Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Wednesday.
SOL Freedom Division
WILLIAM TENNENT 41, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 24
The Panthers honored the team’s 10 seniors – Mike Carr, Derrik Cosenza, Ryan Emmerich, Kellen Johnston, JP McAnulty, Matt Miller, Mike Scheller, Jay Stanfield, Dom Sulpizio and Walter Young – and then went out and took care of business.
“It was a big night for us – I think the guys were pretty up for the game, especially after last night’s debacle,” Tennent coach Robert Mullville said of his squad’s 36-33 loss to Hatboro-Horsham 24 hours earlier. “We thought last night we played well for three quarters – maybe not offensively but defensively, and then we had that letdown.
“I think the guys were pretty fired up to come out tonight, especially it being Senior Night and their last (home) game.”
The Panthers, who led by just a 6-3 score after one quarter, outscored the Spartans 28-13 over the middle two quarters.
“Cosenza was solid for us again with 16 points and nine rebounds,” Mulville said. “One of the guys that had a really good game was Ryan Emmerich, who came off the bench and was 4-for-4 from the field to finish with eight points and grabbed eight rebounds. Four were on the offensive end, so he was able to get us a couple of extra possessions.
“Everybody else was pretty solid – (Dom) Sulpizio, (Mike) Scheller and (Jay) Stanfield. We didn’t turn the ball over as much tonight. We only had eight turnovers whereas we had seven in the fourth quarter last night. I think they were a little bit more focused and tuned in. It was just a solid all-around effort from all of them.”
For the Spartans, Harry Rittenhouse led the way with eight points, six rebounds and four blocks. Austin Maggioncaldo had seven points, and Kyle Smythe had six points.
William Tennent (9-4, 7-3 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks South for a non-league contest Saturday, and Springfield Township (0-10, 0-9) will host Council Rock South in a non-league game on Friday.
Springfield Township 3-4-9-8 24
William Tennent 6-15-13-7 41
Springfield Twp (24) – Dylan McKenzie 1 0-0 2; Andrew Kennedy 0 0-2 0; Harry Rittenhouse 4 0-0 8; Brett Smith 0 1-2 1; Kyle Smythe 2 1-2 6; Austin Maggioncaldo 3 0-0 7; TOTALS 10 2-6 24.
William Tennent (41) – Dom Sulpizio 2 1-2 5; Matt Miller 1 0-0 2; Jay Stanfield 1 1-3 3; Mike Scheller 2 1-2 5; Derrik Cosenza 7 2-3 16; Ryan Emmerich 4 0-2 8; JP McAnulty 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 18 5-12 41.
3-point goals: Springfield – Kyle Smythe, Austin Maggioncaldo.
CHELTENHAM 66, UPPER MORELAND 47
The Panthers moved one step closer to another SOL title, boasting a perfect record after nine games – this despite the loss of key players from last year’s district runner-up squad to graduation.
“It’s very much a testament to our assistant head coaches – Torre Harrison, Steve Smith, Malcolm Weston and Brian Neely, and it is also a testament to the kids,” Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury said. “They realize how special people Mike McClain, Brandon Hawkins, Keeon Healey, Jack Klebanoff and Chris Harmon-Belcher are, and they’re not taking their roles – whether they’re playing or not – for granted.
“Just the team camaraderie in good and bad times is what’s most pleasing. We definitely have work to do. We have off tomorrow, so we’re not allowed in the building because of COVID, but we’ll be able to practice Friday, which is good because we are not there as much as we’d like to be.
“It’s just a testament to the coaches and the players and how much they have meshed and trusted one another. At times, I’m just a bystander, just watching the guys become a family. It’s amazing to see. The win is special, but in a time of COVID, just the camaraderie between everybody for the Class of 2021 and beyond is something that I’m very proud of. We enjoy every game we have.”
The Panthers, who led 14-7 after one quarter, took a 27-16 lead into halftime and added to that in the third quarter.
Saleem Payne led three Panthers in double figures with 19 points. Mike McClain added 15, including a pair of 3s, and Rasheem Dearry had 12. Justin Savage, who also had a pair of 3s, finished with nine points.
For the Golden Bears, Jourdan Gregg led the way with 15 points, McKie Walker added 11 points while Matt Tiernan had nine and Jahire Johnson, six points.
