up big for the Golden Hawks was Mike Stock, who had eight points, six rebounds and drew three charges.
“That’s anchoring your defense,” Easterly said. “(Defense) is something we really have been emphasizing with the kids in our practices.
“We really feel we can score the ball, but we have to improve our defense. Tonight was a step forward in doing that.”
Sparked by nine points from Nordenholt, the Golden Hawks opened up a 15-9 lead after one quarter. They took a 26-18 lead into halftime and added to that with a 19-13 third quarter burst. Thomas led the way with seven points in the frame, including a pair of three-pointers.
The Golden Hawks have a young team with two seniors and nine juniors on their roster this year.
“We have a lot of kids that have not experienced a full season of varsity basketball, so getting wins early and playing like we did tonight is a key for the season for us,” Easterly said.
Truman was led by the 14-point effort of Maurice Jackson. Kelechi Ogbonna added nine points, and James Clowney had eight.
Council Rock South (2-1, 1-0 SOL) will compete in the Northeast Philly/Bucks Battle at George Washington High School on Friday and Saturday. Truman (1-2, 0-1 SOL) will host William Tennent on Tuesday.
Harry S Truman 9-9-13-11 42
Council Rock South 15-11-19-12 57
Harry S Truman: Kelechi Ogbonna 9, Danell Snelling 5, James Clowney 8, Satchell Simpson 2, Maurice Jackson 14, Thomas Cergino 4.
Council Rock South: Austin Thomas 18, Alex Nordenholt 17, Tyler Teufel 2, Kevin Newbert 5, Ryan McNamee 3, Ryan Boyd 4.
NORTH PENN 78, EXETER 50
Sparked by the hot hand of JJ Melchior, who had four three-pointers, the Knights exploded out of the gate to a 22-12 lead at the end of one quarter They outscored their visitors in each of the four quarters, but the real story of the win, according to coach John Conrad, was the team’s defense.
“I thought our big guys really defended well,” the Knights’ coach said. “Exeter is real big – they’re 6-6, 6-4, and they have this Schappell kid, who’s a real good player. He’s about 6-3, and I thought our big guys defended well.
“We were able to get stops, which led to some easy transition buckets for the guys at the other end. They did a nice job defensively.”
Defending Gabrial Schappell, who finished with 13 points, were Noah Kwortnik and Lance Lindsay-Ford. The Knights also put the clamps on Keyshawn Slythe after the senior guard scored 12 points in the second quarter.
“We made a defensive adjustment and had Matt Pickford cover him in the second half, and he didn’t score in the second half,” Conrad said.
Melchior, who finished with five threes, led the Knights with 18 points. Lindsay-Ford added 13 while AJ Mitchell and Kwortnik each contributed 10 points.
North Penn (2-1) will host Central Bucks South in its SOL opener on Friday night.
Exeter 12-14-18-6 50
North Penn 22-15-20-21 78
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 48, BRISTOL 38
Will Desautelle took over Wednesday’s non-league game in the second and third quarters – scoring 17 of his game-high 21 points in a span that saw the Indians outscore the Warriors 39-13 on the way to their second win in as many games.
Desautelle’s hot hand allowed the Indians to overcome a slow start that saw the Warriors open up a 15-4 lead after one quarter. The Indians outscored the Warriors 22-7 in the second quarter to go on top 26-22 at halftime. Elliott Spicer buried a pair of three-pointers in the frame, and Matt McAlister also had a trey while Desautelle scored 11 points in the quarter.
The Indians led 43-28 heading into the final quarter on their way to the convincing win.
McAlister finished with 10 points while Noah Ehlin added seven and Spicer, six points.
Council Rock North (2-0) will travel to William Tennent for Friday night’s SOL opener.
Bristol 15-7-6-10 38
Council Rock North 4-22-17-5 48
Bristol: Parker Kelley 11, Adrian Garrison 8, Adrian Ellerbe 4, Deonte Harris 11, Dayshawn Cortez 4.
