Check out all the boys’ basketball results for Saturday’s SOL Challenge. To view photos of the Hatboro-Horsham/PW, CB East/Tennent and CB West/Truman games, please visit the Photo Gallery.
On Saturday, all 24 SOL teams took part in the Suburban One Challenge – raising money for Coaches vs. Cancer – with all of the respective teams playing out-of-conference opponents.
Abington 76, Cheltenham 55
Only 26 seconds had ticked off the clock and Abington had already recorded two steals, scored seven points and forced Cheltenham into using a timeout to regroup itself.
It was that kind of day at Abington High School as the Ghosts completely dominated the Panthers in a 76-55 win over Cheltenham in an afternoon meeting between two teams whose neighborhood rivalry dates back to the 1917-18 season.
The Panthers (7-9, 7-1) committed 18 first-half turnovers – 12 of which came in the opening quarter alone – as Abington was able to put up 24 points in the first quarter and take an 13-point lead into the half (39-28).
“They know about the history of this game, and they were able to come out big again,” Abington coach Charles Grasty said of his players. “They were excited. They played the right way and made the right passes and we were able to jump out on them.”
Abington was able to go up 7-0 before many fans even had a chance to take their seats, thanks to a run was started by a basket and a steal from senior Anthony Lee. Abington (13-2, 8-0) would continue to put the pressure on, never allowing Cheltenham to erase its double-digit deficit after the first quarter.
“This has been a rivalry for almost 100 years, so we were getting pumped up before the game and we just wanted to get a good start against them and come out with a lot of energy,” Abington junior forward Matt Penecale said.
In the third quater, Abington senior Laz Mackrides drained a pair of three-pointers and junior Amir Hinton put up nine points to help Abington to an 18-point lead going into the fourth, allowing the Ghosts to put in some reserve players.
Penecale hit all eight of his free throw attempts en route to his 20-point day. The junior also added five steals and three assists to his excellent afternoon.
“Matt does everything. That’s what he does. He is the glue to this team,” Grasty said. “He’s pretty much running the team and he does a great job.”
Mackrides had a strong day for Abington, finishing with 15 points and five rebounds. Hinton tallied 15 points as well to go along with four rebounds, while Lee added six points, seven assists and two steals. Jordan Neely also played well, adding eight points, four assists and three steals.
“We didn’t want to give them a handicap,” Penecale said. “We always want to start like that. We just wanted to get out hard and that 7-0 lead was huge for us and it set the tone.”
Aaron Burton led Cheltenham, recording 13 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and three blocked shots. Josh Coleman and Justin Sutton each added eight points, while Khalil White finished with seven.
Cheltenham 13 15 15 12—55
Abington 24 15 22 15—76
Pennridge 64, Council Rock South 41
Pennridge received 21 points from Zach Muredda in a 23-point win over Council Rock South at Central Bucks West High School. The Rams, who snapped a two-game skid, improved to 11-4 overall and remain at 5-2 in conference play following the win.
Dan Long added 13 points for Pennridge, while Joe Molettiere contributed 10. As a team, Pennridge sank eight three-pointers.
Tommy Townsend led the Golden Hawks with 15 points while Mike Stock added 10.
Pennridge jumped out to a 17-9 lead after one quarter and then increased its lead to 18 points before the half. The Rams outscored CR South in all four quarters en route to the win.
The loss dropped CR South to 4-11 overall.
Pennridge 17 18 16 13—64
Council Rock South 9 8 12 12—41
Pennsbury 80, Norristown 67
Pennsbury’s Cameron Jones had a remarkable day, putting up a game-high 34 points in a 13-point Pennsbury win over host Norristown in a non-conference affair.
Jones hit a whopping eight three-pointers and tallied 15 of his points in the third quarter alone – including 11 in a row at one point – to give the Falcons a win over the team which knocked them out of the district playoffs just two seasons ago.
“It was a very important game,” Pennsbury coach Bill Coleman said. “It’s always tough going into Norristown. They have a very good tradition of winning and they always play tough and they’re a very good, very well-coached squad. It was big for us to get the win.”
Regarding Jones’ play, Coleman couldn’t say enough about his best scorer, who has averaged roughly 20 points per game this season.
“Cameron completely took over the game in the third quarter,” Coleman said. “He really turned the game around in our favor, and when we were ahead a little bit, he just did it himself and it was a huge, huge part of the game. Cameron is a very well-skilled player and they were defending him hard today, which shows how good of a player he actually is.”
Steve Ciotti added 20 points for the Falcons (12-2, 6-1), while Derrick Woods had 13.
