Is Central Bucks West getting its Cinderella practice in?
The No. 6 Bucks beat No. 3 Bensalem and No. 2 Central Bucks East, both on the road, to reach the finals of Tuesday’s SOL Tournament at Holy Family. West ultimately fell to No. 1 Upper Dublin 49-43. The Bucks trailed 21-8 after one quarter but trimmed the Upper Dublin lead to 43-39 with under 80 seconds remaining.
West (18-7, 10-6 SOL), the Colonial runner-up and 2016 SOL champion, got to the final by defeating archrival No. 2 CB East (18-6, 12-4 SOL) in Saturday’s semifinal 59-49. It was the Bucks’ second win in Buckingham in two and a half weeks. West held East to just 11 first half points. West’s Julian Phillips (17) and East’s Jake Cummiskey (13 points) were their team-high scorers.
West grabbed a rebound with five seconds left to ice a 56-53 opening-round win at No. 3 Bensalem on Friday. Sam Jankowski led the charge with 19 points. That night, East beat No. 7 Plymouth Whitemarsh 62-56 in a game the Patriots trailed by two at halftime. Cummiskey’s 19 and Bryce Lolas’ 17 points keyed the Patriot attack.
The No. 5 CB East girls (18-6, 11-5 SOL), runners-up in the SOL Colonial, beat No. 4 and SOL Freedom champion Lower Moreland 55-39 in the opening round. Sydney Ralph, Natalie Berndt, Anna Barry and Jess Lockwood all scored at least 12 points in a balanced attack. East fell to No. 1 Upper Dublin 40-34 in Saturday’s semifinal. Barry’s 14 points led East.
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