Check out the results of SOL boys’ basketball teams in action. Check back for Kim Supko’s gallery of the Upper Merion/Springfield contest. The Neshaminy/Truman photos are provided courtesy of Jesse Garber. To view his photos, click on the following links: http://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p1994367
http://JSGarber.zenfolio.com/p91288078
By Jarrad Saffren
Two dynasties continued Tuesday night as Plymouth Whitemarsh and Abington clinched Suburban One League titles. Ten other boys basketball league games were played as well, most with district playoff implications. The results and recaps are below.
SOL American
Plymouth Whitemarsh 58, Cheltenham 56
Plymouth Whitemarsh trailed by nine at halftime and by seven going into the fourth quarter.
“We couldn’t figure Cheltenham out in the first half, then we figured them out,” Colonials coach Jim Donofrio said.
In the fourth quarter, PW stormed back to take a four-point lead into the final minute. Cheltenham hit two free throws in the final seconds to cut its deficit back to two at the buzzer.
“Mike Lotito started hitting shots and Xzavier Malone did too,” Donofrio said.
Lotito had 10 points and Malone 19.
The Colonials beat Cheltenham for the second time this season and clinched an outright SOL American Conference title, their 16th in 25 years and 12th in 18 seasons under Donofrio.
“You have three goals going into every year: Win the conference, the district, and the state. It’s a great accomplishment to win the league, especially outright,” Donofrio said. “I’m proud of the resiliency of this team.”
Donofrio was especially proud that his team won in a tough road environment. “Cheltenham wanted a share of the league title and it was their senior night, so the crowd was jacked up,” Donofrio said. “I’m proud that our guys fought back under those circumstances.”
Cheltenham coach John Timms tipped his hat to the Colonials.
"When you're playing a team that's 18-1, there's a reason why they're 18-1. Their resiliency is part of the reason, part of their make up. That team shows a lot of resolve and just plays their game all the way to the last buzzer. We're not quite there yet,” the Panthers’ coach said. “We're at about 29 minutes of good basketball, so right now, we're missing that last two minutes, the one minute to beat the best. That's what you need to beat the best. We can't sugar coat it. PW is the best.”
Timms is happy that his program is even in the conversation with PW.
"What I told Jim and his staff afterwards, 'We're just happy that we're able to put a product on the floor that you know can beat you every time you step on the floor.’ Right now, that's where we're at,” Timms said.
Timms also said his players may have been feeling the pressure of competing for a league title.
"The Suburban One League – it's over. Get that out of the way. It was a lot of pressure on the kids thinking that if we win three games in a row we can win the Suburban One League title,” Timms said. “I think we were playing a little tense with that in sight, so now that's not part of our goal, and we can just focus on Norristown and Wissahickon and get prepared for districts.”
Khalil White led Cheltenham with 14 points. Trevonn Pitts, Maurice Valentine, and Anthony White all had eight for the Panthers, who shot just three foul shots in the game.
PW (19-1, 12-1 SOL) closes the regular season against Norristown Thursday night. Cheltenham (15-5, 9-3 SOL) plays Wissahickon Thursday night and Norristown Friday night.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 8-10-17-23 58
Cheltenham 15-12-11-18 56
Plymouth Whitemarsh: Grady Minick 4, Oakley Spencer 3, Xzavier Malone 19, Kevin Ashlenfelter 9, Ahmin Williams 3, Ahmad Williams 5, Davon Burrell 5, Mike Lotito 10
Cheltenham: Branden Mack 6, Khalil White 14, Anthony White 8, Ahmad Bickley 2, Jack Clark 2, Maurice Valentine 8, Blair Brown 2, Amir Lewis 2, Justin Sutton 4, Trevonn Pitts 8
Upper Dublin 56, Wissahickon 52
Upper Dublin raced to a nine-point lead after one quarter and held on at the end. The Flying Cardinals won for the ninth time in 13 games after a 1-7 start.
UD was missing a lot of key players at the start of the season because the school’s football team reached the state tournament in December. That included Ryan Stover, the basketball team’s leading rebounder last season, and John Barrett, its leading scorer.
Upper Dublin – ranked 35th in the unofficial District One Class AAAA power rankings – still has a shot at the playoffs if it wins its last regular season game on Thursday. But UD coach Josh Adelman said his team would probably be in if it had a full roster from day one.
“Jimmy Gallagher was walking into the locker room tonight and he said, ‘Coach we’d be set if we had had all those guys,’” Adelman said. “I said, ‘Yeah I know we would definitely be in.’”
