Check out the recaps of SOL boys’ basketball teams in action Saturday.
SIXTH ANNUAL JIM CHURCH CLASSIC
Souderton 58, Dock Mennonite 49
Through two preseason scrimmages and Friday's season opener, the Indians couldn't shake slow starts.
Andrew Vince took care of that almost by himself Saturday. The senior forward had eight points as Souderton opened play on an 11-0 run and carried the momentum through to a win in the Jim Church Classic championship game.
"We wanted to get (Vince) the ball right from the start," coach Tim Brown said. "If we could get (Dock center) Darius (Ellis) in foul trouble because he's such an effective player with a drive, that would be a good thing for us. It was good to see him back and playing the way AV typically plays."
Dom Natale, who had the other three points in that opening run, would go to score 16 and earn tournament MVP honors with another strong all-around game. Likewise, Jason Price came off the bench with 13 points to earn All-Tournament recognition.
After shooting out to the 11-0 lead, the Indians weathered an 8-0 response from the Pioneers before Vince scored inside and Natale made a highlight-reel pass to Price for a corner three at the buzzer for a 16-8 advantage.
Natale hit 16 points for the second straight night.
“He’s playing great basketball, he’s a fun kid to watch and sometimes, you can’t do too much coaching and just let Dom be Dom,” Brown said. “Ultimately, he’s proven he can make those decisions and he’s going to make mistakes at times but also make up for them and just play with unbelievable tenacity and heart. We always know what we’re getting from Dom.”
After the first quarter, Souderton did a good job maintaining its lead. Every time Dock got a basket or two, the Indians would answer with a short scoring run to either add on or keep the lead a couple possessions in their favor.
Souderton, which led 31-19 at the half, extended that lead throughout the third quarter and into the fourth. A bucket by Matt Uhrich assisted by Vince put the Indians up 46-26 with 6:40 left.
Dock mounted a run, but Natale would find Price for a three to stem the tide and keep Souderton up 16 points.
"This whole season, we just want to win one possession at a time," Brown said. "It's not about winning the game, just winning that one possession that's in front of us. We did a good job of that today."
Souderton (2-0) hosts Great Valley on Tuesday before heading to North Penn for its SOL opener on Thursday. The Indians want to be a district playoff team this year but they also hope to contend for the Continental title in a league that's usually well-balanced top to bottom.
"It's a tough league with great competition but these guys are 100 percent determined," Brown said. "They're bringing it every day. 2-0 doesn't mean anything to us, they're just continuing to improve."
SOUDERTON 16 15 11 16 – 58
DOCK MENNONITE 8 11 7 23 – 49
Souderton (58): Andrew Vince 15, Sami Chouriaf 3, Dom Natale 16, Brian Reiner 6, Jason Price 13, Dylan Hollick 3, Matt Uhrich 2
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 48, COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 46
A 19-point effort from Bernie Parent wasn't enough to send the Indians past the Crusaders in the consolation game of Souderton's Jim Church Classic.
Parent staked CR North to a 40-38 lead in the fourth quarter before LC's Liam McDonnell hit a 3-pointer to put the Crusaders ahead for good. McDonnell added a pair of late foul shots that ended up the winning points after a three by Parent cut the lead to 47-46 in the final seconds.
Hunter Wan added 10 points for the Indians.
Council Rock North (0-2) will host Pennsbury in Thursday’s SOL opener.
LANSDALE CATHOLIC 11 14 7 16 - 48
COUNCIL ROCK NORTH 15 10 11 10 - 46
Lansdale Catholic (48): Gibbons 11, Hicks 7, McDonnell 8, Phillips 3, Ward 5, Casey 4, Healy 10
Council Rock North (46): Bernie Parent 19, Andrew Stewart 5, Luke Vliet 8, Hunter Wan 10, Dan Egan 3
PENNRIDGE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT
Pennridge 45, Boyertown 44
It didn't take long for the Rams to find themselves a good game.
Paul Croyle made his foul shots when they counted, connecting three times in the final 10 seconds to give the Rams a win in their tournament title game.
“I don’t know how to explain tonight’s game," Pennridge coach Dean Behrens said. "We were up 19-7, we were really playing well, and the air got sucked out of the gym. (We) missed a dunk, and it just seemed like we lost all of our energy, and Boyertown got hot.
“We went into halftime up six, 24-18. I’ll take that - if you hold a team to 18 points in a half, that’s pretty good. Boyertown controlled the tempo with their zone - give them credit. They got back well, and we struggled.”
