Check out the recaps for SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Tuesday. CR South/Wissahickon photos provided courtesy of John Gleeson. PW/Neshaminy photos courtesy of Greg Lindsay. Check back for galleries of both games. CLICK HERE to view Suburban One Sports' BOYS' BASKETBALL GALLERIES.
Non-league
Council Rock South 48, Wissahickon 45
CR South played solid defense and then held on late to get past visiting Wissahickon in a back-and-forth nonleague game on Friday night.
MJ Thompson made one free throw with three seconds remaining to make it a three-point game, and the Trojans weren’t able to get a tying ‘3’ to fall in the waning seconds.
Key players: For CR South, Ryan Haglund (13 points, 4 assists), Ryan Delp (12 points, 7 rebounds).
For Wissahickon, Nico Vacchiano (16 points), Mason Stelzer (12 points).
CR South coach Andrew Rogers on the win: “It was pretty close throughout. They were up 23-20 at the half, and we came out and scored 15 points in the third quarter and were up two at the start of the fourth. There was a little back and forth, and we took the lead with five minutes left. Then, we were stuck on 47 for a bit. It was 47-41, we had a couple opportunities, just missed some shots. There are a few things we have to do a little better job with, we had some turnovers, but credit to them for making us work.
“Wissahickon is a really good team. We came in and talked about locking down on defense. (Nico) Vacchiano is a heck of a player. We had to stop him with team defense. We had to be ready. They’re coming off a big win, and they’re very well-coached. We went over as many sets as we could, but they had a counter punch to what you’re doing.”
–Props: “We got good minutes from everybody. We played nine guys tonight. Ryan Haglund had a good game, Ryan Delp had seven rebounds. MJ Thompson played tough defense, down the stretch we had him on (Vacchiano).
“We got good minutes from everybody. Each night it could be a different guy for us.
Guys are stepping up to the challenge. We’re only as good as all of our parts. A lot of guys are doing good things.”
Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson: “We had our four-game win streak snapped in a tough loss at Council Rock South. It was a very competitive back-and-forth game the entire evening, and the Hawks got a few threes to fall late in the game, and they made a few more plays than the us, and that was the difference.”
Next up: Council Rock South (7-6, 2-3 SOL) will be on the road at Lower Moreland for a non-league game Friday, and Wissahickon (6-7, 2-3) will travel to Central Bucks West for a non-league game Friday.
Wissahickon (45) - Mason Stelzer 12, Michael Maltin 6, Chris Lee 3, Owen Haughey 2, Nico Vacchiano 16, Ben Schwartz 4, Delmar Tallaferro 2.
CR South (48) - MJ Thompson 8; Ryan Wekluk 2, Ryan Delp 12, Ray Haglund 13, Joey Madara 3, Patrick Malone 3, Adam Elabed 6.
Wissahickon 11 12 11 12 - 45
CR South 5 15 15 13 - 48
3-point goals: W-Stelzer 2, Lee; CRS-Thompson, Delp 2, Haglund 3, Malone
Abington 54, Pennsbury 48
After falling behind 18-4 after one quarter, Abington turned it up a notch, got back into it in the second quarter and then was able to pull out Tuesday’s nonleague road game in the second half.
"We had another super slow start,” said Galloping Ghosts coach Dan Marsh. “It was 18-4 after the first quarter. I said, 'Here we go again. Guys, we have got to dictate pace, we've got to up it.'
“Fortunately, we were able to do that, and we outscored them 20-6 in the second quarter and got right back in it.”
Key Players: For Abington, Xavier Grasty (17 points), Paul Glants (11 points).
For Pennsbury, Mike Roccograndi (11 points), Pat Jajua (11 points).
Abington coach Dan Marsh said about the win: "At some point during the third period, we were able to take the lead and we were able to hold on. It was never easy. It was contested the whole way. We're learning by fire. I told them after the game, 'It's Jan. 14, and we have a lot to fix before February. Congrats on the win, but we'll be back in the gym tomorrow. We've got to finish games better.'
