Check out the results for SOL boys/girls basketball teams in action Thursday.
Boys
WILLIAM TENNENT 41, NESHAMINY 33
The Panthers staged a heroic second half comeback to earn the come-from-behind win. They found themselves on the short end of a 31-29 score heading into the final quarter of Thursday’s game against the visiting Redskins, but John Ryan saved his best for last, scoring 10 of his game-high 19 points in a fourth period that saw the Panthers outscore the ‘Skins 12-2. Ryan also had seven rebounds.
Kevin Simonson added 11 points for the Panthers, who trailed 10-2 after one period and still trailed 25-16 at the intermission. The Panthers, who outscored the Redskins 25-8 in the second half, received seven points from Josh Kravets.
Zach Tredway and Jenkins Kimber led a balanced Redskin attack with eight points each. Cole Housel added six points.
The Panthers are 4-6 in league play (5-12 overall) while the Redskins are 1-9 in the league (4-11 overall).
Neshaminy 10-15-6-2 33
William Tennent 2-14-13-12 41
PENNSBURY 74, BENSALEM 47
The Falcons seized early control, opening up a 16-9 lead at the end of one quarter and stretching that to 40-23 by halftime. They outscored the visiting Owls 34-22 in the second half to earn the big win.
Derrick Woods led a balanced Falcon attack with 15 points while Cameron Jones had 12 and Mekhi Bryant, 11 points. Juan Perez Jones and Rob Daly both added six points in a contest that saw 12 players contribute scoring for the Falcons.
Neel Patel led the Owls with 11 points while Nick Melvey and Keith Howard both added nine.
Pennsbury upped its league record to 8-2 (13-4 overall) while the Owls are 4-6 in the league (7-10 overall).
Bensalem 9-14-13-9 45
Pennsbury 16-24-20-14 74
Bensalem (47) – Neel Patel 11, Nick Mulvey 9, Keith Howard 9, Brendon Vaughn 4, Avery Nyekan 5, Kevin Wade 3, Anthony Green 2, Brian Quarterman 2.
Pennsbury (74) – Mekhi Bryant 11, Derrick Woods 15, Cameron Jones 12, Juan Perez Jones 6, Rob Daly 6, Zakh Dea 2, Addison Howard 5, Zach Roy 3, Tyler Sessa-Reeves 3, Nick Cereby 2, Isaiah Carpenter 4, Mark Flagg 5
ABINGTON 64, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 42
The Ghosts maintained their stronghold on first place in the National Conference, upping their league mark to 10-0 (14-3 overall).
Amir Hinton turned in a glittering 29-point effort to lead the Ghosts, and it was Hinton scoring seven points and teammate Matt Penecale added six in a first quarter that saw the Ghosts open up a 17-11 lead. Hinton exploded for 12 points in the second quarter as the Ghosts outscored the Hawks 20-14 to go into halftime with a 37-25 lead.
Penecale finished with 12 points while Robbie Heath added 10.
Austin Thomas had a big game for the Golden Hawks, finishing with 18 points, which included five three-pointers. Alex Nordenholt added 11.
Rock South is 3-7 in league play (5-12 overall).
Abington 17-20-20-7 64
Council Rock South 11-14-1-16 42
Abington (64) – Robbie Heath 10, Matt Penecale 12, Amir Hinton 29, Lochner 3, James 2, Porter 2, Gallagher 2, Griffin 2, Lustig 2.
Council Rock South (42) – Mike Agasar 3, Austin Thomas 18, Mike Stock 2, Alex Nordenholt 11, Dan Buchnik 4, McNamee 4.
NORRISTOWN 69, METHACTON 66
The Eagles earned a hard-fought win over the Warriors in a non-league battle between the neighboring rivals. Kyle Simpson led the Eagles with 17 points while Darryl Carr added 16 points and seven rebounds. Desmond Gorski also finished in double figures with 14 while Roy Green had eight points, seven assists and four rebounds.
The Eagles, who led 13-11 after one quarter, found themselves on the short end of a 31-29 score at halftime. They seized control of the game with a 19-9 third quarter surge on their way to the win.
For the Warriors, TJ Tornetta led the way with 20 points while Justin Ardman had 19.
Norristown is 7-8 overall (5-4 SOL).
Methacton 11-20-9-26 66
Norristown 13-16-19-21 69
QUAKERTOWN 76, UPPER PERKIOMEN 48
The Panthers continued their winning ways with a no-doubt-about-it victory over the visiting Tribe on Thursday. Kevin Norvaisas led three Panthers in double figures with 22. Brian Rejniak added 15 and Griffin Schmidt, 13 points.
JR Grimmage chipped in with eight points and Jake Perrine had seven on a night that saw 10 Panthers get into the scoring column.
Once again, the Panthers were deadly from long range, connecting on nine shots from beyond the arc. Rejniak led the way with three three-pointers while Perrine and Norvaisas both had two and Grimmage and Schmidt each added one.
Quakertown seized early control, opening up a 24-7 lead after one quarter and taking a 41-20 lead into intermission. The Indians never threatened.
