Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Wednesday. HH/CR North photos provided courtesy of Jon Sklut. Check back for a gallery of photos.
Non-league
ABINGTON 51, METHACTON 41
The Ghosts closed out the season on a high note, winning for the fourth time in five games, this one over a Methacton squad ranked ahead of them in the District One 6A power rankings.
Rob Bell (20 points) and Oreck Frazier (16 points) led the way offensively as the Ghosts earned a district berth for the 10th straight year.
“We’re all exhausted, everyone is just beat,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said. “A credit to our guys. We played three straight days, four games in five days. I know other schools are doing it too, but when you’re doing it, it’s tiring mentally and physically.
“I thought our guys handled it very well, especially coming off a loss last night (to Cheltenham). They could have packed it in, they could have said, ‘We tried.’ It was a rivalry game at Cheltenham. Every year you can throw the records out when it’s Abington/Cheltenham. To come out on the wrong end –that was tiring. We came out with a lot of energy. Our guys – I could see it in their faces. They mentioned earlier they just weren’t ready for the season to end yet.”
The Ghosts opened up a 15-8 lead in the first quarter and took a 21-16 advantage into halftime.
“That start was huge because it was hard to game plan for Methacton,” Grasty said. “They’re long, they’re very disciplined, they don’t make a lot of mistakes. Coming off a game last night and now you have to game plan for another extremely difficult team.
“We came out with a lot of energy. We defended very well the first half. Being at home helped. We didn’t have a lot of fans but their parents were cheering for them, and I think that gave us a spark also, playing at home. Our guys love playing at home.”
The Ghosts outscored their visitors 30-25 in the second half to earn the important win. They spent the final minutes of the game taking trips to the foul line. From the 2:07 mark until just 13.4 seconds remained, the Ghosts buried 10-of-16 shots from the charity stripe. They were 16-for-23 from the line for the game.
Abington connected on 16-of-29 shots from the field (55.1 percent). The Ghosts buried 3-of-7 shots from beyond the arc.
Bell was 7-for-9 from the field, 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. He also had five rebounds and three assists.
“Rob played well – he played well defensively, and he got us going in the first half,” Grasty said.
Frazier connected on 5-of-7 shots from the field and 6-of-8 at the foul line. He also had two steals and an assist. Connor Fields had six points, five rebounds, two steals and one block.
“Oreck played very well – we put him on number 13 (Cole Hargrove), and he did a very good job. He kept him out of the paint – with his length, he’s so long and athletic, and we tried to keep him out of the paint and make him take tougher, contested shots,” Grasty said of the Warriors’ 6-7 forward. “I thought Oreck did a good job.
“Connor Fields, who started off on him, did a good job of keeping him off the glass as well, and then he had Brett Byrne. We just wanted to make it difficult on him also. We knew they were going to make shots, but make them make tough shots.”
Wednesday’s regular season finale was the Ghosts’ fifth game in seven days. Abington (9-5, 6-4 SOL) – the 14th seed in the District One 6A Tournament – is scheduled host Liberty Division foe Upper Dublin in Saturday’s opening round.
Methacton 8-8-10-15 41
Abington 15-6-16-14 51
Methacton (41) – Jason Price 3 0-0 8; Mike Merola 2 0-0 5; Brett Byrne 3 0-0 8; Cole Hargrove 5 4-4 15; Matt Christian 1 0-0 3; Ryan Baldwin 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 15 4-4 41.
Abington (51) – Rob Bell 7 4-5 20; Karim Boyd 1 0-2 2; Oreck Frazier 5 6-8 16; Antoine Ellis 1 4-6 7; Connor Fields 2 2-2 6; TOTALS 16 16-23 51.
3-point goals: Methacton – Jason Price 2, Brett Byrne 2, Mike Merola, Cole Hargrove, Matt Christian, Abington – Rob Bell 2, Antoine Ellis.
HATBORO-HORSHAM 52, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 51
Sparked by the 23-point effort of senior Eric Butler, the Hatters won for the fourth time in five games to close out the season. It was an impressive finish after a 3-7 start.
