Plymouth Whitemarsh and Souderton advanced to Tuesday’s District 1 6A title games. Earning wins in playback games and keeping their seasons alive were Central Bucks South and Pennsbury. Souderton/Cheltenham photos provided by Michael Rice Photography, PW/Garnet Valley photos provided courtesy of Larry Small, CB South/Neshaminy photos provided by John Gleeson, and Pennsbury/CB East photos courtesy of Darryl Rule of J&D Photography and Tracy Valko. Check back for galleries of all four games. CLICK HERE to go directly to Suburban One Sports' BOYS' BASKETBALL GALLEREIS.
District 1 Class A semifinals
#1 PLYMOUTH WHITEMARSH 65, #8 GARNET VALLEY 42
Coach Jim Donofrio wasn’t quite sure how his team would respond in the absence of Towson commit Mani Sajid (ankle injury) – the program’s all-time leading scorer - from the lineup.
“I’ve always said that the number one opponent every team faces is injury,” the PW coach said. “Mani has been just so steady for four years, and I’m so used to him just being there. You just roll the dice.
“Right before he tweaks that ankle, I’m watching us play, and we’re evolving every week, and whenever we had a setback, we bounced back three times as hard with progress. And when I watch us play CB East (in
Tuesday’s second round game), holding them to basically four points with a minute to go in the second quarter – I’m thinking, ‘You know, we’re seriously good. Our chemistry right now and our focus -it's all coming together.’
“And then at practice Wednesday, you’re looking at your team, and it feels like Nov. 14 because of the offensive sets, the sophistication, the multiple sets they run, the defensive energy and the chemistry they’re playing with. Sometimes I’m a glass is half empty kind of guy. I wish I was the other way around, but it’s kind of a coach’s job to see all that can go wrong. Deep down I knew I’m so fortunate to have a bunch of kids that can really play.”
Donofrio had to love what he saw in Friday’s decisive win.
“One of the frustrating things for me is knowing how much talent we have on the bench,” the Colonials’ coach said. “In basketball, it’s just hard to play nine, 10, 11 guys. It just is.
“And the fact that they all stay in there, and they’re a true team – I know a number of them are personally frustrated and yet trust it and stay in there.
“I always sell the kids on – ‘You never know when you are needed,’ and then, boy, did that just come true all of a sudden.”
One player didn’t replace Sajid, but rather, it was a team effort that allowed the Colonials to control Friday’s game in his absence.
The Colonials – sparked by seven points from Luca Taormina – opened up a 19-10 lead after one quarter and took a 30-23 lead into halftime. It was a 45-33 game heading into the fourth quarter when the Colonials erupted for 20 points.
“The 22 or 23 points that Mani brings you with that chemistry and with his absurd talent – I’m just stressed all day because you’re not sure what we’re going to be, and we morphed defensively against Garnet Valley by the middle of the third, and that’s what talented teams do,” Donofrio said. “They see a scouting report. They kind of figure it out in the first half, and then it just became locked down five-man defensive energy and movement and poise on the other end with Mani watching. You leave the game tonight – ‘Now, we’re deeper, nine deep with experience,’ and the attitude is right.”
Key players: University of Penn commit Michael Pereira led a balanced PW attack with 17 points – 11 in the fourth quarter. Terron Davis added 16 points, and Zhaiden Gray had 12 – 10 in the first half.
Plymouth Whitemarsh coach Jim Donofrio:
--Props galore: “Terron Davis – I could certainly find more minutes for him in a number of games this year. He’s just a phenomenal team guy and a talented one. Tonight, he’s probably a 20-minute guy, and he just does a terrific job on both ends of the court.
“And Zhaiden Gray is a kid that just loves (basketball) so much. To go in the last two games and he just wants to prove to the world how good he is, and that becomes a resource on the bench, a reserve of energy that not every team has.
“They’re proud to play for us, but they’re also frustrated, and when they get that moment, man are they a revved up engine. They’re quietly paying attention, learning the details, learning to add poise with energy, and then you just let them go.
“Luca Taormina is a junior who’s a future really big-time talented player. He starts tonight, and it’s his first start, and he had nine solid points, Terron 16 and Zhaiden has 12.”
--Sajid status: “He’s recovering faster. I don’t know what it means, but I can sleep a little bit. I’m just proud of the kids. We’re pushing so hard to accomplish something great. I’m glad my assistant, (Michael) McClure, said, ‘You know, you’re in the district semifinals. Make sure you’re enjoying this.’ These guys are helping me balance myself out.”