"Again, we missed some free throws down the stretch and gave them some opportunities, but we persevered. We're having fun, but we're not making it easy, that's for sure."
--Props: "Xander (Grasty) had a great game, and Paul (Glants) had a great game. Paul has gotten big and strong, and we're using him in multiple ways. I think that they put a guard on him, and that's just a mismatch for Paul. We were able to exploit that. We drew up a couple things for him at halftime once we recognized that he had a mismatch. I always do Sour Patch Player of the game, and Paul was our Sour Patch Player of the Game today, so he gets the bag of Sour Patch."
Pennsbury coach Wes Emme on the loss: “Started up 18-4, lost some focus and allowed them to creep back into the game. Paul Glants made some heady senior plays that allowed (Abington) to settle in.
“Played as poor of a third quarter as I can remember and still entered the fourth quarter down one possession. Credit to Abington. They turned us over like a middle school game that period and made some difficult shots. In the fourth, we battled, but couldn’t get out of our own way enough to mount a run.”
Next up: Pennsbury (8-7, 4-1 SOL) will be on the road at Upper Dublin for a non-league game Friday, and Abington (10-4, 3-2) will travel to Souderton for a non-league game Friday.
Abington (54) - Kyler Pickron 3 1-2 7; Faizon Garland 4 0-2 9; Xavier Grasty 6 4-6 17; Jake Manigault 1 2-4 4; Zion Hospadales 1 1-2 3; Paul Glants 5 1-2 11. Totals 20 9-18 54.
Pennsbury (48) - Mike Roccograndi 3 2-2 11; Connor Tyrrel 2 0-0 4; Grayson Gozum 3 0-0 6; Owen Hawkes 2 0-0 4; Sean Breslin 3 0-0 8; Pat Jajua 3 3-3 11; Max Manga 1 2-2 4. Totals 17 7-7 48.
Abington 4 20 17 13 - 54
Pennsbury 18 10 10 10 - 48
3-point goals: A-Garland, Grasty; P-Roccograndi 3, Breslin 2, Jajua 2
Upper Moreland 38, Souderton 35
Coming off back-to-back losses against two good teams, Upper Moreland had another tall task Tuesday, going on the road for a matinee game against Souderton, another good team.
“Souderton is a very good team,” said UM coach Dan Heiland. “They have nine wins for a reason. The last two games, this game and Friday, were a really tough stretch against good, competitive teams. We consider ourselves one of those. We came up short Friday and Saturday (against Abington and CB South), but they were close losses.
“Today was a weird time. It’s never easy to travel and play at 3:30 in the afternoon. But that’s no excuse. Both teams have to play at that time. But we came ready to compete. We battled for 32 minutes and did enough to win the game.”
Key Players: For Upper Moreland, Colson Campbell (15 points).
For Souderton, Grady Kovach (14 points).
UM coach Dan Heiland on the win: “(Souderton is a) very talented team, with two very talented guards, and strong shooters around them. Our philosophy today was bend but don’t break. Limit their guards' scoring opportunities and make the guys around them beat us. They did at times, but we hung around long enough.”
–Down the Stretch: “I think we were down three and set up our defense to force them to take a tough shot, or a long ‘3’ or contested layup, and hope they missed. We get a turnover, came down the floor, got a bucket and we’re down one. Same mentality next time down the floor, trap and force them to get a shot up. We did a nice job. Eventually, they did get in the paint, but we got it back, got out in transition and Jadon Cybok hit a big shot - a floater in the paint to go up 36-35.
“After another stop on defense, Nate Best made 1 of 2 (from the foul line). They had 16 seconds on the clock, got a shot up, missed it, batted it back out to one of the guards and got a great look from the top of the key. It hit the rim, Larry Hughes grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made 1 of 2 from the line to make it a three-point game, and we ended up winning the game.”
Next up: Upper Moreland (12-4, 4-1 SOL) will host Pennsbury on Thursday in a non-league game, and Souderton (9-5, 4-1) will host Abington on Friday in a non-league game.
