Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Wednesday. Upper Moreland/Hatboro-Horsham photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos. (Aaron Sanders photos courtesy of Bensalem basketball). All SOS photo galleries for BOYS’ BASKETBALL can be viewed by clicking HERE.
SOL Freedom/Liberty crossover
UPPER MORELAND 31, HATBORO-HORSHAM 25
On a night that saw the two teams combine for just 56 points, it was the Golden Bears escaping with a win in Wednesday’s crossover contest.
“Obviously, in a low scoring game like that, holding a team to 25 is always something good you can take away from it,” UM coach Dan Heiland said. “Offensively, we just didn’t execute the way I would like, but we were able to come out with a victory, so I’ll take the win any way I can.”
The Hatters led 9-7 after the first quarter, but the Golden Bears rallied to go on top 16-13 at halftime. They outscored their visitors 15-12 in the second half.
“They did a really nice job of running their sets,” Heiland said of the Hatters. “They ran their motion offense to take time off the clock. I don’t know if that was intentional or not – to take time off the clock and not force anything.
“When they were able to take advantage of us either lacking or falling asleep, they did, and they did a really nice job of executing, playing within themselves and not falling into the pressures that we were trying to do. I tell the guys – good teams find a way to win. It doesn’t matter what the score is.”
Matt Tiernan (12 points) and Byron Hopkins (eight points) led the Golden Bears.
“The guys played hard,” Heiland said. “It wasn’t a lack of effort. It was just a lack of execution at times. Guys like Matt (Tiernan) and Byron (Hopkins) stepped up to make plays offensively for us, and guys like Rashim (Lancit) and Stefano (Garofalo) made plays defensively for us.
“I’m happy with the defensive effort tonight. We have room to improve definitely offensively and defensively, but we’ll keep this one, learn from it, move on. We have a tough one on Friday.”
For the Hatters, Noah Schlosser (11 points) and Kyle Dittus (eight points) led the way.
Upper Moreland (11-7, 6-7 SOL) will host Springfield Township on Friday, and Hatboro-Horsham (1-17, 1-12) will host Abington on Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham 9-4-7-5 25
Upper Moreland 7-9-9-6 31
Hatboro-Horsham (25) – Jake Grier 2, Noah Schlosser 11, Kyle Dittus 8, Chrishon Avery 4.
Upper Moreland (31) – Byron Hopkins 8, Bo Meakim 4, Rashim Lancit 3, Jake Tiernan 2, Matt Tiernan 12, Stefano Garofalo 2, Colson Campbell 2.
3-point goals: HH – Kyle Dittus 2; UM – Rashim Lancit 3.
Non-league
BENSALEM 65, HOLY GHOST PREP 59
Aaron Sanders set off a celebration when he buried a 3-pointer for his first basket of the night. The bucket gave the talented senior 1,000 points for his varsity career.
“Tonight was all about Aaron Sanders,” Bensalem coach Ron Morris said. “We knew he was three points away. The team wanted to be there for him.
“He’s very humble. He said he didn’t care about it – he just wanted to win, but we wanted to pull the win out for him. He’s just been a great leader. His work ethic is top notch, and he deserves the accolade even though he didn’t want all the recognition.”
Sanders is the first Bensalem boys’ basketball player to reach the coveted milestone since Ward Roberts did it in 2018.
“It’s a really, really big accomplishment, and I think it really goes to the work ethic,” Morris said. “He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached.
“I can’t be thankful enough to coach (Tony) Chapman. He was super nice and super supportive for allowing us to stop the game and embrace Aaron, so much thanks to him and his staff and program for allowing us to celebrate that moment.”
The Owls, who led by one after one quarter, found themselves trailing Holy Ghost 27-18 at halftime after managing just six points total in the second quarter. The Owls took a lead they would not lose with a 22-11 third quarter. Jeremy Rodriguez accounted for eight of his team’s points in the third quarter. He added nine points in the fourth quarter, which included 5-of-6 at the foul line.
“Every time it’s Bensalem vs. Holy Ghost, it’s a battle of Bensalem,” Morris said. “Both teams get up for it. It’s our third game in three days, but our kids just battled. I challenged them at halftime. They came out with extra energy and really turned the game around in the third quarter and just continued to play hard.
“Jeremy (Rodriguez) caught fire in the second half. Eric Gonzalez hit a big three, he got a huge rebound, and he made great plays. Jack Wineburg got a big three, Aaron (Sanders) had a three, and just getting the ball inside to Allen (Myers) – he was able to make things happen, whether it was scoring or passing out from the post. It was just a great team victory.”
