By Scott Huff
The opening night for the 2009-2010 Suburban One League basketball season began – for the most part – with a new cast of characters.
With the exception of Plymouth Whitemarsh – and that is a huge exception – most programs are going to replace some key elements that made them successful in the 2008-2009 season. But that is the nature of scholastic basketball, and that is what high school basketball the exciting game that it has become.
Division One players such as Dalton Pepper (Pennsbury/West Virgina), Khalif Wyatt (Norristown/Temple), Will Barrett (CB South/Princeton) and Brett Roseboro (Quakertown/St. Bonaventure) are all gone – but not forgotten.
And this season will be a time for the new crop of players to seek both individual honors and team championships.
Suburban One League
National Conference
William Tennent (2-1, 0-1) opened its with a pair of non league victories, but opened its Suburban One League National Conference season with a 56-39 loss to Bensalem.
The Panthers may be developing the next effective ‘big’ man in 6-foot, 4-inch sophomore Jack Rauchut. Rauchut led Tennent in scoring in wins over both Pennridge (18 points) and MaST Charter (14).
“Jack played varsity as a freshman and has set some high goals for himself,” said William Tennent head coach Rob Mulville. “He has played against guys like Will Barrett and Dalton Pepper, and he has seen where they have gotten in their careers.
“He has a great attitude – a real gym rat,” added Mulville. “Jack is very athletic – very quick – and can score from inside or knock down the three (pointer).
“He gets us some favorable matchups,” continued Mulville. “He will most likely lead our team in both scoring and rebounding.”
Rauchut has his hands full against Bensalem, and Chris Weise picked up the scoring load with 13 points. The Owls outscored the Panthers 22-1 in the second period.
“People better not forget about how good Bensalem is,” said Mulville. “Pennsbury, Council Rock North, and Neshaminy all have good teams – but Bensalem can play right with them. They had a lot of weapons.”
Bensalem (2-0, 1-0) remained unbeaten for the season with the 56-39 SOL National Conference win over William Tennent. The Owls have a huge game on Tuesday against Pennsbury to prove that they belong with the elite in the conference.
Bensalem was led to the victory over the Panthers behind the scoring of Ian Flores with 18 points and Nick Christian with 15 points.
Pennsbury (3-0, 1-0) opened its SOL National Conference season with a thrilling 47-44 overtime win over Council Rock North. Zak Kumor led the Falcons with 13 points, while Kieran Bolger added 11 points.
Pennsbury also defeated Hatboro-Horsham in a non league tilt – 58-31. Dante Devine led the Falcons with 12 points – in all, nine players scored for the winners.
Neshaminy (3-1, 1-0) began its SOL National Conference season with a 51-31 win over Abington. Ryan Arcidiacono led the Skins with a brilliant 25-point outing, while Mike McGarry and Steve Warhola each chipped in with 12 point each.
The Redskins also bested Quakertown – 68-53 – in a non league contest. McGarry led the Skins with 25 points, while Arcidiacono added 15 and Tyler Katz posted 14 points.
Truman (2-2. 1-0) began the 2009-2010 SOL National Conference season with a 53-47 victory over Council Rock South. It was the lone game of the week for the Tigers.
Merdic Green scored 11 points to lead Truman over Rock South, while Quincy Palmer also scored in double figures with 10 points.
Council Rock North (2-1, 0-1) lost its only game of the week when the Indians dropped a 47-44 overtime game to Pennsbury. It was the SOL National Conference opener for both teams.
Rock North – which had a nine point lead with only four minutes left in the game – was led in scoring by Charlie Anatasi with 13 points. John Raymon also scored in twin digits for the Indians with 12 points.
Council Rock South (2-2. 0-1) lost its SOL National Conference opener to Truman, 53-47. The Hawks had four players in double figures – Cody Nowlin (11), Andrew Haviland (10), Jake Clopton (10), and P.J. Gallo (10).
The Golden Hawks opened the week with a 50-41 non league victory over Upper Moreland. The game was tied after three periods, but Nowlin scored nine of his game-high 23 points in the fourth period.
