Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Thursday. Abington/Cheltenham photos provided courtesy of Kathy Leister Photography, and Pennsbury/Neshaminy courtesy of Darryl Rule of JD Photography. Upper Dublin/Springfield Twp photos courtesy of Geanine Jamison, and CR North/CR South photos courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for photo galleries.
SOL American Conference
Abington 69, Cheltenham 60
In the night’s marquee matchup,Abington finished its conference season undefeated by knocking off archrival Cheltenham to capture sole possession of its seventh straight conference crown, but the Panthers – who had just one conference loss entering the game – made the Ghosts earn it.
Cheltenham – behind 20 points from Zahree Harrison – led 34-27 at the half, which had the home crowd roaring.
“We thought they came out with a lot of energy – at home, big crowd, their friends and their family are there cheering for them,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “We knew they were going to come out with a lot of energy, but we wanted to match up. We didn’t do a really good job of matching their energy early. We took some shots that went in and out, but credit to them – they’re a good team. They play hard, and they make shots. When they start making shots and going, they’re tough to beat.
“Once we settled down – I thought our length would give them a few problems, and I thought we could get to the basket. We weren’t playing our game. We scored 27 points in the first half, and that’s not really our style. We wanted it up-tempo – we wanted to go. We just couldn’t get any stops. It felt like they made everything. Once we got some stops in the second half – then we were able to get out in transition and we were able to get going.”
The Ghosts outscored the Panthers 17-9 in the third quarter to take a one-point lead into the final eight minutes before putting up 25 fourth-quarter points to ice the win.
“It was well deserved and well earned,” Grasty said. “Our guys put the work in just like every other team, and you know what – they deserve it. That’s how we feel, and that’s what we were telling the guys. We were able to achieve another one of our goals. We’re like everybody else – we have goals, and we try to achieve them. Sometimes things get in the way, but our leadership is tremendous.
“When we get down, you can just see – there’s no panic in these guys. We went into halftime, and there wasn’t a lot of yelling and screaming. It was – hey, let’s just get back to what we do well, and we were able to. That’s a credit to our leaders.”
One of those leaders, senior Lucas Monroe, had 22 points to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his career. He also added seven rebounds and six assists.Monroe and Eric Dixon are the first duo from the same grade to score 1,000 points since Matt Penecale and Amir Hinton did it in 2014-15 season.
Dixon finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals. He now has 2,257 points for his career and 925 rebounds for his career. The senior standout has 263 rebounds this season.
Dixon and Monroe are a combined 51-1 in SOL play during their four years. Their only loss was in the first game at Pennsbury in 2015 and they’ve have won 51 straight since then.
“Maurice Henry (five points) was struggling all night, but he hit a humongous three – it put us up eight or nine,” Grasty said. “Manir Waller (nine points) played extremely well – he had nine huge points for us.
“Darius (Brown, five points) same thing – he struggled early. His three has been falling lately, and it didn’t fall tonight early, but he hit a big one."
Cheltenham’s Zahree Harrison led all scorers with 27 points including five 3-pointers while teammate Tim Myarick had 12.
Abington (21-1, 14-0 SOL) will face Pennsbury at Council Rock South on Saturday (4:30 p.m.) as part of the Suburban One League Tournament while the Panthers (15-6, 12-2) will play at Pennridge (noon), also on Saturday at Council Rock South, as part of the SOL Tournament.
Abington 15-12-17-25 69
Cheltenham 24-10-9-17 60
Abington (69) – Darius Brown 5, Lucas Monroe 22, Eric Dixon 26, Manir Waller 9, Maurice Henry 5, Jason Scott 2.
Cheltenham (60) – Zahree Harrison 27, Tim Myarick 12, Jaelen McGlone 9, Justine Moore 7, Mike McClain 5.
Upper Moreland 62, Wissahickon 50
Any team wants to play well during the regular season, but playing well at the end of the regular season is a bonus.
Put Upper Moreland in that category.
On Thursday, the Golden Bears picked up a solid win over host Wissahickon in the regular-season finale for both sides. Up next for the Golden Bears will be the PIAA District One Class 5A tournament. Upper Moreland (12-10, 5-9 SOL) will enter districts as the No. 12 seed.
“I think we are playing really good basketball right now,” Upper Moreland coach Sean Feeley said. “To beat any Wissahickon team coached by Kyle Wilson is a big win. I’m proud of how our young guys are playing.”