It all came down to a wild final few possessions. Point guard Chris Guldin and Croyle would come through in the chaos.
"We were going to lose this game - we’re down two, we had just missed a chippy, they had the ball, and we have to foul just to get them on the foul line. They missed the foul shot, and we get the rebound," Behrens said. "We had 25 seconds, and I said, ‘Chris, we’re pushing the ball. We have a timeout left, but I want to push the ball and get a shot. If we don’t get a good look, we’ve got to kick it out and call a timeout.’"
Guldin did his job and got the ball to Croyle, who used a little guile to draw a trip to the foul line. Croyle led the team with 12 points, none bigger than the three he chalked up at the stripe.
"Chris got the ball all the way in the corner to Paul. Paul ball-faked his kid, just like the NBA. The kid’s in no-man’s land and Paul just waited for him to come down on him, and boom - we’re down two and he’s shooting three foul shots," Berhens said. Paul knocks all three down - it was nothing but net all three. Boom, boom, boom - he didn’t hit the rim.
"He did that in the first half - they fouled him on a three-pointer, and he hit all three, which is a lot of pressure. Paul really stepped up tonight for us when we needed it, and he did a good job defensively for us as well."
While the Rams improbably had taken the lead, the game was still far from over. Boyertown called a timeout and set up a play.
Pennridge would have to get one more break to leave the gym happy.
“We kind of screwed it up, and their point guard got to the basket,” Behrens said. “I didn’t think we fouled anybody, but they called a foul with 0.7 seconds left. We’re up one, and he misses the one-and-one, so we survived. I thought it was a good come-from-behind-late-in-the-game win. The last 10 minutes, it was a one-possession game the whole time. It was really a good game. They’re a good team, well coached.”
Behrens was pleased with his team's defensive effort on Tre Diguglielmo.
"We held him to seven, and he’s a really good shooter,” Behrens said. “It was a well-played game. I thought it was a great win for us."
Pennridge (2-0) will host William Tennent in a non-league game Thursday.
PENNRIDGE - 45
BOYERTOWN - 44
Pennridge (45): Paul Croyle 12, Ryan Benscoter 11, Christian Guldin 10, Luke Yoder 4, Anthony Phillips 2, Trent Fisher 6
Boyertown (44): Salata 15, Marinello 11, Diguglielmo 7, Leh 6, Metcalf 2, Schaefer 1, Kiefer 2
Central Bucks East 59, Harry S Truman 42
The Patriots started well and had a 15-point lead eight minutes into the game.
"It was a great start to the game for us after a slow start against Boyerton," said East coach Erik Henrysen, whose team led 17-2 after one quarter. "We were not pleased with our start Friday."
Despite the deficit, the Tigers kept coming at the Patriots and won the second quarter 17-12 to make it a 29-19 game.
"Truman is relentless on both sides of the floor. Tyrone (Lewis) really has his kids battling," Henrysen said. "I thought we matched their toughness, which was great for us."
Jack Hamilton led East with 12 points. Just behind him, Joe Jackman, Chris Charlton and Jason Markowitz all put in 11. Charlton and Jackman each had six rebounds.
Anthony Giordano had six points but was a factor on the glass with eight rebounds.
"Giordano did a great job on the glass for us and Rivera added four steals and seemed to take three or four charges," Henrysen said. "We are hoping to carry some momentum into Tuesday's home opener against CR South."
Fernando Vargas led the Tigers with 17 points.
Central Bucks East (1-1) will host Council Rock South on Tuesday in a non-league game, and Harry S Truman (0-2) will host Central Bucks South on Wednesday in a non-league contest.
CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 17 12 13 17 - 59
HARRY S TRUMAN 2 17 10 13 - 42
Central Bucks East (59): Joe Jackman 11, Jack Hamilton 12, Tyler Young 3, Chris Charlton 11, Anthony Giordano 6, Jason Markowitz 11, Tyriq Toney-Bailey 2, Christian Rivera 3
Harry S Truman (42): Winton 6, Kitchens 6, Vargas 16, Fant 5, Flail 4, Profy 5
SOL-PAC TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT
Central Bucks West 56, Spring-Ford 53
The Bucks improved to 2-0 and in doing so, got a little measure of revenge.
Last season, the Rams ousted CB West from the postseason during the district playback rounds. Spring-Ford, which always contends in the PAC, was a good early season test.