Upper Moreland (38) - Nate Best 0 2-5 2; Colson Campbell 7 0-0 15; Anthony Carson 1 2-3 4; Aidan Tuffy 1 0-0 2; Larry Hughes 2 1-2 5; Luke Roussel 1 0-0 2; Jadon Cybok 1 0-0 2; Cannon Campbell 1 4-4 6. Totals 14 9-14 38.
Souderton (35) - Chanse Salone 2 2-4 7; Trey Bui 2 1-2 5; Nolan Watkins 1 0-0 2; Nate Ruskie 3 1-2 7; Grady Kovach 7 0-0 14. Totals 15 4-8 35.
Upper Moreland 7 12 7 12 - 38
Souderton 5 13 11 6 - 35
3-point goals: UM-Colson Campbell; S-Salone
Upper Dublin 67, Bensalem 39
A late 3-pointer made it a nine-point game at halftime, and Upper Dublin rolled from there on the way to the 28-point win over visiting Bensalem on Tuesday night.
The Flying Cardinals outscored the Owls 28-6 in a third quarter that saw seven different players score and the team go 8-for-10 from the free throw line.
Key Players: For UD, Ryan Mulroy (18 points), Justin Ragsdale (11 points), Horace Jackson (11 points).
For Bensalem, Amir Drummond (15 points).
Upper Dublin coach Derek Brooks on the win: “It was a closer game in the first half. It was a six-point game, and we hit a ‘3’ at the buzzer to get it to nine at halftime. I thought we were playing hard, but we weren’t playing as hard as we could, and Bensalem was capitalizing on it.
“In the second half, we really ramped it up, picked up our intensity and pressure and won the third quarter 24-8. We wanted to challenge the boys a little bit to get going and they responded very well in the second half.”
–Props: “It was a pretty balanced team effort. All eight guys in the rotation got in the scoring column. I thought Kobe Bazemore and Reilly McLaughlin did a great job guarding Drummond. He scored 15, but I thought they did a great job defensively making him work.
“Ryan Mulroy had 20 points. He does it with great effort and intensity. He makes all the hustle plays. Justin Ragsdale didn’t force anything, had a few nice blocks and did a good job around the basket. Brandon Altman and Horace Jackson, in multiple games now, played great off the bench.”
Bensalem coach Ron Morris about the loss: "We knew it was going to be an uphill battle playing against Upper Dublin, one of the best teams in the state. They have so much firepower. Their kid (Ryan) Mulroy is a really good basketball player. He's relentless. His motor doesn't stop. He's a very respectful kid too.
"We kind of keyed in on some of their guys, and other guys stepped up and hit some shots. Mulroy is going to get his. I thought we did a real good job on (Idris) Rines, holding him to three points. Aidan Mayfield was really physical with him. It's just a testament to their team - other guys just kept stepping up.
"They had the sophomore big guys they can interchange. They have other bigs that come in, and (Kobe) Bazemore is a really good crafty guard. Then they have role players that come in and play relentless defense. They're a good team, well coached. Coach (Derek) Brooks does a good job with that group.
"But I’m proud of our guys. We battled. We were right there in the first half. We gave up a 3 as we went into intermission, and that swung some momentum a little bit. Me, as the coach, have to do a better job of being ready in the third quarter. The third quarter really hurt us tonight.
"Christian Lee was able to hit some shots tonight, which was good to see his confidence growing. Amir (Drummond) offensively did well. We continued to battle. Jahmir Chatman continues to do all the little things. It was a tough one, but they're a really good team. We have to get ready for William Tennent on Friday."
Next up: Upper Dublin (15-1, 5-0 SOL) will travel to North Penn for a non-league game Thursday, and Bensalem (8-6, 4-1) will be on the road at William Tennent Friday for a non-league game.
Bensalem (39) - Jahmir Chatman 8, Aiden Mayfield 1, Christian Lee 6, Amir Drummond 15, Dymaire Johnson 2, Chris Kelly 2, Jayden Mathew 3, Trae McCoy 2.
Upper Dublin (67) - Kobe Bazemore 5, Ryan Mulroy 20, Idris Rins 3, Justin Ragsdale 11, Reilly McLaughlin 4, James Castronuovo 3, Brandon Altman 9, Horace Jackson 11, Kevin MacNeal 3.