Norristown (8-7, 5-3) was led by Chris Evans’ 28 points. Curt Lever added 12, while Kip Patton added nine.
The Eagles jumped out to a two-point lead after one quarter (20-18), but Pennsbury’s defense stepped up in the second quarter and helped the Falcons to a 35-33 halftime lead. The Falcons began to pull away in the third with a seven-point advantage before closing things out in the fourth to come out with their 12th win of the season.
Pennsbury will visit Tennent on Tuesday in a National Conference game. Currently, the Falcons sit one game out of first place behind Abington, which beat Pennsbury less than two weeks ago.
“This was a good game for us to get back in the groove of grinding out games,” Coleman said. “The things that Abington did to us – Norristown was very capable of doing, but we were able to limit their offensive rebounds and really be more aggressive than we were against Abington. It was a great test for us.”
Pennsbury 18 17 25 20—80
Norristown 20 13 18 16—67
Plymouth Whitemarsh 80, Hatboro-Horsham 40
Junior Jimmy Murray scored a career-high 40 points while leading the Colonials to a dominating win over Hatboro-Horsham. The Colonials, who doubled up the Hatters, improved to 13-2 overall.
Murray scored 18 of his points in the third quarter, providing all of PW's offense in the period. The junior knocked down eight three-pointers while also going 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
Andre Mitchell added 10 points for the Colonials, while Cameron Johnson added nine.
PW led 18-13 after one quarter and then broke things wide open with a 29-8 advantage in the second. The Colonials outscored Hatboro-Horsham in all four quarters.
The Hatters, who fell to to 5-10 overall, were led by Zach Quattro’s 21 points.
Hatboro-Horsham 13 8 10 9—40
Plymouth Whitemarsh 18 29 18 15—80
Council Rock North 49, North Penn 30
It has been a great couple weeks for Council Rock North – and it got even better on Saturday afternoon.
Going against a solid North Penn in a meeting at Council Rock North High School, the Indians’ defense stepped up huge, holding the Knights to only 30 points while leaving with a most-impressive 19-point victory.
Led by Josh McWilliams and Matt Margolis, who scored 13 points apiece, the win was the fifth in a row for coach Derek Wright’s Indians and improved their overall record to 8-6 overall.
“Today was a tough challenge because North Penn is pretty physical and very athletic, and they definitely had some mismatches in terms of size, but it was a great team effort,” Wright said. “We’ve been playing really good defense for the last week and a half, and it has no doubt been a total team effort.”
After going down 14-10 following one quarter, the Indians’ defense stepped up as big as it has all year, shutting the Knights completely down in the second, outscoring them 9-0 in the process.
“I just thought we played harder and tougher,” Wright said. “We really didn’t do anything different in terms of our scheme, but we were a lot more aggressive and we got a lot of deflections and guarded the paint much better.
“We rebounded the ball much better, and I thought we had real good toughness throughout the game.”
Chris Rowland did well on the boards, bringing down five rebounds to go along with his seven points.
The Indians shot 15-for-17 from the free throw line as a team. Margolis was 6-for-6 from the stripe, while also adding a game-high six steals.
Jason Jones led North Penn – which scored just 16 points over the final three periods - with eight points.
The Indians, who are currently 4-3 in the National Conference, got up on North Penn (7-8, 5-3 Continental) by seven points after three quarters, leading 30-23. In the fourth, the Indians ran away with things, scoring 19 points to only seven for North Penn.
“It’s a good time for us to be winning and get this streak,” Wright said. “We were hoping that around this time of year we would start to buy in and have an identity which we’ve really sold ourselves on. It has been about defending and rebounding and being unselfish and making plays and that’s what we’ve done.”
North Penn 14 0 9 7—30
Council Rock North 10 9 11 19—49
Quakertown 53, Upper Merion 46 (OT)
Quakertown outscored Upper Merion 14-7 in the extra frame to come out with an eight-point win in overtime over Upper Merion at Norristown High School.
The Panthers (6-9, 1-6) were led by Brian Rejniak, who scored 14 points. Griffin Schmidt added 12, while Liam Buckley chipped in with 10. Quakertown connected on 18-of-29 from the foul line.
The Vikings (4-11, 1-7) were led by David Stecz, who scored a game-high 24 points.
Quakertown took a two-point lead into the half before increasing its lead to 11 points after three (36-25). But Upper Merion came storming back, outscoring the Panthers 14-3 in the fourth to force overtime.
