Check out the results for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Friday night.
By Jarrad Saffren
Suburban One League boys basketball is back.
Twenty-one of 22 SOL teams tipped off their seasons Friday night.
The Suburban One League National Conference is the only SOL league with a clear favorite going into 2016-17. Abington has won four straight SOL National titles and returns two First Team all-league players in forward Eric Dixon and guard Robbie Heath.
The other two leagues—the Suburban One League Continental Conference and the Suburban One League American Conference—are more open, especially the Continental.
Pennridge has won three straight Continental titles. But the Rams lost two First Team All-Continental selections and career 1,000-point scorers in guard Dan Long and center Max Wagner. The Rams also lost slasher Devon Balmer and shooter Stephen Lowry.
Central Bucks West finished second behind Pennridge by one game in 2015-15 (13-1, 12-2). But all five of the Bucks’ starters graduated last spring.
So the league’s powers are depending on new varsity players to step up. Plus three of the other five Continental teams—North Penn, Central Bucks East and Central Bucks South—made the 2016 District One Class 4A playoffs.
The Continental is always balanced. This season could go a lot like 2013-14, when four Continental teams went 9-5 in league play and another went 8-6. The champion will probably win by tiebreakers.
You can never call the American wide open. Plymouth Whitemarsh has won the league 16 times in the last 25 years, including 12 of the last 18 under Jim Donofrio. PW’s current league title streak is three. The Colonials are 39-3 against American opponents during that span.
But this year could be different. PW lost all five starters from its 2015-16 district champion. The Colonials also have a new challenger, a Continental emigre: Hatboro-Horsham.
The Hatters made the 2016 PIAA Class 4A tournament and return their two best players: 6-foot-10 Indiana recruit Clifton Moore and leading scorer Jay Davis.
Still, it would be foolish to pick against PW. Donofrio always reloads. But the league is also more open than it is in most years.
But everybody is 0-0 right now. As they say in baseball, hope springs eternal. Friday night’s results and recaps are below.
Non-League
Harry S. Truman 75, Interboro 39
Harry S. Truman won on opening night for the first time since 2012.
“I’m very proud of the boys for that,” Tigers coach Byron Conover said. “The kids have been working hard since March and have been looking forward to this day. They put the time in and it paid off.”
Three Truman players—ZJ Jackson, Danell Snelling and Kelechi Ogbonna—had career games.
Jackson scored 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Both were career highs.
“He’s smiling like a kid on Christmas morning,” Conover said.
Snelling led Truman with 20 points, shooting 8-for-10 from the foul line. He also pulled down six rebounds. Ogbonna had 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.
All three are seniors. They will carry the Tigers wherever they go in 2016-17. Snelling is a two-year starter. Ogbonna is a three-year starter.
“With those guys, we’ll be ok,” Conover said.
Junior point guard Jeff Nixon—a second-year starter—is also part of that core.
“I said, ‘Jeff you took your lumps last year as a sophomore. This is your recruiting year now,’” Conover said. “He showed upperclassman maturity tonight. He knew when to slow down and speed up.”
Truman had 15 assists as a team.
“The kids just responded tonight, man,” Conover said. “We were patient. We ran our sets, shared the basketball. The kids enjoyed themselves and played great defense tonight.”
Truman (1-0) will play in the Bristol Tip-Off Tournament starting next Friday.
Council Rock South 56, Lower Moreland 26
Council Rock South opened the Derek Wright era with an impressive win.
Three Golden Hawks players—Austin Thomas (12), Kevin Newbert (10) and Alex Nordenholt (10)—scored in double figures. Three other Hawks players—Ryan Boyd, Shaun Smith and Ryan McNamee—scored six points each. Nine South players scored overall.
“It was good to see three guys in double figures,” Wright said. “We shared the ball nicely.”
Wright was particularly pleased with a new contributor.
“Shaun Smith has been consistently great in practice,” Wright said. “He has given energy, locked in defensively and made shots on offense. He did a good job defensively to start, and in the second half, he got open looks and hit a couple threes.”
South gave up 30 points combined in two scrimmages. It played just as well defensively Friday night.