Bensalem 9 11 8 9 - 39
Upper Dublin 14 15 24 14 - 67
3-point goals: B-Lee 2, Drummond, Matthew; UD-Bazemore, Ragsdale, Altman, Jackson, MacNeal
Cheltenham 56, Central Bucks East 51
After a slow start, Cheltenham had a big second half to propel the Panthers to a huge road win at CB East on Tuesday night.
The Panthers went from down 13-10 after one to up 27-22 at the half and 43-33 after three quarters.
Key Players: For Cheltenham, Justin Ezeukwu (19 points), Osei Johnson (12 points).
For CB East, Nolan Behm (18 points), Shane O’Hara-Jamison (10 points).
Cheltenham coach Patrick Fleury on the game: "CB East is always a great place to play, a great atmosphere. Our guys stuck together. Throughout the runs, they were able to settle themselves and support one another.
"Defensively, I thought we were more unified, so that led to being able to withstand runs and also create runs of our own.
"Our biggest thing was bouncing back from last Friday and just continue to get better and push forward towards February."
--Props: "Justin (Ezeukwu) led us in scoring, Osei (Johnson) was in double figures. We had a lot of guys that were around eight or nine, which is important for us because it shows that we're sharing (the ball).
"Chris Harmon did a very good job defensively and offensively throughout the game. He was steady, consistent, and put together stretches of positive possessions on both sides of the court."
Next up: Cheltenham (9-3, 5-0 SOL) will host Neshaminy Friday for a non-league game, and Central Bucks East (11-4, 2-3) will be on the road at Neshaminy Wednesday for a non-league game.
Cheltenham (56) - Osei Johnson 12, Kamal Mason 9, Tyree Martin 4, Chris Harmon 6, Salim Kelly 4, Kendall Jackson 3, Justin Ezeukwu 18
CB East (51) - Nolan Behm 18, Shane O’Hara-Jamison 10, Graham Smith 3, Connor Mekanik 2, Quick Slack 7, Henry Bartchak 9, Brady Colbert 2
Cheltenham 10 17 16 13 - 56
CB East 13 9 11 18 - 51
3-point goals: C-Ezeukwu 3, Harmon 2, Johnson, Mason; CBE-O’Hara-Jamison 2, Bartchak, Smith
Central Bucks South 58, New Hope-Solebury 27
A quick start and nine 3-pointers were the difference Tuesday night as red-hot CB South won its 13th straight game.
The Titans outscored New Hope 17-3 after one and 36-15 at halftime.
Key Players: For CB South, Brett Barrett (16 points, 4 3-pointers).
For New Hope, Blake McCagg (11 points).
Next up: Central Bucks South (13-3, 5-0 SOL) will host Hatboro-Horsham in a non-league game Friday, and New Hope-Solebury (2-10, 0-5) will host Harry S Truman for a non-league game Friday.
New Hope (27) - Alex DeFeo 1 0-0 3; Blake McCagg 4 2-3 11; John Nettles 3 1-1 8; Rocco Massimino 1 0-0 3; Mitchell Lontchar 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 3-4 27.
CB South (58) - Cole DiEmidio 2 0-0 4; Alex Shahin 2 0-0 4; Brett Barrett 6 0-0 16; Nick Zakrzewski 1 0-0 3; Danny Gies 3 0-0 8; Connor Thompson 1 0-0 3; Ben Harrison 1 0-0 2; Davis VanZanten 2 0-0 5; Chase Ross 1 0-0 2; Kayode Adebayo 2 3-4 7; Leo Medwid 2 0-0 4. Totals 23 3-4 58.
New Hope 3 12 7 5 - 27
CB South 17 19 16 6 – 58
3-point goals: NHS-DeFeo, McCagg, Nettles, Massimino; CBS-Barrett 4, Gies 2, Zakrzewski, Thompson, VanZanten
Central Bucks West 66, Lower Moreland 38
CB West needed a win to snap a five-game losing streak, and it needed a game that it played well offensively and wasn’t a nail-biter as the Bucks have lost seven games by five points or fewer.
