Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday. Upper Moreland/Lower Moreland photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography. Check back for a gallery of photos.
SOL Patriot Division
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 51, BENSALEM 49 (OT)
The Indians – with point guard Bernie Parent back in the lineup – led by one at halftime and took a 35-32 lead into the final quarter when the Owls rallied to knot the score, sending the game to overtime. The Indians edged the Owls 4-2 in a low-scoring OT
“Coach (Ron) Morris and his staff do a great job and Bensalem has quickly become the gold standard in our league since he took over last year,” Rock North coach Jesse Krasna said. “We knew James Ashford and Aaron Sanders were two special players, and they reaffirmed that again today — we were focused on taking them away and they still combined for 40 of the Owls 49 points and I think they had 39 of their 50 in our first matchup.”
Ashford led all scorers with 27 points while Sanders had 13, but they didn’t get a whole lot of help. For three quarters, the duo accounted for all of the Owls points before two players added their names to the scoring column in the fourth quarter.
“Bensalem is elite at changing ends of the floor and turning defense into offense,” Krasna said. “They got loose for a lot of transition points in the first half, but we did a better job taking care of the ball and making them play a half court game in the second half.”
The Indians had won just one of four games without Parent in the lineup.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” Krasna said. “We lost three of four games without Bernie but the leadership our seniors and captains showed during that stretch to keep our team connected has been tremendous.”
Five Rock North players scored nine points or more in a balanced effort. Andrew Mahtat led the way with 12 points while Jack Blum and Connor Rushing had nine each. Garrett Gromlich added eight.
Blum and Rushing both buried a pair at the foul line to account for Rock North’s only points in OT.
“You look in the box score and we had good scoring balance,” Krasna said. “You see Mikey Sylvester only scored five points, but I thought there were several stretches where he dominated the game without taking a shot.
“His effort, energy and will to win is so obvious. He took three charges, and it seemed liked every time we missed a shot, he was coming up with an offensive rebound. He is an incredible leader. Even when he is off of the floor in practices and games, he inspires his teammates to play as hard as he does by coaching them up and infusing energy with his constant feedback.”
The Indians’ coach had plenty of praise to go around after Saturday’s important win.
“Garrett Gromlich gives us such a great scoring punch off the bench and I thought today was his best defensive and rebounding game of the season too,” Krasna said. “Jack Blum is such a winner. I think I can count his turnovers for the season on one hand. He is flawless defensively and adds so much to our offense even when he isn’t scoring.
“Tied at 49 in overtime, he ripped through to the rim and drew a foul before knocking down the game-winning free throws. You could see he made up his mind he was going by his man, and that is something he is realizing he can do at any time, regardless of who is guarding him.
“Adam Mahtat led us in scoring, despite sitting out a good chunk of the second quarter and all of the third with foul trouble. It shows how mature and composed he is, to be able to come into the game cold to start the fourth quarter and be effective for us down the stretch when he was out of the flow for so long.
“Logan Saifer is such a key role player for us. He defended multiple positions in this one and got us so many extra possessions with his hustle. Connor Rushing added nine points and was a presence under the boards. He came up with some big fourth quarter rebounds, set his teammates up on drives and hit two big free throws in OT.
“And Bernie was just Bernie. Steady with the ball. Controlled the tempo. Involved his teammates throughout the game and picked his spots to score when we needed a bucket. He makes the game easier for everyone and we knew getting him back would help us steer the ship in the right direction.”
Krasna also tipped his hat to his coaching staff.
“We don’t win this game without our dedicated assistant coaches,” the Indians’ coach said. “They have helped our players prepare all season, and they bring great energy, knowledge and they really care about putting the boys in a position to succeed. Rob Sikora, Tyler Sessa Reeves, Matt Margolis and Mark Burton all add so much to our program.”
Both teams have three losses in league play and share second place in the division standings while Neshaminy is undefeated atop the standings.
Council Rock North (5-4, 5-3 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks West for a non-league game, and Bensalem (7-6, 6-3) will host Central Bucks South on Tuesday in a non-league game.
Council Rock North 13-13-9-12-4 51
Bensalem 10-15-7-15-2 49
Bensalem (49) – Eric Gonzalez 1 0-0 3; Aaron Sanders 3 7-10 13; James Ashford 8 10-14 27; Nikita Schafer 2 0-2 6; TOTALS 14 17-26 49.
Council Rock North (51) – Garrett Gromlich 2 2-2 8; Bernie Parent 2 4-5 8; Mikey Sylvester 1 2-6 5; Adam Mahtat 5 2-5 12; Jack Blum 2 5-6 9; Logan Saifer 0 0-2 0 ; Connor Rushing 1 6-6 9; TOTALS 13 21-32 51.
3-point goals: CRN – Garrett Gromlich 2, Mikey Sylvester, Connor Rushing, Bensalem – Eric Gonzalez, James Ashford, Nikita Schafer 2.
SOL Freedom Division
UPPER MORELAND 57, LOWER MORELAND 46
The Golden Bears celebrated their seniors with a big win over their neighboring rival, setting the tone early with a 22-9 opening quarter.
“It was our Senior Day, so we started five seniors,” UM coach Dan Heiland said. “Obviously, there’s a lot of emotion, a lot of energy that’s built up that typically you don’t get.
“We were playing on a high, and it just seemed like everything was going in our favor. Shots were falling, and we did a really nice job of pressuring Lower Moreland and getting them to pick up the pace that they’re not wanting to play at. We were able to knock down shots when we were open and get stops defensively that were crucial.”
In the second quarter, the table were turned as the visiting Lions outscored the Golden Bears 19-8 to trim UM’s lead to three at halftime, 30-27.