“They defended really hard tonight and made everything difficult for Lower Moreland. Lower Moreland is a quick team that can make some threes, and we made them uncomfortable early in the game,” Wright said. “We wanted to make them uncomfortable on the catch and put it on the floor. We did a good job getting in the passing lanes. They run a spread motion where they like to move the ball around. We limited them to one shot on most possessions and did a good job challenging shots.”
Wright credited his big three—Thomas, Newbert and Nordenholt—for setting the tone defensively.
“They were aggressive from the start, which is good. We held their most experienced player scoreless,” Wright said. “That’s what we talk about a lot. Let the offense take care of itself. They did that tonight.”
CR South (1-0) will play Hatboro-Horsham Saturday night in the championship of H-H’s Tip-Off Tournament. The Hatters have a lot more size than the Aces, including 6-foot-10 Indiana recruit Clifton Moore.
“Offensively, can we get to our spots? Defensively, will we be able to rebound the ball? Those will be the big tests tomorrow,” Wright said.
Big men Boyd and McNamee—both 6-foot-6—will have to play even bigger.
“Boyd and McNamee will have to hold their own,” Wright said. “The guards will have to play big too. They’ll have to help rebound.”
Council Rock South 15-15-20-6 56
Lower Moreland 3-7-8-8 26
Council Rock South (56) – Austin Thomas 12, Shaun Smith 6, Jabbar 3, Blank 2, Alex Nordenholt 10, Kevin Newbert 10, Ryan McNamee 6, Ryan Boyd 6.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 52, Coatesville 45
Plymouth Whitemarsh trailed by four with 2:00 to go. But the Colonials turned it on and played their best basketball of the night.
“The kids pulled together and showed a lot of heart,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “I don’t know how we did it. But it was two great minutes after being sloppy the rest of the night.”
Starter Ahmin Williams led the comeback. Three subs—Jason Paul, Danny Cooper and Kareem Breeden—also played significant roles.
“Paul struggled the whole summer to overcome injuries,” Donofrio said. “So it was good to see him step up.”
Donofrio estimated that the Colonials missed 17 shots from four feet and in. “It was ugly game, very ugly,” Donofrio said. “Neither team has jelled. It was good film, as they say.”
PW (1-0) takes on Bishop Shanahan Tuesday night at seven.
Pennridge 70, Saucon Valley 52
Two Pennridge sophomores—point guard Sean Yoder (23) and forward Jon Post (15)—combined for 38 points.
“I’m pretty excited about that,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “What do you expect from kids that are sophomores?”
Post scored nine points in the first quarter. His performance was the bigger surprise.
“I didn’t think Jon Post would have 15. I was like, ‘Wow,’” Behrens said. “I thought Sean might have 12 or 13.”
Behrens expected sharpshooter Ryan Kinky to lead Pennridge’s attack. But Kinky fell hard on his back Thursday at practice. He played in the first half, did not score and sat out most of the second.
“He wanted to give it a shot. But we scored 70 points without our top shooter on the floor for most of the game, so that’s impressive,” Behrens said. “He’ll be a big scorer. The injury could be nagging problem though. He didn’t have his bottom half.”
Pennridge overcame a four-point halftime deficit. The Rams would not have done so without their free throw shooting. They shot 23-25 from the line.
“The free throws were huge,” Behrens said.
Behrens also credited his seniors for keeping the young guys calm.
“Ryan Cuthbert was steady as can be. Steady as a rock. Kyle Yoder is steady as well. They are our captains,” Behrens said. “They just care about winning.”
Cuthbert scored nine points and Yoder added six. Both were part of Pennridge’s 2015 state playoff team and big parts of Pennridge’s 2016 league title team.
“They are helping the younger guys, which is great,” Behrens said. “Kinky, too. He played last year.”
Sean Yoder also played last year, a lot more in the last 10 games than in the first 17. “We brought him along slowly,” Behrens said. “Being a point guard in this league is not easy. (Pennridge’s all-time leading scorer) Dan Long didn’t play point as a sophomore. He got to be a wing. It’s a nice way to get acclimated to playing varsity. Sean can handle it. He’ll make some mistakes.”