“Unfortunately, we got a late start to the season – I was hired late,” HH coach Rick Fedele said. “We had about 20 practices, two or three open gyms and played 15 games.
“We were just starting to get to know each other and come together, figure out what we were trying to do. The kids played with a lot of energy the whole season. We were 4-1 in our last five. What better way to end our season? It’s unfortunate for our seniors we had such a short opportunity, but the kids had fun. They did a great job.”
It was Butler jumpstarting the Hatters with a pair of first-quarter 3s and seven points. He added nine points in the second quarter to go into halftime with 16 points, propelling his Hatter squad an 18-17 lead.
The Indians – sparked by eight points from Connor Rushing – outscored the Hatters 18-16 in the third quarter and took a 35-34 lead into the final quarter. Noah Schlosser’s seven fourth-quarter points led the Hatters as they outscored the visiting Indians 18-16 to eke out the non-league win.
“It wasn’t easy,” Fedele said. “We took a lead late in the fourth quarter and held on at the end. We made a couple of bad decisions in the last minute and a half, took a couple of bad shots when we really didn’t need to take any shots.
“It was 52-48 and they scored, we came down took a quick shot. They drove to the basket and we fouled them. They made one foul shot. They fouled us, and we missed our foul shots. They took it down and ran out of time.”
Butler’s 23 points included four 3-pointers and a 3-for-4 effort at the foul line. Schlosser also finished in double figures with 14 points, all in the second half.
“Eric Butler was once again our point guard,” Fedele said. “If we didn’t have him, we probably wouldn’t have the wins we have.
“Noah Schlosser, a sophomore, played strong again. He had eight rebounds and 14 points. Our big guys inside – Josh Sprull, Dan Simpson and Zeheir Cheeze – all contributed and made a difference on defense and offense.”
Butler has been an impact player for the Hatters in his first year on the varsity, and beyond that, he’s been a good teammate.
“He’s very humble,” Fedele said. “He loves his teammates. We brought a freshman point guard up from the jayvee, and there were times when he would sit on the bench and talk to him, try to teach him things as the jayvee games are going on.”
Rushing’s 21 points led the Indians. Seventeen of those points came in the second half, nine in the fourth quarter to make things very interesting. Jack Blum added 12 points, including a pair of 3s. Bernie Parent had three triples and contributed 11 points.
Hatboro-Horsham closed out its season with a 7-8 record (3-7 SOL). Council Rock North closed out its season with an 8-7 mark (7-3 SOL).
Council Rock North 6-11-18-16 51
Hatboro-Horsham 9-9-16-18 52
Council Rock North (51) – Mikey Sylvester 2 0-1 4; Connor Rushing 7 6-11 21; Logan Saifer 1 1-2 3; Bernie Parent 4 0-0 11; Jack Blum 4 2-2 12; TOTALS 18 9-16 51.
Hatboro-Horsham (52) – Eric Butler 8 3-4 23; Zehier Cheeze 2 0-4 4; Christian Gear 1 0-0 2; Dan Simpson 0 1-2 1; Kyle Dittus 1 0-0 3; Josh Sprull 2 1-2 5; Noah Schlosser 6 0-0 14; TOTALS 20 5-12 52.
3-point goals: CRN – Bernie Parent 3, Jack Blum 2, Connor Rushing, HH – Eric Butler 4, Noah Schlosser 2, Kyle Dittus.
UPPER MORELAND 55, WISSAHICKON 47
The Golden Bears closed out the regular season on a bona fide roll. Wednesday’s non-league win over the Trojans was their 12th in 13 games after a 1-2 start. They take a four-game winning streak into the postseason.
Their most recent win came over a familiar opponent.
“Wissahickon is a very, very well-known team in the Suburban One League,” UM coach Dan Heiland said. “Kyle Wilson has done a great job with that program over the last umpteen years – I’m not sure how many years he’s been the head coach there, but they always have players. They’re always well coached, and we know that going into it. That’s another really good win for our program.”
