There were several upsets in the SOL. Check out all of Tuesday’s action. To view photos of the Quakertown/CB East game, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
The faithful Quakertown fans stormed the court after the Panthers (2-19, 1-12) captured a thrilling 52-49 Suburban One League Continental Conference victory over visiting Central Bucks East (9-12, 6-7).
“It is what is great about high school basketball,” said Quakertown head coach Kevin Keeler. “We haven’t won a home game in two years, and for us to do it on Senior Night was wonderful. The fans acted like we just won a championship.”
The Panthers did not seal the deal until the final five seconds with the score deadlocked at 49. Keeler called timeout with seven seconds left in the fourth period – ran a set play for senior Jon Landis – Quakertown executed the inbounds to perfection as Landis connected on the field goal – was fouled – and converted the free throw to complete what proved to be the winning three-point play.
“Jon made the big play, and he spent most of the day battling a stomach flu,” said Keeler. “In fact, both Jon and (senior) Mike Ciccarone were playing sick, and (senior) Steffan Spieker wasn’t able to play at all with the flu. Our seniors really stepped up tonight.”
None bigger than senior guard Corey Jorgensen who scored a game-high 23 points for the Panthers.
“Corey had a monster game – his best game in the last two years,” said Keeler. “The first game against East this year he scored zero points. None. He was great tonight.”
Point guard Ken Cuadrado also scored in twin digits for Q-town with 10 points.
Central Bucks East was led in scoring by Steve Topley with 13 points, while Ryan O’Neil added 12 points for the Patriots.
The victory was the first in the conference this year for Quakertown and stopped the bleeding on an 18-game losing streak. The last win for the Black Cats came on December 10against Palisades in a non-conference game.
“We approach each game in practice as if we are getting ready to play a championship game,” said Keeler. “The way the fans rushed the floor it felt like one tonight.”
Central Bucks East Patriots 15 11 12 11 - 49
Quakertown Panthers 15 12 13 12 - 52
Central Bucks East: Steve Topley 13; Ryan O’Neil 12, Liam Gallagher 8; Matt Stauffer 5; Reid Menard 4; Brendan McLaughlin 4; and Matt Kiersnowski 3. Total – 49.
Quakertown: Corey Jorgensen 23; Jon Landis 11; Ken Guadrado 10; Mike Harpster 4; Mike Ciccarone 2; and Mark Repsher 2. Total – 52.
The Rest of the Story in the SOL Continental Conference
Central Bucks West (19-2, 12-1) kept a firm grip on first place in the conference and also claimed a piece of the conference title as the Bucks were forced to work overtime to defeat pesky Pennridge (10-11, 4-9) – 65-58. The Bucks can earn an outright championship with a win on Friday against district rival Central Bucks South. CB West was led in scoring by Derek Dyer and Shane Kellar who each scored 19 points, while Tyler Schechter scored in twin digits for the Bucks with 13 points. Tim Abruzzo – who set the Pennridge career scoring record held by Jim Groff (1988) – scored 19 points to lead the Rams. Abruzzo now has scored 1130 points to break Groff’s mark of 1118 points. Jeff Garner and Zach Muredda each scored in double figures for PHS with 10 points each.
Pennridge Rams 16 14 11 12 5 - 58
CB West Bucks 17 9 15 12 12 - 65
Souderton (16-5, 11-2) kept a firm grip on second place in the conference as the host Indians captured a 64-59 overtime victory over North Penn (7-14, 4-9). If the Indians win Friday at CB East and if CB West would lose to CB South on Friday then Souderton would share the conference crown with CB West. Ryan Connolly led the way for the Big Red with a game-high 21 points, while Mark Wonderling scored in double digits for the winners with 13 points. North Penn was led in scoring by Javi Alvarino with 19 points, while senior guard Wes Brooks added 18 points for the Knights.
Central Bucks South (11-10, 9-4) kept a firm grip on third place in the conference as the Titans edged host Hatboro-Horsham (8-13, 5-8) – 44-41. CB South was led in scoring by junior point guard Kevin Raymond with a game-high 10 points. Chase Vonder Schmalz and Dave Knox each scored nine points for the Titans. The Hatters were led in scoring by Zach Quattro with 10 points, while Paul Haggerty added eight points.
Central Bucks South Titans 11 8 13 12 - 44
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters 10 8 10 13 - 41
Trojans clinch share of SOL American Championship
Wissahickon (19-2, 10-1) earned its first ever SOL American Conference title as the Trojans broke open a tight game at halftime and marched to a 66-44 victory over visiting Upper Dublin (11-9, 4-7).
“Wissahickon won some Freedom Division titles in the Suburban One, but ever since we the league divided into the American Conference we haven’t won a championship,” said Wissahickon head coach Kyle Wilson. “Our goal is to come out on Friday and win the championship outright against Cheltenham. They took us to overtime the first time we played, so we know that we are going to have to play a good game.”
The only team that could share the title with Wissahickon would be Norristown (14-6, 9-2). In order for that to take place, Wissahickon would have to lose to Cheltenham and Norristown would have to beat rival Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-9, 7-3) on Friday.
The Trojans had a monster game turned in by 6-foot, 8-inch senior Tanoh Kpassagnon who scored a game-high 24 points. He also dominated both the offensive and defensive glass and guarded the iron with numerous blocked shots.
“Tanoh played a fierce game on both ends of the floor,” said Wilson. “He had at least three powerful dunks, and he contested and altered a lot of their shots. He continues to get better each and every game he plays.”