“As we continued to keep the pressure on, they did a really nice job of breaking it,” Heiland said. “In the second quarter, they hit some really tough shots. Some shots were open.
“They hit nine 3s in the game, six of them came in the first half. In the second quarter, it was really them doing a nice job of breaking our pressure and then hitting open shots when they had them.”
The Golden Bears outscored their visitors 14-8 in the third quarter and 27-18 in the second half.
Jahire Johnson’s 18 points led the Golden Bears. McKie Walker and Jourdan Gregg each added 11 points. Johnson and Walker both buried a pair of 3s. Mat Tiernan added seven points.
“Jahire Johnson, for me, played standard Jahire Johnson basketball,” Heiland said. “He was the guy that was consistent on the court both offensively and defensively. He’s a guy we could get the ball to, and we know we’re going to get ourselves in a good situation – either get a stop defensively or get two or three points offensively.
“Off the bench, Jeremy Harmer did a real nice job defensively for us. He hit a three early as part of our 22-point first quarter. Defensively, he did a really nice job when he was in there.”
For the Lions, Jack Donecker led the way with 16 points, which included a pair of 3-pointers. Matt Ernst had 15 on five 3-pointers, and Braden Alecia had eight points.
Upper Moreland (8-2, 7-1 SOL) will travel to Quakertown for a non-league game Tuesday, and Lower Moreland (1-5) will host New Hope-Solebury on Tuesday.
Lower Moreland 9-19-8-10 46
Upper Moreland 22-8-14-13 57
Lower Moreland (46) – Justin Sandler 3, Matt Ernst 15, Braden Alecia 8, Jack Donecker 16, Joey Morozin 2.
Upper Moreland (57) – Justin Sanders 3, Jahire Johnson 18, Jourdan Gregg 11, McKie Walker 11, Jeremy Harmer 5, Matt Tiernan 7, Ryan Schernecke 2.
3-point goals: LM – Matt Ernst 5, Jack Donecker 2, Braden Alicea, Justin Sandler, UM – Jahire Johnson 2, McKie Walker 2, Justin Sanders, Jourdan Gregg, Jeremy Harmer.
Non-league
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 44, CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 32
There were a whole lot of connections when the Bucks travelled to New Hope-Solebury for Saturday’s non-league game. For starters, West coach Adam Sherman is a teacher at NHS and is also a former head coach for the boys’ basketball program.
On the opposite bench, Derek Brooks was an assistant at West under Sherman before taking over the helm at New Hope-Solebury this year. It all added up to a spirited contest.
“All the kids know (Sherman) – they all have great relationships with him, and they really wanted this one,” Brooks said. “Sherm has good relationships with them and he’s great to them. It was just a fun atmosphere.
“The attention level and the attention to detail was probably our best all around this season.”
The Bucks – sparked by eight points from both Teddy Spratt and Dante Mancini – took a tenuous 20-19 lead into halftime. Momentum swung in the Lions’ favor in the second half. They outscored their visitors 14-5 in the third quarter to go on top 33-25. Two 3s from Will Albano and six points from Phil Weinseimer ignited the Lions, who went on to outscore their visitors 11-7 in the fourth quarter to earn the big win.
“Sherm always has good defensive teams, and he always has them well coached,” Brooks said. “Even tonight, they gave us a lot of trouble on a lot of our stuff, but our guys just did a better job of handling the different things that coach Sherman does. We didn’t have the turnovers that usually hurt us, so all around, I’m very happy with the boys. It was a good win, and they’re excited too.”
The Lions’ first-year coach lauded the play of his defense.
“We only gave up 32 points, so defensively, we were phenomenal,” Brooks said. “It was probably our best game as far as communication and being in our proper help positions, and it was just a great effort.”
Spratt (11 points) and Mancini (10 points) led the Bucks, who suffered a setback when Spratt left the game with an injury late in the third quarter and did not return.
“Teddy’s a great player – fortunately, we were able to limit his penetration because when he gets downhill and attacks the rim he can be tough to stop,” Brooks said. “I was happy with our defensive effort across the board.
“We knew we couldn’t let John Lee get any clean 3s. We gave him one or two, but we did a good job of closing out on him. I was very happy with the defense.”
Phil Weinseimer’s 14 points led a balanced Lions’ attack. Alex Walinski added 13, and Will Albano had 10 points.
“It was probably Phil Weinseimer’s best game of the year,” Brooks said. “He was an absolute animal, rebounding and finishing around the rim.
“Will Albano made some great passes and hit some huge shots for us. He had two 3s in the third quarter that broke it open. Alex Walinski struggled shooting the ball compared to what he normally does, but it was his best defensive game and his best composure game. It was a good step in the right direction. I think we have some opportunities to pick up some more wins over the next two weeks. It’s amazing what winning does to everyone’s mindset – it’s a great thing.”
New Hope-Solebury (3-9, 2-6 SOL) will travel to Lower Moreland on Tuesday, and Central Bucks West (2-10, 2-6) will host Council Rock North on Tuesday in a non-league contest.
Central Bucks West 10-10-5-7 32
New Hope-Solebury 10-9-14-11 44
Central Bucks West (32) – Teddy Spratt 3 4-5 11; Donte Mancini 3 3-3 10; Max Slaymaker 1 2-2 4; John Lee 2 0-2 5; John Stim 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 10 9-12 32.
New Hope-Solebury (44) – Charlie Albano 2 0-0 5; Alex Walinski 5 2-5 13; Phil Weinseimer 7 0-2 14; Bryan Dougherty 0 2-3 2; Will Albano 3 2-2 10; TOTALS 17 6-12 44.
3-point goals: CBW – Teddy Spratt, Donte Mancini, John Lee, NHS – Will Albano 2, Charlie Albano, Alex Walinski.
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