City of Basketball Love

Jeff Griffith
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An Owen J. Roberts team that won just four games last season made an early-December statement Tuesday night, knocking off a solid Methacton side, 56-54, in a home thriller.

The win, which opened the Wildcats’ Pioneer Athletic Conference slate with a 1-0 mark, matched their total number of league wins a year ago, and did so against a Warriors team that went 8-5 in league play a year ago. 

Safe to say, the victory meant quite a bit. 

“This is a very nice win at home against a very good team,” head coach Jeremy Mellon said. “Obviously, there’s some validation. A lot of the things we did last year, while they didn’t end up in the win column, were building toward us getting to these moments.”

Owen J. Roberts (2-1, 1-0 PAC Liberty) took an early punch, as Methacton (1-3, 0-1 PAC Liberty) opened up a 19-8 lead after the first quarter. By halftime, things weren’t much closer; OJR had cut the lead to 10. 

The third frame, ultimately, was the difference. The Wildcats stormed out of the break to the tune of a 22-10 frame, flipping the game — and, potentially, the young season — on its head. 

Mellon credited the Wildcats’ free-throw shooting down the stretch to help cling to a close advantage. 

“We just told them (at halftime), ‘Listen, we’re good,’” he said. “‘We just need to value each possession and we have to rebound better.’ We got moving. For a very young team, we showed a lot of composure, and kept making big shots.”

The driver of much of OJR’s energy — as well as its scoring — was promising freshman guard Maggie Thompson, who dropped 34 points in just her third-ever high school game while connecting on five of her nine three-point attempts. 

According to Mellon, Thompson’s 34 points set a single-game record at Owen J. Roberts, previously held by Asya Price, a 2024 graduate. 

“She’s obviously incredibly talented,” Mellon said. “Great kid, too. She’s just a hard-working, humble kid who loves basketball. As good of a scorer she is, she’s as good of a passer, as good of a defender, she’s a complete player.”  

Sophomore Kira Sorzano chipped in 11 for the Wildcats. In defeat, Methacton was led by sophomore Ava Wolf with 18 points. Fellow sophomore Penny Wolf added 11 points, nine boards and seven steals.

Here's a quick glance around Tuesday's area action: 

HS BOYS: Spring-Ford 58, Pope John Paul II 53

Spring-Ford made an early statement in conference play, knocking off defending league champion Pope John Paul II. The Rams got off to a hot start, leading 18-9 after one, but scored just four in the second frame. A strong third quarter, though, made the difference to provide some breathing room. 

Senior Syaire Barnes led the way for S-F with 16 points, while fellow senior Jack Kennedy added 14. The Panthers got a team-high 16 from senior Jack Kessler. 

HS GIRLS: Garnet Valley 50, Lower Merion 45

A similar storyline unfolded in another corner of the Central League, as defending league champion Garnet Valley picked up a close home win over Lower Merion. The Jaguars swept LM in three meetings last season, all by 15 or more. Senior leader Haylie Adamski led the way with 18 and shot 9-of-9 on free throws, while sister Addie Adamski added 12. 

HS BOYS: Central Bucks East 50, Central Bucks South 44

In a league opener between crosstown rivals, CB East picked up the road win over CB South, riding a strong second half and 19 points from Keegan Marascio. Both teams got off to slow starts, with a halftime score of 14-13. Marascio — who also logged six assists and five boards — picked up in the final frame, scoring 11 of his 19 to help propel the Patriots. CB South got a team-high 11 points from senior Leo Medwid.

HS BOYS: Wissahickon 62, Upper Dublin 61 (OT)

In a thriller to kickoff conference play, Wissahickon pulled out an exciting win, largely thanks to the efforts of Nico Vacchiano; the senior led the way with 22 points, 17 of which came after halftime. Wissahickon, which had gone down by seven to close the third quarter, stormed back to force overtime. In the extra frame, a pair of his free throws put the Trojans ahead for good, in response to a pair of key triples by Upper Dublin senior Brandon Altman; he had 14, while fellow senior Noah Cohen led the Cardinals with 21. 