Still, Adelman was happy that the football team had such a great season.
“We understood completely,” he said. “It was great that they went so far and it was a great experience for those guys. And to their credit, they came back and have really helped our team now too.”
Barrett led all scorers with 20 points Tuesday. Will Derr added 14 for the Cardinals, who shot 61 percent from the field and 63 percent from three-point range.
Marlyn Johnson paced Wissahickon with 15 points. Zach Reiner added 12.
Upper Dublin (10-11, 6-7 SOL) goes to Springfield Thursday for a 7 p.m. tipoff. Wissahickon (10-11, 5-8 SOL) hosts Cheltenham on the same night and time.
Upper Dublin 18-14-16-8 56
Wissahickon 9-15-15-13 52
Wissahickon: Marlyn Johnson 15, Zach Reiner 12, Chaz Owens 5, Max Rapoport 5, Alex Tappen 5, Zach Gelman 4, Michael Howard 4, Noah Curran 2.
Upper Dublin: Ben Abel 8, Grant Adlam 2, John Barrett 20, Will Derr 14, Jimmy Gallagher 7, Curtez Goff 2. Ryan Stover 3.
Upper Merion 49, Springfield 23
It was senior night at Upper Merion, and Vikings coach Jason Quenzer rewarded his program guys for their service.
Of the five seniors, only Isaiah Graham-Mobley and Connor McDermott play significant minutes. But they all started Tuesday night, and played well.
“Anthony Capistrano gave a great effort,” Quenzer said.
Capistrano grabbed seven rebounds and scored five points.
“Jake Pruskowski is a hard worker and a great kid,” Quenzer said. “He’s energetic and brings it every day. He brought it tonight.”
Pruskowski had two points.
“Jordyn Adegun is also a workhorse and a very good teammate,” Quenzer said. “He was trying to get everybody involved and made a real nice move at the rim tonight.”
Adegun netted four points.
McDermott and Graham-Mobley also played their usual roles.
“McDermott has seen a lot of minutes. He spells Aidan (Newell) and does a great job running the team,” Quenzer said. “He did that again tonight.
“Isaiah was very supportive of the other guys. He was our backbone tonight.”
Graham-Mobley finished with four points. Basketball senior night was not even the highlight of his week.
“He signs officially with Temple to play football tomorrow,” Quenzer said. “What a good week for him.”
Non-seniors Chris Carita and Matt Faw led Upper Merion with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Ryan Daley paced Springfield with 13.
Upper Merion is 14th in the unofficial district power rankings and virtually assured of making the 32-team field. Now the Vikings are just playing for a home game in the first round.
UM (15-6, 8-5 SOL) can get closer to that goal by beating Upper Moreland Thursday night. Springfield (3-18, 0-13 SOL) has one more chance to win a league game against Upper Dublin Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Upper Merion 6-17-14-12 49
Springfield 2-9-8-4 23
Springfield: Justin Hill 2, Ryan Daley 13, Matt Corrado 4, Ian Fraser 2, Mike Goodson 2.
Upper Merion: Aidan Newell 3, Isaiah Graham-Mobley 4, Ethan Miller 5, Chris Carita 5, Matt Faw 10, Andrew Persaud 3, Connor McDermott 2, Jordyn Adegun 4, Anthony Capistrano 5, Jake Pruskowski 2.
Norristown 62, Upper Moreland 43
Norristown led by nine after one quarter, by 13 at halftime, and by 17 after three. In other words, the result was never in doubt.
Norristown’s Roy Green led all scorers with 21 points, including six three-pointers. Darryl Carr complemented him with 14. Tyrique Lyons added nine. Amir Carter had eight points, eight assists, and three steals. Darius McGowan had eight rebounds.
Shane Stone and Brendan O’Donnell paced Upper Moreland with 13 and 12, respectively.
Norristown is 41st in the district power rankings and likely needs another win to sneak into the 32-team playoff field. Upper Moreland is fifth in the Class AAA power rankings.
Norristown (9-11, 6-6 SOL) buses to PW Thursday night for a 7 p.m. start. Upper Moreland (9-12, 5-8 SOL) welcomes Upper Merion on the same night and time.
Norristown 20-9-20-13 62
Upper Moreland 11-5-16-11 43
Norristown: Darryl Carr 14, Desmond Gorski 3, Roy Green 21, Kether Massiaz 5, Amir Carter 8, Tyrique Lyons 9, Mike Dorman 2.