Up next: Plymouth Whitemarsh will host #5 Souderton in Tuesday’s District 1 6A semifinal contest.
Garnet Valley 10-13-10-9 42
Plymouth Whitemarsh 19-11-15-20 65
Garnet Valley (42) – Luke Faccenda 4 3-6 11; Mason Koperna 3 0-0 9; Cole McAndrew 1 2-2 4; Grayson Golek 3 4-4 11; Evan Small 1 0-0 2; Vasilie Egonopoulos 1 0-0 2; Ryan Anderson 1 0-0 2; TOTALS 14 9-12 42.
Plymouth Whitemarsh (65) – Jack Hayes 1 0-0 2; Luca Taormina 4 0-0 9; Terron Davis 7 2-2 16; Michael Pereira 7 3-6 17; Buddy Denard 1 3-3 5; Zhaiden Gray 4 3-3 12; Micah Thompson 2 0-0 4; TOTALS 26 11-14 65.
3-point goals: GV – Koperna 3, Golek, Anderson; PW – Taormina, Gray.
#5 SOUDERTON 61, #13 CHELTENHAM 48
Souderton coach Brendan Stanton – with his team holding a 29-22 lead – gave his team a mandate at halftime: put the Panthers away.
Marques Brown took his coach’s instructions to heart, coming up with a steal near midcourt on the Panthers’ opening possession and turning it into an easy layup that sparked a 10-2 run, putting the Indians in the driver’s seat for Friday’s big win.
“At halftime we said - they’re going to come out super aggressive,” Stanton said. “We said - if we can win the first two minutes of the third quarter, we felt really good about this game.
“I didn’t tell Marques to gamble, but he goes and makes plays sometimes, and that was a perfect situation. They’re coming out probably drawing something up, and Marques made the great play.”
Brown spent the night making one great play after another for the Indians, scoring 20 first-half points and finishing with a game-high 30 points.
“Unbelievable,” Stanton said. “We’ve known he’s been capable of it. He’s had some 20-plus games recently, but that was really the game of his life.
“He guarded their team’s best player (Chris Harmon). I don’t know how many points he had (Harmon had four), but Marques did a really good job on him. I feel like he’s really bought into what we’ve been doing. I know he’s a transfer, and that’s always a little bit tough coming in, especially as a senior, but he’s been bought in really since day one.”
By halftime, Brown had torched the Panthers’ defense for 15 points, and he was far from finished, doubling his output with 15 more points in the second half that included three 3-pointers.
“Just throughout the pace of the game, (I was) just finding my guys, and people were finding me – having trust in my teammates,” Brown said. “I like to be able to run, go in transition and just play my game.”
Brown’s fast break basket early in the fourth quarter put the Indians on top by 18. After the Panthers – out of a timeout – went on a mini run to trim that lead to 10, it was Brown connecting on his sixth 3 – this one a corner 3-pointer that gave the Indians momentum they would not lose.
“I practice that every day,” Brown said. “My teammates have trust in me, telling me to keep shooting the ball, no matter the outcome.”
The Indians never looked back, punching their ticket to the District 1 6A semifinals. While some might have considered Souderton a long shot to advance this far, Brown – who transferred to Souderton from Dock Mennonite Academy – wasn’t in that number.
“This (wasn’t a thought) until I met the guys in the summertime just trying to do the best we could and playing through whatever,” Brown said.
The Indians, after falling behind 9-3 early, found their stride late in the first quarter, and they never looked back.
“Early on, they made some shots and got in the paint,” Stanton said of the Panthers. “I just think we were a little bit out of sorts early, but once we settled in – I think Marques made a 3, and I think sometimes you just have to get a bucket early, and then everyone sort of settles in
“Tonight we said we had to have an A-plus decision making game. Outside of a couple of crazy things against the press (late in the game), we had an A-plus decision making game, so I am really proud.”
Key players: Marques Brown’s 30 points led all scorers. Also, for the Indians, Chanse Salone added 13 points, and Nate Rusike had 11.
For the Panthers, Mark Hill led the way with 16 points, and Isa Vargas added 10. Jaedn Mosley chipped in eight.
