Scott Huff recaps Friday night's action as the 2011-12 season got underway.
By Scott Huff
The varsity debut of Central Bucks South junior Brennan Rudnick will be a memorable one.
Rudnick ended up with the basketball in his hands in the final seconds with his Titans down 50-49 and fired home the game winner from beyond the three-point arc to give South (1-0) a breathtaking 52-49 win over Pottstown (0-1) in the first game of the SOL-PAC 10 Challenge Tournament played at Central Bucks West. The Titans will conclude the tournament with an away contest at Spring-Ford Saturday night.
“The game actually got a little blurry there at the end,” said Central Bucks South head coach Jason Campbell. “We came up with the loose ball, and Brennan was able to come up with it and get himself into a position to get a shot off at the buzzer. It was a great way for the season to start.
“We only have three seniors on the team, and we gained a lot of confidence with the win,” added Campbell. “It was a real emotional game for us, and we were able to stay mentally strong throughout.”
Rudnick shared scoring honors with senior Dave Knox with 12 points each.
“Dave has been bothered with ankle sprains, and we wanted to ease him into some playing time,” said Campbell. “But we ended up using him more than we really wanted to use him. He gave us a huge spark off the bench.”
CB South showed balance in its scoring as eight players reached the scorebook with points.
The Rest of the Story in the SOL Continental Conference
Pennridge (1-0) opened its Pennridge Memorial Tournament with a 58-31 victory over New-Hope Solebury (0-1). The Rams will play Methacton on Saturday in the tournament final. Seniors Tim Abruzzo and Andrew Lyons led the PHS offensive attack with 17 points each.
Quakertown (0-1) led 16-15 at the close of the first half, but the Panthers failed to seal the deal in a 44-31 loss to Pius X (1-0) in a game played at Notre Dame Green Pond. The Panthers were led in scoring by Jon Landis who scored a game-high 19 points. Corey Jorgensen added six points for the Black Cats.
Central Bucks West (1-0) opened its season a winner as the Bucks pulled away from Spring-Ford (0-1) in the fourth period to claim a 57-48 victory. CB West will play Pottstown tomorrow at Spring-Ford as part of the SOL-PAC 10 Challenge. Derek Dyer and Tyler Schechter each scored 17 points to pace the Buck offense, while Shane Kellar scored in double digits with 14 points.
Souderton (1-0) advanced to the tournament finals with a 55-40 victory over Ridley (0-1). The Big Red will face Council Rock South in the finals. Rock South defeated Academy Park 71-55 to advance to the final.
Colonials Rock The Rim
Plymouth Whitemarsh (1-0) may not have the D-1 talent on the floor of the recent past, but the Colonials were impressive in their season opener with a 67-38 victory over Dobbins (0-1).
“It was a great night for Jake Silvers on the court, and he was also accepted today at the University of Pennsylvania,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio. “Jake took two offensive charges at the beginning of the game, and that set the tempo of the game.
“We ran a lot of different things tonight, and that was good to see,” added Donofrio. “We ran some good sets for Anthony McKie, and he is going to be a very good high school scorer. He reminds me of Whis Grant that played here recently.”
McKie scored a game-high 23 points that included four 3-point field goals. Silvers was the other double figure scorer for the Colonials with 11 points.
“We get Boys Latin in the tournament final,” said Donofrio. “We are going to get a much bigger test against them.”
The Rest of the Story in the SOL American Conference
Cheltenham (1-0) opened its season with an impressive 62-27 victory over Central (0-1) in the opening round of the Panther Tip-Off Tournament. The Panthers will play Frankford for the title Saturday night. Nafis Walker led the Cheltenham scoring parade with 19 points. Toyon Wynder added 13 points for the Black Cats, while Aaron McGlawn scored in twin digits with 10 points.
Upper Moreland (1-0) earned an opening game victory as the Golden Bears clawed Springfield (Montco) – 70-65. Upper Moreland was led in scoring by Sean Valenza with 19 points, while Kevin McFall and Matt Kohn each scored 12 points for the Bears. Nick Corbett chipped in with nine points for the winners.
Wissahickon (0-1) led 22-14 at the close of the first period,but the Trojans scored just three points in the second period in a 54-51 loss to Archbishop Wood (1-0). Senior Jordan Reed led Wissahickon in scoring with a game-high 22 points, while Kyle Garrett scored in twin digits with 15 points. Chase Wilson ran the offense and scored eight points, while Tanoh Kpassagnon rounded out the scoring for the Trojans with six points.
Upper Merion (0-1) trailed by just 40-34 going into the final period, but the Vikings could not close the gap in a 55-42 loss to Holy Ghost Prep (1-0). Patrick Stringfield led Upper Merion in scoring with 11 points, while Austin Dalton and Justin Lewis each scored nine points for the Vikings.
Upper Dublin (0-1) had three players reach double digits, but the Flying Cardinals were gunned down by Perkiomen Valley (1-0) – 63-57. John DeCamara led UD in scoring with 17 points, while Bryion Turner (11) and Darrell Harrison (10) also scored in double figures for the Cardinals.
Abington Scares Up Victory
Abington (1-0) jumped out to a 10-0 lead and made it stand up as the Ghosts defeated West Chester Henderson (0-1) – 66-53.
“We are going to have to be a team that pressures other teams into making mistakes,” said Abington head coach Charles Grasty. “We have a team full of 6-2 guards and Chris Ruhl. We are going to have to ‘ugly it up’ and be very scrappy. We played very well early in the game and got some turnovers and easy baskets. That is going to be how we play the game almost every night.”
Abington was led in scoring by Jordan Simmons with a game-high 20 points, while Anthony Durham followed close behind with 19 markers. The Ghosts will meet Archbishop Wood in the tournament final on Saturday.
The Rest of the Story in the SOL National Conference
Council Rock South (1-0) had four players score in twin digits as the Golden Hawks soared to a 71-55 victory over Academy Park (0-1). Rock South was led in scoring by Christian Crane who scored a game-high 21 points, while Zach Fitzgerald added 20 points for the Hawks. Nick Cocco scored 14 points for CRS, while Will Facenda scored 10 points and had seven assists for the winners.
Harry S Truman (1-0) opened its 2011 season with a win as the Tigers clawed Palmer (0-1) – 57-46. HST will play Holy Ghost Prep in its tournament final on Saturday. Daiquan Ashley led the Tigers with 16 points, while Merdic Green scored 15 points. Kenny Osborne chipped in with nine points for the winners.
Neshaminy (0-1) trailed powerful Boys Latin (1-0) by just 37-32 going into the final period, but the Redskins did not have the firepower to compete in a 57-40 loss. Neshaminy was led in scoring by Bobby Marterella with 12 points, while Tyler Katz (11) and Shaquel Vaughn (10) also scored in double figures. Maurice Watson – a Division One player headed to Boston University – led Boys Latin with a game-high 21 points.
Bensalem (0-1) led 19-10 at the close of the first half, but the Owls surrendered 28 points in the fourth period in a 50-44 loss to Archbishop Ryan (1-0). Leo Vincent and Julian Hyden each scored 12 points to lead the Bensalem scoring, while Dovante Newkirk scored in twin digits for the Owls with 10 markers.
William Tennent (0-1) was outscored 17-4 in the second period and dropped a 53-40 verdict to Harriton (1-0). Ryan Smith was the lone double figure scorer for the Panthers with a team-high 13 points. Jack Rauchut was held to seven points, and freshman Horace Spencer made his varsity debut and scored five points.
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