Upper Moreland: Brendan O'Donnell 12, Tanner Herb 3, Ryan Coyle 6, Brett Brossman 3, Mike Lyons 2, Christian O'Donnell 1, Shane Stone 13, Jake Villanueva 3.
SOL National
Abington 41, Council Rock North 37
Early in the fourth quarter, Riley Thompson buried a three-pointer and CR North, after a 17-5 run, took its first lead of the game.
But, on the other end, Eric Dixon spun to the basket and got slapped on the arm. The freshman made both free throws and Abington regained the lead for good, 34-33. Dixon made five free throws in the fourth quarter and led Abington with 12 points overall.
But, while Abington’s season belonged to the freshman sensation, Tuesday night belonged to its five seniors. Ghosts coach Charles Grasty started them all, even though point guard Dion Greene is the only regular starter, though Brian Close and Jack Steinman are in the rotation.
Greene, Close, Steinman, Donnell Wessels, and Bernard James played so well in the first quarter that Grasty kept them in to start the second. Abington led 18-10 when the seniors finally exited to a round of applause with 6:31 left in the first half. “
I said, ‘Listen. You guys are gonna start and if you play well you’ll keep playing,’” Grasty said. “They played well. There was no reason to take them out.”
With a little help from Dixon and their younger teammates, the seniors accomplished something historic: They became the first Abington senior class in history to win four straight league titles, as the Ghosts clinched the Suburban One League National Conference championship.
“We’ve given our time and effort to the program,” Steinman said. “Now we put it all out on the floor and got off to a good start.”
“To be the first team to do that, it’s a great feat,” Close said. “It’s a great feeling.”
Abington is 53-2 against SOL National opponents during that span. The Ghosts are ranked seventh in the district power rankings and are in prime position to reach the state tournament for the fourth straight year. They got to the state Final Four in 2014 but lost in the first round last spring.
“That team (JP McCaskey) came out and hit us but that doesn’t matter now,” Steinman said. “Because we have a chance again.”
CR North came into Tuesday ranked 32nd in the power rankings. The Indians (12-9, 9-4 SOL) may have fallen out of that last playoff spot with the loss. But they can redeem themselves by winning their season finale Thursday night against Bensalem.
Abington (17-4, 12-1 SOL) ends its regular season on the same night versus Harry S. Truman.
Abington 16-9-7-9 41
Council Rock North 8-8-14-7 37
Pennsbury 65, Council Rock South 48
Pennsbury had a simple strategy. Use multiple defenders to limit CR South’s leading scorer Alex Nordenholt.
The strategy worked.
“We defended. Bottom line,” Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. “Vaughn Ward, Tyler (Sessa-Reeves), Corey (Dea), and Rob (Daly) held Nordenholt to eight points. And it was a very hard eight.”
Coleman also praised his team’s balanced offensive attack.
“It was a good effort by everybody. Addison Howard played well. Mark Flagg was very good off the free throw line. Rob Daly had a quiet 11 points,” Coleman said. “It was a good team effort which was really good to see.”
Flagg (18) and Howard (16) combined for 34 points. Ward pitched in eight. Austin Thomas (15) and Ryan Boyd (10) were the only Hawks in double figures.
Pennsbury avenged a one-point loss to South in the middle of January.
“It was nice to get payback,” Coleman said. “We forced the other guards to beat us this time and didn’t miss 25 free throws like we did in the first game.”
At 16th in the district power rankings, Pennsbury took a step toward accomplishing its goal.
“We know what we have to do to get a home game in first round,” Coleman said. “We have to win out. This was a big first step.”
Pennsbury (13-7, 8-4 SOL) plays William Tennent Thursday night and Harry S. Truman Friday night. CR South (7-13, 5-8 SOL) battles Neshaminy Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Pennsbury 12-13-22-18 65
Council Rock South 17-6-15-10 48
Council Rock South: Austin Thomas 15, Alex Nordenholt 8, Kevin Newbert 6, Ryan Boyd 10
Pennsbury: Addison Howard 16, Vaughn Ward 8, Tyler Sessa-Reeves 5, Isaiah Carpenter 3, Joey Monaghan 2, Rob Daly 11, Mark Flagg 18, Mike Alley 2.
William Tennent 69, Bensalem 64 (OT)
William Tennent came into Tuesday’s game on a nine-game losing streak. Bensalem had won nine of 12.
But Tennent took it to Bensalem and seriously damaged its playoff hopes.
“We attacked the rim pretty well,” Tennent coach Robert Mulville said. “We scored a lot in the paint.”