Tuesday, they took care of business against visiting Lower Moreland.
“We shot well,” said CB West coach Adam Sherman. “They’re a young team, we’re a young team. We actually started a freshman and a sophomore tonight. We only have one senior in the program. They’re very inexperienced and I’d like to think a lot of our close games are related to lack of experience.”
The Bucks connected on 13 shots from beyond the arc.
Key Players: For CB West, Dan Pellegrini (10 points), Roman Kulesa (9 points), Max Milillo (9 points).
For LM, Zach Kendall (11 points).
CB West coach Adam Sherman on his team: “This is a true varsity experience. It’s different from summer league experience, different from AAU experience, different from practice experience. Kids have got to get used to that and adapt. They play a ton of AAU, but nobody is game-planning in AAU, trying to stop you and what your team is doing.
“Varsity is a lot more of an intense atmosphere than summer leagues. It takes some maturity, and it takes time.”
--Props: “A lot of guys played well tonight. We had three freshmen score for us tonight. John Vrettos started and gave us really good minutes. Harry Meyers did a nice job, hit a couple of 3s and was good on both ends of the floor. And Ben Kondyra came in and gave us really good minutes. I’m excited to see our young guys come in and contribute.”
Next up: Central Bucks West (5-11, 0-5 SOL) will host Wissahickon on Friday in a non-league game, and Lower Moreland (2-11, 1-4) will host Council Rock South in a non-league contest Friday.
Lower Moreland (38) - Zachary Kendall 5 0-0 11; Andre Zoubroulis 1 2-3; Jonathan John 3 0-0 7; Thomas Maloney 2 3-4 7; Shawn Mertens 2 1-2 6; Thomas Vizcarrondo 1 0-0 3; Totals 14 6-9 38.
Central Bucks West (66) - Roman Kulesa 4 0-0 9; Max Milillo 3 0-0 9; Dan Pellegrini 4 0-0 10; Connor Chuo 2 0-0 5; Gavin Reichner 2 0-0 5; Harry Meyers 2 1-2 7; Carter Bass 2 0-0 5; Tyler Owen 1 0-0 2; John Vrettos 2 2-2 6; Ben Kondyra 3 0-0 8; Totals 25 3-4 66.
Lower Moreland. 12-8-4-14 38
Central Bucks West. 19-10-21-16 66
3-point goals: CBW - Max Milillo 3, Dan Pellegrini 2, Harry Meyers 2, Ben Kondyra 2, Carter Bass, Connor Chuo, Roman Kulesa, Gavin Reichner; LM - Zachary Kendall, Jonathan John, Shawn Martens, Thomas Vizcarrondo.
Council Rock North 52, Quakertown 46
CR North shot the ball well from 3-point range, with nine for the game, as the Indians were able to pull away from visiting Quakertown in the second half for the six-point nonleague win.
Key Players: For CR North, Josh Erman (12 points, 3 3-pointers), Jack Curry (9 points), Owen Crowne (9 points).
For Quakertown, Jameson Sykes (18 points), Aiden Burgy (12 points).
Next up: Quakertown (2-11, 0-5 SOL) will be on the road at Pennridge for a non-league game Friday, and Council Rock North (4-9, 2-3) will host La Academia Partnership Charter for a non-league game Thursday.
Quakertown (46) - Jameson Sykes 6 4-5 18; Sam Wilkin 2 1-2 7; Gavin Mushrush 3 0-0 6; Aiden Burgy 5 1-2 12; RJ Ficco 1 0-0 3; Jaxson Torres 0 1-2 1.
CR North (52) - Jack Curry 3 1-2 9; Josh Erman 4 1-2 12; Owen Crowne 3 1-2 9; Brandon Holmes 1 0-0 3; Danny Cuneo 2 0-0 5; Dylan Kiefer 2 1-2 5; Andrew O’Keefe 3 1-2 9; Billy McBride 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 5-10 52.
