Check out the complete game coverage of the Souderton/CB South and Bensalem/Truman games.
By Scott Huff
Suburban One League
National Conference
Council Rock North (15-4, 8-3) withstood a furious 29-point fourth quarter rush by Neshaminy (14-4, 8-3) to defeat the host Redskins - 64-60 – in a key Suburban One League National Conference game. Both the visiting Indians and the Redskins are tied atop the conference standings.
The Skins – who trailed by 14 points in the second half – actually cut the lead to 62-60 with 3.5 seconds left on the clock.
However, Charlie Anastasi sealed the deal for Rock North with a pair of free throws.
“We knew that they were going to make a run,” said Council Rock head coach Derek Wright. “We got off to the nice start at the beginning of the game, and our big men (Anastasi and John Raymon) did a good job of finishing with points inside.”
“We were fighting uphill the entire game,” said Neshaminy head coach Jerry Devine. “For whatever reason, we came out sluggish. Their big men were a tough match up for us.”
Another focal point of the Rock North win was the job that the Indians did on Neshaminy super-soph Ryan Arcidiacono.
“We played our own version of the box-and-one,” said Wright. “All five players on the defensive end were aware of Ryan was at all times.”
“We had a good couple of days preparing for that defense,” said Devine. “But we never were able to get them out of that defense.”
Both teams showed balance on the scoring ledger. Rock North and the Skins each had four players in double figures – Anastasi and Raymon led the Indians with 14 points each, while Arcidiacono and Mike McGarry led Neshaminy with 15 points each.
And now both CR North and Neshaminy go into the final week and a half knotted at the top of the conference standings.
“The reality is that we have to respond to this loss on Friday against William Tennent,” said Devine. “Losing this game doesn’t decide anything – but it does put more pressure on us to win in order to be champions.”
“The players were aware before the game how important this game was to us,” said Wright. “We played with confidence and trusted each other. We now have to take care of business the rest of the season.”
Council Rock North 16 11 16 21 - 64
Neshaminy 9 10 12 29 - 60
Council Rock North: John Raymon 14; Charlie Anastasi 14; Arron Goodman 10; Aaron Morgan 10; Tim Filer 6; Matt McCloskey 6; Ty Bostain 4.
Neshaminy: Ryan Arcidiacono 15; Mike McGarry 15; Dwight Williams 11; Steve Warhola 10; Tyler Katz 6; Charlie Marterella 3.
Pennsbury (10-9, 7-4) moved to within a single game of the conference lead with a 60-49 victory over William Tennent (9-10, 1-10).
The Falcons had a 21-point outburst from senior guard Jesse Krasna and twin digit scoring from Kiernan Bolger with 18.
The Panthers were led in scoring by Jack Rauchut with 14 points, while Mike Horn scored in double figures for WT with 13 points.
Abington (10-9, 7-4) also moved within a single game of the conference lead with a 61-51 victory over Council Rock South (7-11, 3-8).
The Ghosts had four players score in twin digits. Jaymes Miller led with a team-high 17 points, while Vince Tranquillo (11), Mike Piunti (10), and Wesley Rines (10) also scored in double figures.
The Golden Hawks – who led at the half – were led in scoring by Cody Nowlin who scored a game-high 19 points. Justin Thomas also scored in double digits for Rock South with 11 points.
Suburban One League
Continental Conference
Quakertown (9-10, 5-6) won’t have a nice home cooked Thanksgiving dinner to enjoy after its 59-48 Suburban One League Continental Conference win over Pennridge (5-14, 1-10), but a well deserved dessert at Applebees will have to do.
The Panthers hoop squad did what the football team couldn’t do this year – beat Pennridge. And the Q-town five did it twice this year.
“Pennridge-Quakertown is what great rivalries are all about,” said Panther coach Kevin Keeler. “This was a good atmosphere to play a basketball game in.
“It was the same way when we played them up there,” added Keeler. “They play tough and can really shoot the basketball.”
“I was telling my players before the game to enjoy the atmosphere,” said Pennridge head coach Dean Behrens. “It was nice for our team to play in front of a crowd like this.
“These are a great group of kids to be around,” added Behrens. “They love to come to practice – and they just love to play the game.”
The difference in the outcome of this game had a lot do with the experience that each team put on the floor.
