This week’s boys’ basketball notebook highlights Abington, Hatboro-Horsham and Plymouth Whitemarsh
By Scott Huff
Plymouth Whitemarsh had a miraculous turnaround in an 18-hour periodas the Colonials edged La Salle 52-51 Saturday afternoon in the Philadelphia Coaches vs. Cancer High School Classic played at Cheltenham High School.
“Against Wissahickon on Friday night, nothing felt right,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio in reference to his team’s 52-41 loss to the Trojans. “I thought that this could be a lost weekend for this team, but we were an entirely different team on Saturday afternoon. The short turnaround proved to be the best medicine we could take.”
The doctor in the house of the Colonials was 6-foot, 7-inch Jake Silvers who scored a game-high 19 points for PW.
“Jake played with a great amount of confidence, and we did a good job of just feeding the beast,” said Donofrio. “Jake has been banging with Jaylen (Bond – University of Texas) and C.J. (Aiken – St. Joseph University) the last few years in practice, and now it is finally his time.
“Jake missed eight weeks with an ankle sprain,” added Donofrio. “And when he came back, he was getting over the late stages of mono. He will continue to get better as he gets stronger.
“And once Anthony (McKie) gets a better idea of what we want done, we will continue to improve,” added Donofrio of his point guard who transferred to PW from Wissahickon this year and scored 18 points against La Salle. “It is going to take some time for everyone to figure out what we are all about. We have put in a lot so far, but we there is so much more that we have to do. If we can survive December with a decent record, we should have a good season.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials 12 14 11 15 - 52
La Salle Explorers 14 7 9 21 - 51
Star Watch
The ESPN-2 national basketball game on Saturday afternoon featured the University of Texas and Temple University in Austin, Texas. The Longhorns defeated the Owls 77-65 in a game that featured Norristown graduate Khalif Wyatt playing for Temple and Plymouth Whitemarsh grad Jaylen Bond playing for Texas.
Wyatt – a junior - played a polished floor game and scored a career-high 24 points for the Owls with two steals while playing 38 minutes. Bond – a freshman - was relentless on the offensive glass with 12 points and eight rebounds on 6 of 7 shooting from the field in his 22 minutes of playing time.
“(Temple head coach) Fran Dunphy told me that once Wyatt got his playing time, he would be one of the best scorers ever at Temple,” said Plymouth Whitemarsh head coach Jim Donofrio. “And looks like he could be right about that. It has been great watching him develop the last couple of years.
“And for Jaylen to go through what he had to go through at the end of last year, and to be able to contribute this year, is great for him,” added Donofrio as Bond opted out of his college commitment to Pitt. “To be able to play serious minutes as a freshman, for a major-major program like Texas, tells you a lot about his ability.”
Ghosts Hang On To Unbeaten Streak
Abington won its fourth consecutive game of the season as the Ghosts won a 46-45 non-conference nail biter against host Cheltenham on Saturday. It was the first loss of the season for the Panthers.
“Cheltenham is a good team, and they had a good look at a three at the buzzer,” said Abington head coach Charles Grasty. “It was one of those shots that you just say a prayer that it doesn’t go in.”
Nafis Walker led Cheltenham in scoring with 17 points, while Jarrell Haywood added 11 points. Abington featured a balanced offensive attack, as Chris Ruhl was the leading scorer for the Ghosts with 10 points.
“This is group that is young and really doesn’t know that we haven’t lost yet,” added Grasty. “They work very hard in practice and they want to be known as a good team. They like each other, and they trust each other. Right now we are enjoying the success.”
Tuesday night Abington (4-0, 1-0) will host perennial SOL National Conference champion Council Rock North (1-2, 0-1). The Indians have played an aggressive non-conference schedule that resulted in losses to both Constitution (62-53) and Boys Latin (67-57) and feature the talents of Arron Goodman and Aaron Morgan. CR North defeated William Tennent – 58-40 – in its SOL National Conference opener.
“We got a chance to see them against Boys Latin, and they are very good,” said Grasty. “The players are very excited to play against a program as good as Rock North.”
Abington Ghosts 11 6 15 14 - 46
Cheltenham Panthers 7 12 9 17 - 45
Hatters On Top of SOL Continental Conference
Hatboro-Horsham finds itself at top of the SOL Continental Conference as the Hatters won their conference opener against Quakertown – 65-55. Hatboro-Horsham lost its opening two games of the season to Lansdale Catholic and Upper Dublin.