Souderton coach Brendan Stanton:
--Brown elevating his game - “Now I think people are finding out how good Marques Brown is. He’s sort of had to take a backseat to Chase (Salone) and Nate (Rusike), two guys that were first team (all-league). Kobe (Rollerson, who is transfer ineligible) is one of his best friends, and I think he just had to find his groove. Now he’s playing with a ton of confidence, and all the guys believe he’s going to make every shot he shoots. And the last month, he’s made pretty much every shot he shoots.”
--Winning the battle of the boards – “Since the CB South game, we’ve been saying – the rest of the year there’s really not going to be a situation where we’re going to go up and just get a rebound. It’s going to be – go up, a guy deflects it, and Will Lockwood dives on the floor and tips the ball, a third guys runs over and get it.
“We said gang rebounding, and that was the only way we had a chance to win this game, and then you get some fast break points, guys start to believe, so just a great job. There are not many clean rebounds. Everybody went and got it. Levi Epps did an amazing job – probably his best rebounding game of the year. Chanse (Salone) is always an amazing rebounder as a guard. (Nate) Rusike was getting in there, Will Lockwood getting in there and mixing it up. Just an unbelievable effort today.”
--Salone a steady leader – “Chanse’s pace was unbelievable tonight – night and day different from the Neshaminy game (Tuesday). An A-plus decision making. I know he can really score, and he’s been MVP of the league, and he does all this stuff, but I tell him all the time – ‘Your super power is your passing and your decision making, the way you can handle traps at 5-9, 5-10 or whatever he is.’ In order for us to win this game, he was going to have to trust that Marques, Nate and all those guys are going to make shots. Good things happen when you trust your team.”
--First trip to final four since 2010 -.“On paper with our height, people probably didn’t think we could get here, but I always did believe. I think when you have really good guards and if the kids are bought in and love each other and want to play for each other, you can go beat really good teams and have a chance.
“Our guys are really enjoying it. I know our goal was to get to states. We made states, but we want to see how far we can go, and I think if we play like we played tonight, we can hang with just about any team, but more importantly, I said, to them – ‘If we play like we did tonight, it’s just fun.’ That’s what it supposed to be. However long I coach after this, I’ll probably be chasing this feeling for a while. It’s an unbelievable group - I can’t say enough.”
Up next: Souderton will be on the road at top-ranked Plymouth Whitemarsh on Tuesday, and Cheltenham – its spot in state ensured – will travel to #8 Garnet Valley on Tuesday for a playback game.
Cheltenham 13-9-7-19 48
Souderton 14-15-13-19 61
Cheltenham (48) – Isa Vargas 3 4-5 10; Chris Harmon 2 0-0 4; Mark Hill 7 0-1 16; Isaiah Dill 4 0-0 8; Jaedn Mosley 2 0-0 6; Elijah Saintildor 1 2-2 4; TOTALS 19 6-8 48.
Souderton (61) – Will Lockwood 2 0-0 4; Chanse Salone 5 3-4 13; Dylan Quinn 1 0-0 3; Nate Rusike 4 3-6 11; Marques Brown 12 0-0 30; TOTALS 24 6-10 61.
3-point goals: C- Hill 2, Mosley 2; S –Brown 6, Quinn.
#3 COATESVILLE 69, #6 ABINGTON 64 (OT)
Dan Marsh wasn’t making excuses for his team’s loss, but it’s hard to win a game when your team is whistled for 33 fouls and four of your five starters have fouled out.
“I’m not blaming it on that,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “Our kids played tremendous. I felt like we were the better team all night, and we just couldn’t catch a break.
“(The fouls) ruined the flow, but it was a great, high level game. Both teams were battling, but we’ve just got to close it out.”
The Ghosts lost Faison Garland, Kyler Pickron, Amare Stone and Malcom Lucas to fouls but still extended the Red Raiders to overtime.
The Ghosts’ season is far from finished, and Marsh is looking for his team to bounce back.
“I said to the kids in the locker room – who won the district championship last year, and they gave me like four different answers,” the Ghosts’ coach said. “I asked them who won the state championship, and they’re like – Father Judge.
“I said, ‘Everybody remembers that, and that’s now our focus.’ Obviously, we wanted to compete for a district championship, but we’re young, mostly juniors, so this is something we have to learn from.”
Abington coach Dan Marsh:
--The game: “We had the lead coming down the stretch of regulation, and we just had a couple bad turnovers. We just didn’t close the game the right way.