Jeremy Rodriguez turned in a monster performance, scoring 25 points, and Aaron Sanders added 13 points. Myers and Jack Wineburg both had nine points, and Gonzalez finished with eight.
“Jeremy Rodriguez was 7-for-8 from the line, and he made some clutch free throws in the fourth quarter,” Morris said. “Allen (Myers) struggled from the line, but he made two big foul shots in the fourth quarter.
“It was nice to have Allen back from the start. He is such a presence in the middle. He got in foul trouble unfortunately, but we knew coming in it was going to be a tough game.
Wednesday’s game came on the heels of a hard fought win over neighboring rival Truman one day earlier.
“It’s tough,” Morris said. “Back-to-back days, back-to-back rivalries. That’s part of the way the season is with cancellations because of COVID and weather. You have to take the games when you can. We had to do what we had to do.
“I tip my hat to our team. The boys really dug deep and worked their way through and pulled out a great victory against a good team. We knew Mel Lindsay was a great player, and he got going in the fourth quarter, and we were able to withstand the push.”
Bensalem (15-4, 11-2 SOL) will travel to Council Rock North for a key conference game on Friday at 6 p.m.
Holy Ghost Prep 11-16-11-21 59
Bensalem 12-6-22-24 64
Holy Ghost Prep (59) – Shane Reilly 4 4-4 14; Mark Tomasetti 2 1-4 5; Dylan Shead 4 0-0 8; Seamus McDermott 3 0-0 6; Ryan Sylvester 2 2-2 6; Mel Lindsey 5 7-12 18; Sean McGrenehan 1 0-0 2. TOTALS 21 14-22 59.
Bensalem (64) – Jeremy Rodriguez 8 7-8 25; Allen Myers 2 5-15 9; Eric Gonzalez 2 2-2 8; Aaron Sanders 5 0-1 13; Antonio Morris 0 0-2 0; Jack Wineburg 3 0-1 9. TOTALS 20 14-29 64
3-point goals: HGP – Shane Reilly 2, Mel Lindsey; Bensalem – Jeremy Rodriguez 2, Eric Gonzalez 2, Aaron Sanders 3, Jack Wineburg 3.
CHELTENHAM 70, GREAT VALLEY 39
The Panthers played their third game in three days, this time making the trek to Great Valley for a non-league game. Rasheem Dearry led the Panthers with 23 points and 10 rebounds in a strong outing, and Justin Savage contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double of his own.
But listening to coach Patrick Fleury tell it, this was a complete team effort against a Patriot squad that entered the game with a 14-3 record and is 13th in the latest District One 6A power rankings.
“It was another cohesive game where the guys meshed together,” Fleury said. “The young and old continued to support one another in a tough environment against a very tough team. We had Josiah (Hutson) with nine (points), Eli (Walker) with eight, Nasir (Edens) with eight.
“Obviously, the team we played was very good but just the unselfishness and the willingness for people to step up in different games. We were able to play well on a third night which we’re grateful for. It’s just a pleasure to see their growth and belief and trust in one another.”
The Panthers led 16-11 after one quarter but outscored the Patriots 17-8 in the second to go into halftime with a 33-19 lead. They outscored Great Valley 37-20 in the second half.
Brandon Bush did not score a point but pulled down 11 rebounds to share team high honors with Savage.
“It’s the craziest thing – we scored 70, and at the end of the game, Jalen Lucas got a steal, he and (Bush) were two-on-one on the break, and Brandon had an opportunity to take a layup, and instead, he threw the alley-oop to Jalen, who ended up dunking it,” Fleury said. “It was just symbolic of the player Brandon is. He’s led us in scoring six or seven times already this year, but this game he just locked in defensively and saw that was what we needed to keep the team together. He just took that role and literally could have scored but saved his energy for defense. It’s probably the only game in the whole season he didn’t score. Defensively, he was just unreal – the story of the game. He got every loose ball, every rebound, made every kind of right pass to extend the run. He easily could have had 10 or more points.”
Walker finished with five rebounds and four steals, Hutson had three assists, Joey Weimer had four rebounds, and Edens had three assists and five rebounds.
Cheltenham (18-0, 12-0 SOL) will host Lower Moreland on Friday.
Cheltenham 16-17-18-19 70
Great Valley 11-8-10-10 39
Cheltenham (70) – Rasheem Dearry 23, Josiah Hutson 9, Elias Walker 8, Kamani Healey 2, Nasir Edens 8, Joey Weimer 2, Justin Savage 16, Jalen Lucas 2.
Great Valley (39) – William Otterbein 2, Cameron Wallace 22, Max DiMedio 5, Connor Gal 10.
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