City of Basketball Love

By Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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ABINGTON — As Frank Sciolla sat in his 12th grade English classroom at Pennsbury High School on Tuesday, he had one main hope for Falcons junior Joley Hohman in her return to the court later that evening. 

“I was like, I want her to smile, I want her to have fun,” he told CoBL. “I don’t care if she misses every shot she takes, I don’t care if she spins herself into the bleachers, nothing was going to upset me.”

Sciolla got to see Hohman have fun and do quite a bit more in her first game in a Falcons uniform since the end of her freshman year. Coming off a missed sophomore season due to injury, Hohman looked like she hadn’t missed a step, contributing 14 points as Pennsbury stomped Abington 62-26 in the season opener for both teams. 

Starting alongside classmate Sammie Haws for the first time in an official capacity, Hohman got things started with a dime to Haws for a corner triple; it was only about a minute later that she got on the board on an and-one layup, helping the Falcons jump out to an early 13-1 lead that they never looked back from. 

She knocked down a couple 3-pointers in the second quarter as Pennsbury led by 27 at halftime, getting the clock into running territory by the midpoint of the third quarter, adding one final layup in the third to finish 5-of-9 from the floor with two assists, a block and a rebound. It was her first meaningful hoops competition since going down with a torn ACL last June, costing her the whole 2024-25 campaign.

Hohman got back on the courts this summer and shed her knee brace before the fall even got underway, looking very much just like her old self on the court at Abington on Tuesday, which was a boy-girl doubleheader; Abington’s boys beat Bensalem in the opener. 

“Very exciting obviously, a lot of emotion going into it,” Hohman said afterwards. “Even just sitting there pregame, it’s full-circle just to think about what my life was like a year ago and the dramatic changes, and I’m just so thankful; all the glory to God that I’m back and that this is my life now.”

“It’s hard not to be emotional because she’s coming back,” Sciolla said. “You always feel good about when players come back from injuries, you always do, because you know how much it means. 

“This is a Pennsbury kid, bred to be orange and black, watched roughly 200 games in her childhood growing up, so missing that season — I’m not saying it’s more important than anybody else or it hurt her more than anybody else, but it’s an impact.”

Though Tuesday was Hohman’s first basketball game for Pennsbury since her freshman year, it wasn’t her first athletic competition. The 5-foot-9 guard played field hockey in the fall, helping the Falcons to a district playoff appearance while getting used high-level high school sports.

“Just grateful that I was able to put on another Pennsbury uniform and just get out there and be comfortable with having to actually use my body again and have to not think about (my knee),” she said. “I was just thankful that I actually was able to let go of the emotions and just play and, I think that’s why I ended up playing as well as I did, because I just let go of all the outside noise.”

Hohman and Haws are two-thirds of a high-level backcourt for the Falcons, along with sophomore Alyssa Thomas; Haws and Thomas shouldered much of the offensive load for Pennsbury last year as the Falcons went 15-11 (7-3 SOL Patriot). With the three of them on the court for the first time at the varsity level, expectations have ticked up another measure for Sciolla’s squad. 

All three played well in Tuesday’s romp. Haws led the way with 17 points, hitting three first-quarter 3-pointers and five triples overall, adding five rebounds, four steals and two assists. Thomas, the point guard, contributed nine points, seven rebounds, seven assists and a steal. 

With the game well in hand, the Pennsbury girls got strong contributions from their bench. Junior guard Shea Quenzer had several quality takes to the rim as she contributed six points; sophomores Kiera Socha and Bella Stewart also gave them quality minutes in both halves. Sciolla also gave credit to junior guard Milan Reeves, also making her first career start, for holding Abington standout senior Aniyah Williams to seven points. 

“It’s not a three-man show, so we’re just excited because we have tons of pieces that make everything go together,” Hohman said. “I’m just happy to be with the girls again.”

By Quarter
Pennsbury: 25  |  15  |  15  |   7   ||  62
Abington:     5   |   8   |   9   |   4   ||  26

Shooting
Pennsbury: 22-44 FG (8-20 3PT), 10-14 FT
Abington: 10-30 FG (0-6 3PT), 6-13 FT

Scoring
Pennsbury: Sammie Haws 17, Joley Hohman 14, Alyssa Thomas 9, Shea Quenzer 6, Milan Reeves 5, Emily Panaro 3, Bridget McGonigle 3, Kiera Socha 2, Bella Stewart 2, Grace Schaffler 1

Abington: Zyn McClain 9, Aniyah Williams 7, Caleigh Fitzgerald 4, Emma Felix 2, Nora Luskin 2, Rhyane Rogers 2

~~~

Abington boys’ depth pays off as Ghosts beat Bensalem

There might not be a coach more willing to go to his bench than Dan Marsh. 

The Abington boys’ boss went well beyond a normal high school rotation in the Ghosts’ 67-51 win over Bensalem in the opening game of Tuesday night’s doubleheader. In the fourth quarter, with the Eagles having cut a 20-point lead down into single digits and threatening to come all the way back, Marsh sent in his 16th different player of the evening — and senior guard Ian Burmester rewarded his decision, knocking down a key 3-pointer to help the hosts pull back away for the 16-point win. 

“I felt like we were a little stale there when they went zone, and I’m like ‘Ian you’ve got to go in and hit one and change the momentum,’” Marsh told CoBL. “ And he stepped in, he was fearless, he knocked it down. 

“The great thing I love about this team is we have a lot of guys with similar skillsets. Sometimes Ian might never play, but there might be a moment where we need him. And these guys have been prepared for it, they don’t complain about it, and I’m proud of them.”

Burmester’s bucket, which helped restore a double-digit advantage with under four minutes remaining, was critical in a game where both of Abington’s star guards — senior Faizon Garland (16 points, 5 steals) and junior Xander Grasty (14 points, 3 assists) — were unavailable in the stretch run due to cramping issues. Senior guard Michael O’Rouke stepped up as well down the stretch, going 6-of-6 from the foul line. 

Also impressing for Abington (1-0) was junior forward Malcolm Lewis. The 6-6 post finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in his first significant varsity action, coming up with a few important defensive stops down the stretch to prevent Bensalem getting too much momentum.

Senior guards Aiden Mayfield and MJ Ellzy led Bensalem (0-2) with 14 points apiece; Ellzy added nine rebounds, four assists and two steals.

By Quarter
AHS: 21  |  15  |  11  |  20  ||  67
BHS:  6   |  17  |  15  |  13  ||  51

Shooting
AHS: 23-53 FG (4-23 3PT), 17-23 FT
BHS: 19-47 FG (7-19 3PT), 6-10 FT

Scoring
AHS: Faizon Garland 16, Xander Grasty 14, Malcolm Lewis 11, Amari Stone 10, Kyler Pickron 7, Michael O’Rourke 6, Ian Burmester 3

BHS: Aiden Mayfield 14, MJ Ellzy 14, JJ Bourelly 6, Naman Parman 6, Juel Nimely 3, Julian Vose 3, Jacob Eberhart 3, Michael Levister 2