Scott Huff recaps Tuesday’s SOL boys’ basketball action.
By Scott Huff
Norristown –Norristown head coach Michael Evans had his head in his hand after the Eagles advanced to the finals of the 38th Annual Triangle Club Tournament with a 62-44 over Dobbins Tech. Norristown will now meet Central Dauphin in the finals as the Rams – and 6-foot, 9-inch Wake Forest bound center Devin Thomas – await after CD won a 59-52 overtime victory over Souderton in its opening round tourney game.
“Right now, I have a huge headache,” said Evans in reference to the preparation for Thomas who scored 31 points and collected 22 rebounds against Souderton. “I might have to suit up myself and get out there and play. It is going to be an extremely tough assignment for any of the players we are going to put out there to guard him. We have no real varsity experience on the floor, and everything right now is a learning process for this group of players.”
Norristown learned against Dobbins that it is going to generate offense by getting easy baskets from its pressure defense. The swarming Eagle defense generated key turnovers and helped Norristown gain control the game with a 35-21 first half margin.
“We are still searching for players to step up and get playing time,” said Evans. “It seems like we get a decent game from a different player every game, but we have not been able to find players that play consistently. This is a young team, and we are going to have to be hands-on learners.”
Norristown had 11 players score points in the victory with junior Jahbri Hargrove scoring a team-high 11 points. Junior Luke Kelly and senior Samir Bey each scored in twin digits for the Eagles with 10 points, while sophomore Curt Lever scored eight first half points.
“This team is still in search of its own identity,” said Evans. “I’m not sure that we are there yet.”
Souderton trailed the entire game against Central Dauphin in the tournament opener, but the Big Red had a chance to steal the win at the buzzer in regulation. However, a last second jump shot from the corner glanced off the rim, and Souderton was outscored 13-6 in the overtime period to nudge the Big Red into the consolation finals against Dobbins.
“We had a tie game in the last 10 seconds of the game, with the ball, and we should have been able to get a better shot,” said Souderton head coach Dennis Stanton. “That is all on me. The ball should have been in Luke Moyer’s hands with the way he was playing.”
Moyer scored a team-high 21 points for the Big Red and played a wonderful game at point guard. Fellow senior Mark Wonderling also scored in double figures for Souderton with 13 points.
The Big Red missed the services of 6-5 senior Ryan Connolly, who missed the game with pneumonia.
“Ryan is our leading scorer and our leading rebounder, and we missed him quite a bit tonight on defense,” said Stanton, as Connolly would have been matched with the talented Thomas. “But we played hard the entire game, and we put ourselves in a position to win the game. This team has the talent to compete with the tough teams that we are playing in our non-league schedule.
“Thomas just had an insane game against us,” added Stanton. “There is a good reason why he is going to Wake Forest.”
The Thomas-induced headache is no longer a problem for Stanton and his Big Red, and in another 24-hours that headache will be a memory for Michael Evans and his Eagles as well.
Central Dauphin Rams 10 15 14 7 13 - 59
Souderton Big Red 10 8 17 11 6 - 52
Dobbins Mustangs 6 15 12 11 - 44
Norristown Eagles 13 22 11 16 - 62
The Rest of the Story
Abington made a trek to Altoona and ruinedthe host’s holiday tournament with a 70-54 victory. The Ghosts had a spectacular outing from Anthony Durham who scored a game-high 23 points – 14 in the second period alone. Freshman Matt Penecale added 12 points for the winners, while Jordan Simmons scored in twin digits with 11 points.
Altoona 12 17 14 11 - 54
Abington Ghosts 16 22 22 10 - 70
Upper Moreland won its opening round game of the Great Valley Tournament as the Golden Bears edged Avon Grove – 53-52. Upper Moreland had three players score in double figures as Kevin McFall scored a team-high 13 points. Matt Kohn added 12 points, while Sean Valenza tallied 10 points for the winners.
Upper Moreland Bears 11 11 16 15 - 53
Avon Grove 8 13 12 19 - 52
Pennridge advanced to the Boyertown Tournament final as the Rams gored Governor Mifflin – 54-48. Senior sharpshooter Tim Abruzzo scored a game-high 26 points for the Green and White, while fellow senior Andrew Lyons scored in twin digits for the Rams with 11 points.