“It was tough - we have a couple of guys that played in that game last year, so it meant a lot to them to find a way to pull it out this year,” coach Adam Sherman said. “That program does a great job of always being competitive and always being up there as one of the top teams in the district, so it’s a nice win for us.”
Spring-Ford defeated CB South 70-51 in the PAC/SOL Challenge on Friday. CB West set the tone defensively in the first three quarters before withstanding a furious rally in the fourth.
The Rams took a 2-0 lead but West jumped out to a 14-8 lead after one and then held the Rams to just seven points in the second quarter.
“We feel like this year’s team can really hang their hat on the defensive side of the ball,” Sherman said. “We defended really well for three quarters. We held them to 26 points going into the fourth quarter.
“They started trying to speed us up, and they were able to hit some big shots in the fourth quarter. They sped us up a little bit, and we played a little sloppy in the fourth. That was a credit to their defensive pressure. We kind of let them back in the game and held on to win.”
Mika Munari paced the Bucks with 11 points, but he got plenty of help. Teddy Spratt scored 10 points to go with six boards, two blocks and two assists while Danny Miller and Owen Haney each had nine points.
“One thing about these kids - they have the same goal,” Sherman said. “They all want to win, and they don’t care how they get there. I’m really happy with their mindset as far as what their goals are and how they’re playing.
“They’re playing the right way - they’re playing for each other. We’re happy with that. They’re making good efforts on the defensive side. We still have some things we need to clean up, but that’s kind of expected the second game of the season.”
Haney, taking on a more expanded role this year, helped the offense out in some key situations. Munari, who's been a mainstay in the varsity lineup, has settled in as the team's tone-setter on both sides of the ball according to Sherman.
“Owen Haney hit a couple of open shots,” Sherman said. "Mika Munari has been a catalyst for us. He’s really doing a great job on the defensive side of the floor and he’s really doing the job being our point guard and getting our guys the ball at good spots.”
Jack Neri didn't have a big offensive night, scoring four points, but the senior forward was a force on the glass with 11 rebounds and defended the dangerous Tre Medearies. After a 21-point outing on Friday, Medaris was held to just eight on Saturday.
“He did a fantastic job defensively on one of their top players,” Sherman said of Neri. “He took on the responsibility of making things tough for him, and I thought he really did a nice job with it."
Central Bucks West (2-0) will host Hatboro-Horsham in a non-league game on Thursday.
CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 14 8 17 17 - 56
SPRING-FORD 8 7 11 27 - 53
Central Bucks West (56): Mika Munari 11, Owen Haney 9, Teddy Spratt 10, Jack Neri 4, Danny Miller 9, Jack Slaymaker 5, Andrew Lindenmuth 8
Spring-Ford (53): Medearis 8, Scilingo 5, Kovaleski 14, Fitzgerald 3, Skrocki 15, Santiago 6, Kressky 2
Central Bucks South 61, Perkiomen Valley 47
The Titans bounced back from Friday’s loss to the Rams with a convincing win over the Vikings.
Michael Farley and Alex Dietz led a balanced Titan attack with 16 and 15 points respectively. Nick Wrusta added nine, and Colin Mauz had six.
Central Bucks South (1-1) will travel to Harry S Truman Wednesday for a non-league game.
Perkiomen Valley (47): Quinn 11, Beattie 2, Parks 9, Dougherty 3, Micelli 2, Lapeta 16, Gense 4
Central Bucks South (61): Zach O'Connor 5, Mike Waltrich 2, Nate Macalindong 4, John Hackendahl 2, Colin Mauz 6, Josiah Harrison 2, Alex Dietz 15, Nick Wursta 9, Michael Farley 16
CHELTENHAM PANTHERS TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT
Cheltenham 106, Northeast 57
The Panthers opened their season with quite a statement.
Cheltenham scored 36 points in the first quarter and held a 61-28 lead at halftime.
“We had an amazing first quarter,” coach Patrick Fleury said. “I just think Zahree (Harrison), Jaelen (McGlone), Brandon (Scott), Justin (Moore) and Sean (Emfinger) have a knack of finding one another.
“Zahree at the point guard is a luxury. They’re clicking, and you can tell they care about one another. I think this is what will carry us. Tonight Zahree was flying all over the court, blocking shots off the backboard - he’s trying to do a lot of the little things, and I think that is helping. Jaelen and the others are also doing it. We have a very good group from 10th grade up.”
Harrison, a St. Francis (PA) recruit, left the game with an injury in the first quarter and did not return. He will be checked out on Sunday.
