Upper Dublin & Upper Moreland were winners Saturday and will advance to Monday’s SOL Tournament contest. Upper Moreland/CB South photos provided courtesy of Greg Lindsay, and Upper Dublin/PW photos courtesy of Larry Small. Check back for galleries of both games. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports’ BOYS’ BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
SOL TOURNAMENT
#1 UPPER DUBLIN 57, #5 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 43
The Flying Cardinals defeated Plymouth Whitemarsh for the second time in four days in Saturday’s semifinal, their third time this season. This on the heels of a hard-fought win over Cheltenham less than 24 hours earlier.
“It’s not easy to play PW twice in a week,” UD coach Derek Brooks said. “It’s become a big rivalry. I’m sure they were feeling it too.
“It certainly was nowhere near as intense as our first two games. It’s a Saturday afternoon. I had mentioned to them it was going to be a mental and physical grind, and you’ve got to be tough. I’m just proud of us for pushing through.”
Upper Dublin took a 30-23 lead into halftime and still led by seven heading into the fourth quarter when they outscored their visitors 15-8 to notch the double-digit win.
Key players: Idris Rines led a balanced UD attack with 14 points, and Ryan Mulroy added 12 – 10 in the second half. Justin Ragsdale had nine points, and Kobe Bazemore had eight.
For the Colonials, Michael Periera led the way with 14 points. It’s hardly a secret that Mani Sajid is the offensive catalyst for the Colonials. He had eight points in the first half to lead his team but did not score in the second half.
Upper Dublin coach Derek Brooks: “We had the lead to 10, 11 or 12 in the first half at one point. We had a poor last two minutes of the first half, and they cut it to seven. Then it was really back and forth the whole third quarter. We got it up to 10, they worked it down to six. They ended up closing to seven again going into the fourth. It was close for the first couple minutes of the fourth and then we finally broke it open. We got it to 18 at some point, and that was that.”
–Containing Sajid: “This is our third year in the SOL Tournament – day two is a grind because everyone plays a super intense game on Friday night, and in 16 hours, you have another game, and it’s another intense, physical game against the four top teams in the league.
“It is an intense, intense environment, and I think fatigue sets in for a lot of the boys. I thought we did an okay job on (Sajid) in the first half. He got some clean looks, but in the second half, I thought we were a little bit more keyed in on him, and I think fatigue set in a little bit. He has to do so much. I’m sure he did a ton Friday night in their game. He’s not the only one – I thought a bunch of guys on the floor got tired.
“Actually, to his credit – they were working the ball in to (Michael) Periera, and it was working for them. (Sajid) wasn’t forcing it. I don’t think it was a bad thing per se. I thought they actually had a pretty good second half offensively. It’s good to hold an elite scorer like he is to that number, but it wasn’t like they were struggling offensively. He was making some good decisions by not forcing stuff because we do give him a lot of attention.”
–Props: “Ryan is Ryan (Ryan Mulroy). He’s going to keep on attacking and attacking and attacking. He’s unrelenting, and he’s going to eventually break through. He made some nice plays in the second half in the pick and roll and getting out in transition.
“I thought Horace Jackson was awesome off the bench for us. He gave us some great energy. Justin (Ragsdale) did a good job finishing around the rim for us. Dris (Rines) didn’t have a great shooting game from the outside – he finished well on the inside, but I thought everything else he did great. It was a team effort, and I’m just proud of the boys.
Next up: Upper Dublin (23-1, 10-0 SOL) will face Upper Moreland in Monday’s Suburban One League Tournament title game at Bensalem High School at 7:45 pm. The Cardinals will look to defend a SOL Tourament title they own and win their 24th game in a row.
“It’s been a special, special run. I think we’re all – players and coaches – just trying to appreciate it and be grateful while also staying hungry,” UD coach Derek Brooks said. “I think this group has a chance to do some really, really special stuff, and we just want to keep going. I don’t think anybody’s ever been a back-to-back champ in the SOL Tournament, so we want to be the first team to do that. We’re just trying to take it day by day and not get ahead of ourselves, but we’re thrilled with the boys’ effort and hopefully, we can bring it back again Monday. Hopefully, the trophy doesn’t go anywhere.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh (17-7, 7-3) will return to action in the District 1 6A Tournament.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-13-12-8 43
Upper Dublin 14-16-12-15 57
Plymouth Whitemarsh (43) – Jack Hayes 1 0-0 2; Terron Davis 1 3-4 5; Eric Conicello 2 0-0 4; Mani Sajid 2 2-2 8; Michael Periera 5 4-8 14; Ehab Ahmed 1 0-0 2; Buddy Denard 3 0-2 8; TOTALS 15 9-16 43.
Upper Dublin (57) – Kobe Bazemore 4 0-0 8; Ryan Mulroy 5 2-4 12; Idris Rines 4 6-9 14; Justin Ragsdale 4 1-2 9; Reilly McLaughlin 2 1-2 6; James Castronuovo 1 0-0 2; Brandon Altman3 0-3 6; TOTALS 23 10-20 57.
