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LL semi's @ LS

Feb. 11, 2009

 

 

CV 51 Hempfield 45

 

For the second night in a row, a 4A seeded team lost at LS. This time it was Hempfield that came up short vs. the runner-up in section 2, CV. CV needed a low scoring game and they got it. The Bucks out rounded, blocked more shots, and allowed ZERO threes from Hempfield. This game was very, very similar to the PM/LCHS game in that both games were close at half and both ."underdogs." got a little run in the third and then held on to win the game. CV earns the right to play Section 2 champ, Etown.

 

Both teams were slow out of the gate. CV, the lowest scoring team left in the LL, was content to pass the ball and look for good shots. In fact the score was 3-2 at the 4 minute mark of the first. Matt Donato, 6'2." sn for Hempfield scored 8 points in the first quarter for the Knights. All every thing Jeremy Skoloda, 6'3." sn, drained a three ball under the 2 minute mark. Josh Cody, CV's pt, hit a foul to end a 7-0 run for the Bucks. Donato hit a fall away jumper with 4 ticks left to end the quarter at 11-10, Bucks.

 

Jae Pugh, 6'6." center for CV, sat the entire 2nd quarter with 2 fouls. Hempfield gained 3 points in the quarter. With Pugh on the bench, Hempfield went inside to 6'5." center, Taylor McDuffie. He delivered with 5 points in a 3 minute span. On the other end, Skoloda woiuld not allow the Knights to widen the gap. He scored 12 in the quarter including 2 three balls. Hempfield took a 26-25 lead into the locker room.

 

3rd quarter..enter Mr. Pugh. With CV dominating the off and def boards and Pugh blocking shots, CV, held the Knights to 6 points in the quarter. Pugh hit two 15 foot jumpers and Skoloda hit a HUGE bomb at the end of the quarter after a TO by CV with 10 seconds to go on the clock. HUGE. CV 39-32. Key to the game and quarter was a huge advantage on the boards for CV. LLhoops had it 8-2.

 

Hempfield started driving to the basket in the fourth. After a Pugh follow to start the quarter, Hempfield hit 4 fouls shots and a drive by Christian Walck, 6'1." jn guard, to cut the lead to three at 41-38 with 4:45 to go in the game. Hempfield started pressing and trapping. Leonard Williams, 6'2." jn forward, ended CV's 3 min draught with a driving, a hanging pushed -up prayer at the 4:20 mark to give CV a 43-38 lead. Hemfield turned the ball over, but had the opportunity to set up its press. CV broke it, not quickly, but did get a lay-up off it as Joel Lapp finished. CV needed to call 3 time outs in the next minute to protect against turnovers and protect the lead. Mark Enoch hit a layup off a CV turnover to cut the lead to 45-42 with 2:30 left. CV finally seemed to settle down. They spread the floor and made long passes over the Hempfield pressure. Pugh hit a pair of free throws and then scored on a tip to stretch the lead to 7 at 49-42. Hempfield cut it to 4 and missed a foul and got the rebound with :38 seconds left and launched a three, but it sailed wide. CV hit 2 free throws to seal the deal.

 

Stats..unofficial, of course

 

Rebounds

CV 24 Hempfield 20

 

Turnovers

Hempfield 13 CV 11

 

Blocked shots

CV 4 Hempfield 0

 

Points

CV

Jae Pugh 15

Jeremy Skoloda 17

 

Hempfield

Matt Donato 10

Christian Walck 10

 

Quotables..Brad Herr, CV....."The key was our 1/2; court def. You need that to win big games. ..We needed to take care of the boards..I give Hempfield players a lot of credit as they played tough the entire game. They kept the pressure on us down the stretch....1/2 court man is out bread and butter..in the last game we gave up way too many easy baskets to Hempfield. We wanted them to work for their points...Jae Pugh is too valuable for us to pick up his 3rd foul in the first half, that is why we had him sit the second quarter..Leonard Williams gave us a lift in the second quarter. He defense was excellent...It was a great team effort. ..Cody is sneaky quick..We call him the ."Bandit." because he steals the ball...Jeremy is the best player in the LL. He leads us in assists as well as points. He does so much for us....Our kids believed. We've been so close most of the year. We finally got one.."