Quakertown 15 8 5 18 - 46
CR North 15 12 12 13 - 52
3-point goals: Q-Sykes 2, Wilkin, Burgy, Ficco, CRN-Erman 3, Curry 2, Crowne 2, Holmes, Cuneo
Hatboro-Horsham 51, Harry S Truman 38
A solid first half put Hatboro-Horsham up double figures and on the way to a solid non-league road win.
The Hatters led 15-7 after one and 30-16 at halftime.
Key Players: For H-H, Shane Phillips 15, Kenny Lutz 14 points, Jaden Thompson 13 points. For Truman, Tre Winton (13 points, 3 steals), Jaden Luchansky (8 points).
Hatboro-Horsham coach Bill Coleman on the win: “It was a good team effort tonight. Our shot selection was very good, which allowed us to set up our defense the way we wanted to.
“JT (Jaden Thompson) was very solid defensively tonight.”
Next up: Harry S Truman (5-9, 1-4 SOL) will be on the road at Morrisville for a non-league game Thursday, and Hatboro-Horsham (6-9, 1-4) will travel to Central Bucks South for a non-league game Friday.
Hatboro-Horsham (51) - Ryan Smith 2 0-0 5; Kenny Lutz 6 0-0 14; Jaden Thompson 5 0-1 13; Shane Phillips 6 0-0 15; Sean McCue 2 0-0 4; Totals 21 0-1 51.
Harry S Truman (38) - Tre Winton 5 0-0 13; Jaden Luchansky 2 2-2 8; Davae Vaughn 1 0-0 2; Juliun Rodgers 2 0-0 4; Dwayne McCoy 0 0-2 0; Salahuddin Roberts 1 2-2 4; Adul-Aziz Diallo 2 1-2 5; MJ Ellzy 1 0-0 2; Totals 14 5-8 38
Hatboro-Horsham. 15-15-9-12 51
Harry S Truman 7-9-9-13 38
3-point goals: HH - Jaden Thompson 3, Shane Phillips 3, Kenny Lutz 2, Ryan Smith; HST - Tre Winton 3, Jaden Luchansky 2.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 69, Neshaminy 63
In what was a close game throughout, Plymouth Whitemarsh – led by Mani Sajid’s 21 points - pulled away from Neshaminy in the fourth for the six-point road win on Tuesday.
"Tonight was about going on the road on a Tuesday night against an opponent you aren't very familiar with,” said PW coach Jim Donofrio. “You have no gripe with them. There's not an emotional angle, and you have to find a way to get an edge. You have to get energy from the start. That was the idea, and I think we're still trying to figure that part out, but it's a really important part to figure out. It's what higher level teams do that want to accomplish big things.”
Key Players: For PW, Mani Sajid (21 points), Michael Periera (13 points), Buddy Denard (11 points).
For Neshaminy, Logan Gale (17 points), Jason Leiva (14 points).
PW coach Jim Donofrio said about the win: "We have a resiliency to win a lot of these games even though I think we're going to have the whole year as a learning year. I have to stay patient with that. We made a lot of unforced errors.
"These guys are a little too gentlemanly still. Some nights we give our opponents a lot of gifts through our own unforced errors. We have to stop helping the opposition by sharpening up our focus every possession. We're getting there, but we have to start respecting the focus and intensity required literally every dribble.
"We still have so many moving parts and combinations to throw on the floor. We could use an 82-game season. I think we could figure it out. We're playing 10-11 guys. Old school - that's not a good thing. New school, that's a good thing. We have different gears, but that takes a long time to mesh.
"The challenge is we had eight games left in the regular season going into tonight. You try to give them that great team mentality, 'Do you have it in you to run the table?' That's the challenge.
“I rarely talk about wins or losses in games. You don't talk about winning. It's not a smart thing to do. You don't want to say, 'You must win tonight.' That's too much pressure. I do think this team does require giving them goals. 'Here's a goal you're worthy of having. How do you accomplish it?'
“We may or we may not, but anything we can do to figure out an edge for us. If we're predicted to be one of the better teams around, no one is going to come not prepared.
