To view action photos of the CB South/CB West game, visit the photo gallery and click on the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/
By Scott Huff
Suburban One League
Continental Conference
Central Bucks South (6-5, 3-2) captured a 58-47 SOL Continental Conference victory over visiting Central Bucks West (5-5, 2-3).
The game – The Coaches for Cancer Classic - was played before a packed house at South.
“I told the players before the game that this was more than a basketball game,” said Central Bucks South head coach Jason Campbell. “It was an opportunity for our team to say ‘thank you’ to all of the students and faculty that made an effort to promote cancer awareness.
“South-West games are always big, and a great chance for our players to play in front of a big crowd,” added Campbell. “It was great to see how well we played together as a team.”
The Titans led the Bucks by a 34-32 margin going into the fourth period, but South took control in the final eight minutes – outscoring West 24-15 in the final frame.
Mike Pincus and Steve Schneider each scored seven points in the final period to secure the win.
“Pincus always seems to step up when we need him to,” said Campbell. “He handles the pressure very well, and he can create for both himself and others.
“And Steve Schneider hit a couple of important three’s in the fourth period,” added Campbell. “In fact, we got contributions from almost everyone.”
The Titans had eight players score in the game. Pincus and Nick Joerger each scored 14 points while Schneider scored ten. Joerger hauled in 10 rebounds.
“The players have shown much more confidence in each other,” said Campbell. “We have needed to play more as a team – and we showed that tonight.
Central Bucks West had three players score in double figures. Ryan Dyer had a team-high 16 points, while Patrick Furst and Kevin Sweet each scored 10 points.
Central Bucks West will be on the road Friday with a game against rival Central Bucks East, while Central Bucks South is also on the road against North Penn.
Quakertown (7-3, 4-1) took sole control of first place in the SOL Continental Conference with a 45-33 victory over visiting North Penn (6-4, 3-2).
“I know (North Penn coach) Ron Hassler from coaching against him when he coached in the Lehigh Valley,” said Quakertown head coach Kevin Keeler. “With the style they play, you are going to have to grind it out – force tempo.
“North Penn is going to try and wear you down – make you play defense for a long period of time,” added Keeler. “This was a really nice win for us.”
The win was accomplished without one of the ‘Three Musketeers’ for the Panthers – Kenny Gula. Gula was injured in the second period – appeared briefly in the fourth period – and was a non-factor.
“Kenny turned his ankle and really couldn’t go on it,” said Keeler. “I was happy with the way that we stepped up without him.”
The other two ‘Musketeers’ played vital roles in the Quakertown win.
Rick Kivela – who chipped in with nine points – made his presence felt on the defensive end of the floor. He shadowed North Penn junior Matt Possanza almost the entire game and held the Knights leading scorer to just a single point.
“We just played a hard nosed man-to-man defense,” said Keeler. “And Rick did a terrific job against a very good basketball player.”
Dalton Nice – who scored a game-high 23 points – made his presence felt on the offensive end of the floor. The sharpshooting senior had five shots fall from behind the 3-point arc.
The lone North Penn player to score in double figures was senior T.J. Gill who scored 10 points.
Souderton (9-2, 3-2) held off Central Bucks East (4-5, 2-3) – 57-56 – in a game that wasn’t decided until there were 0.00.2 seconds left.
Kyle Connolly – who scored 12 points – sank three free throws with that 0.2 seconds remaining to earn the win for the Big Red.
CB East – which was led in scoring by David Kiersnowski who scored a game-high 27 points – led Souderton 44-42 going into the final period. Skylar Scrivano also scored in double figures for the Patriots with 10 points.
A.J. Picard led the Indians in scoring with 18 points, while Anthony Sergio added 13 points for the winners.
Souderton will host Pennridge this Friday, while CB East will play host to CB West.
Suburban One League
American Conference
Norristown (8-3, 3-2) did not go quietly in its contest with SOL American Division power Plymouth Whitemarsh (10-0, 5-0). The Eagles were a very loud out in their thrilling 59-56 setback to the unbeaten Colonials.
“This was without question our best game of the year,” said Norristown head coach Michael Evans. “We were up four with about five minutes to play, but we didn’t execute the way we had to down the stretch.
“But I really couldn’t be any prouder of this team,” added Evans. “The way that we played tonight – even though we lost – should prepare us well for the rest of the season.”
Out of the shadows came 6-foot, 3-inch sophomore Najee Harris. Harris had been a member of the Eagle junior varsity up until tonight – and his first assignment – play 6-foot, 9-inch C.J. Aiken of PW.
“Najee actually played him pretty well,” said Evans. “C.J. had his points, but Najee gave us a physical presence inside.
“We mixed some man with some zone,” added Evans. “But PW was hard for us to handle inside.”
Aiken – who has committed to St. Joseph University – finished with 22 points. Jaylen Bond – a 6-foot, 7-inch junior – scored a game-high 27 points.
Norristown senior guard Chris Davis had his best scoring game of the season with 20 points, while Sheldon Mayer added 16 points for the Eagles.
Norristown will take its show on the road this Friday as the Eagles travel to Upper Dublin, while PW is also on the road as the Colonials motor to Cheltenham.
Wissahickon (8-3, 3-2) handed Cheltenham (6-5, 4-1) its first loss in the SOL American Conference as the Trojans rallied for a 57-52 victory.
“It was an ugly game – but a win is a win,” said Wissahickon head coach Kyle Wilson. “We made a lot of bad decisions tonight, and we played a horrible second quarter.