 

Sidelines...Nice crowd at LS but not as big as the PM/LCHS crowd..CV student section was excellent with cheers and chants...The game reminded me of the old section 1 battles with Bob Borden and Warren Goodling on the benches. Bob Borden was there but on the opposite side of the floorJ...LL insider bloggin away again- Jeff Reinhart at the controls.  ..John Achille, head LS coach , came back from scouting Reading HS. LS plays Reading Saturday. Reading will play in the Berks championship game Friday...CV also will play Friday vs Etown and then first round of districts vs Twin Valley at CV Saturday. Coach Herr was teasing me about my odds..well, I stand by them.I got one out of 2 in the finals...The fun of the tournament is that teams have to play each other.  Wasn't a few years ago that everyone was down on Section 2?

 

 

 

 

 

First round of LL's @ LS

Feb. 9, 2009

LCHS 58 PM 52


LCHS pulled the upset of the evening by knocking of the Section 1 runner-up, Penn Manor. Lancaster Catholic looked very poised throughout the game as they handled everything the Comets threw at them. Some ball control, some switching of defenses, limiting turnovers vs PM’s full court pressure, and some major doubling down on the post provided keys for LCHS to move on to face Section 2 champ, Etown, in the LL semi’s.


LCHS started out of the gate quickly taking a 5-0 lead on a three by Tyler Purvis, 6’3” jn, and a drive by Chris Markel, 5’10” soph. The Comets answered back with a 9-0 run with Cody Booth, 6’5” sn, scoring the first and last points of the run on inside moves. LCHS would counter with a 7-0 run of their own, ending with a three ball by Markel. LCHS spread the floor with some 4 corner action at the end of the quarter. The Crusaders wound up with a tough jumper from the corner by Markel only to see PM’s 5’7” jn, John Brooks go coast to coast to end the quarter at 16-12, Catholic.


Catholic got some drives going to the basket as the Comets fouled. However, LCHS would make only 1 of 6. PM battled back and took the lead on a jumper by 6’5” jn swing, Forest Lovett at the 2:10 mark( 21-19). Purvis hit a lay-up and a three ball as LCHS extended the lead to 24-23. LCHS again spread the floor and got a jumper from a tough angle on the right baseline from, who else- Chris Markel. LCHS 26-23.

LCHS opened the 3rd with a 3-2 zone. The Comets had trouble hitting from the outside, plus they were limited to one shot as LCHS did a great job boxing out. A mini run by LCHS on buckets from 6’4”, jn, Andrew Heise and a backdoor play by Purvis gave LCHS an 8 point lead, which proved fatal for PM. Neither team could put together runs and this benefited LCHS. The Crusaders lead going into the 4th by a 42-36 score.


LCHS scored first again (the first points in each of the 4 quarters) on a runner in the lane by Mr. Clutch, Markel. His sidekick, Purvis hit a three ball followed by a long pass of the press- fouled and made 2…PM would get the ball inside the 6’5” sn, Andrew Greenslade. Greenslade made 2 nice moves, the last being a jump hook at the 4:10 mark to cut the lead to 51-44. Two fouls shots by Lovett got the score to 51-46 with 2:10 remaining. LCHS missed 3 fouls in a row but the Comets could not score. The foul game started..LCHS made enough, and PM did not make enough buckets to put the game in doubt.


Stats—unofficial, of course..


Rebounds
LCHS 27 PM 16


Turnovers
LCHS 11 PM 8


Blocks
PM 7 LCHS 2


Points
LCHS
Chris Markel 17
Tyler Purvis 25


PM
Cody Booth 10
Forest Lovett 15


By the quarter
LCHS 16 20 16 16
PM 12 17 13 16


Quotables..Joe Klazas of LCHS…”We needed to control the rebounds…we wanted to make them play def, pass the ball and make them work on the def end…We needed to handle their pressure, take their inside game away and change some defenses…Our main goal was not to give them easy baskets…All week we have been talking about believing in each other..we were the underdogs and had nothing to lose..Andrew Heise has been playing really well for us the last month.”


Sidelines.. A decent crowd at LS. The undermanned LCHS cheering section was loud and funny as they sang nursery rhymes while PM was foul shooting. …LL insider was blogging during the game- Keith Sweigart at the controls….Many head LL coaches were at the game. ..3 man crew for the refs…The fouls on both teams were very close until the foul game began. Both teams reached the one and one at about the same time in each half…LCHS entered the game at 75% from the line. They shot 52% (12/23) for the game..PM entered at 63% and they shot 64% (9/14)..Unsung hero for tonight was Andrew Heise. The guy pulled down double digit rebounds, made some great backdoor passes, played excellent def vs the taller Comets and stabilized things when PM made a run. Outstanding game for the jn center.


Semis..2/11/09
Hempfield vs CV @ LS
Etown vs LCHS @ Hempfield

~Dell Jackson

 

 

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