"Neshaminy had some guys play really well for them tonight. We can learn from all of these, but hopefully, we can learn with more Ws on our side."
Next up: Plymouth Whitemarsh (11-4 4-1 SOL) will be on the road at Central Bucks East for a non-league game Friday, and Neshaminy (6-8 2-3) will host Central Bucks East for a non-league game Wednesday.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (69) - Jack Hayes 2 3-4 7; Terron Davis 2 3-3 7; Eric Conicello 1 0-0 3; Mani Sajid 6 6-9 21; Michael Periera 6 1-5 13; Ehab Ahmed 1 0-0 2; Buddy Denard 4 0-0 11; Caleb Bridgeman 1 0-0 3; Micah Thompson 1 0-0 2; Totals 24 13-21 69.
Neshaminy (63) - Jason Leiva 6 0-1 14; Eriq Gold 3 0-0 9; Logan Gale 7 3-3 17; Marco Mazzoni 1 0-0 2; Cadenn Amati 3 0-0 6; Max Currie 5 0-0 10; Jason Gilardi 2 0-0 5; Totals 27 3-4 63.
Plymouth Whitemarsh 10-12-23-24 69
Neshaminy 12-9-22-20 63
3-point goals: PW - Mani Sajid 3, Buddy Denard 3, Eric Conicello, Caleb Bridgeman; N - Eriq Gold 3, Jason Leiva 2, Jason Gilardi.
North Penn 65, William Tennent 51
Trailing by two at halftime, North Penn took the game over in the second half and pulled away for the 15-point win over visiting William Tennent on Tuesday.
“This was definitely big for us,” said Knights coach Cordell Lord. “Even though we're at 6-10 right now, we still have an opportunity to get into playoffs. I had a lot of good conversations with a lot of the players, and I pretty much told them, 'It's now or never. We've got to play our best brand of basketball and put a complete game together for 32 minutes.'”
Key Players: For North Penn, Aiden Atkinson (19 points, 12 rebounds), Ahmaar Godhania (13 points), Lee Hammond (12 points).
For Tennent, Jay Bright (14 points), Luke Torok (11 points).
North Penn coach Cordell Lord on the win: "I felt like even though we struggled a little bit in the first half, we were still getting a lot of the looks that we wanted. I told them to come out the second half, stay poised, stay confident in the game plan, continue to do what we're doing, and we'll add a small adjustment. We came out very poised in the second half and executed extremely well."
--Props: "Aiden Atkinson had 19 points and 12 rebounds for us tonight. He was huge - he did a great job on offense and defense, commanding the paint, rebounding and just being extremely aggressive every time he got the basketball.
“We had collective scoring from multiple guys. I thought Ahmaar (Godhania) had a great game, Lee (Hammond) and Gabe (Altemus) also had great games. Nolan Foust also had a very strong game. He was very aggressive getting into the paint.”
--Bench spark: "He didn't score a lot of points - he only scored four points - but I want to give a special shoutout to David Onyeanusi. He came in off the bench for us tonight and was a really big spark. He was extremely aggressive, played solid defense and just had a great night overall, playing some really important minutes when he has not gotten too many opportunities to this point. He's a true character and the definition of staying ready and staying poised, when your number is called, and you step up to the table and do the things we're asking you to do.
"I tell them every day, it doesn't matter if you're number one on the team or you're number 15, you matter because on any given night your number could be called, and it's important that you're: 1. prepared just like everybody else, 2. you go out there and play hard, and 3. you try to make an impact. The impact doesn't always have to be scoring. It can be playmaking, it can be defense, it could be deflections. It could be a variety of things. I'm just extremely proud of David. I know he's had a tough year on the court and off the court, but he really showed up today. Our whole coaching staff and our players are extremely happy for him. We're going to use this as a growing point not only for the rest of the season but for next year as well."
--Looking ahead: "We play an extremely, extremely impressive and talented Upper Dublin. It's one of the hardest teams we'll play all year. Derek Brooks, Sean Brooks and the rest of the coaching staff - alums at North Penn. We're extremely excited to have them come back to their stomping grounds where they played once. They're an extremely well-coached and hard playing team. They execute extremely well. It's going to take a full 32 minutes of execution from us as a group. It doesn't matter who plays, 1 through 15 are going to be important, no matter what it is we're trying to do.