Quakertown played five tested seniors – and Pennridge has no seniors on its active roster.
“Pennridge is a great young team, and Dean should be very happy with what he has coming back next year,” said Keeler. “We have the five seniors, and we made some good decisions tonight when the game got close.”
Pennridge trailed 31-17 at the half, but the Rams shot themselves back in the game with a 22-point third quarter. And PHS closed to within 51-46 midway through the fourth period.
“(Kenny) Gula, (Dalton) Nice, and (Rick) Kivela are all very good players,” said Behrens. “And anytime we made a run at them, they seemed to come up with a key basket.”
Gula finished with a game-high 21 points, while Kivela played strong inside the paint with 15 points, and Nice added 13 points.
Sophomore Tim Abruzzo with 15 points led Pennridge, while Mike Guldin scored in twin digits with 12 points.
“This was a good win for us,” said Keeler. “Any time you beat Pennridge, it is a good win.”
Pennridge 6 11 22 9 - 48
Quakertown 12 19 15 13 - 59
Pennridge: Tim Abruzzo 15; Mike Guldin 12; Rocky Ferrier 9; Andrew Lyons 8; Kyle Peters 4.
Quakertown: Kenny Gula 21; Rick Kivela 15; Dalton Nice 13; Austin Keeler 8; Trevor Dietrich 2.
North Penn (9-8, 6-5) took the lead with a 16-point second quarter and went on to defeat Central Bucks West (10-8, 6-5) in a Continental Conference game.
The Knights were led by T.J. Gill and Wes Brooks who each scored 10 points. Patrick Furst was the leading scorer for the Bucks with a game-high 13 points.
Suburban One League
American Conference
Wissahickon (14-5, 7-4) completed a conference sweep over Norristown (13-5, 8-3) with a 54-48 victory over the Eagles.
The Trojans defeated Norristown 49-41 in the first meeting between the two teams.
Wissahickon jumped out to a 15-8 first period lead and never looked back.
The catalyst for the Trojans in the initial quarter was Michael Bundy who scored 10 of his game-high 21 points in the first period.
“Michael Bundy has been playing very good basketball,” said Wissahickon head coach Kyle Wilson. “He had a great game against Communication Tech.”
Wissahickon stopped Communication Tech’s 15-game winning streak with a 74-69 victory.
Norristown still has a hold onto second place in the conference standings. The Eagles – who were led in scoring against Wissahickon by Chris Davis with 14 points - will travel to Plymouth Meeting on Friday to meet the first place PW Colonials.
Norristown 8 10 11 19 - 48
Wissahickon 15 9 12 18 - 54
Norristown: Chris Davis 14; Aaron Webb 7; Tyreese White 5; Sheldon Mayer 5; Jahquil Hargrove 5; Allen Yates 3; Jaquan Hargrove 3; Rasheed McCray 2; Najee Harris 2.
Wissahickon: Michael Bundy 21; Gio Atkins 11; Tom Sweeney 9; Jordan Reed 6; Kevin Hammond 6; Bobby Beckett 1.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (18-1, 11-0) remained unbeaten in conference play with a 73-60 victory over Upper Dublin (12-5, 7-4).
Jaylen Bond stepped up huge for the Colonials with a 28-point scoring performance. Sam Pygatt added 18 points, while Brandon Dixon also scored on double digits with 11 points.
Upper Dublin was led by senior Jamil Brown who tied Bond with a game-high 28 points. John DeCamara also scored in twin digits for the Flying Cardinals with 10 points.
Cheltenham (10-9,6-5) went over the .500 mark both overall and within the conference with a 55-38 victory over Springfield (3-15, 0-11).
The Panthers had a 26-point – 10 rebound effort from Rob Mansell. Malcom Weston chipped in with nine points for the winners.
Kyron Greene led the Spartans with 19 points, while Malcom Hill added 11 points. Springfield has now lost 11 straight games.
Upper Moreland (4-15, 2-9) handed Upper Merion (5-13, 2-9) its seventh consecutive loss with a 54-47 win.
The Golden Bears – who outscored the Vikings 18-4 in the third quarter – were led in scoring by Ben Pflaumer with a game-high 18 points.
Upper Merion was led by Francis Rafferty with 17 points.
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