The Golden Bears, who led 11-3 after one quarter, took a 24-15 lead into halftime. Jourdan Gregg’s 10 points led the Bears in the half while Byron Hopkins had seven. A key to the Bears’ strong first half was holding Matt Compas without a field goal, limiting the senior sharpshooter to just four points on a 4-for-4 effort at the foul line.
“They have a very good player in Matt Compas, a thousand-point scorer,” Heiland said. “We knew he was going to be tough. We played him two times a year the last two years. We know what he’s about, we know he can score the basketball, so the focus going into today’s game was trying to control him as best we could and making the other guys make shots.
“If that was the way we were going to lose we would live with that, but we didn’t want Matt to get off and go for 20-plus or even 30 like he’s done in the past. Defensively, we did a really nice job on him at times. That was the difference in the game.”
UM took a 35-28 lead into the final quarter and edged their visitors 20-19 in the fourth quarter. They sealed the Trojans’ fate by burying 9-of-12 at the foul line in the fourth quarter.
“Free throws were huge at the end,” Heiland said. “Byron Hopkins went 7-for-7 from the line. Free throws were crucial, and getting timely stops and timely buckets offensively are definitely big components of the game.”
Gregg’s 19 points, which included seven in the fourth quarter, led the Golden Bears. Hopkins finished with 13. Jahair Johnson added 11 points, six in the fourth quarter. Matt Tiernan added 10 – eight in the second half.
“It was a lot of timely scoring by those four guys,” Heiland said. “It was a total group effort offensively and defensively.”
For the Trojans, Compas led the way with 17 points. Morgan Wilson added nine points, including a pair of 3s. Jackson Intrieri had a pair of 3s for six points, and Earl Stout also finished with six.
Upper Moreland (13-3, 8-2 SOL) is the number one seed in the District One 5A Tournament and has an opening round bye on Saturday.
“We’re on a little bit of a win streak right now, and we have a couple days with no games, so we can really focus on the next team we’re going to face,” Heiland said.
Wissahickon closed out its season with a 12-10 record overall. The Trojans, 6-4 in the SOL, were 22nd in the final District One 6A power rankings, just missing out on the field of 20.
Wissahickon 3-12-13-19 47
Upper Moreland 11-13-11-20 55
Wissahickon (47) – Matt Compas 6 4-5 17; Ryan Friedman 1 0-0 3; Jackson Intrieri 2 0-0 6; Stefan Lowry 2 0-0 4; Morgan Wilson 2 3-3 9; Earl Stout 3 0-0 6; Will Kunzier 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 17 7-8 47.
Upper Moreland (55) – Byron Hopkins 3 7-7 13; Jahaire Johnson 5 0-1 11; Jourdan Gregg 8 2-3 19; Jake Tiernan 0 2-2 2; Matt Tiernan 3 4-6 10; TOTALS 19 15-19 55.
3-point goals: Wissahickon – Jackson Intrieri 2, Morgan Wilson 2, Matt Compas, Ryan Friedman, UM – Jahaire Johnson, Jourdan Gregg.
UPPER DUBLIN 70, CHESTER CHARTER SCHOOL OF THE ARTS 55
On Tuesday, the Flying Cardinals were on the outside looking in on the District One 6A Tournament, sitting one spot outside of the 20-team field at 21. One day later, they are in the tournament at 20, thanks to Wednesday’s non-league win.
“We have some good news for a change,” UD coach Chris Monahan said. “It’s finalized tomorrow at noon, but as far as I can tell, all the 6A games are in, so it looks like we squeezed into the 20 spot.
“In the beginning of the week, we knew it was going to be close. This last game was not scheduled until this week, and obviously, we needed it.”
The Cardinals, who trailed 15-10 after one quarter, found themselves on the short end of a 24-21 score at halftime. Drew Stover’s 10 points ignited a 24-12 third quarter for the Cardinals. DJ Cerisier added seven points in the frame. UD took a 45-36 lead into the final quarter and sealed the win with a 16-for-19 effort at the foul line in the fourth quarter. Stover – who had 13 points in the quarter – led the way with a 9-9 effort at the foul line. Cerisier was 4-for-4.