The teams were tied at the end of the third and fourth but Tennent won the overtime period 11-6. Most of Tennent’s 24 two-point baskets were in the paint, Mulville said. Senior center John Ryan scored 22 points to lead all scorers.
“John had an unbelievable second half,” Mulville said. “He was really attacking the rim.”
Pat McCauley complemented Ryan with 16 points, including four three-pointers. Matt Berndlmaier dropped 12.
“He’s usually our defensive guy,” Mulville said.
Ward Roberts poured in 21 to lead Bensalem. Taco Douglas and Richard Dean added 12 and 11, respectively. Bensalem is 25th in the power rankings but could drop after losing to a sub-.500 team.
Mulville knows his team’s record, and he is proud of his players for staying upbeat.
“We were on this monster losing streak but they never quit. It would have been real easy for them,” Mulville said. “If you would have come to practice yesterday you would never look at this team and say, ‘They can’t wait for it to be over.’ They have a great mindset and still have tons of energy. I’m just so happy that they have that attitude where they’re not gonna quit.”
William Tennent (6-14, 3-10 SOL) hosts Pennsbury Thursday night. Bensalem (10-10, 6-7 SOL) plays CR North Thursday night and Glen Mills Saturday.
William Tennent 8-21-15-14-11 69
Bensalem 5-21-18-14-6 64
William Tennent: Anthony Woodard 9, Pat McCauley 16, John Ryan 22, Matt Berndlmeir 12, Ryan Lucas 6, Markeith Alford-Baxter 2, George Alston 2.
Bensalem: Brandon Vaughn 5, Rich Dean 11, Anthony Greene 2, Ward Roberts 21, BJ Jones 1, Taco Douglas 12, Brian Quarterman 3, Johni Dumney 9.
SOL Continental
Pennridge 55, Hatboro-Horsham 46
The SOL Continental is the only league that did not crown a champion Tuesday night. But Pennridge is one step closer to that goal.
The Rams led by three after one quarter and seven at halftime. but Hatboro-Horsham inched closer after the break. It was 46-43 Pennridge at one point in the fourth quarter.
“That’s a good win. Hatboro’s a good team, very long,” Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. “Clifton Moore can shoot the three. Brian McEachern hurts us.”
With the win, Pennridge finished undefeated on its home floor in 2015-16.
“That was kind of neat,” Behrens said.
The Rams also earned a share of the league title. But Behrens wants it outright.
“It’d be nice if we take care of business on Friday night,” Behrens said. “Quakertown’s been playing well. Plus they are basically all guards. It’s a tough matchup.”
“And (Quakertown leading scorer) Griffin Schmidt, I feel like he’s a college basketball player,” Behrens said.
Another college basketball player, Pennridge senior center Max Wagner, scored 17 points Tuesday night, reaching exactly 1,000 for his career.
“He did it on a foul shot. And that’s how we ended. We didn’t score after that,” Behrens said. “We stopped the game and everything. Then he missed the second one. We probably iced him.”
Wagner scored 714 points in three seasons at New Hope-Solebury and has 286 this year for Pennridge.
Dan Long led the Rams with 19 points. Jay Davis paced Hatboro-Horsham with 12 points. Clifton Moore had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Joe Russell had seven boards.
With one game left, Behrens is excited.
“I don’t think many people thought we’d be in this position. A lot of people thought (Central Bucks) West would be the team to beat,” he said. “But if we take care of business, no one can touch us. You can’t ask for better opportunity than that.”
“I didn’t think a team would end with one loss in our league. I didn’t even think two losses. I thought 10-4 would win the league.”
Pennridge (18-3, 12-1 SOL) can clinch the outright league title by beating Quakertown Thursday night. Hatboro-Horsham (11-10, 7-6 SOL) is still in position to make the district playoff field if it beats North Penn on the same night.
Pennridge 9-18-11-17 55
Hatboro-Horsham 6-14-12-14 46
Hatboro-Horsham: Brandon Crews 2, Clifton Moore 11, Joseph Russell 7, Jay Davis 12, Ezekiel Soan 3, Brian McEachern 8, Joe Fisher 3.
Pennride: Devon Balmer 4, Dan Long 19, Steve Lowry 6, Sean Yoder 2, Kyle Yoder 3, Ryan Cuthbert 4, Max Wagner 17
Central Bucks West 51, Central Bucks East 37
With this win, CB West still has a chance at the conference title.
The Bucks also justified their number six slot in the power rankings, one spot behind Pennridge.
