Check out the recaps for SOL boys/girls basketball teams in action Monday.
Boys
Non-league
PENNRIDGE 67, FAITH CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 54
The Rams snapped a three-game skid with a win over visiting Faith Christian in a non-league game Monday. They led 22-19 after a high-scoring first quarter and took a 40-35 lead into halftime. They added to their lead in the second half on their way to the important win.
With just three games remaining on their schedule, the Rams are 23rd in the latest rankings in what will be a 24-team field in the District 1 Tournament.
Key players: The Rams had four players in double figures, led by the 19-point effort of Ryan Schwind. Rownan Smith finished with 13 points while Xavier Peters and Ryan Flood each had 11.
Pennridge coach Dean Behrens: “It wasn’t one of the prettier games. We actually had a nice crowd tonight on a Monday night. Faith Christian is up the road, and I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people, which was good. There was a little bit of energy in the gym. We had a nice Teacher Appreciate Night.
“Faith Christian gave us all we could handle. They are a high-powered offense, and they score a lot of points. That’s been their mantra. I think our guys looked at their record and might have thought – we’re just going to go out and beat them, and that’s not the case. We gave up 19 points in the first quarter, and we were up 22-19. We were up by five at halftime, so it was a two-possession game for a while. Then we got it to 10, we got it to 12, and they would always hang around and cut it to seven.
“Give them credit. Their coaching staff had them ready to go, and their kids battled. We had a tough time with them. The kid Jagger Verbitt is a thousand-point scorer for a reason. He got to the basket a lot, but any missed shot he was rebounding and got to the foul line 13 times. He had a unique knack to offensive rebound. He was really prevalent on the offensive boards, and we had trouble handling that.”
–On the bubble: “We had to get back on the horse tonight. We just had lost three in a row, and we needed to stop the bleeding and then see what we can do over the next eight days. Tomorrow we’re playing at North Penn. We have three to go, and obviously, the playoffs are in the balance. We’re at the bottom end of this. We’re on the bubble. We can control things by winning. We’re going to have to beat North Penn, we’re going to have to beat CB South and then beat CB West, and that’s a tough task. It starts with tomorrow.
“We have to beat North Penn at North Penn. They’re coming off that big win by 19 over CB South. That was a great win for them. They’re probably excited about what’s going to happen tomorrow, but again, we do have an opportunity. If you had said to me at the beginning of the season – hey, with the last three games to go, you’re on the bubble for the playoffs, I would have said, ‘I’ll take that, I’ll take our chances with that.’ We’re going to see what we’re made of.”
Next up: Pennridge (10-9, 2-5 SOL) will be on the road at North Penn Tuesday.
Faith Christian 19-16-13-6 54
Pennridge 22-18-19-13 67
Faith Christian (54) – Paul Leisner 3 1-3 9; Garrett Grant 6 0-2 12; Micah Shank 1 0-0 3; Jagger Verbitt 8 10-13 26; Caleb Hughes 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 20 11-18 54.
Pennridge (67) – Rownan 6 1-2 14; Marley Steward 1 1-2 3; Xavier Peters 4 3-3 11; Jacob Bolger 2 0-0 4; Ryan Schwind 7 4-6 19; Connor Murray 0 2-2 2; Sam Crognale 1 0-0 3; Ryan Flood 4 3-4 11; TOTALS 25 14-19 67
3-point goals: FCA – Paul Leisner 2, Micah Shank; P – Rownan Smith, Ryan Schwind, Sam Crognale.
SPRINGFIELD TWP 54, MORRISVILLE 52
Morrisville opened up an 18-9 lead after one quarter, but the Spartans fought back, trimming that lead to 26-23 by halftime. The Bulldogs took a one-point lead into the final quarter when the Spartans outscored their visitors 12-9 to eke out the win.
Bob Hartman had a pair of 3-pointers in the quarter.
Key players: Bob Hartman and Aiden Hood both had 13 points to lead a balanced attack. Brandon Thompson and Chadrack Kiamba both had 11 points.
Springfield Twp coach Rob Fusaro: “We made a run in the second quarter, and then it got close again. They’re a tough team. They’re very much improved. He has a younger team that has gotten older. They’re tough kids, they play physical, they play hard. Skip (Mason) does a great job coaching them and building that program. You just have to withstand that and fight through it. I have a group that will do that.