Stover led all scorers with 33 points while Colin O’Sullivan and Cerisier also finished in double figures with 12 points each. Griffin Pensabene added seven points.
“We got pretty good all-around performances,” Monahan said. “Drew was huge again – he had 33.
“Colin O’Sullivan is struggling a little bit scoring-wise. He’s done a great job passing the ball and assisting – he had 12 tonight, including a huge three. DJ Cerisier continues to play well. He had 12. When we put three guys in double figures, we do well, and that was the case tonight.”
Upper Dublin (11-9, 5-5 SOL) is scheduled to travel to 13th-seeeded Haverford in Saturday’s opening round of districts. The bracket is not finalized until noon Thursday.
“It’s been a roller coaster, bizarre – this is our fifth game in seven days,” Monahan said. “We played Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and it’s been wild. We had injuries. One of our starting guards, Anthony Fatiga, tore a ligament on Friday, so he’s done for the season.”
There was also an unusual academic eligibility issue that cost the team a player.
“We pulled guys up from jayvee,” Monahan said. “We’ve got sophomores, we’ve got freshmen. They did okay against North Penn, we really did poorly against Souderton, but we came through tonight.”
Upper Dublin 10-11-24-24 70
Chester Charter 15-9-12-20 55
Upper Dublin (70) Drew Stover 33, Seaton Kukla 2, Griffin Pensebene 7, Colin O’Sullivan 12, DJ Cerisier 12, Vijay Foster 2.
Chester Charter (55) – DeShields 5, Fisher 3, Showell 14, Stovall 2, Rodgers 7, Miller 21, Martin 2, Smith 2.
3-point goals: UD – DJ Cerisier, Colin O’Sullivan, Chester Charter – Miller 4, Showell.
PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 56, CHICHESTER 47
The Colonials were back in action for the first time in a week, and after dropping a pair of non-league contests to Imhotep and Central Dauphin, PW got back on the winning track.
“We challenged ourselves by scheduling two highly talented teams in Imhotep and Central Dauphin over the last two weeks, and then threw this game tonight at the kids last second,” PW coach Jim Donofrio said. “It’s a crazy way to schedule a season, and I’m proud of the players for adjusting to all of it, especially since we took our lumps in the two losses and could easily let that shake our confidence.
“We had to test ourselves, though, and see where we have to improve to prepare for district play. We are still young in a lot of ways. Tonight, for example, we missed 16 free throws, and I think some of that had to do with us knowing the opportunity this game presented to us with the chance to improve our seed. How do you embrace that moment? Now we’ve gotten through that experience. It’s all-important.”
The Colonials raced out of the gate to a 16-8 lead after one quarter. Luke DiCianno buried a pair of 3s to lead the way. They took a 28-18 lead into halftime, and not a whole lot changed in the second half as the Colonials went on to win by 11.
DiCianno led a balanced PW attack with 15 points, which included three 3s. Zuri Jerman added 12 points – nine in the first half, and Zende Hubbard had 11 points.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (14-3, 9-1), the third-seeded team in the District One 6A Tournament, has an opening round bye.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 16-12-17-11 56
Chichester 8-10-17-12 47
Plymouth Whitemarsh (56) – Zende Hubbard 4 3-3 11 Jaden Colzie 3 0-2 6; Marshall Baker 1 3-6 5; David Harris 0 1-2 1; Luke DiCianno 4 4-6 15; Steve Forcielli 1 2-5 5; Qudire Bennett 0 1-2 1; Zuri Jerman 5 2-6 12; TOTALS 18 16-32 56.
Chichester (47) – Maz Sayed 3 2-3 8; Josh Hankins 6 4-5 16; Ramir McDowell 2 0-2 4; Ousmane Fofana 1 0-2 2; Ciyir Hancock 1 0-0 2; Ahkir Keys 1 0-1 2; Vince Wildrick 2 4-5 9; Isaiah Diggs 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 18 10-18 47.
3-point goals: PW – Luke DiCianno 3, Steve Forcielli, Chichester – Vince Wildrick.
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