The Golden Bears built a 32-19 lead by halftime and were not threatened the rest of the way.
Christian O’Donnell led Upper Moreland with a game-high 23 points and Jahire Johnson was next with 16.
“Jahire Johnson continues to impress,” Feeley said. “And for Christian O’Donnell, who is the ultimate team captain and only senior on the team, for him to go out and get 23 in his last home game was special.
“We look forward to going to postseason play.”
Matt Compas paced the Trojans with 16 points and Carmen Ostroski netted 15.
Wissahickon closed out its conference season with a 4-10 record. The Trojans were 8-14 overall.
Upper Moreland 23-9-11-19 62
Wissahickon 13-6-12-19 50
Upper Moreland (62) – Christian O'Donnell 23, Byron Hopkins 9, Beau Woollens 7, Jahire Johnson 16, Tyler Ibbotson 7.
Wissahickon (50) – Andrew Buck 6, Eddie Fortescue 9, Alex Richman 4, Matt Compas 16, Carmen Ostroski 15.
Upper Dublin 50, Springfield Township 34
Upper Dublin continued its terrific turnaround season by knocking off Springfield Township.
The Cardinals, who are 17th in the PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings, won just six games a year ago. Thursday’s victory over the Spartans was their 13th this season with only a non-league game against visiting Faith Christian Academy on Friday still on their schedule.
Upper Dublin limited Springfield Township to only 10 points in the first half while opening up a 24-10 lead en route to the victory.
Brian Klammer led a balanced attack for the Cardinals with a dozen points while Corby Watkins had nine.
Wilson Krewson had a game-high 13 for the Spartans who head to the Class 4A tournament as the No. 3 seed.
Springfield Township closed out the regular season with a 7-15 record overall (1-13 SOL).
Upper Dublin 9-15-12-14 50
Springfield Township 6-4-16-8 34
Springfield Township (34) – Jordan Pauls 3, DeJaun Waters 2, Wilson Krewson 13, Rittenhouse 3, Ethan Hamilton 2, Zach Edmonds 5, Amir Williams 2, Paul Asman 2.
Upper Dublin (50) – Drew Stover 6, Corby Watkins 9, Bezel Brady 5, Jason Williams 8, Brian Klammer 12, Mike Slivka 6, Micah Bootman 4.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 52, Hatboro-Horsham 40
Hatboro-Horsham and Plymouth Whitemarsh slugged it out for three quarters before the Colonials were able to pull away over the final eight minutes to record the win. PW’s lineup was minus both Anthony Straface (injury) and Florida State-bound Naheem McLeod on Thursday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh, 11th in the latest District One 6A power rankings, led by just a point at halftime (21-20) before the Hatters answered to lead by one point after three quarters at 34-33.
However, the Colonials used a 19-point fourth quarter to seal the win. Caelin Peters, who finished with a game-high 23 points, scored 14 points in the second half, eight in the fourth quarter. The senior guard connected on seven field goals – all from beyond the arc. He also was a perfect 2-for-2 at the foul line. Kyree Pendleton was next with 14.
Khalid Johnson had 15 for Hatboro-Horsham while teammate Solomon McNair chipped in with 10.
Plymouth Whitemarsh closed out its regular season with a 14-8 record. The Colonials were 10-4 in league play. Hatboro-Horsham wrapped up its season with a 7-15 mark (3-11 SOL).
Plymouth Whitemarsh 12-9-12-19 52
Hatboro-Horsham 14-6-14-6 40
Plymouth Whitemarsh (52) – Jaden Pryce 5, Caelin Peters 23, Kyree Pendleton 14, Mark Kalala 2, Jordan Evans 4, Jason Cherry 4.
Hatboro-Horsham (40) – Khalid Johnson 15, Solomon McNair 10, Jake Schalki 2, Zeheir Cheeze 1, Jack Marvin 6, Josh George 6.
SOL Continental Conference
Souderton 71, Quakertown 62
Souderton started slowly before kicking things into gear to pick up a 71-62 win over host Quakertown on Thursday in the season finale for both teams. The Indians trailed 13-7 after one quarter but outscored their visitors 23-11 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 30-24 lead.
“This was a nice way for us to finish the season,” Souderton coach Tim Brown said. “The guys played for their senior brothers tonight, and it was obvious they were playing for something bigger than themselves and basketball.
“They were playing for our family. I was proud to see them leave it on the floor like that. Two of our seniors, Mekhi Williams and Zach Thatcher, were huge for us tonight and gave everything they had.