Behrens thinks Yoder can be Pennridge’s next great guard.
“We’ve had some good guards here. He’s wearing number four for a reason,” Behrens said. “(Previous Pennridge all-time leading scorer) Tim Abruzzo wore it. Long wore it. Now he is. He’s next.”
Pennridge plays Methacton Saturday night at seven, in the Pennridge Memorial Tip-Off championship.
Pennridge 13-18-19-20 70
Saucon Valley 19-16-10-7 52
Saucon Valley (52) – Smith 12, Gilotti 3, Josh Snead 17, Allen 15, Nichols 3, yeahl 2.
Pennridge (70) – Sean Yoder 23, Kyle Yoder 6, Tyrese Lewis-Eutsey 2, AJ Demarcoo 6, Mike Molettiere 5, Ryan Cuthbert 9, Jon Post 15.
Pennsbury 55, Berks Catholic 40
Mark Flagg dominated Berks Catholic. So did Pennsbury.
Flagg filled every statistical category: 21 points, nine blocks, nine rebounds, five assists. He also made two threes.
“Mark had a good game. He was aggressive to the basket,” Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. “He left some plays out on the floor. But he was solid across the board. I liked what I saw from him.”
Pennsbury sixth man Gary Francis added 16 points.
“Francis gave us a huge spark. The kid is the hardest worker on the team,” Coleman said. “He puts in hours of skill work. That translates on the floor.”
Francis shot 7-for-8 from the floor. He actually missed more free throws—two—than field goals.
Addison Howard was the third Pennsbury player in double figures, with 12. Billy Warren added four points and Tyler Sessa-Reeves added two.
Warren missed the last two weeks of practice with an ankle injury. Coleman expects him to score more when he gets into midseason form.
“One thing we were lacking last year was scoring around Mark,” Coleman said. “With Billy, Addison and Gary, I think we have the makings of a nice team.”
Coleman was happy with his team’s performance Friday night. But, of course, Pennsbury still has room to grow.
“We were a little rusty. We were up 25 at one point. They mentally thought they could just take off. And Berks cut it to 11,” Coleman said. “I was a little disappointed in that but it’s a good start. These guys are upset at how it ended last year (a first round district playoff loss). They want to earn the respect of everyone locally.”
Pennsbury (1-0) battles North Penn Tuesday night at seven.
Central Bucks West 72, Pottstown 58
CB West does not return any starters from last year’s state qualifying team. But, on Friday night, the Bucks won in much the same way that last year’s team won: With scoring balance.
Eight Bucks scored. Three—Collin MacAdams (24), Liam Cooney (12) and Shane McCusker (11)—scored in double figures. August Meyer added nine.
“For the first game, it went well. It was five guys that never started before,” CB West coach Adam Sherman said. “It was a good thing to see.”
MacAdams shot 11-15 from the field and had five rebounds, three assists and three steals.
“We knew Collin has tremendous ability. I was excited to see him play well,” Sherman said. “He worked real hard this summer. Even at 6-foot-5, he’s more of a guard. He plays facing the basket. But we can utilize him in a couple different ways. He’s capable of driving and scoring, posting up.”
Jack Traina had seven assists for CB West.
The Bucks (1-0) battle Spring-Ford Saturday at two, in another PAC-10 Challenge game.
Central Bucks West 17-17-21-17 72
Pottstown 7-11-16-24 58
Central Bucks West (72) – Jack Traina 4, Shane McCusker 11, Liam Cooney 12, Matthew Cooper 4, Collin MacAdams 24, August Meyer 9, Jack Mulhearn 6, Stephen Delash 2.
Pottstown (58) – Malik Brown 14, Tyshyr Malichi 2, Dorrian Thompson 2, Floyd Dashiell 4, Larry Wingo 23, Aaron Diamond 11, Peter Marcheski 2.
Central Bucks South 59, Spring-Ford 57 (OT)
Central Bucks South opened its season with an impressive win over a power program.
