Wildcats stun Braves in D-6 semis, 68-53
SUNBURY, PA – No one inside the Shikellamy High School gym saw this one coming Tuesday night. The home-court Braves, District 6 champs a year ago when they downed Central Mountain, jumped to an 11-0 lead over the visiting Wildcats this time around..
Central Mountain came out misfiring in Tuesday night’s playoff rematch, a D-6 Class 5A semifinal. The Braves moved to its 11-0 lead as the Wildcats missed their first nine shots. Then, with two minutes remaining in period one, junior CM guard Jack Hanna stepped up; he hit one 2-pointer, then another; then he drilled two 3-pointers, in the span of 90 seconds and the visitors were back in the game, trailing by one at 11-10 after one period.
The Braves extended their lead to 13-10 early in period two but then Hanna and classmate Hayden Pardo stepped up, each hitting a 3-pointer and a deuce and the Wildcats took a lead they would not relinquish, on the way to the 68-53 win. They were assisted in period two by lanky Ashton Probst who rebounded, ran the floor and put in three field goals (driving the lane with legs and arms going in multiple directions) as Central Mountain outscored the Braves by an 18-8 clip to take a 28-19 lead into the locker room at halftime.
And the Wildcats never looked back. Shik would cut the lead to 8 or 9 a couple times in the second half but Central Mountain would answer each time, extending the lead to 51-37 early in period four and going on to the 68-53 win, coach Tyler Bardo able to clear his bench as the game wound down.
Hanna finished the night with 23 points, Pardoe, scoreless in period one, right behind with 19; then Probst with 16. Cayde McCloskey was held scoreless early but scored his 4 points in the final period to help hold the Braves at bay. Levi Schlesinger, Essex Taylor and Owen Persun all had 2 each. Guard Brett Gerlach did not score but was a thorn in the side of the Brave offense all night long.
Shik was led by John Peiffer with 16 points, Cameron Lenner next with 10. The Braves lost starter Mason Deitrich with an injury as the third period ended; he finished with 8 points.
The win earns the Wildcats, now 12-11, a rematch with December foe Bellefonte, the District 6 top seed. The Raiders downed Hollidaysburg by a 63-45 score in Tuesday’s other semifinal contest. The championship game is tentatively scheduled for Friday, Feb. 25 at Mt Aloysius. Bellefonte (19-4) dumped the Wildcats by a 64-51 score in the season-opener for both teams in December. While Bellefonte has had an outstanding year, the Wildcats are playing their best ball of the season heading into the district championship game; should make for a good one up the Cresson Mountain this weekend.
S 11 8 16 18 = 53
CM 10 18 16 24 = 68