“We missed a lot of layups, and we stuck through it. They were confident in their abilities, they fought through adversity. Adversity happens in life, and that’s what I told them at halftime – it’s how you respond, and this group responds a lot, and they do a really good job with it. It could be anybody, but as a group, they’ve done a really nice job throughout the whole season.
“Brandon Thompson had a couple of really nice drives and finishes. Aiden Hood hit a couple of big free throws. Bob Hartman hit two huge 3s (in the fourth quarter), and that put us in a good spot. Then we basically just finished out the game – got the ball in, got fouled and played some good defense. With .4 seconds, we just had to get the ball in. We got the ball in and then finished the game out.”
Up next: Springfield Twp (11-6, 4-3 SOL) will host William Tennent Tuesday.
Morrisville 18-8-17-9 52
Springfield Twp 9-14-19-12 54
Morrisville (52) – Izire Caraway 6 2-3 14; Alex Brown 5 2-6 12; Merik Johnson 5 0-0 14; Shakur Dismukes 2 0-0 5; Bari Santana 3 0-0 7; TOTALS 21 4-9 52.
Springfield Twp (54) – Brandon Thompson 5 0-0 11; Bob Hartman 5 0-2 13; Chadrack Kiamba 4 3-4 11; Aiden Hood 5 3-3 13; Will Cooney 1 0-0 2; Cahlin Spearman 2 0-2 4; TOTALS 22 6-11 54.
3-point goals: M -Merik Johnson 4, Shakur Dismukes, Bari Santana; S – Bob Hartman 3, Brandon Thompson.
HOLY GHOST PREP 66, LOWER MORELAND 42
Girls
SOUDERTON 31, UPPER MORELAND 23
In a non-league battle of two teams needng a win, it was the Indians eking out a victory that might have seemed improbable after an opening quarter that saw them score just two points – both on foul shots.
The Golden Bears – who led 5-2 after one quarter – suffered a major setback midway through the second quarter when they lost Mikel Lancit to an injury.
UM took a 17-11 lead into halftime but then scored just five points in the third quarter and one in the fourth, opening the door for the Indians’ comeback.
The win snapped a seven-game skid for the Indians.
Key stretch: The Indians trailed 22-19 heading into the final quarter when they outscored their hosts 12-1. Madison Bealer was 4-for-4 from the foul line, and Emily Dick was 2-for-2 from the line.
Key players: Madison Bealer’s eight points led a balanced attack. Emily Dick and Julia Purvy both had six.
For the Golden Bears, freshman Brogan Neely had seven points.
Souderton coach Lynn Carroll: “I’m very happy for our players. It’s been a while since we’ve won, and we’ve had to fight a little bit to stay the course and not get discouraged, but I loved our energy in the second half and the confidence we played with down the stretch.
“Unfortunately, Mikae Lancit went down with an injury halfway through the second quarter. She’s obviously such an important piece to their team. Brogan Neely, who we watched play really well in the JV game, came off the bench in the second quarter and scored seven points in about 90 seconds which put us down six going into the half. In the second half, we were able to pay a lot of attention to Marie Meyers and Lianna Adames since Mikel wasn’t on the court. Kiera (Fadden), Julia (Purvy) and Madison (Bealer) did a good job defending them.
“We’ve been struggling to hit shots over the last few weeks, and the more baskets we miss, the more baskets we miss. I need to find a way to take the pressure off of them a little bit offensively and help them play with more confidence.”
–The ending: “With about five minutes to go in the game, Liz (Word)pushed the ball up the court off of a defensive rebound and made a great pass to Olivia (Herron) who split two defenders and finished at the basket to put us up one. We finished out the game on an 8-1 run, which included going 6-for-6 from the line down the stretch between Emily (Dick) and Madison (Bealer).”
–Props: “We got good contributions from a lot of players, and the bench was very vocal from the start. It’s been nice to have Kiera (Fadden) back these last few games – her energy is contagious. Madison (Bealer), who was not playing at 100 percent tonight, has been so important for us defensively but has recently started to become more of a scoring threat which has been huge. Liz (Word) and Avie (Sackor) are being more aggressive on offense which helps to take the pressure off Julia (Purvy) and Emily (Dick). We’re getting steady guard play out of Liv (Herron) and Alaina (Picard), and Julia finished the game with a ton of intensity on defense and took care of the ball down the stretch.”
