Check out the results for SOL boys/girls basketball teams in action Friday. Check back for Kim Supko’s photos of the Norristown/Cheltenham contest.
Boys
NORRISTOWN 81, CHELTENHAM 74
The Eagles looked very much like a squad that belongs in the 32-team field of the District One AAAA Tournament, notching their biggest win of the season when they defeated the visiting Panthers.
The win was their fourth in the last five games since the return of Roy Green to the lineup. The senior standout turned in a monster 29-point performance in Friday’s win.
“Having Roy back makes our team so much better,” coach Mike Evans said. “His performance tonight was outstanding. He played poised and played smart.”
Darryl Carr also turned in a stellar performance, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds.
“Darryl is our ‘do-it-all’ guy,” Evans said. “He rebounds, plays the other team’s best player and scores when needed.
“When both of them guys are rolling, we are hard to beat.”
Tyrique Lyons had 11 points, and Darius McGowan had eight points and seven rebounds. Amir Carter added six points.
“Darius McGowan stepped up big for us tonight rebounding and scoring,” Evans said.
The Eagles led 17-15 at the end of one quarter but outscored the visiting Panthers 22-13 in the second to go into halftime with a 39-28 lead. The Panthers came roaring back with a 28-14 third quarter surge to go on top 56-53. The Eagles won it with big plays down the stretch.
“It was a total team effort tonight,” Evans said. “The kids fought to the end.
“They did everything we asked them to do. It was a great way to finish out the season. I’m very proud of them.”
Norristown (10-12) closed out league play with a 7-7 record while Cheltenham was 10-4 in conference play, 16-6 overall in the regular season.
Cheltenham 15-13-18-18 74
Norristown 1 7-22-14-28 81
Norristown: Kether Massiaz 4, Amir Carter 6, Darius McGowan 8, Roy Green 29, Tyrique Lyons 11, Darryl Carr 23.
Cheltenham: Branden Mack 4, Khalil White 19, Anthony White 19, Maurice Valentine 2, Amir Lewis 13, Rodney Carson 2, Trevonn Pitts 15.
PENNSBURY 60, HARRY S TRUMAN 54
The Tigers and Falcons found themselves in a battle of wills in Friday’s conference finale. The Tigers, who led by five after one quarter, took a 30-29 lead into halftime. They still led 46-44 heading into the final frame. Truman’s Thomas Cergino scored 10 of his team high 12 points in the second and third quarters.
The visiting Falcons won it with a 16-8 fourth quarter that included six points from Tyler Sessa-Reeves. Isaiah Carpenter scored nine of his 12 points in the second half.
Rob Daly led the Falcons with 15 points, which included 11 points in the second quarter. Addison Howard added 13 points, which included a 10-of-13 effort at the foul line. Sessa-Reeves finished with nine points, and Joey Monaghan had six.
For the Tigers, Satchell Simpson added 10 points while Maurice Jackson had seven in a contest that saw 10 Truman players contribute scoring.
Pennsbury closed out its regular season with a 10-4 record in conference play, 15-7 overall. Harry S Truman was 6-8 in conference play (8-13 overall).
Pennsbury 10-19-15-16 60
Harry S Truman 15-15-16-8 54
Pennsbury: Addison Howard 13, Andre Burch 1, Tyler Sessa-Reeves 9, Isaiah Carpenter 12, Joey Monaghan 6, Rob Daly 15, Mark Flagg 4.
Harry S Truman: Quin McQueen 5, Kelechi Ogbonna 4, Danel Snelling 2, Justin Fant 5, James Clowney 3, Satchell Simpson 10, Khalil Trammel 2, Maurice Jackson 7, ZJ Jackson 4, Thomas Cergino 12.
NESHAMINY 63, HOLY GHOST PREP 60 (OT)
Endings don’t get a whole lot better than the one that saw the Redskins close out their season with back-to-back wins. Twenty-four hours after edging Council Rock South in their conference finale, the Redskins earned their most impressive win of the season over neighboring rival Holy Ghost Prep.
“It was a great game,” coach John Mason said. “I’m not sure when the last time we have beaten them, especially at their place.
“Going into their place on Senior Night – I believe they’re a 16-win team right now and we have four coming off the win over Council Rock South last night. We actually lost a heartbreaker to Truman on our Senior Night at home – they hit a three at the buzzer.
“I just expressed to the seniors – ‘You have one more chance, you know how it felt on your Senior Night, so get some sort of redemption and end the season on a high note.’”
Mason credited seniors Shammond Thomas, Matt McGinty and Francis Robles for delivering in a big way when it mattered most.
“When we needed big plays, they stepped up,” the Redskins’ coach said. “Whether it was a steal or a rebound or one of the intangibles, they never backed down from the challenge.
“Obviously, we had nothing really to play for other than our pride, and (the seniors) led us to our last couple of victories.”
The Redskins set the tone early, opening up a 13-6 lead after one quarter and taking a 27-23 advantage into halftime.
“The biggest thing I was telling the kids was – push the ball in transition, don’t let them get set up in their halfcourt defense,” Mason said. “Defensively, we wanted to stick to what we did and have them adjust to ours, and I think that worked.
“We sat in our little zone and got them out of rhythm and got them playing how we wanted them to play.”
Neshaminy led by three heading into the final quarter, 40-37, and still led by two with a minute to play, but the Firebirds came back to knot the score. The Redskins’ shot for the win fell short as did a desperation shot by the Firebirds.
In OT, Charles Dominic delivered the play that proved to be the game winner.
