Souderton and Cheltenham were winners in SOL boys’ basketball action, and on the girls’ side, Souderton and Wissahickon were winners. Check out the recaps.
Non-league
Boys
SOUDERTON 57, HATBORO-HORSHAM 53
The visiting Indians recuperated from a slow start to take control of Monday’s non-league game in the third quarter. As wins go, this was a big one, vaulting the Indians into the 24th spot in the latest District One 6A power rankings. Twenty-four teams will earn district berths.
“This was a big one for us, definitely,” said coach Tim Brown, whose team trailed 23-19 at halftime. “We had a bad first half, and Hatboro-Horsham out-energied us, outplayed us. They caught some good breaks as well. They play hard.
“We were great defensively. They just had some back cuts against us - we got lost a couple of times. They had a six-point lead, and we cut that down to four on a layup to end the half, but we did not play well.”
The second half was another story. The Indians exploded for 21 points in the third quarter while limiting the Hatters to 13 to go on top 40-36. They won by that four-point margin.
“They responded to adversity,” Brown said. “They came together and really brought it in the second half and did everything we wanted to do.
“That fight shows what we’re doing. They know we can’t be dropping games at this point. We’re fighting to keep this family together. We don’t want to end it like we did last year. They let it show on the court tonight.”
Senior Kavi Ramchandani led the Indians with 16 points while sophomore Dom Natale came up big yet again, adding 13 points.
“Kavi had a big first half and kept us in the game in the first half,” Brown said. “He was really our only source of scoring.
“(Natale) just plays with a different motor than everybody else. He comes in and just brings a different type of energy. He really gets our guys going. He’s starting to get way more comfortable with the varsity feel and the varsity speed. He’s been coming along really nice. We’ve been really happy with him.”
Trevor Watts also was in double figures with 10 points, and Stephen Lucansky added six.
“Trevor, in the second half, kind of put the team on his back energy-wise and got everybody going,” Brown said of Watts. “He really lifted us above the bar.”
For the Hatters, Chris Edwards led the way with 15 points. Erick Dixon scored 13, and Kyle Hogan added 12. Khalid Johnson had six points.
Souderton (8-10, 3-5 SOL) will host Pennridge in a rivalry game Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (8-9, 5-5) will travel to Wissahickon.
Souderton 8-11-21-17 57
Hatboro-Horsham 11-12-13-17 53
Souderton (57) – Kavi Ramchandani 16, Dom Natale 13, Trevor Watts 10, Tomas Hanrahan 7, Stephen Luchansky 6, Antonio Rodriguez 3, Andrew Vince 2.
Hatboro-Horsham (53) – Chris Edwards 15, Erick Dixon 15, Kyle Hogan 12, Khalid Johnson 6, Solomon McNair 5.
CHELTENHAM 80, QUAKERTOWN 48
The Panthers, who had four players in double figures, reached the 80-point mark for the second time in the last three games. They are 5-1 since losing La Salle-bound senior Jack Clark to a season-ending injury, and in those five wins, they have averaged almost 74 points a game.
“This is a scoring team, which is kind of different for me – I’m a defensive guy,” coach John Timms said. “It’s a different make-up.
“Where we thought we would miss Jack the most was his defensive length. I thought we could create points, getting turnovers and steals. It looks like it’s coming together, guys are stepping up. I’m happy with the guys who are now being given an opportunity because they’re now able to see more minutes.”
Tim Myarick led a balanced attack with 13 points. It was the fifth game in six starts that he has been in double figures.
“He’s stepping up,” Timms said. “I’m happy with how we’re playing.”
Three players – Brandon Scott, Dominick Polk and Kyin Healey – had 12 points each. Zahree Harrison added nine points while Ahmad Bickley had seven points and nine assists. Jaelen McLone added six points.
Cheltenham (13-5, 9-1 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Friday, and Quakertown (5-13, 3-7) will host Upper Moreland.
Cheltenham 23-21-21-15 80
Quakertown 10-15-13-10 48
Cheltenham (80) – Amir Lewis 3, Zahree Harrison 9, Ahmad Bickley 7, Tim Myarick 13, John Wallace 2, Brandon Scott 12, Dominick Polk 12, Jaelen Mclone 6, Terrance McCall 4, Kyin Healey 12.