HS BOYS: Upper Darby 61, Haverford High 50

The Royals used an impressive fourth quarter rally to remain unbeaten, knocking off Haverford behind 16 points from senior Artemus Sirleaf. Upper Darby outscored Haverford 20-9 in the fourth to pull away and seal the win. 40 of Haverford’s 50 points came from senior Andrew Brown (23) and sophomore Jamie Haskell (17). 

HS GIRLS: Gwynedd Academy 54, Nazareth Academy 26

Reigning Catholic League MVP and senior Bailey Balkir did a little bit of everything for Gwynned Academy in a dominant win, tallying 19 points, six assists, five rebounds, two steals and a block. Sophomore Chloe McCarthy added 16 points in the win.

HS BOYS: Souderton 66, Pennridge 53 

In a key early season Suburban One game, Souderton opened league play with a double-digit road win behind 27 points from senior Nate Rusike. Fellow senior Chanse Salone added 18 in a game that saw Souderton drop 27 in the fourth frame to run away from the rival Rams. Pennridge was paced by Rownan Smith, who had 13. 

HS GIRLS: Conestoga 53, Ridley 47

The defending 6A district one champs picked up a road win to open Central Leauge play, controlling the fourth quarter in a back-and-forth game to walk out with the win. Senior Ryann Jennings led the way for ‘Stoga, contributing a game-high 23 points — including a perfect 6-of-6 at the line.

HS BOYS: Perkiomen Valley 54, Methacton 44

The Vikings dominated the opening quarter, leading Methacton 19-4 and never looking back to open up conference play. Senior Jonathan Boyd led the way with 16 points for PV, while senior Chase Kelly added 11. Eight each from senior Mason Conrad and sophomore John Leet led the way for the Warriors. 

HS BOYS: MaST Charter III 57, Belmont Charter 48

Mast III stormed back from down 12 to knock off Belmont Charter, riding 21 points from sophomore Asa Jones. Jason Patterson and Joey Maute each added nine points.

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D-I MEN: No. 2 Michigan 89, Villanova 61

Villanova entered great company Tuesday night — that being the growing list of teams getting beaten soundly by a dominant Michigan (9-0) squad, which toppled Gonzaga by 40 and Auburn by 30. The Wildcats trailed by 15 after nine minutes and it never got much closer; Michigan stayed on the gas, and led by 30 at the break.

All in all, it was an inefficient night for ‘Nova (7-2), which shot 64 percent at the line, 27 percent from distance and 34 percent overall. Devin Askew went 6-for-16, leading the way with 18 points of f the bench, while Acaden Lewis added 11 points, six boards and three assists despite a similarly inefficient 4-of-11 night from the field.

Villanova’s non-con schedule features two more high major opponents at home — Pittsburgh and Wisconsin — before entering Big East play.

D-I MEN: Temple 103, Georgian Court 57

The Owls did exactly what they were suppose to Tuesday, snapping a three-game losing streak by taking care of D-II Georgian Court by 46. The Owls, now back to .500 at 5-5, got double-figures from four starters and six total players, with senior Derrian Ford leading the way with 18. Senior Jordan Mason came up just shy of a triple-double, logging 10 points, 11 assists and eight boards.

D-I MEN: St. Joseph’s 87, Coppin State 65

The Hawks (6-3) have now won four in a row after a convincing win over Coppin State. Jaiden Glover-Toscano had a career-night; the sophomore, who averages 12.1 points and 4.3 rebounds, went off for 25 points on 8-of-16 from the field and 7-of-13 from three-point range, while tacking on four boards. 

D-2 MEN & WOMEN: Chestnut Hill, Holy Family split Tuesday doubleheader

On the men’s side of the equation, Chestnut Hill picked up its third win of the season — and second in conference — downing Holy Family, 68-52. The Griffins got 22 points and seven boards from redshirt freshman Amari Dow and 17 points and 12 boards from senior Alejandro Redondo Cybak; the two combined for a red-hot 17-of-24 from the field. 

As for the women’s teams, Holy Family nabbed a 74-64 win to improve to 3-0 in conference and hand Chestnut Hill its first CACC loss. Four players scored in double figures for Holy Family, with senior Kaeleah Carter knocking down seven of her 11 three-point attempts to the tune 23 points. Taylor Hinkle added 15 points and 14 boards, while Chestnut Hill got a team-high 25 points from senior Sara Tamoun.