Cougars Find an Escape Route !!! I'm not talking N.S. Either
-
THE CHOPS
- Official BleacherCoach
- Posts: 1900
- Joined: October 24th, 2003, 10:42 am
- Location: SCOTTDALE, PA.
Cougars Find an Escape Route !!! I'm not talking N.S. Either
CLASS (AAAA): HARRISBURG 56, CARLISLE 48
Cougars find escape route
Harrisburg, Penn Manor advance to District #3 final
The Patriot-News:
After 29 minutes of play in last night's late semifinal at Giant Center, nothing was certain.
Carlisle's Thundering Herd was still in the faces of the defending District #3-(AAAA) champs.
They had come up with enough big baskets to stay within two points of Harrisburg's lead, and the Herd was still hustling and scrapping against the odds for the upset.
Ultimately a three-point play by Quincy Roberts lit the escape route for the Cougars. Harrisburg slipped away with a 56-48 defeat of Carlisle in the D#3-(AAAA) boys' basketball semifinals in Hershey.
"I think we gave Harrisburg all they wanted tonight," Carlisle coach Joe Stasyszyn said. "We battled them right down to the wire. I'm so proud of these kids and the effort they gave."
Roberts was fouled on a baseline drive in a collision that left the Herd's Jordan Stasyszyn with a bloodied nose. Roberts made the basket and the free throw to open a 49-44 Cougars lead.
"I wasn't having too much of a good game," Roberts said. "So I figured I need to make that bucket and that free throw so we could get over the hump."
Stasyszyn, who led Carlisle with a warrior-like 28-point performance that included seven 3-pointers, remained on the bench seeking treatment from the trainers.
That left the Herd with two empty trips down the floor before he returned with a nostril stuffed with bandages.
By then Harrisburg was up 49-44 with 1:20 to go and holding the ball to reach free throw time. The Cougars shot 7-for-8 from the line from there to earn their return trip to the championship game.
Harrisburg (24-2) will meet Penn Manor (20-6) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Giant Center in the D#3-(AAAA) title game.
Alphonso Dawson and Laron Williams led the Cougars with 15 points each. Dawson and Ricardo Brown (10 points) each hauled in eight rebounds as the Herd was without 6-3 center Walter Okoth-Ogola (mononucleosis).
Carlisle (20-8) heads for tomorrow's third-place game against Cumberland Valley (18-10) at 5 p.m. at Central Dauphin East.
These Mid-Penn Commonwealth teams can't seem to get away from each other, but surely the Cougars are happy to be done with Carlisle for now.
"They're not afraid. They try to win. They play to win," Harrisburg coach Kirk Smallwood said. "They were feisty, competitive, very well-coached. They do what they do."
Harrisburg had beaten Carlisle by 23 points and 13 points during the league season but struggled to put the Herd away last night.
"They seemed improved. They clicked more as a team since the last time we played them," Roberts said. "But we didn't play as well as a team ourselves."
Stasyszyn had five 3-pointers in the first half, including a net tickler from halfcourt at the horn.
"He was shooting from pretty much anywhere with a hand in his face," Roberts said of Stasyszyn. "There wasn't too much you could do about that."
The Cougars were up 26-24, but a Stasyszyn 3 to open the third quarter gained the Herd a 27-26 lead.
"Jordan stepped up and played a hell of a game," Joe Stasyszyn said of his son. "Some other guys stepped up, we played great defense and we felt we controlled the basketball game."
Harrisburg pulled away with a 10-2 surge in the third before Carlisle scored the last five points of the quarter. Every time Harrisburg built a little bit of a lead, Carlisle found a way to answer.
"That was a regular Mid-Penn game," Smallwood said. "The excitement started with two minutes left."
Harrisburg opened an eight-point lead to start the fourth quarter, but Carlisle cut it right back down to two.
It still felt like the game could go either way when Roberts' three-point play set the stage for the finish.
=========================================================
PENN MANOR 68, CUMBERLAND VALLEY 61: After these two teams had spent the evening matching each other's chess moves, CV was up 61-57 with 2:45 left to play.
But the Eagles never found an answer for Penn Manor big man Jordan Gibbs.
"The big kid inside was the difference, I thought. We really couldn't control him down low," CV coach John Albert said. "He got the ball down low, and he finished."
The 6-7 tight end scored five points as the Comets closed out the game with an 11-0 run.
"We didn't handle the ball," Albert said. "We forced the ball, trying to make something happen."
The Eagles committed three turnovers and were beaten to three rebounds off their own glass during that decisive closing stretch.
"If we got one or two stops, I thought we would be OK," Penn Manor coach Jeff Churchill said. "I felt those stops at the end were key for us."
Gibbs, a University of Pittsburgh football recruit, finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds. His inside presence helped the Comets gain a 34-15 advantage in rebounds.
Brandon Widener, with 12 points, four assists, was also key as the Comets rallied.
