Millionaires topple Wildcats, 78-52
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – The Williamsport Millionaires showed Tuesday night they’ll be quite the force to reckon with when the District 2-4 Class 6A playoffs soon begin. Coach Allen Taylor’s team never took their foot off the pedal in running to a 78-52 win over the homestanding Central Mountain Wildcats.
The game was a match-up of two very good teams, both with postseason aspirations. The Millionaires have won ten games in a row and are now 16-4 on the season, while the Class 5A Wildcats saw their second 10-game winning streak end, dropping to 20-2 with the loss.
The game was back-and-forth for a while, tied at 19-all after a fast-paced first period. But Williamsport used the lightning-quick George Whaley to go on an 8-point run as period two wound down, building a 37-29 lead until CM’s Jack Hanna swished a final minute 3-pointer to cut the Billtown lead to 37-32 at the half.
But period three saw Whaley and the Millionaires continue to press, run and score, piling up a 24-12 edge in the third period to open a 61-44 lead and essentially decide the outcome. The 5-10 Whaley, a standout Millionaire football player, was equally successful on the basketball court, leading the visitors’ pressing defense while scoring 8 points in the second period and 8 more in the third, on the way to a 20 point night.
While Central Mountain struggled to establish any consistency, Williamsport used a deep bench to continue its constant pressure on both ends of the court. CM struggled with its normally effective 3-point shooting, hitting but three on the night, The Wildcats’ leading scorer, Hayden Pardoe, had 7 points in the first period but would not record a field goal the rest of the game as he finished with 10 points. Hanna finished with a team-leading 15 points, Hunter Hoy had 10 and Essex Taylor 9. Matthew Myers had a 3-pointer, Jeremy Reese with 2 and Levi Schlesinger with 1.
Afterwards Wildcat coach Tyler Bardo told his team to wipe the performance from their memory bank and get ready for the playoffs to come. He said he did see some positives, stating the shot quality was good, noting the squad missed shots it has been making throughout its solid season to date. CM was an uncharacteristic 1-for-10 from the 3-point line in the first half. Coach Bardo credited the Millionaires, “I give them a lot of credit for speeding things up and making us think a little bit.”
The Wildcats will have no time to rest. They are set for a Heartland Conference semifinal playoff game Wednesday, the opponent Loyalsock (11-8), the site the Shikellamy High School gym, game time 6 p.m. The winner will play for the postseason title Friday night against the winner of the other semifinal between Danville (16-5) and Shamokn (15-6).
Then Central Mountain, as the top seed, is likely to host a District 6-4 playoff game early next week. Pairings are due out this Thursday, the likely foe Hollidaysburg or Bellefonte.
W 19 18 24 17 = 78
CM 19 13 12 8 = 52
