Upper Dublin and Cheltenham – with wins on Saturday – advanced to Tuesday’s District 1 6A game at Bensalem High School. Upper Dublin/PW photos provided courtesy of Larry Small. Check back for a gallery of photos. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
SOL Tournament semifinals
#5 UPPER DUBLIN 45, #1 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 43
They’ll be talking about this one for a long, long time.
How the Flying Cardinals trailed the entire game in this year’s third meeting between the two schools until – with the final seconds ticking off the clock and still trailing by one – Brandon Altman came up with the rebound of a UD miss and found teammate Noah Cohen, whose shot from well beyond that arc hit nothing but net. The Colonials missed a desperation shot
at the buzzer, and the improbable win was in the book for the Cardinals, who brought to a dramatic end PW’s 15-game winning streak.
“I literally think we only led 2.8 seconds,” UD coach Derek Brooks said. “They scored first, and we never took the lead, and at the nick of time, we got it in.”
The Cardinals’ coach recounted the magical finish.
“Heading up to that play, we forced a turnover, we drew up a play, and Justin Ragsdale got fouled,” Brooks said. “He hit the first one and missed the second one, so we’re down one. We put two guys in the lane in case one of their two big guys for PW, (Michael) Pereira or (Micah) Thompson, caught the ball, we could foul them right away if we were down one.
“Well, it was Noah Cohen, who’s about six feet tall next to Mike Pereira, who’s 6-10, and somehow Noah Cohen off the miss comes up with the rebound.
“We call a timeout, and we were inbounding under the basket. I drew up a play that, truthfully, even after I drew it up, I was like ‘Oh man, I don’t know if this is going to get open, just the way they’ve been guarding us,’ but we had a secondary option, fortunately, after the inbound, that I thought was simple and good enough to work.”
Then came a sequence that stunned fans from both sides.
“Kobe (Bazemore), who had been doing a good job in the fourth getting downhill – he rejected a screen and drove right in the lane, got a great look at a layup, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to make it, but thank God for Brandon Altman, who was easily the unsung hero of that play, gets the offensive rebound,” Brooks said. “He’s the shortest kid on the floor, and he kicks it to his Maccabiah teammate, Noah Cohen, who has ice in his veins and is going to Princeton.
“When you’re going to Princeton, and you believe you can go to Princeton – you believe your shot’s going in. He shot it literally from our bench. It could have been from the parking lot. I don’t even know if he hit net – it was so pure, and just that feeling – oh my God, we’re up two. We knew we weren’t out of it yet with a kid like Mani (Sajid) who’s capable of some heroic stuff. We put two on Mani just in the hopes that he would not be able to catch it and get a clean look. So, they threw it to Pereira, who threw it to Mani, and fortunately, both of our guys did a good job of not fouling. The shot was off, and the celebration began. It was pretty cool, to say the least.”
After the dramatic finish, it was easy to forget that the game was actually an uphill battle for four quarters for the Cards, who fell behind by eight early and spent the remainder of the game playing catchup.
UD trailed 22-15 at halftime, and in the third quarter, it was Justin Ragsdale with four 3-pointers and 14 points – igniting the offense and pulling the Cards within four, 37-33, heading into the final quarter.
The dramatic fourth quarter featured six points from both Bazemore and Cohen. Luke Caron also had a big 3-pointer, setting the stage for the fantastic finish.
Key players: Justin Ragsdale’s team-high 19 points, included five 3-pointers. Kobe Bazemore added eight points – six in the final quarter.
For the Colonials, Mani Sajid led the way with 20 points, which included an 8-for-9 effort at the foul line and four 3-pointers. Michael Pereira added 12 points.
Upper Dublin coach Derek Brooks:
–Getting defensive: “Defensively, we were good throughout the game. We were getting stops, we were doing our job, but man, offensively, we could not buy a bucket.
“I think PW deserves a lot of credit because they were just guarding so aggressively. They’re bigger than us, faster, stronger, and they play a physical style of defense. We just struggled handling it, even just trying to run a simple pick-and-roll. Even when we did get some decent looks, we just couldn’t capitalize.”
–Ragsdale ignites offense: “At halftime, my brother, who’s on the staff, just kept asking – ‘How are we going to score? What are we going to do?’ We went to an advantage that we were trying to get to all game, but I just said, ‘We’re not really doing a good job of executing it, but we’ve just got to go to it.’ We thought Justin Ragsdale on Pereira was our best advantage. They have so many good defenders between Jack Hayes and Buddy Denard, and (Micah) Thompson’s a good defender, and Mani (Sajid) makes plays on the defensive end.
“We thought making Big Mike have to guard in space was our only chance, and fortunately, J (Justin Ragsdale) showed up in the second half when we needed him most, and he really carried us in the second half.
“It took us until the very end to chip away. What I’m most proud of is we’ve been talking about for three weeks now – ever
since the Abington loss – we’ve got to fight mentally and physically to the very end. This group has not done a good enough job, in my opinion, when the going got tough. We really needed to push through to the very end, and today we did.
“I told them this story about essentially – do everything you can, don’t waste any resource, every ounce of energy you have, you’ve got to burn the boat to win this game, and they actually took to it. I don’t know if I had to say that phrase to do that today because they were already motivated enough.
