Check out Friday’s SOL boys basketball results. To review photos of the CB West/CB South and CR South/Neshaminy games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
SOL CONTINENTAL CONFERENCE
NORTH PENN 64, HATBORO-HORSHAM 57 (OT)
Mike Swanson picked the right night to be on fire. The senior forward scored 24 points to lead the Knights to an upset victory over one of the Continental Conference’s top squads.
The first half was a back and forth affair with the Hatters taking a 22-20 lead into halftime.
“Once we were able to hang around early and go into halftime only down two, we had a little confidence,” said coach John Conrad.
The Hatters upped their lead to 33-27 heading into the final frame, but the Knights were not ready to back down.
Swanson and Jin Lim led the comeback, accounting for 14 of their team’s 16 points in the quarter with both players scoring seven points.
“In the fourth quarter, they pressed us and we were able to get some buckets in transition,” said Conrad, whose team went on an 8-0 scoring tear. “We did a nice job of making the extra pass and finding guys, and we were able to get some good looks at the basket.”
The Knights were able to take the lead late in the quarter, but with five seconds remaining, Hatboro’s Mike Brown (20 points) hit a huge jump shot to tie the game. The Knights had one last chance but their desperation halfcourt shot fell short.
In overtime, Swanson continued to dominate and drained a pair of early treys. A three-pointer by Noah Melchior, who had nine points on the day, gave the Knights a nine-point advantage.
“Then Mike Brown made a three, and they got a five-second call on the inbound,” said Conrad. “(Ryan) Kelly made a three, and it went from nine-point lead to six in a matter of seconds.”
Although the Knights saw their lead cut to three, they were fueled by outstanding foul shooting in overtime when they connected on 10-of-12 from the line, and they never gave up the lead on their way to the thrilling victory.
“Our kids played well tonight,” said Conrad. “We are going to play hard and see what happens. We are on a nice little streak.”
Part of the Knights’ game plan was to contain Kelly (six points) and Zach Quattro (14 points).
“Noah (Melchior) did a great job on Quattro defensively, and Steph Brown did a good job on Kelly, holding him to three points in regulation (and three in overtime),” said Conrad.
The Knights upped their winning streak to four in a row and improved their record to 5-7 in the league and 8-9 overall. The Hatters fell from the top spot into a tie for second place with Souderton as their record dropped to 9-3 (14-5 overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH
56, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 39
The Titans took over sole possession of first place in the Continental Conference standings, thanks to their win over West and Hatboro’s loss to North Penn.
Junior Matt Scamuffo led a balanced attack with 12 points while Kevin Raymond added 11. TJ Ohntrup had nine points, and Adam Tamny chipped in six. For the Bucks, Kyle Salvitti and Evan Dunn both scored seven points while Patrick Kelly and Jared Kelly each added six.
The Titans upped their record to 10-2 in conference play (13-6 overall) while the Bucks fell to 6-6 in conference play (8-12 overall).
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 43, QUAKERTOWN 34
The Patriots jumped out to an early 10-5 lead over the Panthers but saw that erased as the Panthers closed the gap to trail 15-14 heading into halftime. A 13-5 third quarter burst allowed the Patriots to take control of the game. Matt Stauffer had a standout performance for the Patriots, connecting on 6-of-9 from the line on his way to eight points while also picking up 10 rebounds. Brendan McLaughlin (12 points) and Tommy Strasburger (10 points) led the Patriots’ offense in the victory. The Patriots upped their record to 4-8 SOL (9-10 overall). The Panthers, who fell to 1-11 in the conference (4-12 overall), were led by Griffin Schmidt and Justin Klee with seven points each.
SOUDERTON 60, PENNRIDGE 39
John Kanas proved to be too much for the Rams to handle as he scored a game-high 19 points as the Indians cruised to a victory on Friday night. The Indians outscored the Rams 30-15 in the first half and added to their lead with a 19-9 advantage in the third quarter. Austin Murphy and Brendan Wagner also recorded double digits for the Indians with 11 points each. Jeff Garner led the way for the Rams (4-8 SOL, 9-11 overall) with nine points. The Indians, who are tied with Hatboro for second in the conference standings, upped their record to 9-3 SOL (12-7 overall).
SOL AMERICAN CONFERENCE
WISSAHICKON 59, UPPER MERION 48
The Trojans moved into a tie for second place in the American Conference standings, thanks to Friday’s win. Wissahickon outscored the Vikings 7-6 in the first quarter before seizing control in the second quarter with a 21-9 advantage to go into halftime with a 28-15 lead. Chris Carradorini (12 points) and Gordon Bentley (8 points) each scored 6 points in the pivotal frame.
Chase Wilson had a team-high 17 points while Jesse Hunsicker finished the day with 10 points for the Trojans who improved their record to 9-3 in the league (12-8 overall). Upper Merion’s Riece Jenerette led all scorers with 18 points, followed by Justin Lewis who added 12 points and Connor McGrath who chipped in 11 points for the Vikings whose record dropped to 2-9 SOL (7-11 overall). Wissahickon will travel to first-place Norristown on Tuesday for a key conference battle.
UPPER MORELAND 47, CHELTENHAM 39
The Golden Bears stunned the second-place Panthers on Friday night.
The Panthers started off strong out of the gate, going on top 6-2 in the opening frame, but the Bears found their stride and rallied to knot the score 11-11 by the end of the quarter.
“We knew we had a close game the first time, and down the stretch we had costly turnovers in that game,” said Upper Moreland coach Brian Corrado. “So our goal was to handle the pressure and defend their penetration and their ‘bigs’ inside.”
The Bears were able to stake out a 21-19 lead going into halftime. The two teams traded leads in the third quarter, but the Panthers outscored the Golden Bears 13-8 and took a 32-29 lead into the final quarter.