Pennridge Rams 15 14 17 8 - 54
Governor Mifflin 10 7 14 17 - 48
Wissahickon cruised to its Trojan Classic Final as the Trojans punished Lansdale Catholic – 58-22. Tanoh Kpassagnon led Wissahickon in scoring with 19 points, while Jordan Reed finished with 18 points and Kyle Garrett added 10 points. Reed scored 14 of his 18 points in the second period. To read Matt Weiland’s complete game story in PhillyBurbs.com, please click on the following link: http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/basketball/wissahickon-s-size-proves-too-much-for-lansdale-catholic/article_baa802ce-1ae9-53b5-a63d-7fe662beff8f.html
Wissahickon Trojans 14 18 14 12 - 58
Lansdale Catholic 6 9 5 2 - 22
Cheltenham rallied to defeat Vaux – 51-48. The Panthers had three players score in double figures as Nafis Walker scored a game-high 13 points. Jerrell Haywood scored in twin digits with 12 points, while Aaron McGlawn finished with 10 markers.
Cheltenham Panthers 7 17 15 12 - 51
V a u x 10 18 8 12 - 48
Council Rock North scored 25 fourth quarter points and defeated La Salle – 64-53. Arron Goodman scored a game-high 27 points for the Indians, while Aaron Morgan tallied in double figures for Rock North with 13 markers. To read the complete game story by Joe Jones on PhillyBurbs.com, please click on the following link: http://www.phillyburbs.com/sports/high_school/courier/goodman-s-all-around-effort-leads-indians/article_49852c40-5e46-5bc1-8f69-53449bdd2b16.html
La Salle Explorers 13 11 12 17 - 53
Rock North Indians 9 15 15 25 - 64
Pennsbury scored 21 first period points and defeated Harriton – 66-49. The Falcons had four players score in twin digits and were led in scoring by Kieran Bolger with 17 points. Jerrell Burke (13), Dan Ransom, and Shawn Pepper (10) all scored in double figures for the winners.
Pennsbury Falcons 21 15 16 14 - 66
H a r r i t o n 11 10 12 16 - 49
North Penn failed to hold an eight-point fourth period lead as the Knights lost a 64-58 overtime contest to Methacton. North Penn was led in scoring by Javi Alvarino with 16 points, while Chris Dawson added 15 points. Larry Roane scored in double digits for the Knights with 12 points.
North Penn Knights 15 18 15 6 4 - 58
Methacton Warriors 12 15 13 14 10 - 64
William Tennent lost its opening round game of the North Penn Tournament as the Panthers were caged by Engineering & Sciences – 44-36. The Panthers had a pair of double-digit scorers as senior Jack Rauchut and freshman Horace Spencer each scored 10 points.
William Tennent Panthers 6 8 9 13 - 36
Engineering & Sciences 6 7 11 20 - 44
Neshaminy remained winless for the season as the Redskins lost a 54-43 contest to Springfield (Delco) at the Allentown Allen Tournament. Ryan Jaminson led the Skins with 13 points, while Tyler Katz scored in twin digits for Neshaminy with 11 markers.
Neshaminy Redskins 9 9 13 12 - 43
Springfield (Delco) 16 13 12 13 - 54
Truman fell behind early and could not climb out of a first period hole as the Tigers were caged by Frankford – 72-59. Truman had a couple of players score in double figures as Merdic Green scored a team-high 15 points and Daiquan Ashley added 12 points for HST. To read Matt Weiland’s complete game story in PhillyBurbs.com, please click on the following link: http://www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/bristol/truman-falls-to-frankford-in-wissahickon-holiday-tournament/article_7835
Frankford Pioneers 21 16 9 26 - 72
Truman Tigers 9 11 17 22 - 59
Quakertown had its hands full with host Parkland as the Panthers were handled by the Trojans – 67-36. The lone double-digit scorer for Q-town was Steffan Spieker with 10 points, while Corey Jorgensen and Jon Landis each scored six points for the Panthers.
Parkland Trojans 8 22 14 23 - 67
Quakertown Panthers3 7 15 11 - 36
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