3-point goals: PW – Mani Sajid 2, Buddy Denard 2; UD – Reilly McLaughlin.
#2 UPPER MORELAND 40, #6 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 39
The Golden Bears showcased their ability to play vastly difference styles.
Less than 24 hours after defeating Central Bucks East 80-73, the Bears scored half that many points and held on for the one-point win.
“It’s always tough having back-to-back games,” UM coach Dan Heiland said. “Both teams were in a tight game last night.
“Us playing against CB East – it was a high scoring, up and down game. South going against Souderton for the third time in the year, the second time in four days. Basically, their game came down to the fourth quarter in the last two minutes as well, so both teams definitely came into the game – in my opinion – just a little bit gassed. We’re trying to fight for energy any which way they could to win a basketball game. We were fortunate to come out on top.”
The pace of Saturday’s game was set in a low-scoring first quarter that saw the Titans edge the Bears 9-8. CB South – behind six points from Danny Gies – took a 20-15 lead into halftime.
Sparked by eight points – which included two 3s – from Jadon Cybok, the Golden Bears came out of halftime and outscored their visitors 22-7 in the third quarter to go on top 37-27. They held off the Titans in the fourth quarter despite just scoring three points.
The Golden Bears will face a familiar foe in Monday’s title game at Bensalem where they will take on SOL Liberty foe Upper Dublin. It is the program’s first ever trip to the SOL title game.
Upper Moreland coach Dan Heiland on the game: “The pace of play was definitely slower. We did a nice job in our fullcourt pressure and then our halfcourt defense, and they did as well. The difference in the game was the third quarter. That was when we gained a 10-point advantage going into the fourth.
“We did enough to win the game, and that’s all that matters. You take them any way you can. I’m just proud of my guys’ effort throughout the
entire 32 minutes.”
–The ending: “We were on defense holding three, and CB South had the ball in the front court. They threw the ball to the high post area, and our kid – in my opinion – got his hand on it and stole the ball and then got fouled. The referees interpreted as the other way where our guy fouled them and sent Ben Harrison for CB South to the line with around five seconds left. He made both foul shots. So, it was our ball to inbound. We inbound the ball, we caught the ball, and then there was a scuffle and a loose ball. Eventually, with 1.9 seconds, the referee called us out of bounds, which gave them the ball underneath the basket with 1.29 seconds left. They ran their inbound play, we did a really good job of defending it. We forced them to inbound the ball basically out to the halfcourt line, and they had to take a halfcourt heave to win the game, and it fell short.”
–Props: “We just did a real nice job offensively. Jadon Cybok had three 3s for nine of his 12 points. Nate Best had 10 points for us, and he did a really good job, again, just being a true point guard, getting us in our sets, controlling the pace of play. Defensively, he was very solid.
“Larry Hughes had eight points, but he had a ton of rebounds. He was great
defensively, great on the glass. He was always a presence on offense, which makes CB South have to think about how to guard him. It wasn’t our best game, but we did enough to win, and we’ll take it any way we can.”
–Golden Bears making their mark: “We’re now 20 wins, four losses. For me as a coach, it’s the first time I’ve ever achieved a 20-win season. To my knowledge, it’s the first time since 1983 we’ve achieved 20 wins. Obviously, this is our first time ever in the Suburban One League Tournament. This team just continues to be resilient, continues to work and compete and give themselves opportunities to play meaningful games and win meaningful games. It’s a great opportunity for us.
“We know Upper Dublin’s a very good team. We faced them earlier in the year. We hung with them for two-and-a-half quarters (in a 69-48 loss). We know what we’re up against. It’s a very good team. They have a ton of depth, a ton of talent, but I think we’re up for the challenge. It’s really just about our guys, showing up, executing the game plan, basically leaving it all out on the floor, and whatever happens happens.”
Next up: Upper Moreland (20-4, 9-1 SOL) will face Upper Dublin in the SOL Tournament title game at Bensalem High School on Monday night at 7:45 p.m. Central Bucks South (18-6, 8-2) will await its final seed in the upcoming District 1 6A Tournament.
Central Bucks South 9-11-7-12 39
Upper Moreland 8-7-22-3 40
Central Bucks South (39) – Alex Shahin 2 0-0 4; Brett Barrett 4 0-0 11; Danny Gies 1 4-4 6; Shane Ferrell 1 0-0 2; Connor Thompson 1 0-0 3; Ben Harrison 1 3-4 5; Davis Van Zanten 0 0-2 0; Kayode Adebayo 2 2-2 6; Leo Medwid; TOTALS 13 9-12 39.
Upper Moreland (40) – Nate Best 3 3-4 10; Colson Campbell 1 0-0 2; Anthony Carson 2 0-0 5; Larry Hughes 4 0-2 8; Luke Roussel 1 0-0 2; Jadon Cybok 3 3-5 12; Cannon Campbell 0 1-2 1; TOTALS 14 7-13 40.
3-point goals: CBS – Brett Barrett 3, Connor Thompson; UM – Jadon Cybok 3, Anthony Carson, Nate Best.
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