Jordan Reed was a scoring factor with 21 points, while sophomore point guard Chase Wilson added eight points and a polished floor game for the Trojans.
Upper Dublin – which trailed by just 26-24 at intermission – was led in scoring by Darrell Harrison with 14 points. Andrew Carber added 10 points for the Flying Cardinals.
“Upper Dublin always plays us tough,” said Wilson. “(Upper Dublin head coach) Josh (Adelman) is a friend of mine, and he always seems to come up with something different. He is a very good basketball coach.”
Upper Dublin Cardinals 10 14 8 12 - 44
Wissahickon Trojans 13 13 25 15 - 66
Upper Dublin: Darrell Harrison 14; Andrew Carber 10; Andrew Derr 4; Tyreek Magruder 3; and Jared Zarwin 2. Total – 44.
Wissahickon: Tanoh Kpassagnon 24; Jordan Reed 21; Chase Wilson 8; Kyle Garrett 5; Chris Carrodorni 4; Riley Shackelford 2; and Gordon Bentley 2. Total – 66.
The Rest of the Story in the SOL American Conference
Plymouth Whitemarsh (12-9, 8-3) broke open a tight game in the first halfas the Colonials marched to a 67-57 victory over visiting Upper Merion (5-15, 1-10). PW led by just a point (34-33) at the half but slowly took control of the game in the second half. The Colonials had four players score in double figures and were led in scoring by Anthony McKie with 18 points. Jake Silvers (16), Russhon Phillips (13), and Kenny Williams (10) also scored in twin digits for the winners. James Mobley scored a game-high 24 points to lead the Vikings, while Patrick Stringfield (16) and Connor McGrath (13) also scored in double digits for Upper Merion.
Upper Merion Vikings 8 25 9 15 - 57
Plymouth Whitemarsh 21 13 15 18 - 67
Cheltenham (13-8) scored a staggering 35 points in the fourth period at the Panthers clawed the Bears of Upper Moreland (6-14, 0-10) – 87-76. Nafis Walker scored a game-high 32 points for the Black Cats, while Jarrell Haywood (16), Toyon Wynder (11) and Dillion Tolliver (11) also scored in double figures. Upper Moreland was led in scoring by Nick Corbett with 19 points, while Matt Kohn added 18 points for the Golden Bears.
Cheltenham Panthers 16 17 19 35 - 87
Upper Moreland Bears 14 16 21 25 - 76
Norristown (14-6) lost a non-conference game with district playoff implications as the Eagles were defeated by host Methacton (15-7) – 44-39. Norristown was led in scoring by Jahbri Hargrove with 10 points, while Luke Kelley added nine points and Marquis Bryant scored eight points. The loss ended a six game Norristown win streak.
Norristown Eagles 10 4 13 12 - 39
Methacton Warriors 8 9 9 18 - 44
Tigers Remain in Playoff Bubble
Harry S Truman (10-11, 6-7) kept its slim PIAA District One playoff hopes alive as the Tigers collected a 64-62 Suburban One League National Conference victory over visiting Neshaminy (4-17, 3-10).
“Give Neshaminy credit, they dominated us for the first three quarters,” said Truman head coach Allen Munford. “We were playing on our heels, but it was a tribute to our players the way we came back to win the game.
“I have said this all year, we can be down 20-25 points and we don’t even take a look at the clock,” added Munford. “We just keep fighting, and we have been able to come back in a couple of games to get wins.
“We really haven’t talked about getting into the playoffs,” continued Munford. “We just want to finish the season playing with pride and having no regrets.”
The Tigers had a double/double from junior Merdic Green with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Mike Mintah also recorded a double/double with 10 points and 10 boards. Senior Daiquan Ashley (15) and senior Tyrice Harris (10) also scored in twin digits for HST.
The leading scorer in the game, though, was Neshaminy senior Tyler Katz with 27 points.
“Katz dropped 32 points on us in the first game we played them,” said Munford. “He really can attack the basket and score.”
Neshaminy Redskins 16 20 12 14 - 62
Truman Tigers 14 15 16 19 - 64
Neshaminy: Tyler Katz 27; Bobby Marterella 9; Shaquel Vaughn 9; Luke Carrezola 8; Connor McGarry 7; Chino Duru 2. Totals – 62.
Truman: Merdic Green 17; Daiquan Ashley 15; Mike Mintah 10; Tyrice Harris 10; Larry Winton 6; Kenny Osborne 2; Dan Harris 2; Tyrone Roberts 2. Total – 64.
The Rest of the Story in the SOL National Conference
Bensalem (13-8, 9-4) kept in the conference title hunt as the Owls soared to a 43-42 victory over host Council Rock North (15-5, 10-3). See full game story on SuburbanOneSports.com
Bensalem Owls 14 9 8 12 - 43
CR North Indians 10 11 9 12 - 42
Pennsbury (15-6, 9-4) kept in the conference title hunt as the Falcons soared to a 65-37 victory over host Council Rock South (5-15, 2-11). Pennsbury has now won 10 of its last 11 games, while Rock South has dropped 12 of its last 13 contests.
Abington (15-6, 8-5) held tight to fourth place in the conference standings as the Ghosts held of a fourth period rally to defeat host William Tennent – 58-55. Anthony Durham scored a team-high 21 points for Abington, while Jordan Simmons added 12 points for the Ghosts. Senior Jack Rauchut had a huge game for the Panthers with 27 points and 12 rebounds. Matt Alden also scored in twin digits for Tennent with 10 points.
Abington Ghosts 14 17 18 9 - 58
William Tennent Panthers 11 6 20 18 - 55
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