Quakertown (48) – Jon Rey 4, Sean Harrison 7, Tyler Merwarth 3, Sam Rice 2, Matt Lucas 7, Ben Kave 2, Eli Ortiz 16, Grey Mitchell 6.
Girls
WISSAHICKON 44, COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 39
What a difference a month makes.
On Dec. 27, Rock South defeated Wissahickon 50-28 in an opening round game of the Upper Merion Holiday Tournament. Four weeks later, the visiting Trojans returned the favor, avenging that loss and earning their first non-league win of the season.
“The key was defensively shutting down what they do well,” coach Rodney Cline said. “They have a point guard (Nicole Blaustein) that can penetrate and get to the hole.
“Everything was earned. We just stayed in a zone the entire time. We didn’t play man, we just mixed up our zones. We played a three-two, a two-three, sometimes we trapped out of it, sometimes we stayed back and forced them to shoot the jump shot instead of getting to the hole because they’re bigger than we are. We had to make sure we kept them off the glass because they beat us up last time on the offensive glass. We limited their second chance points.”
The Trojans, according to Cline, took three charges in the game. One proved costly.
“Unfortunately, we lost one of our nucleus players, Sydney Ott,” the Trojans’ coach said. “She took a charge, and she probably has a concussion. We didn’t want to lose her.
“We’ve taken a charge the last seven games straight. We’re not big, but our girls play big.”
Brianna Tilghman led the Trojans with 14 points, and Victoria Selverian added 13. Ott finished with eight.
The Trojans made the most of their opportunities at the free throw line.
“Our free throw shooting – we were 10-for-13 down the stretch, and that made the biggest difference for us,” Cline said.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak and allowed the Trojans (29) to move one spot ahead of the Golden Hawks (30) in the latest District One 6A power rankings.
“This game was huge for us for playoff implications,” Cline said. “To beat a team out of conference that is ahead of us in districts is very significant.
“That was important for us. Every game we take as a playoff game from now on. I’m proud of our girls. It was a huge win, a huge confidence booster. I said, - enjoy it for 24 hours. We have to get back to work tomorrow, go out there and execute our game plan.”
For the Golden Hawks, Nicole Blaustein led the way with 15 points, Claudia Steinmetz added seven and Hannah Binder had six. Binder led the Hawks under the boards with 12 rebounds while Bailey Vetter and Allison McGowan both had six. Blaustein and Vetter each had four steals.
Wissahickon (7-10, 6-4 SOL) will be on the road at Hatboro-Horsham on Tuesday, and Council Rock South (6-11, 2-6) will travel to Pennsbury on Thursday night.
Wissahickon (44) – Anna Schools 3, Brianna Tilghman 14, Lauren Fadel 2, Sydney Ott 8, Macey Segal 2, Victoria Selverian 13, Carly Fadel 2.
Council Rock South (39) - Carley Irvin 1, Claudia Steinmetz 7, Bailey Vetter 3, Nicole Blaustein 15, Allison McGowan 5, Hannah Binder 6.
SOUDERTON 62, COATESVILLE 25
Last year, Souderton defeated Coatesville 48-37 in the 11th place game of the District One 6A Tournament to earn the final berth in the state tournament. In that game, they saw an early 21-6 lead slip away and actually trailed by four in the third quarter before rallying for the win.
The Indians – the top seed in the latest power rankings – once again opened up an early lead, going on top 19-9 after one quarter and extending that to 37-12 by halftime. They needed no second-half heroics, outscoring their hosts 25-13 after the intermission to win going away.
Kate Connolly led four Souderton players in double figures with 13 points to go along with four blocks. Alana Cardona and Sami Falencki both added 11. Megan Walbrandt finished with 10 points. Falencki had three 3-pointers and Walbrandt had a pair in a contest that saw the Indians bury eight threes.
Megan Bealer led the Indians under the backboards with 10 rebounds to go along with two steals.
Souderton (15-2, 6-1 SOL) will travel to Pennridge on Tuesday.
Souderton 19-18-13-12 62
Coatesville 9-3-6-7 25
Souderton (62) – Tori Dowd 1, Megan Bealer 3, Alana Cardona 11, Megan Walbrandt 10, Erica Stephens 4, Sami Falencki 11, Kate Connolly 13, Mikaela Reese 4.
Coatesville (25) – Chester 5, Boggs 12, Huston 2, Bermudez 4, Young 2.
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