“And our third senior, Brendan Stauffer, hit a huge three at the end of the game, which was awesome. He tore his ACL and wasn’t able to play this year, so for him to be able to get in and hit that shot was really special.”
Williams led the Indians with 16 points and Thatcher had 14. Andrew Vince added 11 points, and Sami Chouiraf had nine.
Freshman Bobby Rosenberger had 23 points for the Panthers to lead all scorers and sophomore Jimmy Casey netted 15.
Souderton closed out its season with a 7-15 record overall, 4-8 in the SOL. Quakertown was 5-16 overall and 3-9 in the league.
Quakertown 13-11-2018 62
Souderton 7-23-19-22 71
Quakertown (62) – Bobby Rosenberger 23, Jimmy Casey 15, Jack Gordon 6, Matt Lucas 6, Ben Kave 5, Eli Ortiz 4, Tyler Merwarth 2.
Souderton (71) – Mekhi Williams 16, Zach Thatcher 14, Andrew Vince 11, Sami Chouiraf 9, Jack Towsen 8, Brian Reiner 7, Branden Stauffer 3, Dom Natale 3.
Pennridge 76, North Penn 55
Pennridge upped its winning streak to 16 straight games with a big win over host North Penn in the regular-season finale for both sides.
Pennridge is fourth in the latest PIAA District One Class 6A power rankings while the Knights are clinging to the final district berth at 24.
As far as the game went, the Rams actually trailed by a point (15-14) after one quarter. Chris Caputo had the hot hand for the Knights, scoring 10 points which included three threes. Jon Post accounted for 10 of Pennridge’s points. The Rams outscored North Penn 46-21 over the next two quarters to pull away for the victory.
Eleven players scored points for Pennridge with Post leading the way with 24 points – all in the first three quarters. Jack Gillespie was next for the Rams with 14, which included 12 points on four threes in the second quarter. Trent Fisher contributed 11.
Caputo led the Knights with 20 points and Kolby Barrow had a dozen.
Pennridge (20-2, 11-1 SOL) will take on Cheltenham on Saturday (noon) as part of the Suburban One League Challenge at Council Rock South. North Penn closed out its regular season with a 9-13 record (4-8 SOL).
Pennridge 14-26-20-16 76
North Penn 15-8-13-19 55
Pennridge (76) – L. Yoder 2, Dominic 5, S. Yoder 8, Dunn 4, Guldin 2, C. Post 2, Phillips 2, Fisher 11, P. Gillespie 2, J. Gillespie 14, J. Post 24.
North Penn (55) – Mitchell 6, Barrow 12, Caputo 20, Chaffee 7, Carangi 4, Swanson 6.
SOL National Conference
Council Rock South 48, Council Rock North 42
Council Rock South won’t be participating in the upcoming PIAA District One Class 6A tournament, but the Golden Hawks did end their conference season on a high note by upending archrival Council Rock North on Thursday.
“The kids were really ready to play,” Council Rock South coach Chris Clark said. “Their energy was off the charts, and we got off to a good start. We shot the ball well again in the first two quarters. Luke Meakim made three threes in the first half, and that was huge. It got us fired up, plus his defense against DJ Mischak was outstanding, so the first half was as good as we can do.”
The Golden Hawks were up 32-9 at halftime, and appeared to be cruising to the victory, before the Indians rallied to trail by just three points with 90 seconds remaining.
“We got some contributions from some of our bench players,” Clark said. “Jack Seigafuse made 3-of-4 free throws in the last two minutes.
“David Loving had a couple of really big defensive rebounds for us in the last couple of minutes. Brian Schwartz played his all-around consistent game – passing the ball, guarding, scoring, rebounding. Jack Rebholz was also consistent and got his points.”
Rebholz led the way with 16 points and Luke Meakim had 10.
“This gets us to 7-5 in our league, and we’re tied for third in our league,” said Clark, the third coach in three seasons for the Golden Hawks. “We’re just trying to build, trying to get better. We still have a ways to go, but we’re really working hard, and I’m happy with the direction we’re going right now.
“I think we’re starting to figure things out now. Being a first-year coach, kids don’t always understand everything you’re trying to implement. Hopefully, this will carry us over into the off-season and just build off of that."
Hunter Wan paced the Indians, 20th in the latest District One 6A power rankings, with a game-high 19 points.