Quakertown 13 12 11 3 14—53
Upper Merion 12 11 2 14 7—46
Central Bucks South 74, Harry S. Truman 61
Central Bucks South received 29 points from Matt Scamuffo in a come-from-behind 13-point non-conference victory over Harry S. Truman at Central Bucks South High School.
Shane Degnan added 13 for CB South, while Bryce Dobisch and Paul Weeks each finished with nine.
The Tigers (4-12, 2-6) were led by Tyquan Law’s 20 points and Satchell Simpson’s 16.
Truman took a five-point lead into the second quarter and still led by three, at 33-30, at the half. The Tigers still led by two points going into the final quarter, where CB South poured it on, outscoring the Tigers 26-11 en route to the double-digit victory.
Harry S. Truman 17 16 17 11—61
Central Bucks South12 18 12 26—74
Central Bucks West 62, Upper Moreland 42
Central Bucks West received 15 points from Pat Kelley in a 20-point win over visiting Upper Moreland. The Bucks, who improved to 9-5, also received 11 points from Jared Kelly and 10 from Kyle Salvitti.
Upper Moreland’s James Martin led the Bears with 17 points in the losing effort. Kevin McFall added 11, while Chris Corr finished with 10.
CB West led 13-7 after one quarter and increased its lead to 10 at the half. CB West’s best quarter was the third, when it outscored Upper Moreland (4-12, 2-6) 21-8 to run away with things.
Upper Moreland 7 12 8 15—42
Central Bucks West 13 16 21 12—62
Bensalem 67, Wissahickon 57
On Friday night, Bensalem had a tough, 19-point loss to Pennsbury. On the other side was Wissahickon, which was coming off a huge come-from-behind, buzzer-beating victory over rival Upper Dublin,
But on Saturday, things went in the opposite direction for both teams.
Despite not having a single player foul out all season long, Wissahickon watched as five of its players fouled out against the Owls. On top of that, star Chase Wilson injured his ankle and was forced to leave the game.
And with Wissahickon’s bench dangerously small, Bensalem took advantage, beating the Trojans by 10 points at Bensalem High School.
“We finished the game with five guys on the floor who have barely seen the court all year long,” Wissahickon coach Kyle Wilson said. “We had jayvee guys on our bench and almost nobody left to play that usually gets playing time.”
With Wilson out, the Trojans (8-7, 5-3) also saw Thomas Aloia and Stephan Driscoll along with starters Chris Carradoroni, Todd Bentley and Chris Vila foul out, leaving Wissahickon extremely thin.
And with all the fouls committed by the Trojans, the damage was done, as Bensalem (3-10, 2-6) attempted a remarkable 45 free throws, making 36 of them.
“Wissahickon is a very talented team and I just told the kids to keep their heads up and good things will happen,” Bensalem coach John Mullin said. “Especially after a tough loss last night, I told them to keep their heads up. The effort was there. We kept getting fouled and got to the free throw line, and it was a good game and a nice win.”
Chris Kilcoyne led the Owls with 21 points, while Avery Nyekan and Brian Kilcoyne added 19 and 11, respectively. Vila led the Trojans in the losing effort with 14. Wilson had 11 before exiting the game.
Bensalem led by nine points at the half (29-22) and never allowed the Trojans to get too close in the second half.
Wissahickon 9 13 13 23—57
Bensalem 12 19 14 22—67
Central Bucks East 55, William Tennent 40
It was the worst possible start for William Tennent and the best possible start for Central Bucks East as the Patriots jumped out to a 15-0 lead at the end of one quarter and then went on to win by that margin.
The Panthers attempted to come back, outscoring East 15-8 in the second quarter, but the damage was done and Tennent (5-7, 4-3) came out on the wrong side of the scoreboard.
The Patriots were led by Brendan McLaughlin’s 25 points while Matt Gentry added 10. Tommy Strasburger added six points and eight rebounds for CB East, and Blake Peterson finished with 10 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. McLaughlin drained four three-pointers en route to his game-high point total. As a team, the Patriots went 8-for-14 from beyond the arc, while knocking down 19 of 23 free throws.
Ian Drumm and Matt Alden led the Panthers with 10 points apiece.
Central Bucks East 15 8 12 20—55
William Tennent 0 15 8 17—40
Souderton 60, Upper Dublin 56
It wasn’t easy, but Souderton pulled off a four-point overtime victory over visiting Upper Dublin, thanks to a strong free throw shooting performance in the extra period.
