SOL PIAA Boys’ Basketball Preview (Opening Round)

Five SOL boys’ basketball teams will be in action when the PIAA Tournament begins this weekend. Jarrad Saffren recaps the games featuring SOL squads.

PIAA boys basketball state tournament preview: Five SOL teams face tough matchups

By Jarrad Saffren

Fourteen Suburban One League boys basketball teams entered the District One playoffs. Five made it through to states.

The three SOL champions—Abington (National), North Penn (Continental) and Plymouth Whitemarsh (American)—made the PIAA Class 6A Tournament. Cheltenham—the American’s second-place finisher—did as well.

Wissahickon—the American’s third-place finisher—reached the PIAA Class 5A Tournament.

The 6A tournament opens Saturday, March 11, and concludes with the state championship at the Giant Center in Hershey two weeks later.

The 5A tournament starts Friday, March 10 and ends with the state championship on March 24, also at the Giant Center.

Philadelphia-area teams have dominated PIAA boys basketball tournaments in recent years. But the last SOL team to win a state title was PW in 2010.

Abington has a very real chance to end that drought this year.

More on that below. More on all five matchups involving SOL teams.

Key: There are two numbers listed in front of each school name. The first number indicates the district that the school came out of. The second number indicates where that school finished in the district’s playoffs.

PIAA Class 6A Tournament

#1-1 Abington vs. #3-6 Central Dauphin East (Saturday, 4 p.m., at Bensalem High School)

Abington

• 24-4 overall

• 12-0 in SOL National play

• Won fifth straight SOL National title

• 4-0 in District One Class 6A playoffs

• Won second district title in three years

• Beat #1-2 Coatesville (57-51), #1-3 PW (70-66, 71-67), #1-5 North Penn (66-45), #1-7 Penn Wood (67-49), #1-8 Perkiomen Valley (51-47)

• Eric Dixon (18.7) and Robbie Heath (16.6) average 35.3 points combined

Central Dauphin East

• 16-10 overall

• 8-6 in Mid-Penn Commonwealth Conference play

• 2-2 in District Three Class 6A playoffs with wins over #11 Chambersburg (76-59) and #2 Governor Mifflin (68-65)

• Beat #6-1 State College (67-56)

#1-5 North Penn vs. #3-3 Reading (Saturday, 4 p.m., at Kutztown University)

North Penn

• 21-6 overall

• 11-1 in SOL Continental play

• Won SOL Continental title

• 3-1 in District One 6A playoffs

• Beat #1-6 Conestoga (64-53) and #1-8 Perkiomen Valley (64-46)

• Six players have led Knights in scoring at least once this season

• David Guiliani, Reece Udinski and Ricky Johns have done so the most

Reading

• 25-3 overall

• 10-0 in Berks County Conference I play

• Won third straight Berks County Conference I title

• Top seed entering the District Three 6A playoffs. Upset by #4 Harrisburg in the semifinals (61-58). Defeated #3 Lebanon 66-59 in third place game to finish 2-1 in District Three playoffs.

• Led by University of Miami recruit Lonnie Walker, a 6-4 shooting guard.

• Beat #4-1 Williamsport (65-55), #1-2 Coatesville (63-51), #3-5 Carlisle (58-49), #3-4 Lebanon (66-59)

#1-3 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. #3-4 Lebanon (Saturday, 4 p.m., at Upper Dublin High School)

Plymouth Whitemarsh

• 23-5 overall

• 14-0 in SOL American play

• Won fourth straight SOL American title

• 3-1 in District One 6A playoffs

• Beat #1-2 Coatesville (52-45), #1-4 Cheltenham (74-59, 56-51, 68-60), #1-6 Conestoga (44-29)

• Deep rotation includes eight players who play significant minutes

• Colonials are led by junior guard Ahmad Williams, sharpshooter Matt Walker and 7-0 center Naheem McLeod

Lebanon

• 21-7 overall

• 13-1 in Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1 Conference play

• Won third league title in four years (Won L-L Section 2 in 2014 and 2016)

• 1-2 in District Three 6A playoffs. Lebanon, the #3 seed, defeated #6 CD East 76-59 but then fell to #7 Hempfield (53-40) in the semifinals and lost to Reading (66-59) in the third place game.

• Beat #3-6 CD East (51-50)

#1-4 Cheltenham vs. #11-4 Emmaus (Saturday, 4 p.m., at Council Rock High School South)

Cheltenham

• 19-7 overall

• 11-3 in SOL American play

• 2-2 in District One 6A playoffs

• Beat #1-1 Abington (79-76) and #1-8 Perkiomen Valley (64-53)

• Panthers led by senior forward Trevonn Pitts, junior point guard Ahmad Bickley, junior guard Jack Clark and senior guard Tim Spencer

Emmaus

• 20-6 overall

• 9-1 in Eastern Pennsylvania Conference Skyline Division play

• Won EPC Skyline Division title