With the win, the Panthers upped their overall record to 9-8 (3-6 SOL).
Upper Perk 7-13-17-11 48
Quakertown 24-17-20-15 76
Upper Perk (48) – Millsip 3, Boyle 6, Sitko 10, Weinstein 3, Kendra 11, Ruskey 9, Croisette 6.
Quakertown (76) Griffin Schmidt 13, Jake Perrine 7, Brian Rejniak 15, Kevin Norvaisas 22, Kyle Baskin 4, Ryan Howard 2, Nic Gildner 1, Rob Meystayer 2, Nick Drosnock 2, JR Grimmage 8.
Girls
PENNSBURY 37, BENSALEM 25
The Falcons took a tenuous 14-12 lead into halftime of Thursday’s game at Bensalem. They found themselves trailing by six in the third quarter but used a 12-0 tear to take a lead they would not lose.
“I told the girls, ‘We can draw up a thousand adjustments, but if the energy level and the effort is not there, the adjustments mean nothing,’” coach Keith Gabor said. “That’s when we went on our 12-0 run.
“We had our guards come out and pressure a little more. They did well.”
Gabor, who was without Maggie Kane (illness), made some defensive adjustments that paid big dividends.
“We moved Meredith Webber up top with Abby Wick, and they both played on that District One championship soccer team for Pennsbury,” Gabor said. “They just play so hard. They always have a high motor, and they’re 100 percent all the time.
“The communication between the two of them is incredible. In the defense we want to run, that’s huge. They knew where each one was going to be, so it worked out real well. Not having Maggie hurt us because she’s had some big games scoring for us, but we picked it up on defense.”
Niasia Boone had a big night in her return to the lineup after an injury and led the Falcons with 14 points.
“She came up huge,” Gabor said. “Sarah Atunarse came up big. Bensalem’s number 22 (Kelsey Long) had 14 points and 12 rebounds the last time we played them, and I think Sarah took it kind of personally and held her to zero points.”
Atunarse finished with eight blocks and seven rebounds.
Bensalem was led by the 17-point effort of Lyric Lewis while Samantha Werth had six points.
Pennsbury upped it record to 3-7 in league play (6-9 overall) while the Owls are 0-10 (3-14 overall).
Pennsbury 5-9-12-11 37
Bensalem 4-8-8-5 25
Pennsbury (37) – Sarah Atunarse 2, Meredith Webber 6, Niasia Boone 14, Amy Blazejowski 6, Abby Wick 5.
Bensalem (25) – Lyric Lewis 17, Samantha Werth 6, Nicole Wajda 2.
NESHAMINY 74, WILLIAM TENNENT 62
Forty-hours after scoring just 23 points in a loss to Abington, the Redskins exploded for 72 in their win over the Panthers.
“I wasn’t happy with our defense at all, but after struggling to score the ball, we put a lot of emphasis on our offense the last couple of days,” coach Joe Lally said. “We shot the ball pretty well, which was nice, but we didn’t defend real well.
“Tennent’s a tough team. Those guys do a great job, and they always come to battle. It’s a good win against a really good, solid team. We just happened to shoot the ball better.”
No one had a hotter hand than Morgan Goldenbaum, who scored 22 points and also had seven rebounds and eight assists with zero turnovers.
“Morgan was phenomenal,” Lally said. “Our whole team’s been coming off this stomach bug. Morgan got hit with it pretty good before the Abington game.”
Maddie Murray had a big night as well, contributing 17 points and eight rebounds. Emily Alexis also had eight boards.
“Emily Alexis doesn’t show up in the box score a lot, but she’s a great defender,” Lally said.
The Panthers led 15-14 after one period and added 17 points in the second period only to watch the Redskins score 24 to go on top 38-32 at halftime. The ‘Skins took a 50-47 lead into the final quarter when they exploded for exploded for 24 points.
“It’s always a good win when you can get a win over them,” Lally said. “Their kids battle.
“We talked a lot about 50-50 balls and winning those battles because that’s what his (coach Paul Veltre’s) kids do a lot of. If you don’t come to battle them, you can find yourself losing that game easily.”
Devon Storms also finished in double figures for the Redskins with 13 points. Thyra Tuttle added eight points, Kiana Bussey, seven and Tiara Porterfield, six points.
Angie Pomponio had another big night for the Panthers, scoring a game-high 25 points. Sophomore Kyla Gibson added 17 points. Rachael Ebert chipped in with six.
The Redskins improved to 7-3 in the league (12-5 overall) while the Panthers are 4-6 in the league (10-8 overall).
William Tennent 15-17-15-15 62
Neshaminy 14-24-12-24 74
William Tennent (62) – Braylin Dougherty 4, Angie Pomponio 25, Alyssa Christiansen 6, Kyla Gibson 17, Sarah Richie 2, Rachael Ebert 6, Brianna Broccardi 2.
Neshaminy (74) – Morgan Goldenbaum 22, Kiana Bussey 7, Thyra Tuttle 8, Emily Alexis 1, Tiara Porterfield 6, Maddie Murray 17, Devon Storms 13.
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