“I mean we played these guys four days ago, and we were up 13 in the second quarter (in a 51-48 loss). I think we had to go through Tuesday to get this one. It was like our last lesson needed of – hey, this is what it takes to win these games. I’m just so proud of them. I texted them a couple hours ago just saying, ‘You know – if we had lost that game, I’d have been completely fine because we fought. I can live with that.’ I can go to battle with that team. I can lose with that team, but fortunately, when you do that, you end up winning the game. It’s a beautiful thing.
“Yeah, I’ll admit – I was a bit surprised by that outcome, and if you had said we’d hold them to 43 points, I’d have thought that was probably pretty impossible. I mean, they’re so good, they’re so talented. Mani (Sajid) is just an unbelievable talent, and he’s not alone. Pereira is a load to handle. Jack Hayes is a fantastic point guard. And Terron Davis is an all-league guy who comes off the bench.
“We fortunately did such a good job these past two games executing our defensive game plan. Our guys deserve a ton of credit on that end, and it gives you a chance. We weren’t great offensively tonight, but we did just enough to pull it out, and that’s all it takes sometimes.”
Up next: Upper Dublin will face #3 Cheltenham in Tuesday’s SOL Tournament title game. (7:30 pm). UD is the first team with an opportunity to win three straight titles. Plymouth Whitemarsh is the top seed in the latest District 1 6A rankings with the seeds to be finalized Sunday.
Upper Dublin 6-9-14-16 45
Plymouth Whitemarsh 14-8-11-10 43
Upper Dublin (45) – Kobe Bazemore 3 2-4 8; Noah Cohen 2 0-0 6; Horace Jackson 2 0-0 4; Justin Ragsdale 5 4-8 19; Jake Scherzer 2 0-0 5; Luke Caron 1 0-0 3; TOTALS 15 6-12 45.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (43) – Jack Hayes 0 1-2 1; Terron Davis 1 0-0 3; Mani Sajid 4 8-9 20; Michael Pereira 3 6-10 12; Buddy Denard 1 0-0 3; Micah Thompson 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 10 17-23 43.
3-point goals: UD – Justin Ragsdale 5, Noah Cohen 2, Jake Scherzer, Luke Caron; PW – Mani Sajid 4, Terron Davis, Buddy Denard.
#3 CHELTENHAM 72, #7 ABINGTON 48
It’s always a spirited game when the neighboring rivals do battle.
A month ago, the Ghosts – on their home court – edged the Panthers 46-45 in overtime. In Saturday’s rematch, the Panthers avenged that loss. They opened up a 20-11 lead after one quarter and never looked back, taking a 31-22 lead into halftime and extending that in the second half.
Key players: Mark Hill’s 20 points – 10 in the first quarter – led the Panthers. Chris Harmon and Jaedn Mosley both had 16 points. Harmon scored 13 of his points in the second half while Mosley – who had four 3-pointers – had eight in each half. Isaiah Dill added nine points, and Tyree Martin had seven.
For the Ghosts, Xander Grasty led the way with 13 points. Amare Stone and Elijah Cruickshank also finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points respectively.
Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury:
–The rematch: “The last time it was a one-point game. Abington is a top 10, a top six team, a very good team. Xander Grasty is a very good player, and they have great players.
“I think tonight, our gym looked like it used to, and that energy galvanized the kids. They played together. Our school board members, Charles Williams and Zachary Epps, came back. For me – who’s been in this community almost 30 years as a child and adult. I love my kids and the team and the school.
“When you have a great game, no issues, two schools that are have a neighborhood rivalry, but it’s a friendly one – it just shows that our kids on the team, and the kids that came to the game are special. This was a special moment, so we were just happy to bring some joy because Cheltenham is a special place. For those who don’t know it or see that, this is just a reminder of what happens when we work together and put the group in front of any individual.
“This is important. The more we put emphasis on our league and get it back to what it’s always been – the sky’s the limit. I’m happy with all our teams that are able to keep their kids like Coatesville keeping Colton (Hiller). That’s what it’s about. It’s about from elementary to 12th grade showing the kids that you love them and you’ll go through everything with them. I think we did that tonight, and that was the most exciting part.
“Hats off to Abington. Their season is far from over. We just want to continue playing and get as many wins as we can.”
–Key to the win: “Brotherhood. I think tonight – it didn’t matter what, it didn’t matter who. The only thing that mattered was how we did it. The important part was ‘we.’ We could find the stat line or anything like that, but the most important thing is that the kids enjoy playing together, they shared with one another, and they made the right plays, and we’ll live with that result, however that comes.”
Up next: Cheltenham will face #5 Upper Dublin in Tuesday’s SOL Tournament title game at Bensalem High School (7:30 pm). Abington – unless there’s change in the rankings – will have an opening round bye as a top eight team in the District 1 6A Tournament. The Ghosts were sixth in the latest rankings.
Abington 12-10-7-19 48
Cheltenham 20-11-23-18 72
Abington (48) – Faison Garland 2 1-2 6; Xander Grasty 5 1-1 13; Aiden Turner 1 0-0 2; Michael O’Rourke 2 0-0 6; Amare Stone 5 0-4 11; Elijah Cruickshank 4 1-4 10; TOTALS 19 3-11 48.
Cheltenham (72) – Chris Harmon 5 4-6 16; Mark Hill 8 1-1 20; Isaiah Dill 4 0-0 9; Jaedn Mosley 5 2-2 16; Tyree Martin 2 3-4 7; Peyton McClendon 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 26 10-13 72.
3-points: A – Grasty 2, O’Rourke 2, Garland, Stone, Cruickshank; C – Jaedn Mosley 4, Mark Hill 3, Chris Harmon 2, Isaiah Dill.
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