Cheltenham (9-0, 8-0 SOL) will host Lower Moreland on Tuesday, and Upper Moreland (9-3, 7-2) will host Wissahickon on Friday.
Upper Moreland 7-9-17-14 47
Cheltenham 14-13-28-11 66
Upper Moreland (47) – Justin Sanders 2, Byron Hopkins 4, Jahire Johnson 6, Jourdan Gregg 15, McKie Walker 11, Matt Tiernan 9, Joey Weimer 2.
Cheltenham (66) – Rasheem Dearry 12, Brandon Hawkins 5, Elias Walker 4, Saleem Payne 19, Justin Savage 9, Mike McClain 15.
3-point goals: UM – Jourdan Gregg, McKie Walker, UM – Rasheem Dearry 2, Mike McClain 2, Justin Savage, Brandon Hawkins.
Non-league
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 53, NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 48
It had been a long time between wins for the Golden Hawks – 22 days to be exact, and it was a big second quarter that helped propel the Hawks to a win that snapped a five-game losing streak.
“I was really happy for the kids because it has been since Jan. 26 (a 41-35 win over Truman), and the kids were still practicing,” Rock South coach Chris Clark said. “For them to get some satisfaction with a win is real good, and I’m hoping we can build on it for the rest of the time we have together.”
The Lions led 12-8 after one quarter, but the Golden Hawks closed out the first half with a 17-5 second quarter tear to go into halftime with a 25-17 lead. Gavin Holloran’s 14-point second quarter ignited the Hawks.
The Lions came roaring back in the second half and trailed by just two heading into the final quarter.
“We saw zone for the whole game, which we don’t see much, and I thought we handled that pretty well in spurts, and that was good,” Clark said. “We had an eight-point lead and they were able to tie it up, and we were able to show some mental toughness and keep playing, trying to do the right things, and we were able to stretch our lead up to eight again. We were able to finish out strong – we made foul shots, didn’t turn the ball over and we had some good rebounds the last couple minutes of the game, so I was happy about that.
“Finishing the game has been a problem with a couple of our games, and I was glad we were able to do that. Now we just have to try to get the next one.”
Holloran finished with a game-high 24 points – all in the final three quarters. Included in those 24 points was a pair of 3s and an 8-for-10 effort at the foul line. He buried 6-of 6 in the final quarter to seal the Lions’ fate.
“The kid tries so hard, he wants to do well – I was really happy for him,” Clark said. “This has really become his team in terms of being the point guard.
“He wanted the ball at the end and got fouled and made foul shots. He’s progressing really well because he wants it really bad. He really feels badly when he doesn’t play well. It matters to him, which is important.”
Gavin Stack, who had a pair of 3s, added eight points – all in the second half. Anthony Burns and Colin Martin both had six points on two 3s.
“Gavin Stock made two big 3s – one in the third and one in the fourth quarter,” Clark said. “Colin Martin made a three in the third quarter, which doesn’t seem like much, but we only scored eight points, and he hit that three when they were coming back on us, so that was big. Hitting those 3s stabilized us a little bit.”
The Golden Hawks’ coach credited the defensive effort of several players.
“Stephen Dosa guarding number 14 (Alex Walinski) who is a very good player,” Clark said. “Shane Dawson guarded 14, Anthony Burns guarded 14.
“I thought we handled ball screens a little bit better in the second half.”
Walinski led the Lions with 16 points, and Phil Weinseimer added 14. Bryan Dougherty finished with seven.
Council Rock South (5-8, 3-6 SOL) will travel to Springfield Township for a non-league game Friday, and New Hope-Solebury (3-10, 2-7) will be on the road at Council Rock North in a non-league contest Friday.
Council Rock South 8-17-8-20 53
New Hope-Solebury 12-5-14-17 48
Council Rock South (53) – Zach Schwartz 2 0-0 4; Joe Purcell 1 0-0 3; Anthony Burns 2 0-0 6; Colin Martin 2 0-0 6; Gavin Stock 3 0-0 8; Shane Dawson 1 0-2 2; Gavin Holloran 7 8-10 24; TOTALS 18 8-12 53.