“Spring-Ford was a great team last year,” CB South coach Jason Campbell said. “They are always good and very competitive.”
Colin Kenney made a shot that put the Titans up one late in overtime. He hit a foul shot on CB South’s next possession to expand the lead to two.
Then, on Spring-Ford’s last possession, a Rams player ran baseline and passed to a teammate surging in from the foul line. CB South’s Colin Sauers tipped the ball out of bounds. The clock ran out.
“Colin Sauers came up big,” Campbell said. “Spring-Ford could have won it there.”
Kenney also came up big, in overtime and on the boards. He had 11 rebounds, most of them offensive.
“He did a nice job,” Campbell said. “He kept the ball alive for putbacks.”
Nate Robinson led all scorers with 20 points.
“He had a very good game,” Campbell said. “He shoots the ball well and provides good senior leadership.”
Alex Karras added nine points for the Titans.
CB South (1-0) plays Pottstown Saturday at 3:30, in another PAC-10 Challenge game.
Hatboro-Horsham 71, William Tennent 41
William Tennent raced to a 13-0 lead. Hatboro-Horsham went on a 71-28 run to end the game.
“We regrouped and came back and took control. We couldn’t stop them and we weren’t shooting well,” Hatboro-Horsham coach Ed Enoch said. “Then we hit a couple shots, got a couple steals and the next thing you know it’s 13-12. We got the game under control.”
Clifton Moore had 28 points and 11 rebounds. Jay Davis had 22 points and seven steals.
“Jay and Clifton played really well,” Enoch said.
So did Chris Edwards. He had 10 rebounds and eight points.
“He got a lot of loose balls, too,” Enoch said. “He was a major factor in our comeback.”
Enoch was happy with his team’s opening performance.
“I was pleased that we called timeout, settled down, got our poise and battled back,” Enoch said. “We are going to have to play better, though. We play a very good team tomorrow night.”
Hatboro-Horsham (1-0) plays Council Rock South in the championship of the H-H Tip-Off Tournament.
North Penn 53, Council Rock North 47
North Penn made six threes and overcame an early 20-10 deficit.
“We were a little sloppy,” North Penn coach John Conrad said. “The whole preseason we were talking about playing up tempo. We were on our heels but when we finally turned it loose and played that way, that was the difference.”
North Penn closed the first half on a 14-4 run to cut CR North’s lead to one. A 12-4 third quarter run put the Knights up for good.
The Indians lost control of the game once North Penn started pushing the pace. CR North built the early lead in its halfcourt offense. Ryan Costello drained three threes in the first half and four overall.
Three North Penn players—AJ Catanzaro, AJ Mitchell and Paul Ford—buried threes during North Penn’s first half run. David Guiliani paced North Penn’s second half run, scoring eight of the 12 points. Guiliani led the Knights with 14 points. Catanzaro added 10. Chris Coleman had nine. Mitchell and Ford each scored seven.
North Penn (1-0) plays Upper Perkiomen Saturday, day two of the Upper Moreland Tip-Off Tournament. CR North (0-1) takes on Upper Moreland.
North Penn 8-16-14-15 53
Council Rock North 14-11-8-14 47
CHELTENHAM 53, CENTRAL 31
Trevonn Pitts and John Clarke had big nights for the Panthers in their season opener. Both scored a game-high 15 points, and Pitts collected a double-double with 10 rebounds while Clarke had nine boards. Ahmad Bickley added six points and six assists, and Timothy Spencer also had six points.
Cheltenham will play in Saturday night's championship game at 7:30 p.m.
Central (31) – Slater 8, Holdsman 8, Dickenson 4, King 2, View 3, Taylor 4, Owadunni 3.
Cheltenham (53) – Trevonn Pitts 15, John Clarke 15, Ahmad Bickley 6, Timothy Spencer 6, Coleman 4, Paris 2, Rodney Carson 2, Scott 2, McGlone 1.
Wissahickon 52, Norristown 28
Wissahickon opened its season by dominating its old SOL American rival.
Zach Reiner (18) and Shane Ford (11) combined for 29 points for the Trojans. Max Rapoport added eight.