“Then we went to overtime, and we had a turnover, and then they hit a big 3. They pulled it out, and we had to foul. We still had opportunities. At one point, we were down three and we had a turnover. We just didn’t know what we needed to do.
“That’s a tough crowd, it’s a tough place to play, but I am extremely proud of our kids. We just didn’t finish it. We led most of the game, and we’ll learn from this.”
Up next; Abington will host #7 Spring-Ford on Tuesday in a playback game.
Abington 15-16-19-9-5 64
Coatesville 12-19-16-12-10 69
Abington (64) – Kyler Pickron 3, Amare Stone 3, Malcom Lucas 5, Xander Grasty 27, Faison Garland 21, Michael O’Rourke 5, Josh Scarpello 1.
District 1 Class 6A playbacks
#24 PENNSBURY 56, #17 CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 52 (2 OT)
It took two overtimes to determine a winner in Friday’s tightly contested playback, and it was the Falcons escaping with the hard-fought win.
The game was tied after every frame until the second overtime that saw the Falcons outscore the home team 8-4 for the emotionally charged win that kept them alive for a state playoff berth.
“We had a shot to win it in both regulation and the first overtime,” Pennsbury coach Wes Emme said. “To East’s credit – Erik Henrysen is an incredible coach, and he’s got a great staff. He gets those kids really bought in. We would hit a shot, and they would match it. We would score, and they would come down and get fouled. It was just really a well-played high school basketball game.”
Key players: Pat Jajua’s 19 points led the Falcons. He also had five rebounds and three assists. Sean Breslin also finished in double figures with 11 points. Max Manga added eight points and eight rebounds. Brady Kent had eight points, and Brayden Clark had seven points and three assists.
For the Patriots, Henry Barchuk had 18 points, and Keegan Marascio added 13. Connor Mekanik had nine and Brady Colbert, eight.
Pennsbury coach Wes Emme:
--The game: “Both teams – the best players made shots, and the guys around them made a lot of plays to keep the other team at bay.
“Brady Kent hit two free throws late in overtime that were crucial. We had missed a bunch that may have kind of sealed it for us earlier in the game. The free throw bug had not bitten us in a while. In fact, our leading scorer, Pat Jajua, had made 30 of his last 32 coming into tonight, and he missed a bunch that he typically makes. But to his credit, he made the last two which are the ones that sealed it for us.
“The words I used for tonight were poise and focus. Before the game, I said, ‘I need 32 minutes,’ and at the start of overtime, I said, ‘I need 36 minutes,’ At the start of double overtime, I said, I need 40,’ and they gave it to me.”
--Props: “Max Manga was absolutely outstanding on the backboards. Patrick Jajua hit some incredible shots towards the end of the game, including a 3 in double overtime. We never surrendered the lead again after that.
“Everybody contributed, and that’s been kind of a theme for us. Brady Kent makes a couple shots. Owen Hogancamp came in the game and gave us great minutes, hit a 3. Sean Breslin had 11 points. It’s balance and playing within yourself and playing your role.”
Up next: Pennsbury will travel to #4 Central Bucks South for a playback game on Tuesday.
“I have only watched CB South from afar,” Pennsbury coach Wes Emme said. “They had a great, great year. They’re well coached, play extremely hard, and they are big and physical, So it’s going to be a matchup – can our big guys hold up and stay out of foul trouble? And can our guards make enough plays to get us leads or get us out in transition for scores.”
Central Bucks East saw its season come to an end with a 19-11 record.
Pennsbury 11-9-14-7-7-8 56
Central Bucks East 11-9-14-7-7-4 52
Pennsbury 56) – Brayden Clark 7, Brady Kent 8, Owen Hogancamp 3, Sean Breslin 11, Pat Jajua 19, Max Manga 8.
Central Bucks East (52) – Connor Mekanik 9, Henry Bartchak 18, Quinn Slack 4, Brady Colber 8, Keegan Marascio 13.
3-point goals: Ken 2, Jajua 2, Hogancamp, Breslin; CBE – Bartchak 2, Colbert 2, Marascio.
#4 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 63, #21 NESHAMINY 58
The Titans broke a 24-24 tie with a 23-point third quarter, opening up a 47-41 lead on their way to the win in Friday’s playback game. Alex Shahin’s eight third-quarter points led the Titans. Eriq Gold had 10 points in the frame to keep the Redskins close.