Without the senior point guard, the Panthers just kept things going.
“It was a total team effort,” Fleury said. “Everybody within their moments in time played well, played hard. The one thing for us is our mile marker - every possession as long as we’re playing hard - that bodes well for us, and that’s what we want to build as a program moving forward. Turn to each other and not on each other.”
Jaelen McGlone, a Rider recruit, tied for the Panthers lead with 18 points alongside Justin Moore (18 points), Travis Coleman (14), Sean Emfinger (17) and Brandon Scott (10) all reached double figures.
Cheltenham (1-0) will face Executive Charter in the title game at 5 p.m. Sunday.
NORTHEAST 8 20 15 14 - 57
CHELTENHAM 36-25-21-24 - 106
Northeast (57) - Mason 2, Hines 10, Shields 19, Crump 11, Anderson 3, Williams 9, Sowell 2.
Cheltenham (106) - Zahree Harrison 7, Travis Coleman 14, Sean Emfinger 17, Michael McClain 6, Jaelen McGlone 18, Brandon Scott 10, Justin Moore 18, Saleem Payne 9, David Pope 5, Brandon Hawkins 2, Lou Liedtka 2
UPPER MORELAND TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT
Upper Moreland 57, New Hope-Solebury 43
The Golden Bears held home court to pick up a win in their season-opening tournament.
“We really pushed tempo early - that’s something we were preaching,” coach Sean Feeley said. “We wanted to force tempo early - hopefully get some steals and get some things in transition. The guys did a really good job of executing that."
Tyler Ibbotson led UM with 14 points, Jordan Gregg had 12 points and Jahaire Johnson, who balanced football and basketball during preseason practice, continued his strong start with 11 points.
“Jahaire Johnson is playing at a really high level,” Feeley said. “Tyler Ibbotson, a senior captain, is the most unselfish kid in the world. He played awesome tonight defensively and offensively. Byron Hopkins and Jordan Gregg the same thing.”
The Bears (2-0) jump right into SOL American play this week starting with a visit to Cheltenham on Friday, so getting off to a good start was imperative.
“One of our team goals was to win the tipoff tournament because we know how hard our league is,” Feeley said. "We played two good teams, and this was huge for us.
"Our defensive effort - which we preach - was really, really good."
UPPER MORELAND 15 13 19 8 - 57
NEW HOPE-SOLEBURY 4 6 15 18 - 43
Upper Moreland (57): Hopkins 6, Woollens 8, Gregg 12, Johnson 11, Matt Tiernan 6, Ibbotson 14
46TH ANNUAL TRIANGLE CLUB OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY TOURNAMENT
Germantown Academy 66, Wissahickon 59 (OT)
A brilliant effort by GA's Jordan Longino denied the Trojans an overtime win, Saturday.
Longino netted a game-high 38 points to help the Patriots rally out of a 25-9 first quarter deficit. It is the second time in as many nights the Trojans watched an early lead slip away.
Matt Compas led Wissahickon with 23 points while Harrison Williams chipped in 12.
Wissahickon (0-2) will host Bensalem in a non-league game on Monday.
GERMANTOWN ACADEMY 9 22 18 6 11 - 66
WISSAHICKON 25 15 9 6 4 - 59
Germantown Academy (66): Longino 38, Traina 13, Adames 2, Hsu 10, Mack 3
Wissahickon (59): Love 3, Buck 6, Williams 12, Lowry 6, Intrieri 2, Compas 23, Ostroski 7
HATTERS BASKETBALL TIP-OFF CLASSIC
Council Rock South 41, Hatboro-Horsham 31
The Golden Hawks earned a bounce-back win after an opening night loss.
"The first one is always the hardest, and I was happy for the kids to get that,” coach Chris Clark said.
CR South was boosted by the return of senior point guard Jack Rebholz, who did not play in Friday's opener.
“He sprained his ankle about two weeks ago, and this was his first time back,” Clark said. “I really give him a lot of credit for how hard he worked. He worked tirelessly trying to get back to play, so that was a big help having him play today.
“I really give Jack a lot of credit. He had a really bad sprain, and to come back this quickly is a credit to how hard he worked."
Five players scored for the Hawks, who also received good defensive contributions across the board.
“Hopefully, we can do that all year,” Clark said. “We’re trying to establish more of a defensive mentality. I thought our defense was very good in the first half - we only gave up 11 points. We didn’t shoot particularly well, so being able to guard was a big part of winning tonight. I’m impressed with all of our kids.”
