Wildcats Continue New Year Roll, Down Shamokin 67-57

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP – No area team has been hotter since the start of 2018 than the Central Mountain boys basketball team. The Wildcats won their fourth game in a row in January, the most recent victory a total team effort Friday night, 67-57 over visiting Shamokin.

The win put coach Tyler Bardo’s team at 7-2 overall, 5-1 in Heartland Conference play. The Indians fell to 5-7 on the season, 1-4 in Heartland action.

It was 6-6 early on but the Wildcats scored eight in a row to go ahead 14-6 and would not trail again. CM was up by 9 at halftime, 28-19. Shamokin, like Central Mountain a ball-hawking team, closed to within three at 37-34 midway through period three. But the home team went on a 14-2 run over the remainder of the third into the fourth to take a 51-36 lead and stay in charge for the remainder of the game.

Junior Collin Jones started the run with six straight points, Trevor Hanna drained a three and Matt Storeman hit a two-pointer followed by a three and the lead was at 15. Shamokin would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Coach Bardo liked how his team responded when Shamokin made its third period run. Again, he said, it was the team’s lack of selfishness. He said the Wildcats followed his lead and did not get upset with any calls they might not have agreed with; instead the intensity picked up and the points followed.

Jones hit a career-high 27 points on a 13-for-16 night from the field. Some he created on his own, some off feeds from teammates. Storemann, after a quiet first half, finished with 19, including 9 in the final quarter. Jones was steady throughout, 6 in the first, 4 in the second, 10 in the third and 7 more in the final quarter.

Hanna finished with 8, Izzy McCann with 6, 3 from J-T Pentz and 2 each from Tanner Lavelle and Connor Soo. Joe Masser paced a balanced Shamokin attack with 14 points.

The Wildcats will be challenged next week: at Mifflinburg (7-3) on Tuesday, Jan. 16 and home Thursday, Jan. 18 with Hollidaysburg (4-3). The Golden Tigers handed Central Mountain a 68-58 loss in Hollidaysburg on Dec. 13.