“You could tell in our guys’ eyes that they felt confident in their ability and that it was a winnable game,” said Corrado. “It’s nice to see that confidence.”
In the fourth quarter, Kevin McFall - who scored 12 points in the second half on his way to 16 for the day - had several big plays that sparked the offense. According to Corrado, late in the fourth quarter, McFall deflected a rebound off a missed Panther free throw and hustled to prevent the ball from going out of bounds by playing it off a Cheltenham player to maintain possession.
Along with McFall’s inspired play, Corrado credited his team’s defensive effort as key.
“We defended very, very well,” he said. “Mark Williams did a great job on the boards, and overall it was a great team effort.”
James Martin (10 points) also recorded twin figures for the Bears who evened out their SOL mark at 6-6 (10-9 overall). Three Panthers finished the game in double figures - Aaron Burton (15 points), Aaron McGlawn (14 points) and Guy Henderson (10 points). The Panthers’ record dropped to 9-3 (11-7 overall), and they fell into a tie for second-place with Wissahickon.
NORRISTOWN 60, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 55
The Eagles maintained their stronghold on first place in the conference standings with Friday’s win over the Colonials. The Eagles took what appeared to be a commanding 36-18 lead into halftime only to watch the Colonials turn the tables in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 37-24. The Eagles converted some clutch free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Josh Johnson led the Eagles with 16 points while Luke Kelley added 15 and Jahbri Hargrove, 13 points.
While the Colonials fell to 6-6 in the league (8-10 overall), the Eagles upped their record to 11-1 in league play (17-3 overall).
UPPER DUBLIN 56, SPRINGFIELD 41
Senior Andrew Carber had a huge night for the Flying Cardinals, scoring a game-high 22 points to lead his team to the big win. While the Spartans fell to 1-11 in the league (6-14 overall), the Flying Cardinals improved to 4-8 in the league (6-14 overall).
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
PENNSBURY 55, TRUMAN 52
The Falcons knew the name of the game on Friday would be containing Truman’s Merdic Green.
“Merdic Green is one of the best players in our league, if not the best,” said Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman.
The Falcons and Tigers battled back and forth for most of the game. The Tigers held a 17-15 advantage in the opening frame, but the Falcons erased that lead to take a 32-30 lead into intermission after standout performances from Aamir Williams (15 points) and Mekhi Bryant (16 points) who each scored six points in the second quarter.
“What was key is that they keyed in on Cameron (Jones) and held him to five - that was their game plan,” said Coleman. “But we had step-ups from Williams and Bryant.”
In the third quarter, the Falcons outscored the Tigers 16-14 to extend their lead to 48-44.
In the fourth quarter, the two teams exchanged leads until late in the frame when Steve Ciotti recorded some pivotal baskets and gave his team a lead it would not lose.
“Ciotti stepped up with a few shots in the end of the fourth, and he actually got us the lead,” Coleman said. “Four of his eight (points) were toward end of the game in the fourth. He was solid with the ball and stepped up because we had foul trouble all game.”
Another important factor in the fourth quarter was to keep Green, who scored 29 points for the day, under control.
“Walter Allen came in and played solid defensively on Merdic and was able to keep him off the glass,” said Coleman. “We have certain goals we hit in terms of deflections and limiting their offensive rebounds.
“We did a very good job in the fourth keeping them off the glass which is key because it’s a big part of their game.”
Coleman was thrilled his team was able to put together a solid performance after a tough 71-61 loss to Council Rock North on Tuesday. A key was the Falcons’ effort on the offensive glass where they came up with 18 offensive rebounds.
“For our guys, this game was big,” Coleman said. “To be able to bounce back from North when we let one slip away – this shows how resilient these kids are.”
Pennsbury joins Truman and Bensalem in a three-way tie for third place with identical 7-5 records.
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 53, BENSALEM 42
The second place Indians started off strong on Friday night, opening up with a 20-14 lead over the Owls at the end of one quarter. The Owls rallied back in the second quarter as the Indians found themselves in foul trouble, trimming the Indians’ lead to 27-24 going into the intermission.
The Indians, led by Kyle McCloskey’s play in the paint, outscored the Owls 12-10 in the third quarter to go on top 39-34. McCloskey collected a double-double on the day, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
“He did a nice job early finishing around the basket,” said coach Derek Wright. “And we did a nice job looking for him in the second half, and he made some free throws at the end.”
The Indians iced the win with a 14-8 fourth quarter.
“It was a great team win,” said Wright. “Ryan Baker, Brandon Knotts and Josh McWilliams really defended well and got a lot of loose balls for us in the end.
“We did a lot of little things at the end to be able to keep the lead and finish it off.”
Bensalem’s Leo Vincent led all scorers with 17 points.
The Owls saw their record drop to 7-5 in the league (11-8 overall) while the Indians improved to 9-3 in the league (15-5 overall).
“We put ourselves in a good position to contend for the title and to get a good seed in districts, but we need to make sure we finish it off next week,” Wright said.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 66, NESHAMINY 47
The Golden Hawks soared to a 22-4 lead in the opening quarter and increased that lead to 45-27 by halftime. Will Faccenda led the Hawks in the convincing victory with six assists, six rebounds and 20 points while Christian Crane added four assists, three rebounds, and 17 points. The Hawks’ record improved to 4-8 in the league, 7-12 overall while the ‘Skins fell to 0-12 (0-18 overall).
ABINGTON 61, WILLIAM TENNENT 42
Anthony Durham scored 17 points to lead the Ghosts while teammate Jiere Morrisey added nine points and Jordan Simmons, eight points. While the Panthers fell to 3-9 in the league (7-12 overall), the Ghosts improved to 11-1 in league play (15-4 overall).
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