Clark also noted the contributions of the team's juniors.
“Our juniors - Joey Purcell and Luca Baratta - Joe Purcell played jayvee last year as a wing player. Now he’s playing varsity as a forward. That’s a big adjustment, that’s a lot," Clark said. “Kevin McNamee playing post defense today on their big kid was important. I really give credit to all of our kids."
Council Rock South (1-1) will travel to Central Bucks East Tuesday for a non-league game.
COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 12 10 4 14 - 41
HATBORO-HORSHAM 5 6 7 13 - 31
Council Rock South (41): Stewart 14, Rebholz 11, Baratta 8, Meakim 5, McNamee 4
Hatboro-Horsham (31): N Cerisier4, D Cerisier 3, Cheeze 15, Marvin 4, O'Sullivan 5
Upper Darby 60, William Tennent 49
The Panthers fell short in the Hatters' tournament championship game despite 16 points from Derrick Consenza and 12 from Daulton Zeaman.
William Tennent (1-1) will travel to Lower Moreland for a non-league game Wednesday.
FRED PICKETT PLAY-BY-PLAY CLASSIC
Lower Merion 61, Abington 55
The new-look Ghosts opened their season with a loss after a fourth-quarter rally fell short at the Fred Pickett Classic held at Chester High School.
Lower Merion sped out to a 9-1 advantage and led wire-to-wire behind 19 points from freshman Sam Brown, the son of Sixers coach Brett Brown.
Manir Waller, the lone returning starter from Abington's District I 6A championship team last year, paced the Ghosts with 13 points. The senior wing added five rebounds, four steals, three assists and two blocks.
Robert Bell also reached double figures with 12 points to accompany five assists and four steals. Caleb Baker, who came off the bench, had nine points, seven rebounds and four steals.
The Ghosts did rally to get within four, but the Aces would close out the win.
Abington (0-1) will travel to Springfield Township for Friday’s SOL opener.
LOWER MERION 19 11 18 13 - 61
ABINGTON 9 14 10 22 - 55
Lower Merion (61) - Eli Rothman 9; Jalen Shippen 7; Peter Gribbin 4; James Simps 11; Phil Coon 2; Sam Brown 19; Demetrius Lilley 9
Abington (55) - Robert Bell 12; Oreck Frazier 4; Manir Waller 13; Joey Brusha 3; Antoine Ellis 3; Sam McFarlane 4; Caleb Baker 9; Karim Boyd 4; Connor Fields 1
Upper Dublin 45, Lower Moreland 39
The Flying Cardinals won for the second straight night in their home gym, this time a victory over future SOL member Lower Moreland. The Cardinals found themselves deadlocked with the Lions 12-12 after one quarter but broke the game open with an 18-6 second quarter burst.
Drew Stover led UD with 17 points. Junior Amare Johnson had a career-high 13 and came up big late with a pair of clutch 3-pointers that helped the Cardinals seal the win.
Lower Moreland held the Cardinals to just two third quarter points.
Upper Dublin (2-0) will host Downingtown West on Tuesday in a non-league game.
UPPER DUBLIN 12 18 2 13 - 45
LOWER MORELAND 12 6 9 12 - 39
Upper Dublin (45): Bazel Brady 5, Drew Stover 17, Will Mead 1, Amare Johnson 13, Alex Weems 5, Tim Boutiller 2, Aidan Pullian 2
Lower Moreland (39): John Prez 24, Braden Alicea 3, Joey Marozin 3, Justin Sandler 3, Brian Grant 2, Jack Doneker 4
Cumberland Valley 59, North Penn 49
The Knights couldn't overcome a fourth-quarter deficit in the championship game of Hershey's tip-off tournament.
Rob Carangi hit five 3-point shots en route to 19 points to lead the Knights. Carangi and Joey Larkins were named to the all-tournament team.
Josh Jones scored 10 points while Larkins added seven for the Knights.
North Penn (1-1) will travel to Lansdale Catholic on Tuesday for a non-league game.
Archbishop Carroll 48, Pennsbury 34
The Falcons trailed by just two at the end of one quarter but saw trailed 23-14 at halftime. They never could make up the ground they last, falling in the Fred Pickett Classic at Chester High School.
Pennsbury (0-1) will host Archbishop Ryan in a non-league game Tuesday.
PENNSBURY 8 6 8 12 – 34
ARCHBISHOP CARROLL 10 13 11 14 – 48
Liberty 72, Quakertown 34
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