New Hope-Solebury girls, Phil-Mont Christian boys win Bicentennial crowns

Spurred by rock-solid post players, the New Hope-Solebury girls and Phil-Mont Christian boys claimed Bicentennial Athletic League basketball crowns on Saturday afternoon.

Toni Suler produced 10 rebounds, eight points, and six blocks as New Hope downed turnover-prone Faith Christian, 32-19, in the opener of a doubleheader at Holy Family University.

David Giuliani registered 19 points, 12 boards (seven on offense), and 2 steals as Phil-Mont pulled away late to beat Jenkintown, 57-48, in the second contest.

Suler, a 5-foot-11 senior, made sure that New Hope (23-2) gained payback for a 38-30 loss to Faith Christian (20-5) a week earlier.

"Honestly, I think we practiced a lot of what we wanted to do on offense and then went out and executed it," she said.

A 10-1 run to start the second quarter, which included Kelley Hyland's driving bucket and was capped by Sarah Wilson's right-wing three-pointer, put New Hope in front, 18-7.

"We definitely wanted to come out strong, and that's exactly what we did," said Suler, who posted six boards and four blocks before intermission.

Hyland hit a jumper at the end of the third stanza to make it 28-15. She scored eight of her 10 points in the middle two quarters.

Suler, who added a pair of steals, is considering Delaware Valley, DeSales, Gettysburg, and Ursinus for college. She plans to major in business or communications.

Giuliani, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound junior, made a strong return after sitting out Thursday's semifinal win over Lower Moreland with a virus.

"It was huge," Phil-Mont coach Glenn Dolton said. "He gives us that inside presence that a lot of teams don't have."

Giuliani, in his second year at Phil-Mont (25-1) after transferring from North Penn, shot 8 for 9 from the field. Five of his field goals (he drilled a second-quarter trey) came on put-backs.

"My dad always tells me, 'Offensive rebounds are 100 percent effort and positioning,' " the 16-year-old said. "That's what I do. I'm the garbage man."

Giuliani's father, Michael, played hoops at Bishop McDevitt and the old Beaver College, now Arcadia. His sister, Mikaela, is a senior standout and has scored 1,009 career points at North Penn.

Giuliani received support against Jenkintown from 6-5 forward Osaze Thornton (16 points, six boards) and swift guard Noah Baldez (14 points, six boards, three steals). Colin Mulvaney paced the Drakes (17-9) with 24 points.

Faith Christian 6 4 5 4 - 19

New Hope-Solebury 8 12 8 4 - 32

FC: Ashley Forker 6, Madelyn Brodish 1, Elizabeth Hoffman 3, Kirah Brown 9.

NHS: Karli Burns 4, Sarah Wilson 7, Toni Suler 8, Kelley Hyland 10, Maggie Dougherty 1, Bella DeVito 2.

Jenkintown 12 16 11 9 - 48

Phil-Mont Christian 10 17 12 18 - 57

J: Andres Madden 6, Carl Robinson 5, Jameson Kolb 11, Colin Mulvaney 24, John Contoudis 2.

PM: Noah Baldez 14, Matt Steiger 2, Sean Griffin 6, David Giuliani 19, Osaze Thornton 16.

robrien@phillynews.com

@ozoneinq