“We didn’t play well in the first half of the LC game, but I thought we did a nice job in the second half,” said Hatboro-Horsham head coach Dennis Steinly. “And I thought we played well against Upper Dublin even though we lost the game. It could have gone either way. It was nice, though, to come up with the win against Quakertown.”
The Hatters are finally back at full strength after nagging injuries limited the playing time of Michael Brown. Brown – who has battled an ankle turn – was terrific against Quakertown with a game-high 25 points. Big things are expected this season of the 6-foot, 4-inch junior guard.
“Mike likes to take the ball to the basket,” said Steinly. “He has also worked very hard on his mid-range jumper and continues to improve.”
Ryan Kelly – a 6-3 inch junior – had a strong game from the perimeter with 20 points. Included in that scoring binge were four 3-point field goals. Zach Quattro – a 6-5 sophomore - scored 11 points, while Bobby Bruno – a 6-6 senior – added nine points in the win.
“This season is going to be a very competitive one in our conference,” said Steinly. “The team that plays the toughest defense and takes the best care of the ball is going to win the championship.”
Hatboro to Host ‘Coach O Classic’
Hatboro-Horsham will host its annual Coach O Classic on Friday, Dec. 23. At 6 p.m., Norristown will face Germantown Academy, and at 7:45, the Hatters will face Archbishop Carroll. All proceeds will benefit local families in crisis.
Weekend Warriors
Neshaminy (0-5) led at the close of the first half, but the Redskins failed to hold that lead in a 49-44 loss to Roman Catholic (2-0). Tyler Katz scored a game-high 17 points for the Skins, while Bobby Marterella scored in twin digits with 12 points. Neshaminy has lost to teams with a collective 18-2 record so far this season – Boys Latin (4-1), Dobbins (3-1), Holy Ghost Prep (5-0), Abington (4-0), and Roman Catholic (2-0).
Roman Catholic 12 12 12 13 - 49
Neshaminy Skins 19 7 10 8 - 44
Upper Dublin (3-2) rebounded from its loss to Cheltenham on Friday night to defeat previously unbeaten Pottsgrove (4-1) – 65-51 – on Saturday night. The Cardinals had four players score in double figures and were led by John DeCamara who bombed home four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 17 points. Andrew Carber collected 12 rebounds and scored 14 points, while Darrell Harrison (11) and Briyon Turner (10) each scored in twin digits for the Cardinals.
Pottsgrove Falcons 9 13 9 20 - 51
Upper Dublin Cardinals 13 17 19 16 - 65
Central Bucks East (1-2) had a tough time with unbeaten Archbishop Ryan (4-0) as the Patriots dropped a 47-34 decision. CB East – which scored in double figures only in the fourth period – was led in scoring by Matt Stauffer with 10 points. Steve Topley was the second leading scorer for the Patriots with eight points.
Archbishop Ryan 10 12 11 14 - 47
CB East Patriots 6 5 7 16 - 34
Quakertown (1-4) hosted unbeaten Hazelton (4-0) and the Panthers lost their non-conference game – 53-44. The Black Cats – which led at the close of the first period by five points - featured balanced scoring as Mike Ciccarone led the way with 12 points and Steffan Spieker added 11 points. Jon Landis scored nine points for Q-town, while Corey Jorgensen managed eight points for the Cats.
Hazelton 10 15 13 15 - 53
Quakertown 15 9 10 10 - 44
Suburban One League ‘On Tap’
Tuesday – December 20, 2011
SOL American Conference
Upper Dublin Cardinals (3-2, 0-1) @ Upper Merion Vikings (0-2, 0-1)
Norristown Eagles (2-1, 1-0) @ Wissahickon Trojans (3-1, 1-0)
Plymouth Whitemarsh Colonials (2-2, 0-1) @ Upper Moreland Bears (3-1, 0-0)
SOL Continental Conference
Hatboro-Horsham Hatters (1-2, 1-0) @ Central Bucks East Patriots (1-2, 0-1)
Central Bucks South Titans (2-2, 1-0) @ Souderton Big Red (2-2, 0-1)
Central Bucks West Bucks (3-1, 1-0) @ Quakertown Panthers (1-4, 0-1)
North Penn Knights (0-2, 0-1) @ Pennridge Rams (3-1, 0-1)
SOL National Conference
Council Rock South Hawks (3-1, 1-0) @ William Tennent Panthers (1-2, 0-1)
Bensalem Owls (1-2, 1-0) @ Truman Tigers (1-3, 0-1)
Council Rock North Indians (1-2, 1-0) @ Abington Ghosts (4-0, 1-0)
Neshaminy Redskins (0-5) @ Pennsbury Falcons (1-2, 0-1)
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