Steve Kirkpatrick scored 24 points for Cumberland Valley but was limited to two rebounds. Chris Jordan added 11 points off the bench.
THE CHOPS...
Cougars find escape route
Harrisburg, Penn Manor advance to District #3 final
The Patriot-News:
After 29 minutes of play in last night's late semifinal at Giant Center, nothing was certain.
Carlisle's Thundering Herd was still in the faces of the defending District #3-(AAAA) champs.
They had come up with enough big baskets to stay within two points of Harrisburg's lead, and the Herd was still hustling and scrapping against the odds for the upset.
Ultimately a three-point play by Quincy Roberts lit the escape route for the Cougars. Harrisburg slipped away with a 56-48 defeat of Carlisle in the D#3-(AAAA) boys' basketball semifinals in Hershey.
"I think we gave Harrisburg all they wanted tonight," Carlisle coach Joe Stasyszyn said. "We battled them right down to the wire. I'm so proud of these kids and the effort they gave."
Roberts was fouled on a baseline drive in a collision that left the Herd's Jordan Stasyszyn with a bloodied nose. Roberts made the basket and the free throw to open a 49-44 Cougars lead.
"I wasn't having too much of a good game," Roberts said. "So I figured I need to make that bucket and that free throw so we could get over the hump."
Stasyszyn, who led Carlisle with a warrior-like 28-point performance that included seven 3-pointers, remained on the bench seeking treatment from the trainers.
That left the Herd with two empty trips down the floor before he returned with a nostril stuffed with bandages.
By then Harrisburg was up 49-44 with 1:20 to go and holding the ball to reach free throw time. The Cougars shot 7-for-8 from the line from there to earn their return trip to the championship game.
Harrisburg (24-2) will meet Penn Manor (20-6) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Giant Center in the D#3-(AAAA) title game.
Alphonso Dawson and Laron Williams led the Cougars with 15 points each. Dawson and Ricardo Brown (10 points) each hauled in eight rebounds as the Herd was without 6-3 center Walter Okoth-Ogola (mononucleosis).
Carlisle (20-8) heads for tomorrow's third-place game against Cumberland Valley (18-10) at 5 p.m. at Central Dauphin East.
These Mid-Penn Commonwealth teams can't seem to get away from each other, but surely the Cougars are happy to be done with Carlisle for now.
"They're not afraid. They try to win. They play to win," Harrisburg coach Kirk Smallwood said. "They were feisty, competitive, very well-coached. They do what they do."
Harrisburg had beaten Carlisle by 23 points and 13 points during the league season but struggled to put the Herd away last night.
"They seemed improved. They clicked more as a team since the last time we played them," Roberts said. "But we didn't play as well as a team ourselves."
Stasyszyn had five 3-pointers in the first half, including a net tickler from halfcourt at the horn.
"He was shooting from pretty much anywhere with a hand in his face," Roberts said of Stasyszyn. "There wasn't too much you could do about that."
The Cougars were up 26-24, but a Stasyszyn 3 to open the third quarter gained the Herd a 27-26 lead.
"Jordan stepped up and played a hell of a game," Joe Stasyszyn said of his son. "Some other guys stepped up, we played great defense and we felt we controlled the basketball game."
Harrisburg pulled away with a 10-2 surge in the third before Carlisle scored the last five points of the quarter. Every time Harrisburg built a little bit of a lead, Carlisle found a way to answer.
"That was a regular Mid-Penn game," Smallwood said. "The excitement started with two minutes left."
Harrisburg opened an eight-point lead to start the fourth quarter, but Carlisle cut it right back down to two.
It still felt like the game could go either way when Roberts' three-point play set the stage for the finish.
=========================================================
PENN MANOR 68, CUMBERLAND VALLEY 61: After these two teams had spent the evening matching each other's chess moves, CV was up 61-57 with 2:45 left to play.
But the Eagles never found an answer for Penn Manor big man Jordan Gibbs.
"The big kid inside was the difference, I thought. We really couldn't control him down low," CV coach John Albert said. "He got the ball down low, and he finished."
The 6-7 tight end scored five points as the Comets closed out the game with an 11-0 run.
"We didn't handle the ball," Albert said. "We forced the ball, trying to make something happen."
The Eagles committed three turnovers and were beaten to three rebounds off their own glass during that decisive closing stretch.
"If we got one or two stops, I thought we would be OK," Penn Manor coach Jeff Churchill said. "I felt those stops at the end were key for us."
Gibbs, a University of Pittsburgh football recruit, finished with 30 points and 10 rebounds. His inside presence helped the Comets gain a 34-15 advantage in rebounds.
Brandon Widener, with 12 points, four assists, was also key as the Comets rallied.
Steve Kirkpatrick scored 24 points for Cumberland Valley but was limited to two rebounds. Chris Jordan added 11 points off the bench.
THE CHOPS...