The Indians (10-5, 4-4) hit 8-of-9 foul shots in the extra frame to come out on top. Carter Knight led Souderton with 18 points while going a perfect 10-for-10 from the stripe. Jared Bernhart also finished with 18 points for the Indians, while Tracy Simsick and Evan Slone both finished with eight.
“Carter Knight and Jared Bernhart went a combined 18-for-21 from the free throw line and Jared had recently been struggling, but he has worked very hard in practice to improve his free throw shooting,” Souderton coach Pete Chimera said. “We really took advantage of our size and we pounded the ball inside.
“(Simeon) Fryer and (Kevin) Woods were really good and kept Upper Dublin in the game all night.”
Upper Dublin (7-8, 4-4) was led by Woods, who knocked down a pair of three-pointers and scored 24 points. Fryer hit five treys and added 22 points for the Cardinals, who trailed by six (27-21) at the half before fighting back to tie things up at 48-48 to force overtime.
Souderton outscored Upper Dublin 12-8 in the extra period.
Upper Dublin 14 7 13 14 8—56
Souderton 16 11 8 13 12—60
Neshaminy 59, Springfield (Montco) 41
NESHAMINY USES BIG 4TH QUARTER TO POWER PAST SPRINGFIELD
By Jesse Bernstein for SuburbanOneSports.com
Down six with 6:31 to go in the fourth quarter, an errant Springfield pass thudded against the wall. Neshaminy called a timeout, and Coach Jerry Devine said he “just talked about our guys being smart…We’re in games in the end, but we don’t do a good job of finishing…I thought that after the timeout, our guys did a much better job of playing under control and poised”.
After that timeout, Neshaminy, threatening to break away the whole game, put the pedal to the metal. The Redskins outscored Springfield 22-10 the rest of the quarter, blocking shot after shot and forcing turnovers left and right to triumph 59-41. Neshaminy got 13 points each from senior Jaylen Pickett and sophomore Kyree Moore, while Springfield got 11 points from junior Brendan Dugan.
Springfield came out strong, leading by five late in the first quarter and generally looking more disciplined than the Redskins. However, when junior Cole Hausel and Pickett came off the bench for the ‘Skins, they provided a much-needed spark, and the score was tied at 12 after the first.
The teams traded buckets for a while in the second, but it was some sharpshooting from junior Christian Yoast that finally put the Spartans up three with just three minutes to in the half. But Redskins junior Eric Altiere and his freshman teammate, Billy Warren, kept silent to that point, started getting more involved in the offense. A more fluid and balanced scoring attack helped the Redskins go on a 12-6 run to end the half, and they went into the locker room up 24-21.
In the third, the teams locked horns once again, neither giving an inch, and heading into the fourth, the Redskin’s lead was still just three. An and-one from Kyree Moore put them up 37-31, and from there, the game finally broke open. Billy Warren, hesitant in the paint for the most of the game, asserted himself on the block, scoring seven of his nine points in the quarter. Houser added a couple of buckets and Altiere found himself the recipient of some nifty passes from Warren that he was able to convert.
Springfield seemed stunned and frustrated, while Neshaminy, who had played tight for most of the game, seemed to loosen up. Moore seemed especially energetic. On his play, he said, “Just tryin’ to get a win. I just wanted to win, that’s all.”
“They just let the possessions work for themselves,” said Coach Devine. “I think the last few games we’ve played really well…we’re finding a mix of guys who are playing well together, and I think we’re just young, we’re still developing”.
Neshaminy improves to 2-13, (2-6 SOL), while Springfield drops to 3-11, (1-7 SOL).
NESHAMINY 12 12 10 25-59
SPRINGFIELD12 9 10 10-41
NESHAMINY
4-Moore-13 points, 3-7 FT
5-Housel-9 points
10-McGinty-0 points
11-Warren-9 points, 3-7 FT
12-Robles-0 points
20-Jenkins-2 points, 0-2 FT
21-Lee-0 points
22-Josephs-0 points|
22-Thomas-0 points
24-Pickett-13 points, 3-7 FT
25-Stephens-4 points, 2-4 FT
34-Altiere-6 points
44-Arthur-3 points, 3-4 FT
SPRINGFIELD
3-Ball-2 points
4-Hill-2 points 0-2 FT
5-Vecchione-1 point, 1-2 FT
11-Johnson-9 points, 3-4 FT
12-Franczyk-2 points, 2-3 FT
14-Dougherty-0 points
21-Yoast-7 points
25-Daley-0 points
33-Clark-7 points, 1-2 FT
34-Dugan-11 points, 4-5 FT
42-Lawn-0 points
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