“But we played a good third quarter – and that proved to be enough,” added Wilson. “I wish we could have played a little better down the stretch, but we played good enough to win – and I’ll take it.”
The catalyst for the Trojans in that third period was senior Jack O’Neill. O’Neill scored 11 of his game-high 24 points in the third stanza.
“Jack was very active on the boards, shooting the basketball, and running the floor,” said Wilson. “He was the difference maker tonight.”
In addition to O’Neill, Wissahickon had double figure scoring from sophomore Jordan Reed who tallied 15 points.
The Panthers were led as usual by senior Rob Mansell who scored a team-high 18 points. Malcom Weston chipped in with 10 points.
Wissahickon will host an SOL American Conference game with Upper Merion on Friday, while Cheltenham will host a conference game against Plymouth Whitemarsh.
Upper Dublin (6-3, 3-2) led 28-12 at the half and flew to a 58-36 SOL American Conference win over host Upper Moreland (1-10, 0-5).
The Flying Cardinals had nine players reach the scoring column and were led in scoring by Khalil Owens and Jamil Brown. Owens led all scorers with 14 points, while Brown added 12 points.
Upper Moreland was led in scoring by Phil Morris with 11 points. Ben Pflaumer added nine points for the Golden Bears.
Upper Dublin will host Norristown this Friday in conference play, while Upper Moreland will attempt to win its first conference game at Springfield.
Upper Merion (5-6, 2-3) won its second consecutive conference game with a 53-44 SOL American Conference victory over visiting Springfield (3-8, 0-5).
The contest was tied at 24-24 at the half, but the Vikings outscored the Spartans 14-7 in the third period to sail to the win.
Francis Rafferty led Upper Merion in scoring with a game-high 17 points, while Patrick Belford scored in double figures with 15 points. Kyron Greene and Chris Crudele each scored 10 points to lead the Spartans.
The Vikings will be on the road to meet Wissahickon in a conference game this Friday, while the Spartans will be in search of its first conference win when they host Upper Moreland.
Suburban One League
National Conference
Council Rock North (8-3, 3-2) held off a frantic rush by the Owls to defeat Bensalem (5-4, 3-2) – 62-57.
“This has proven to be a great league – top to bottom,” said Council Rock North head coach Derek Wright. “Bensalem got the game down to one point, and we needed to hit our free throws at the end.”
Aaron Morgan – who scored nine points for the Indians – sank four free throws with less than 10 seconds left in the game to seal the win.
Rock North – who has now won six straight games – featured a very balanced attack in the win over Bensalem.
“We had 15 assists tonight, 20 assists the game before, and 18 assists the game before that,” said Wright. “We have done a great job of sharing the basketball.”
Andrew Stress led the Indians with 12 points, while Arron Goodman scored in double figures with 10 points. John Raymon and Morgan each scored nine points.
“We have a lot of players who can score the basketball,” said Wright. “And we need to take advantage of that.”
Bensalem was led in scoring by Liam Kirgan with 19 points. Nick Christian added 14 points, while Ivan Flores scored in twin digits with 11 points.
Council Rock North will take its show on the road Friday when the Indians meet Abington, while Bensalem is also on the road as the Owls meet Neshaminy.
William Tennent (5-5, 0-5) may still be in search of its first SOL National Conference win, but the Panthers are sure to find it. Tennent lost a heartbreaking 44-42 contest to visiting Neshaminy (8-3, 4-1).
“We took a lot of good steps forward in this game,” said William Tennent head coach Rob Mulville. “I told our kids after the game that we played a first place team late into the fourth quarter, and that first (conference) win will come.
“Their press seemed to bother us a little in the first half,” added Mulville. “But we fought back in the third period, and we had our chances.”
Mike Horn – who scored just three points in the game – hit a huge 3-pointer for the Panthers to draw them to 40-38 late in the game. Neshaminy led 40-30, but a rush by the Panthers and nice plays by Chris Weise and Tyrone Whiteside gave WT a shot at victory.
“Weise did an awesome job defending (Ryan) Arcidiacono,” said Mulville. “He scored his points, but he had to earn every one of them.”
Arcidiacono led all scorers with 20 points for the Redskins. He scored nine points in the decisive fourth period – including 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
“This is a game that we can definitely build on,” said Mulville. “If we can play with Neshaminy, we can play with anyone.”
William Tennent will have a conference road game at Council Rock South on Friday, while Neshaminy will host Bensalem.
Abington (5-5, 3-2) defeated host Truman (5-7, 2-3) in a Suburban One League National Conference game – 61-53.
The Ghosts improved to .500 overall and a winning record within the conference. Truman – which had a four game win streak earlier in the season – has now lost five in a row.
Abington will host Council Rock North in a conference game this Friday, while the Tigers will play host to Pennsbury.
Pennsbury (7-4, 4-1) remained tied for the top slot in the SOL National Conference standings, but the Falcons had to work overtime to defeat visiting Council Rock South (5-5, 2-3) – 43-40.
Jesse Krasna – who scored 10 points for Pennsbury – scored the first points in the overtime. The Falcons never trailed in the OT and outscored the Golden Hawks 9-6 in the extra period.
Kiernan Bolger led Pennsbury with a game-high 15 points. Jake Clompton and Cody Nowlin shared scoring honors for Rock South with 10 points each.
The next conference game for Pennsbury will be on Friday as the Falcons visit Truman, while the Golden Hawks will be at home against William Tennent.
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