Upper Moreland coach Josh Adelman: “We were playing well. Went into half up 17-11. Brogan Neely, a sophomore, scored all seven of her points in the second quarter. The girls played hard and never quit. Lynn ran some really nice plays, and her girls hit some layups and foul shots to ice the game. It definitely wasn’t pretty, but both teams battled for 32 minutes tonight.”
Up next: Souderton (9-10, 1-6 SOL) will travel to Central Bucks East Tuesday, and Upper Moreland (7-11, 1-6) will be on the road at Cheltenham on Tuesday.
Souderton 2-9-8-12 31
Upper Moreland 5-12-5-1 23
Souderton (23) – Julia Purvy 2 1-2 6; Olivia Herron 1 0-0 2; Madison Bealer 2 4-4 8; Liz Word 0 2-2 2; Kiera Fadden 2 0-1 4; Avaie Sackor 0 1-2 1; Alaina Picard 1 0-0 2; Emily Dick 2 2-2 6; TOTALS 10 10-13 31.
Upper Moreland (23) – Lianna Adames 2 0-0 5; Mike Lancit 2 1-2 5; Marie Meyer 1 0-0 3; Charlie Clement 1 0-0 2; Hailey Kramer 0 1-2 1; Brogan Neely 3 0-0 7; TOTALS 9 2-4 23.
3-point goals: S – Julia Purvy; UM – Lianna Adames, Marie Meyer, Brogan Neely.
WISSAHICKON 39, HATBORO-HORSHAM 33
The Trojans took a 19-13 lead into halftime, and six points turned out to be their final margin of victory. Both teams scored 20 points in the second half.
Key stretch: The Trojans opened the game with a 13-6 first quarter that turned out to be the difference in the game. Maura Jacob’s five points highlighted a quarter that saw four Trojans put points on the board.
Key players: Julia Littieri led the Trojans with 11 points, Kai Potter had nine points, and Katelyn Thomson added six points and nine rebounds.
Hatboro-Horsham’s Madison Duggan led all scorers with 16 points -11 in the second half. Included in her 16 points were three 3-pointers.
Wissahickon coach Kathie Sims: “I was so proud of the girls tonight. They played hard, played smart, and, most importantly, played together as a team. Their communication on the court was outstanding, and they supported each other through every play.
“It was a true team effort that showcased their dedication and resilience. Watching them execute our game plan and lift each other up was incredibly rewarding. Moments like these highlight their growth as players and teammates.”
Hatboro-Horsham assistant coach Nicole Miletto: “Wissahickon came out aggressive tonight, and we looked like we weren’t ready to play. Lots of our shots were in and out, and we never got in a rhythm offensively. I believe we tied it or cut it to one in the fourth, but a technical foul stopped our momentum.”
–Props: “Gabby Fisher cleaned up on the boards tonight with 12 rebounds. Madison Duggan single handily kept us in the game. She was huge for us tonight hitting big shots in key moments. She led the scoring for us with 16. We get to play Wiss again next week and hopefully we can find that spark.”
Up next: Wissahickon (4-13, 1-6 SOL) will host Abington Tuesday, and Hatboro-Horsham (3-14, 1-5) will be on the road at Plymouth Whitemarsh Tuesday.
Hatboro-Horsham 6-7-13-7 33
Wissahickon 13-6-13-7 39
Hatboro-Horsham (33) – 3 1-3 7; Madison Duggan 5 3-4 16; Maddy Patel 1 0-0 2; Gabby Fisher 1 1-2 3; Cora Saxer 0 0-4 0; Madison Siegfried 1 0-0 3; Sarah Gleason 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 11 5-13 33.
Wissahickon (39) – Katelyn Thomson 1 4-8 6; Kai Potter 2 1-2 6; Julia Lettieri 3 5-7 11; Casey Burden 1 1-1 3; Ava Stout 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 12 14-22 39.
3-point goals: HH – Madison Duggan 3, Madison Siegfried; W – Maura Jacob.
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