"Tomorrow is going to be an extremely important prep day for us, and we're going to make sure we're as prepared as possible to go against an Upper Dublin team that has multiple options they can go on any given night. We know it's going to be a really tough challenge, but we're looking forward to it. It's not playoffs yet, but every game's a playoff game for us right now. We have to go out and play with a lot of poise and execute."
Next up: North Penn (6-10, 2-3 SOL) will host Upper Dublin in a non-league game Thursday, and William Tennent (6-7, 3-2) will host Bensalem in a non-league game Friday.
William Tennent (51) - Tre Stracuzzi 4 0-0 9; Luke Torok 4 2-2 11; Ryan Bula 1 3-4 5; Jay Bright 6 2-2 14; Braden Goldberg 2 0-0 5; Tony Pople 3 0-0 7; Totals 20 7-8 51.
North Penn (65) - Ahmaar Godhania 4 3-5 13; Lee Hammond 3 5-6 12; Shane Ward 0 1-2 1; David Onyeanusi 2 0-0 4; Aiden Atkinson 6 7-8 19; Nolen Foust 2 1-2 5; Gabe Altemus 4 1-2 9; Wyatt Martin 1 0-0 2; Totals 22 18-25 65.
William Tennent. 14-13-14-10 - 51
North Penn 19-6-21-19 - 65
3-point goals: NP - Ahmaar Godhania 2, Lee Hammond; WT - Tre Stracuzzi, Luke torok, Braden Goldberg, Tony Pople
Pennridge 56, Springfield Twp 30
Dean Behrens wanted his team to start strong, and they did, scoring the first 10 points and never really looking back on the way to the 56-30 win.
“We shot the ball really well and they didn’t,” Behrens said. “I’m pleased with the way we played, the intensity they came out with. We were up 10-0 to start the game. I told them, let’s come out and make them call the first timeout and they did.”
Key Players: For Springfield, Bob Hartman (5 points), Chadrack Kiamba (6 points, 9 rebounds), Aiden Hood (6 points, 5 rebounds).
For Pennridge, Xavier Peters (13 points), Rownan Smith (11 points), Ryan Schwind (8 points).
Pennridge coach Dean Behrens about the game: “I felt Springfield couldn’t catch a break. Everything that could go wrong did. I’ve been on both sides of that. Obviously, Rob (Fusaro) has done a real good job with that team. I think they’re 7-6. I didn’t expect the game to go that way.”
–Props: “ I thought Marley Steward got us rolling in first half. He went to the basket hard, defensively, and he rebounded extremely well. I thought he propelled us. Obviously, Xavier is our point guard. He controlled the action, dished the ball, moved the ball well. Everybody got in the game, everyone got opportunities to play. It’s nice to reward the boys with that.”
Next up: Pennridge (8-6, 2-3 SOL) will host Quakertown in a non-league game Friday, and Springfield Twp (7-6, 2-3) will host Council Rock North for a non-league game Friday.
Springfield (30) - Bob Hartman 1 3-4 5; Ellison Frye 1 0-0 2; Chadrack Kiamba 3 0-0 6; Aiden Hood 3 0-0 6; Julian Ciasullo 2 1-2 6; Will McLaughlin 1 0-0 2; Gavin Cleary 0 3-4 3. Totals 11 7-10 30.
Pennridge (56) - Rownan Smith 5 0-0 11; Marley Steward 3 0-1 7; Cade Bachman 1 0-0 2; Xavier Peters 4 4-4 13; Jake Bolger 2 0-0 6; Ryan Schwind 2 4-4 8; Tim Croyle 1 0-0 2; Connor Murray 1 2-2 5; Ryan Flood 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 10-11 56.
Springfield 6 7 6 11 - 30
Pennridge 17 17 12 10 - 56
3-point goals: S-Ciasullo; P-Bolger 2, Smith, Steward, Peters, Murray
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