With the win, the Titans remain alive in the hunt for a coveted PIAA State Tournament berth while the Redskins saw their season come to an end.
Key players: Leo Medweg led three Titans in double figures with 16 points – nine in the fourth quarter. Alex Shahin and Davis Van Zanten both added 13 points while Brayden Barrett had nine.
For the Redskins, sophomore Marlon Yon led the offense with 20 points. Eriq Gold had the hot hand in the second half, scoring 16 of his 18 points after the intermission.
Central Bucks South coach Louie Ditri:
--The game: “It was actually a pretty back-and-forth game. We had a strong third quarter – we scored 23, but they had 17. It was a good battle for four quarters. We just pulled away at the end.
“Lately, we have been having tough third quarters, and I thought our kids came out of halftime re-energized and focused. We were tied at halftime at 24, but we didn’t have a great first half. We gave up a couple of easy baskets, we had a couple of turnovers we’d like to have back.
“I thought in the third quarter we came out with a focus on the offensive end, not so much on the defensive end because we still gave up 17 points, but they’re a good squad and they’re well coached. And (Marlon) Yon for them is a nice player, and Eriq Gold went off for them. He shot the ball well.
“They were hurt a little bit – (Logan) Gale ended up leaving with an injury, and he’s a really good player for them. They dominated on the glass. We did a real poor job of rebounding which is usually our strong point. They did a great job on the boards, and that kept them in the game with us not being able to get second chance points like we normally do, that helped them. They did a nice job with that.”
--Props: “In the second half, we bared down a little bit. Alex Shihan did a nice job for us in the second half and in the fourth quarter. He’s one of our captains, one of our seniors, and he was making sure we weren’t going to lose the game.
“Leo Medwid did a nice job too – he had 11 points for us in the second half, and Davis Van Zanten only scored four in the second half, but he was really strong defensively for us. He was one of our better defensive players.”
Up next: Central Bucks South will host #24 Pennsbury in a playback game Tuesday. Neshaminy closed out its season with a 14-11 record.
Neshaminy 15-9-17-17 58
Central Bucks South 12-12-23-16 63
Neshaminy (58) – Luke Amrhein 2 2-4 6; Logan Gale 2 1-1 5; Eriq Gold 6 3-6 18; Goodwin 2 0-0 4; Cadenn Amati 2 1-1 5; Marlon Yon 7 5-8 20; TOTALS 21 12-20 58.
Central Bucks South (63) – Kayode Adebayo 3 1-2 7; Alex Shahin 4 5-8 13; Shane Farrell 1 3-6 5; Brayden Barrett 3 2-4 9; Davis Van Zanten 6 0-2 13; Leo Medwid 6 3-4 16; TOTALS 23 14-26 63.
3-point goals: N – Gold 3, Yon; CBS – Barrett, Van Zanten, Medwid.
#14 CHESTER 57, #22 COUNCIL ROCK SOUTH 50
The ending was not what they’d hoped for, but it had been quite a season for the Golden Hawks, who – after an 0-4 start – were 15-5 and captured the program’s first SOL Patriot Division title.
“Tonight obviously didn’t turn out how we wanted it to turn out, but we played really hard for 32 minutes - this group has done that the entire season,” Rock South coach Jim Cassidy said.
The Hawks certainly proved they belonged and led 15-13 after one quarter. Chester rallied to take a 28-25 lead into halftime and upped its advantage to 42-35 heading into the fourth quarter when the two teams played to a draw.
Ryan Delp turned in a dazzling 27-point performance in his final high school games, burying six 3-pointers. Ray Haglund added 11 points.
“It’s difficult for our seniors to see it now after such a tough loss, but they’ll look back some day and realize that they’re the most successful group in school history,” Cassidy said. “Delp and Haglund are record-setting players in this program, and the whole group is a collection of winners. It was an honor for me to coach them this year.”
Council Rock South closed out its season with a 15-9 record. The Golden Hawks were 8-2 in the SOL and earned the Patriot Division title.
Council Rock South 15-10-10-15 50
Chester 13-15-14-15 57
Council Rock South (50) – Ray Haglund 11, Ryan Delp 27, Lucian Mirc 6,Brian Bondiskey 2. Brendan Balmer 2, Joe Madara 2.
3-point goals: CRS – Delp 6, Haglund, Mirc.
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