CB East, at 19, will probably still make the field even it loses its final game of the regular season.
CB West coach Adam Sherman was happy with his team’s performance.
“The kids were solid. We were able to make them shoot tough shots,” Sherman said.
CB West (17-4, 11-2 SOL) plays Central Bucks South Thursday night at 7:15 p.m. CB East (12-9, 6-7 SOL) goes to Souderton for a 7 p.m. tip.
North Penn 61, Souderton 53
Coming into Tuesday, North Penn was 33rd in the power rankings and CR North was 32nd. But the Indians lost and the Knights won.
That may mean something, or it may not. But Knights coach John Conrad is only focusing on what his team can control.
“We certainly needed tonight and I kind of feel like we need Thursday as well if we are going to sneak in,” Conrad said.
The coach also had a theory about why the District One Gods gave his team respect.
“We’ve had a tough non-league schedule. We played La Salle, we played Perk Valley, we played Egan,” Conrad said. “I think we are going to be pretty close. But I do figure we need to get to 11-11.”
On Tuesday, North Penn “played well for three quarters and held on for dear life in the fourth,” Conrad said. “We played great defense and got great contributions off our bench. We had three non-starters (Justin Henley, AJ Mitchell, and Ricky Johns) score 10 points, which really helped us.”
North Penn led 51-38 at the start of the fourth but did not score again until there were two minutes left. Souderton cut the Knights’ lead to three but North Penn made clutch free throws down the stretch.
Four Souderton players scored in double figures. Tracy Simsick (19), Ty Salone (13), Ian Beardsley (11), and Austin Eberhart (10) accounted for all of the Indians’ points.
North Penn (10-11, 5-8 SOL) closes its regular season at Hatboro-Horsham Thursday night. Souderton (7-14, 3-10 SOL) does the same against CB East.
Souderton: Tracy Simsick 19, Ty Salone 13, Ian Beardsley 11, Austin Eberhart 10.
North Penn: Justis Henley 10, AJ Mitchell 10, Ricky Johns 10, JJ Melchior 7, Lance Lindsay-Ford 7, Reece Udinski 6, Derek Heiserman 4, Matt Pickford 4, Noah Kwortnik 3.
Central Bucks South 72, Quakertown 66 (2 OT)
CB South’s Ryan Joerger was fouled on a three-point attempt with 2.6 seconds left. He made two of three free throws to send the game to overtime.
“We were trying to get the ball to Tim Waddington but he got denied,” CB South coach Jason Campbell said. “So Alex Karras drove to the basket and kicked it out to Ryan.”
The teams tied at five in the first overtime but CB South won the second session 8-2.
“In the first overtime they went up three or four points on us and we came back and Joerger hit a three from the corner to tie it,” Campbell said.
Joerger drained four three-pointers and finished with 17 points.
“Ryan Joerger had a great game for us,” CB South coach Jason Campbell said.
Tim Waddington led the Titans with 19 and Alex Karras and Ian Vogt added 14 and 10, respectively.
Quakertown’s Griffin Schmidt scored 25 points and became the school’s all-time male leading scorer when he hit a foul shot in the third quarter. Rob Gluck held the previous record of 1,303. Schmidt now has 1,312.
JR Grimmage netted 15 points for Quakertown. Nick Drosnock scored 12 points on four three-pointers.
“There was a lot of offense for both teams,” Campbell said. “It came down to getting some stops in the fourth quarter.”
CB South, who is 27th in the power rankings, did not hurt its playoff case by breaking a five-game losing streak.
“I just had to tell them, ‘It’s a long season.’ You find out who you are when you face adversity, a losing streak,” Campbell said. “If you don’t achieve your goals with wins and losses, then you revise your goals, and think about the next game that you’re playing.”
“If you get into the district playoffs you’re still playing for something, even if you don’t have a chance at the conference championship.”
The Titans (10-11, 6-7 SOL) battle CB West Thursday night in the regular season finale for both teams. Quakertown (7-14, 2-11 SOL) hosts Pennridge on the same night.
Central Bucks South 17-17-12-13-5-8 72
Quakertown 16-18-20-5-5-2 66
Quakertown: JR Grimmage 15, Rob Mestayer 8, Ryan Howard 4, Dakota Suchanec 2, Nick Drosnock 12, Griffin Schmidt 25.
Central Bucks South: Alex Karras 14, Nate Robinson 4, Tommy Doyle 6, Nate Johnston 2, Ryan Joerger 17, Tim Waddington 19, Ian Vogt 10.
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