ERIE, Pa. – There will be a new PIAA Class 5A boys basketball state champion in 2022.
General McLane made sure of that, knocking off defending champion Cathedral Prep in the District 10 title game, 50-48 on Thursday at Mercyhurst University.
“We’ve been in a lot of these types of games,” said General McLane coach Brian Schulz. “We’ve grinded some out here in the second half of the year and it really paid off. That’s a testament to our tough schedule.”
With the game tied at 35-35 in the early stages of the fourth quarter, GM (16-7) went on a 6-0 run over the next four minutes on a pair of Owen Martin free throws and buckets from Dane Jukes and Logan Anderson.
What was most impressive, however, was the defense, which held Prep without a point for that four-minute stretch.
“We stressed all week that we had to win the game on the defensive end and on the boards,” Schulz said. “We went into halftime thinking we’re up two, but we can’t let them have a run. We had to keep getting stops, and it paid off.”
What also paid off was the free-throw line, with Martin and Danny Bruce going a combined 9-of-10 in the fourth quarter to help close out the win.
FINAL: GM 52, Prep 48 pic.twitter.com/si7tyr2mCL
— D9and10Sports (@d9and10sports) February 25, 2022
Martin, like his coach, also credited the defensive effort in the win:
Twice the Ramblers (17-6) trimmed the margin down to two, including at 44-42 with 50 seconds to go on a bucket from Tavion Spencer, who scored 11 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter for the Ramblers.
But the Lancers beat the subsequent Rambler press on the ensuing possession, which led to an old-school three-point play from Jukes with 43.7 seconds to go that made it 48-42.
Another Spencer bucket made it 48-44, but Bruce was fouled and drained both with 15 seconds to go to put the game out of reach. The two-point margin of victory came via a pair of GM missed free throws with seven seconds to go and Prep, out of timeouts, got a layup at the buzzer.
With the win, the Lancers avenged a pair of regular-season losses to the Ramblers.
General McLane’s Danny Bruce shoots over Cathedral Prep’s Zion Barksdale during the first half the D10 Class 5A championship game at Mercyhurst University. Photo by Andy Close.
“We watched the film, we adjusted to things, and quite honestly the last two times we played them, we couldn’t practice the day before so it took us out of our routine,” Schulz said. “But in the end, it came down to the kids having to make a couple of plays and they did.”
Jeremiah Schreiber was the offensive catalyst for the Lancers, pouring in a game-high 18 points, including seven in an up-and-down first quarter that saw GM take a 16-15 lead.
The game was played within an incredibly tight window, with the six-point GM lead in the fourth quarter the largest by either team on the night.
Schreiber talked about what it took for the Lancers to pull off the victory:
A Logan Anderson triple gave GM a 26-21 lead in the first half, but the Ramblers closed out the opening 16 minutes with a Semontae Lofton three-point play to make it 26-24.
Reece Colvin was a spark off the bench for Prep, scoring 10 points, including a three in the third quarter that knotted the game at 30-all.
Schreiber scored 13 of his points in the first half, while Martin finished with 10 and Jukes nine.
Nick Lydic added eight points for Prep.
The Lancers also held an edge at the free-throw line, going 15-of-22, with Prep finishing 8-of-14.
With the win, GM advances to play at Brashear in a subregional semifinal on Tuesday (March 1), with the winner to take on District 9’s DuBois that Friday.
“Nobody thought we’d get this far, so we’ll keep proving ‘em wrong and see how far we can go,” Schreiber said.
GENERAL MCLANE 50, CATHEDRAL PREP 48
Score By Quarters
General McLane 16 10 7 17 – 50
Cathedral Prep 15 9 10 14 – 48
GENERAL MCLANE – 50
Brad Weber 0-0-0-0, Jeremiah Schreiber 7-3-8-18, Owen Martin 2-6-6-10, Dane Jukes 4-1-1-9, Danny Bruce 1-5-6-7, Ian Kennedy 0-0-0-0, Logan Anderson 2-0-1-6, Totals 16-15-22-50
CATHEDRAL PREP – 48
Nick Lydic 3-1-2-8, Jake Sambuchino 2-1-2-5, Tavion Spencer 7-1-2-15, Zion Barksdale 1-0-1-2, Semontae Lofton 2-1-1-5, Reece Colvin 3-3-4-10, Amaree Pickens 0-1-2-1, Mohamed Rahama 0-1-2-1, R.J. Roberts 0-0-0-0, Totals 19-8-14-48
Three-pointers: General McLane 3 (Anderson 2, Schreiber); Cathedral Prep 2 (Lydic, Colvin).