Reiner – who connected on 7-of-10 shots from the floor – also had eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Ford also had eight rebounds. Zach Gelman chipped in nine assists and three steals.
Wissahickon had 16 assists as a team. The Trojans (1-0) play Bensalem Tuesday at 7:30.
Wissahickon (52) – Zach Reiner 18, Shane Ford 11, Max Rapoport 8, Marlyn Johnson 4, Donovan Oliphant 4, Chaz Owens 4, M Graeff 2, Zach Gelman 1.
Souderton 62, Quakertown 54
Souderton opened its season much like Wissahickon did: By beating a former league rival. Quakertown moved from the SOL Continental to the American in 2016.
Four Souderton players—Mike Bealer (19), Noah Horas (13), Matt Cartwright (11) and Watts (10)—scored in double figures.
Quakertown’s JR Grimmage led all scorers with 22. Ryan Howard added 16 for the Panthers.
Souderton will face Germantown Academy in Saturday’s title game at 5 p.m. Quakertown will take on Lansdale Catholic in a consolation game at 12:30 p.m.
Quakertown (54) – Ryan Howard 16, Droshock 2, Dakota Suchanec 3, Kevin Juszynski 6, Lucas 5, JR Grimmage 22.
Souderton (62) – Mike Bealer 19, Matt Cartwright 11, Groller 3, Tomas Hanrahan 4, Rodriguez 2, Watts 10, Noah Horas 13.
Central Bucks East 60, Boyertown 52
The Patriots trailed by one after the opening quarter and still found themselves staring at a 28-24 deficit at halftime. They seized control of the game with a 20-9 third quarter surge on their way to the win at the Pottsgrove Tipoff Tournament. The Patriots buried 9-of-13 foul shots in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Matt Pattyson scored 15 points to lead CB East. He also had four assists. Sean Dann added 13, Collin Stein 10 and Elijah Seger nine. Included in Stein’s 10 points were three three-pointers. Seger pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
CB East (1-0) plays Pottsgrove Saturday night at 7:30.
Central Bucks East 10-14-20-16 60
Boyertown 11-17-9-15 52
Central Bucks East (60) – Matt Pattyson 15, Sean Dann 13, Elijah Seger 9, Ryan Plack 7, Collin Stein 10, Cooper Fink 4, Kyle Cassidy 2.
Boyertown (52) – Kapp 22, Thomas 16, Benning 4, McCloskey 3, Tamatis 4, Schender 3.
Bensalem 61, Marple Newtown 59
Bensalem trailed by nine after one quarter but won the second quarter 17-4. The Owls maintained their lead the rest of the way.
Richard Dean led Bensalem with 20 points. Kris Shields had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Isaiah Carpenter had 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Ward Roberts (seven points), Brian Quarterman (five points) and Josh Hill (two points) also got on the score sheet for Bensalem.
The Owls (1-0) play Liberty Saturday night at 6:30.
Bensalem 12-17-12-20 61
Marple Newtown 21-4-12-22 59
Bensalem (61) – Richard Dean 20, Kris Shields 14, Isaiah Carpenter 13, Ward Roberts 7, Brian Quarterman 5, Josh Hill 2.
Upper Perkiomen 46, Upper Moreland 43
Upper Perkiomen hit a three-pointer with seven seconds left to top Upper Moreland on its home floor, in its own tip-off tournament.
The Golden Bears lost despite having three players—Damian Washington, Casey Decker and Shane Stone—score 12 points.
Upper Moreland (0-1) plays Council Rock North Saturday night, in another UM Tip-Off Tournament game.
Upper Perkiomen 8-12-11-15 46
Upper Moreland 8-8-5-21 43
Upper Perkiomen (46) – Kendra 15, Boyle 17, Walker 10, Graber 4.
Upper Moreland (43) – Casey Decker 12, Dammian Washington 12, Ryan Coyle 4, Brett Brossman 3, Shane Stone 12.
Abington 50, Haverford 35
Bishop McDevitt 37, Springfield-Montco 34
Methacton 60, Upper Dublin 31
Conestoga 54, Neshaminy 47
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