New Hope-Solebury (48) – Charles Albano 2 0-0 5, Alex Walinski 5 4-7 16; Phil Weinseimer 6 3-4 15; Bryan Dougherty 3 1-2 7; Will Albano 2 0-0 5; TOTALS 18 8-13 48.
3-point goals: CRS – Anthony Burns 2, Colin Martin 2, Gavin Stock 2, Gavin Holloran 2, Joe Purcell, NHS – Alex Walinski 2, Charlie Albano, Will Albano.
NORTH PENN 53, PENNSBURY 50
The Knights took a 27-24 lead into halftime, extended that to 40-32 heading into the final quarter and then fought off a gutsy Falcon comeback attempt.
Josh Jones led a balanced Knight attack with 16 points – nine in the first half and seven more in the third quarter. Milind Pulugura came up big for the Knights in the fourth quarter, connecting on 5-of-6 at the foul line and also burying a three. He scored eight of his 14 points in the final quarter. He had a pair of 3s in the first half.
“Milind Pulugura was clutch from the foul line and defended well down the stretch,” NP coach John Conrad said.
Ryan Zeltt added seven points.
For the Falcons, Evan O’Neely (15 points) and Amir Johnson (14 points) led the way. McNeely had a pair of 3-pointers while Johnson had one. Johnson and McNeely were at the heart of the Falcons’ comeback, combining for 13 points in the fourth quarter. Johnson accounted for seven of those points. Kennan Taddei, Aidan McCormack and Evan Reichard each chipped in six points.
McCormack also had eight rebounds and three steals while Reichard had seven rebounds. Johnson had four assists and two steals. McNeely added four rebounds and two steals. Ty Kocak also had a pair of steals.
North Penn (10-4, 6-3 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East on Tuesday, and Pennsbury (5-8, 4-6) will be on the road at Central Bucks South Friday for a non-league game.
Pennsbury 10-14-8-18 50
North Penn 15-12-13-13 53
Pennsbury (50) – Amir Johnson 4 5-6 14; Aidan McCormack 1 4-4 6; Kennan Taddei 2 1-2 6; Evan McNeely 5 3-6 15, Ty Kocak 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 16 13-18 50.
North Penn (53) – Mario Sgro 0 2-2 2; Joe Larkins 1 3-4 5; Billy Coley 1 2-2 5; Milind Pulugura 3 5-6 14; Josh Jones 5 5-5 16; Ryan Zeltt 3 0-0 7; Terhan Wright 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 15 17-19 53
3-point goals: Pennsbury – Evan McNeely 2, Amir Johnson, Kennan Taddei,Ty Kocak, NP – Milind Pulugura 3, Billy Coley, Josh Jones, Ryan Zeltt.
UPPER DUBLIN 62, PENN WOOD 56
The visiting Flying Cardinals won a tightly contested battle with the Patriots, rallying from a 27-22 halftime deficit to outscore their hosts 40-29 in the second half.
Drew Stover kept the Cardinals afloat in the first half, scoring 10 points. In a 21-point third quarter, Colin O’Sullivan buried three 3-pointers, and Seaton Kukla had six points. The Cardinals still trailed by one heading into the final quarter when Stover erupted for nine points, propelling UD to the 19-point frame and the non-league win.
“We struggled defensively for most of the game,” UD coach Chris Manahan said. “They were able to get into transition, get offensive rebounds and make 3s.
“Add to that the fact that we did not shoot the ball well in the first half and you get us down at halftime. We stepped up in the second half and made some 3s, and then we were able to get just enough stops to pull out a solid win on the road.”
Stover led all scorers with 21 points while Kukla added 13. O’Sullivan and Cerisier both had nine points, and Noah Lee had seven.
Upper Dublin (9-5, 5-4 SOL) was scheduled to host North Penn Thursday.
Upper Dublin 13-9-21-19 62
Penn Wood 15-12-17-12 56
Upper Dublin (62) – Drew Stover 21, Colin O’Sullivan 9, DJ Cerisier 9, Noah Lee 7, Seaton Kukla 13, Anthony Fatiga 2.
Penn Wood (56) – Flynn 9, Dublin 11, Boward 2, Massenburg 5, Shillingburg 7, Purnell 8, Hinton 2, Kennth 12
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