Check out the recaps for SOL boys/girls basketball teams in action on Sunday.
Girls
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 51, METHACTON 45
On a night when their shots weren’t falling, the Indians gutted out a win over Methacton in the title game of the John Carlson Memorial Bracket at the Wildwood Boardwalk Classic.
“We made it a little bit tougher on ourselves,” coach Lou Palkovics said. “I’m proud of the way the girls played because we shot the ball so poorly.
“We’re probably averaging seven or eight threes a game, and we had two today. We got a lot of good looks but just didn’t hit a lot of shots, and the kids just battled.”
The Indians – who connected on just 2-of-11 shots from beyond the arc – trailed by one after the first quarter but outscored the Warriors 15-7 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 22-15 lead. The two teams exchanged baskets in the second half.
“It was just a different kind of win tonight,” Palkovics said. “It was one of those weird wins. Not to take anything away from Methacton. I think Craig (Kaminski) is such a good coach. He was really prepared for our press. The adjustments he made I was really impressed with.
“We didn’t press a lot, we played really good half court defense. They really struggled until the second half. I just feel if we shot the ball better – it would have been more of a 15 or 16-point win, but instead, it was grind it out to the end. That’s a tribute to their girls and to (Kaminski).”
The Indians suffered a setback when point guard Cam Polinsky fouled out with five minutes remaining in regulation.
“You lose your leader,” Palkovics said. “I was proud with the way they won and definitely with the way Liv Boyle played because their number 42 (Abby Penjuke) – I saw her hit five or six threes last night. She hit one three at the end of the game tonight– a desperation shot, and you might say, ‘Well, maybe she shot the ball poorly.’ No – she did not get a shot.
“The way Liv shut her down and the way Liv stepped up and ran the point for the last four-and-a-half minutes of the game – everything kind of fell on Liv, and it was nice to see her step up and run the team.”
Also coming up huge for the Indians was senior Dana Bandurick, who finished with 20 points and nine rebounds. While her teammates struggled from the field, Bandurick connected on 7-of-11 shots.
“I say to my coaches – she’s like a rubber band because she just seems like she’s stronger and springier after two knee surgeries,” Palkovics said. “We’ve run into several good players that I could say – ‘Wow, she lost a step after her surgery.’
“Dana has almost gained a step – her first step is faster, her outside shooting is better. I think it’s just her focus on her rehab and how serious she took it. She didn’t take a day off. If she couldn’t do anything with her legs, she was out there shooting, shooting, shooting. She’s kind of a seasoned veteran when it comes to rehabbing from knee injuries.”
Also for the Indians, Anna Carione added nine points and five rebounds while Sydney Blum and Abby Jones both had seven points.
Council Rock North (7-2, 3-0 SOL) will travel to Neshaminy on Thursday for an important conference battle.
Methacton 8-7-15-15 45
Council Rock North 7-15-13-16 51
Methacton (45) – Sydney Tornetta 13, Sydney Hargrove 6, Nicole Timko 13, Tori Bockrath 3, Abby Penjuke 8, Alli Hazlett 2.
Council Rock North (51) – Camryn Polinsky 3, Anna Carione 9, Sydney Blum 7, Olivia Boyle 5, Dana Bandurick 20, Abby Jones 7.
ST. JOHN’S CATHOLIC PREP 48, NESHAMINY 46
The Redskins lost a heartbreaker in Sunday’s title game of the Diamond State Classic at St. Elizabeth’s (Del.). It was their first loss of the season.
“It was a close game throughout,” coach Joe Lally said. “There was never more than a three-point lead on either side. We had a good look at the buzzer to tie the game but missed.”
St. John’s, which led 12-10 after one quarter, took a 20-17 lead into halftime. It was still a three-point game heading into the final quarter.
Brooke Mullin’s 18 points led the Redskins. She spearheaded a late-game comeback attempt with 10 fourth-quarter points. Kristin Curley added 13 points. Both players were named to the all-tournament team.
“Kristin Curley played extremely well all weekend,” Lally said. “We are really excited about her play.
“We also continued to get great play from Kelli Kowalick. The tourney was a great experience against excellent competition.”
Allison Harvey added six points on a pair of 3-pointers.
Neshaminy (8-1, 3-0 SOL) will host Council Rock North in a key conference battle on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Neshaminy 10-7-14-15 46
St. John’s Catholic Prep 12-8-14-14 48
Neshaminy (46) – Emily Tantala 4, Brooke Mullin 18, Kristin Curley 13, Alexa McCoy 2, Kelly Kowalick 3, Allison Harvey 6.
Boys
BONNER-PRENDERGAST 64, PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 57
Sparked by 11 points from Isaiah Wong, the Pandas opened up a 20-10 lead after one quarter of Sunday’s game in the Pete & Jameer Nelson Classic at Widener University. The Colonials – who trailed 33-26 at the intermission – spent the rest of the game playing catch-up. It was a five-point game heading into the final quarter, and the Colonials erupted for 18 fourth-quarter points – which included three 3-pointers by Caelin Peters, but they couldn’t make up any ground on the Pandas, who scored 20 in the final frame.
Naheem McLeod led the Colonials with 19 points. Peters, who had four 3-pointers, added 18 points. Kyrie Pendleton had three 3-pointers and finished with 12 points.
The 6-2 Wong, a University of Miami commit, led all scorers with 25 points. Tariq Ingraham added 16 for the Pandas, who connected on 9-of-12 at the foul line.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (5-3, 2-1 SOL) will travel to Abington on Friday night.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-16-13-18 57
Bonner-Prendergast 20-12-11-20 64
Plymouth Whitemarsh (57) – Caelin Peters 18, Naheem McLeod 19, Kyrie Pendleton 12, Mark Kalala 2, Jordan Evans 2, Jason Cherry 4.
Bonner-Prendergast (64) – Tyreese Watson 6, Donovan Rodriguez 3, Chris Haynes 5, Isaiah Wong 25, AJ Burnett 2, Michael Perretta 3, James Welde 4, Tariq Ingraham 16.
LA SALLE 68, CHELTENHAM 56
The Explorers opened up a 33-22 halftime on their way to their 10th win of the season without a loss.
“We just didn’t do a good job of sticking with our defensive scheme,” coach Patrick Fluery said. “They were able to slow us down because we weren’t able to get stops, but it was definitely a decent effort on our part.”
Zahree Harrison scored a team-high 17 points and also had five rebounds. Jaelen McGlonne added 12 points and two blocked shots. Kyin Healey finished with eight points and a team-high seven rebounds. Tim Myarick also added eight points.
Cheltenham (6-3, 3-0 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Friday.
Cheltenham 15-7-13-21 56
La Salle 21-12-16-19 68
Cheltenham (56) – Zahree Harrison 17, Jalen Pickens 4, Tim Myarick 8, Justin Moore 1, Jaelen Mcglonne 12, Mike McClain 2, Payne 4, Kyin Healey 8.
La Salle (68) – Allen Powell 18, Titus Beard 7, Emmanuel Freyre 4, Konrad Kiszka 12, Jake Timby 8, Zach Crisler 5, Kahlil Diarrah 8, Sam Brown 3, Brian Cawley 2
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