Council Rock North: Tyler Nowmos 2, Eric Levine 2, Matt McAlister 10, Will Desautelle 21, Noah Ehlin 7, Elliot Spicer 6.
PERKIOMEN VALLEY 66, NORRISTOWN 60
The Eagles and Vikings were tied 16-16 after one quarter, and they were still deadlocked 34-34 at halftime. The Vikings took a 52-49 lead into the third quarter and added to that lead in the final frame.
Darryl Carr led the Eagles with 15 points and six rebounds. Tyreke Lyons also added 15 points, and Amir Carter had 12. Reggie Collins also had six rebounds.
Norristown (0-3) will look for its first win when it travels to Upper Dublin for Friday’s SOL opener.
Perkiomen Valley 16-18-18-14 66
Norristown 16-18-15-11 60
EMMAUS 69, QUAKERTOWN 48
Griffin Schmidt scored 16 points – which included three three-pointers, but it wasn’t enough to offset the huge performances of the Green Hornets’ Kachelries twins. The junior guards were a two-man wrecking crew for Emmaus, combining for 41 points. David Kachelries led all scorers with 25 points while Matthew had 16.
The Panthers led 28-26 at halftime but were doomed by a third quarter that saw the Green Hornets go on a 25-4 tear to take control of the game.
Also for the Panthers, Charles Ervin had nine points, Ryan Howard added eight, and JR Grimmage had seven.
Quakertown (1-2) will host Central Bucks West on Friday in the SOL opener for both squads.
Quakertown 13-15-4-16 48
Emmaus 12-14-25-18 69
Quakertown: JR Grimmage 7, Ryan Howard 8, Branden Lewis 2, Josh Wynder 5, Charles Ervin 9, Jesus Collazo 1, Griffin Schmidt 16.
Emmaus: M.Kachelries 16, D.Kachelries 25, Rapose 2, Nako 2, Widdoss 8, Artis 1, Potczynski 4.
CONWELL EGAN 58, CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 51
The Titans found themselves trailing 9-4 at the end of one quarter and 24-21 at the intermission. The Eagles, who captured the 2015 PIAA Class AA crown, outscored the Titans 15-11 in the third quarter to extend their lead to seven at the end of three quarters on their way to the non-league win.
Tim Waddington had a big game for the Titans with 16 points while Nate Johnston added nine, Nate Robinson, seven and Alex Karras, six.
Central Bucks South (2-1) will travel to North Penn for Friday’s SOL opener.
Conwell Egan 9-15-15-19 58
Central Bucks South 4-17-11-19 51
Conwell Egan: Darien Simmons 12, Kar’ron Johnson 10, Lapri McRay-Pace 16, Eric Esposito 8, James Leible 5, Vinny Dalessanndro 7.
Central Bucks South: Alex Karras 6, Nate Robinson 7, Tommy Doyle 5, Nate Johnston 9, Ryan Joerger 6, Tim Waddington 16, Chris Hones 2.
BONNER-PRENDERGAST 51, HATBORO-HORSHAM 42
The Hatters – minus all-league guard Brian McEachern because of injury – hung with the Friars for one half. They led 10-9 after one quarter and found themselves deadlocked 19-19 at halftime. The Friars (3-0) opened the second half with a 16-10 third quarter run and sealed the Hatters’ fate by outscoring their visitors 16-13 in the final frame.
Clifton Moore had a big night for the Hatters, leading all scorers with 16 points. Jay Davis added seven, and Zeke Sloan, six points.
Hatboro-Horsham (1-2) will host Souderton in Friday’s SOL opener.
Bonner-Prendergast 9-10-16-16 51
Hatboro-Horsham 19-10-13 62
Hatboro-Horsham: Brandon Cruz 4, Clifton Moore 16, Joe Russell 4, Jay Davis 7, Zeke Sloan 6, Ryan Black 5.
Bonner-Prendergast: Christian Lane 10, Ryan Germany 2, Keith Washington 13, Dylan Higgins 2, Mike Mercanti 12, John Hargraves 13.
JENKINTOWN 70, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 50
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