Abington (1-2, 0-1) began its 2009-2010 SOL National Conference season with a 51-31 loss to Neshaminy. Jaymes Miller was the lone Ghost in double figures with 10 points.
Suburban One League
Continental Conference
Hatboro-Horsham (1-3, 0-1) is patiently (?) waiting for the arrival of 6-foot, 5-inch senior Connor Poston’s return to the Hatter lineup.
Where have you gone Connor Poston?
Poston broke his wrist playing football for the Hatboro-Horsham football team this fall, and the talented Hatter will most likely return sometime after the holiday break.
“Connor has been running with us, but playing and running are two different things,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Dennis Steinly. “He broke his shooting wrist, and we’re just going to have to be patient.
“I am disappointed with our record, but not the effort,” added Steinly. “We are going to have to have people step up and make plays for us.”
Souderton rushed out to a 14-5 first period lead against the Hatters in the SOL Continental Conference game for both teams. But Hatboro-Horsham rallied back to trail by just 29-25 at the close of the half.
“Souderton is an excellent basketball team, and I thought we showed a lot of character coming back in the second quarter,” said Steinly. “But we have to play all 32 minutes.”
Souderton took control in the second half and cruised to a 67-48 victory. Mike Marvin led the Hatters with 23 points and 16 rebounds against the Big Red.
“We are a better team than our record indicates,” said Steinly. “And when Connor comes back, we should be even better.”
Souderton (4-0, 1-0) continued its unbeaten run through the 2009-2010 season with a trio of wins last week.
The Big Red bested Hatboro-Horsham (67-48) in the conference opener, and also defeated Cheltenham (63-48) and Christopher Dock (51-39) in non league contests.
Souderton senior point guard A.J. Picard was the leading scorer for the Indians in all three wins. Picard scored 20 against the Hatters, 19 against the Panthers, and 16 against the Pioneers.
Central Bucks West (2-1, 1-0) opened its SOL Continental Conference schedule with a 57-51 win over visiting Pennridge. Three players scored in double figures for the Bucks – Ryan Dyer (16), Derrick Dyer (11) and Patrick Furst (11).
Central Bucks East (1-1, 1-0) split its first two games of the season. The Patriots lost a non league contest to Wissahickon, 57-53, but followed with a SOL Continental Conference victory over North Penn, 41-39.
Senior guard David Kiersnowki had a sensational week for the Pats. He scored the game winning free throws against North Penn with 10 seconds left, and he dazzled the crowd with a 27-point effort in the loss to Wissahickon.
Quakertown (3-1, 1-0) began its SOL Continental Conference season with a 64-61 victory over Central Bucks South. The Panthers lost a non league game to Neshaminy, 68-53, earlier in the week.
The Panthers were led to the win against South with balanced scoring. Kenny Gula – who scored 23 to lead the Panthers in the loss to Neshaminy – led the Black Cats with 18 points. Dalton Nice added 16 markers, while Rich Kivela chipped in with 13 points.
Central Bucks South (1-3, 0-1) won its first game of the season when the Titans defeated Father Judge, 47-43, in a non-league game. CB South thendropped its conference opener to Q-town, 64-61.
Mike Pincus (11) and Nick Joerger (10) led the Titans in scoring in the win over Judge, while Sean Kummer (17), Pincus (13), and Joerger led the team against Quakertown.
Pennridge (1-4, 0-1) has now lost 21 consecutive SOL Continental Conference games after the Rams played well – but lost to CB West, 57-51. Pennridge also lost last week to St. Pius (59-53) and William Tennent (56-38).
Rocky Ferrier led the Rams in scoring with 14 points against West – Mike Guldin scored 18 in the game with Pius – and Kyle Peters led the team with 18 points against Tennent.
North Penn (1-2, 0-1) opened its SOL Continental Conference season with a tough 41-39 setback against visiting Central Bucks East.
Twin digit scorers for the Knights were Matthew Possanza – who scored a team-high 16 points – and Wes Brooks who tallied 13 points.
Suburban One League
American Conference
Cheltenham (2-2, 1-0) had a showdown SOL American Conference game with Upper Dublin last week – and the top gun slingers in the contest were Rob Mansel for the Panthers and Jamil Brown for the Flying Cardinals.