“Charles drove baseline and gets an and-one,” Mason said. “He makes the foul shot, and we got up three.
“They advanced the ball, called a timeout right over halfcourt, missed a three and got the offensive rebound. Shammond Thomas blocked the second attempt at a three, and we just escaped with the win.”
Not a bad way to end a season that included its share of turmoil.
“I’m so proud of them – they gave all they had,” Mason said. “I believe coach (Tony) Chapman just got his 800th win, and I just got my fourth. My dad (Skip Mason) coached a long time at Bristol, after the game, he said, ‘You did something I could never do’ because he could never beat coach Chapman. It’s just funny how it worked out.”
Thomas led the Redskins with 16 points, and McGinty added 12 points. Anthony Papeo had 11 points, and Zach Treadway had nine. Dominic finished with six, and a Redskin team that had nothing to play for down the stretch played as if the stakes were hit.
“I can’t even put into words how much that means,” Mason said. “Even when we played North and it was a 20-point game, they still battled until the very last second.
“There was never a sense of giving up. I’m so proud of them.”
Neshaminy closed out conference play with a 3-11 record. The ‘Skins were 5-16 overall.
Neshaminy 13-14-13-14-9 63
Holy Ghost Prep 6-17-14-17-6 60
Neshaminy: Shammond Thomas, Matt McGinty 12, Francis Robles 4, Anthony Papeo 11, Zach Tredway 9, Pat Campbell 3, Eric Rotteveel 2, Charles Dominic 6.
Holy Ghost Prep: Mike McFadden 7, Jog Calvin, Julian Turner 7, Jimmie Armentani 3, Ryan Wade 2, Jack Coolahan 21, John McCrane 10, Aidan Bauer 6.
Girls
NORRISTOWN 51, CHELTENHAM 32
The Eagles earned a share of third place in the conference standings with Cheltenham, thanks to Friday’s convincing win. Both teams have identical 9-5 records in conference play.
Sparked by five points from Lauren Fortescue and four from Precious Milan, the visiting Eagles raced to a 16-9 lead after one quarter. They added 17 more points in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 33-20 lead. Fortescue scored 11 points in the half, which included three three-pointers. The Eagles outscored the Lady Panthers 18-12 in the second half. Beyonce Collins scored seven points in the fourth quarter to lead the Eagles.
Lauren Fortescue finished with a game high 14 points while Collins had 13 and Patti Fortescue contributed 11. Milan added seven points.
The Lady Panthers were led by the 11-point effort of sophomore Savannah Roberts. D’ajah Bouchereau added 10 points and Gabbi Wright had six points.
Norristown closed out the regular season with a 14-7 record while Cheltenham is 15-7.
Norristown 16-17-8-10 51
Cheltenham 9-11-4-8 32
Norristown: Beyonce Collins 13, Patti Fortescue 11, Devon Morse 4, Lauren Fortescue 14, Precious Milan 7, Taijah James 2.
Cheltenham: Savannah Roberts 11, D’ajah Bouchereau 10, Danielle Brown 3, Gabrielle Wright 6, Nashira Brown 2.
PENNSBURY 46, HARRY S TRUMAN 36
The Falcons picked up their second win in as many days, opening up an early lead and never looking back.
Pennsbury led 13-5 after one quarter and took a 28-17 lead into halftime. Sydney Buell led the Falcons with 11 points in the opening half – which included three three-pointers – while Kate Mix added seven, including a pair of threes.
Buell finished with a team high 12 points while Mix added nine and Meredith Webber, eight. Niasia Boone had six points. Buell connected on 3-of-4 shots from beyond the arc in a contest that saw the Falcons bury six three-pointers.
“We shot the ball really well against Truman’s zone,” coach Keith Gabor said. “I have to give Truman credit. They are big, athletic girls.
“We had a 20-point lead and they battled back to get it to eight. They hurt us on the offensive glass. They played really hard and never gave up.”
For the Tigers, Alexis McCoy scored 12 points, Sabria Lytes had eight and Maylissa Clarke, seven points.
Pennsbury closed out conference play with a 4-10 mark while Truman was 1-13.
Harry S Truman 5-12-5-14 36
Pennsbury 13-15-11-7 46
Harry S Truman: Jayda Campbell 5, Roneisha James 1, Maylissa Clarke 7, Alexis McCoy 12, Sabria Lytes 8, Briana Cliney 3.
Pennsbury: Abby Wick 3, Missy Frankil 2, D. Cady 4, Niasia Boone 6, Mackenzie McGill 2, Meredith Webber 8, Kate Mix 9, Sydney Buell 12.
PENN WOOD 39, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 38
The Patriots lost a heartbreaker in Friday night’s regular season finale when a shot for the win fell just short as time expired.
The two teams were deadlocked at nine after one quarter, but Penn Wood outscored its visitors 17-10 in the second quarter to go into halftime with a 26-19 lead. The host Patriots took a 35-27 lead into the final quarter when East went on an 11-4 run and came up just short.
Kyra Scaliti led the Patriots with 11 points. No other player had more than five.
East held high-scoring Dahnye Redd to 13 points.
Central Bucks East (7-7 SOL) closed out its record season with a 12-10 record.
Central Bucks East 9-10-8-11 38
Penn Wood 9-17-9-4 39
Central Bucks East: Sophia Mancuso 4, Bridget Birkhead 5, Kyra Scaliti 11, Bailey McManus 3, Melanie Wetzel 4, Bri Talbot 4, Grace Stewart 5.
Penn Wood: Dahnye Redd 13, Hairston 8, Morton 8, Andrews 8, Gordon 2.
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