CR South (8-13, 7-5 SOL) closes out its regular season with a non-league game against Church Farm on Friday. Council Rock North closed out its regular season with a 14-8 record (7-5 SOL).
Council Rock North 7-2-17-16 42
Council Rock South 14-18-8-8 48
Council Rock North (42) – DJ Mischak 6, Luke Vliet 7, Hunter Wan 19, James Duffy 3, Zach Saifer 7.
Council Rock South (48) – Jack Rebholz 16, Jack Seigafuse 3, Luke Meakim 10, Kevin McNamee 2, Michael Stewart 8, Brian Schwartz 5, David Loving 4.
William Tennent 92, Harry S. Truman 60
William Tennent came out flying Thursday night and didn’t let up on the way to a big win over visiting Harry S. Truman.
Behind 10 points from Kip Mooney and six from Michael Mulville off the bench, the Panthers led 28-16 after a high-octane first quarter. By halftime, they had 57 points and held a 57-34 advantage heading to the second half.
“We shot really well tonight,” William Tennent coach Robert Mulville said. “It being our last game, the guys were up for the game, and they played kind of relaxed and were able to knock down some early shots and kept right on rolling.
“Mooney was pretty hot at the beginning – he hit his first three or four shots. (David) West was 3-for-4 and (Derrik) Cosenza established himself inside pretty quickly. Mulville came off the bench and hit his first four shots, two of them were threes.”
The Panthers outscored the Tigers 35-26. They connected on 26-of-35 from the foul line – 15-of-16 in the first half. Truman was 14-for-19 from the charity stripe. The two teams combined for 14 3-pointers with Tennent connecting on eight.
“We played (Council Rock) South on Tuesday (an 85-63 loss), and that was our fourth game in five days,” Mulville said. “It was their Senior Night – they came out and played very well and we didn’t. I think our guys wanted to bounce back from that.
“Tonight was good. I was glad they were able to get a day of rest and have a short practice yesterday just to give their legs a little rest, and they were able to come back and respond the way I knew they would tonight. I was happy for them, and I was proud of the way they did it. It was good way to end the season because we’ve had some close games. It was nice to play an all-around pretty solid offensive game."
Mulville led the Panthers with 20 points and West had 17. Cosenza and Mooney each added 14 points in the win.
TJ Rogers had 18 points for the Tigers and Jordan Fant netted 17.
William Tennent closed out its season with a 5-17 record (4-8 SOL). The Tigers wrapped up league play with an identical 4-8 record.
Harry S. Truman 16-18-18-8 60
William Tennent 28-29-19-16 92
Harry S Truman (60) – Robert Winton 2, Fernando Vargas 7, TJ Rogers 18, Jordan Fant 17, Michael Leonhauser 2, Nate Santiago 3, Tarnue Collins 6, Ethan Flail 3, Christian Culver 2.
William Tennent (92) – Michael Mulville 20, Jay Stansfield 4, Alex Wadsworth 3, Dalton Zeaman 6, Kip Mooney 14, Ryan Savage 7, David West 17, Derrik Cosenza 14, Brett Hanssens 2, Del Matunda 5.
Pennsbury 64, Neshaminy 48
Pennsbury built a big cushion by halftime on its way to a victory over Neshaminy on Thursday.The Falcons led 39-23 at intermission and were able to cruise the rest of the way to collect the win.
Gary Francis paced the Falcons with a game-high 28 points, connecting on 10-of-14 shots from the floor (71 percent). He was 7-of-9 at the foul line. Teammate Collin Connor delivered 17 points.
Angelo Gyamfi led Neshaminy with 10 points while Brandon Belton and Damon McGovern each had nine.
The Falcons (14-8, 11-1 SOL) will take on Abington on Saturday (4:30 p.m.) at Council Rock South in the Suburban One League Tournament. Pennsbury is 19th in the latest District One 6A power rankings. Neshaminy closed out conference play with a 1-11 record.
Neshaminy 10-13-17-8 48
Pennsbury 16-23-12-13 64
Neshaminy (48) – Kyle Saglimben 2, Brandon Belton 9, Matt Drapkin 6, Damon McGovern 9, Deval Glover 3, Angelo Gyamfi 10, Andrew Mays 6, Evan Brooks 3.
Pennsbury (64) – Dakota Kitchen 2, Kyrie Miller 8, Collin Connor 17, Gary Francis 28, Amir Johnson 4, Cooper Arnold 2, Evan Reichard 3.
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