“Jamil Brown is a great high school basketball player,” said Cheltenham head coach Brian Johnson as his Panthers defeated UD, 68-54 “He can really fill it up. We had to find a way to limit his scoring.”
Brown – who would score a team-high 23 points – scored 16 points in the first half – a half that saw the Cardinals holding a 33-32 lead. The game was 48-46 going into the fourth period.
“Anthony Johnson did a tremendous job in the second half guarding Brown,” said Johnson. “Anthony is about 6-foot, 2-inches – but he is long and wiry. He had a lot of help, but he handled the challenge well.”
And Mansel?
The Cheltenham senior scored a game-high 30 points – much to the surprise of his head coach.
“Rob moved to point guard, and when the game was over I was surprised at the number of points that he scored,” said Johnson. “He played within the framework of our offense, and he was able to score from both inside and out.
“The key to us in the fourth quarter was the way we rebounded and played defense,” added Johnson. “If we can run and play well in transition – be able to shoot free throws – we can win some games.”
Upper Dublin (1-2, 0-1) only played one game last week – the 68-54 SOL American Conference loss to Cheltenham. The only scorer in double figures for the Flying Cardinals was Jamil Brown with 23 points. Upper Dublin led at the half, but was outscored by the Panthers 20-8 in the final period.
Wissahickon (4-0, 1-0) remained unbeaten for the season with a pair of victories last week. The Trojans won their SOL American Conference opener against Springfield, 52-28. Wissy claimed a non league win over Central Bucks East, 57-53.
Jack O’Neill (19) and Tom Sweeney (11) paced the Wissahickon attack in the win over Springfield, while Sweeney (15), O’Neill (14), and Gio Akins (10) scored in double figures in the win over East.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-0, 2-0) captured a pair of lopsided SOL American Conference wins last week against Upper Moreland (81-37) and Upper Merion (93-25).
The Colonial big men – 6-10 C.J. Aiken and 6-7 Jaylen Bond took the scoring honros. Bond had 29 points against Upper Moreland and 22 against the Vikings. Aiken scored 19 against the Bears and 14 versus Upper Merion.
Norristown (3-0, 1-0) remained unbeaten with a 71-43 SOL American Conference victory over Upper Moreland last week. The Eagles Saturday Night game with Coatesville was postponed.
Norristown had three players score in double figures against the Golden Bears. Chris Davis and Jahquil Hargrove led the Birds with 18 points each, while Tyreese White added 14 markers.
Upper Merion (1-3, 0-1) had a pair of losses last week – a non league game with Academy Park (77-54) – and a SOL American Conference game with Plymouth Whitemarsh (93-25).
The Vikings had three players score in double digits in the loss to Academy Park. Robbie Griffith scored 20, while Francis Rafferty (13) and Patrick Belford also scored in twin digits.
Springfield (1-3, 0-1) split a pair of games last week with a non league win over Lower Moreland, 42-41, and a SOL American Conference loss to Wissahickon, 52-28.
Chris Crudele led the Spartans in the win over Lower Moreland with 13 points, while Nick Barraclough added nine points. In the loss to Wissy, Malcom Hill scored a team-high eight points.
Upper Moreland (0-4, 0-2) is still in search of its first win and lost three games last week. The Golden Bears dropped a non league game to Council Rock South (50-41) – and followed with SOL American Conference losses to Norristown (71-43) and Plymouth Whitemarsh (81-37).
Ben Pflaumer scored 20 points in the loss to Norristown, while Phil Morris scored 11 points in the loss to Rock South. Morris and Ryan Burnick shared scoring honors in the loss to PW with eight points each.
SuburbanOneSports.Com
Super Seven
1. Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (4-0)
2. Pennsbury Falcons (3-0)
3. Norristown Eagles (3-0)
4. Souderton Indians (4-0)
5. Wissahickon Trojans (4-0)
6. Neshaminy Redskins (3-1)
7. Council Rock North Indians (2-1)
7. + Bensalem Owls (2-0)
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