March 9 District 9 Class 2A and Class 3A boys’ playoff recaps
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RIDGWAY 45, REDBANK VALLEY 43
NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Rallying from a 12-point second-half deficit and trailing by nine points with a little over four minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Ridgway Elkers went to work and grinded out a 45-43 win over Redbank Valley in the District 9 Class 2A quarterfinals Tuesday night.
After trailing 43-34 with 4:05 remaining, the Elkers held Redbank Valley scoreless the rest of the way. Dominic Allegretto tied the game with a corner 3-pointer with 44.6 seconds left, then Dan Park’s layup set the final with 19 seconds remaining.
But it wasn’t quite over. After the Bulldogs’ Bryson Bain misfired on a 3-point shot with 7.2 seconds remaining and the ensuing loose ball off the rebound went out of bounds, the Bulldogs fouled twice to get Ridgway on the line with 5.3 seconds left.
Park missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Bulldogs a chance to tie or go ahead. With time running out, Chris Marshall’s drive into the paint drew contact and a whistle was blown before the horn.
After a short pause, the officials jogged off the court and no call was made, giving the Elkers (6-8) an emotional come-from-behind win to advance to Thursday’s game at No. 1 seed Karns City.
“We train for this all year, we play in close games all year long, be it the system that we play,” said Elkers assistant coach Eric Herzing, who ran the sideline without head coach Tony Allegretto. He was suspended the game due to being ejected in the team’s regular-season final last week. “Redbank Valley is an unbelievable team and they will be a threat again next year. Those kids are great basketball players. I don’t know their playoff success, maybe this was their first playoff game, but it wasn’t ours. We were mentally locked. It takes four quarters to win a basketball game. We were fortunate.”
Park finished with 15 points to lead the Elkers while R.J. Miller finished with 12 points. Allegretto added nine points as the Elkers shot 58 percent (19-for-33) from the field.
Bain and Marshall scored 15 and 11 points respectively for the Bulldogs (15-7) while Gardlock scored nine points. Clouse added eight points with those four players accounting for all the points.
Ridgway led 8-0 out of the gate. Redbank Valley got back in the game, trailing 12-10 by the end of the first quarter.
The Bulldogs’ 13-2 run to start the second quarter to grab a 23-14 lead after Marshall’s basket with 59 seconds left before halftime. Marquese Gardlock was fouled on a 3-point shot before time expired and he drained all three to put the Bulldogs up 27-19 at the break.
Four quick points gave the Bulldogs their largest lead at 31-19 on a Bain basket at the 6:29 mark of the third quarter. Miller’s basket beat the third-quarter horn to get the Elkers within 35-30, but four quick points by Gardlock on a dunk and Marshall put the Bulldogs up 39-30 just 90 seconds into the fourth.
A-C Valley, Brockway, Brookville, Clarion, Clarion-Limestone, DuBois, DCC, Keystone, North Clarion, Redbank Valley, and Union recaps are powered by Computer Support in Clarion.
KEYSTONE 54, CLARION-LIMESTONE 50
KNOX, Pa. – Keystone built a 24-point first-half lead but had to hold on tightly for a 54-50 win over visiting Clarion-Limestone in the District 9 Class 2A boys’ quarterfinals Tuesday night.
The third-seeded Panthers used a 14-1 run in the second quarter to take a 31-7 lead midway through the quarter before C-L found its legs and cut the deficit to 16, 34-18, by halftime.
The sixth-seeded Lions continued their surge in the third quarter outscoring the third-seeded Panthers, 20-9, in the quarter to cut the deficit to five points, 43-38, heading to the final eight minutes.
C-L continued to get back into the game and cut the deficit to a single point, 43-42, with 4:41 to play on a Riley Klingensmith basket. Klingensmith went to the line for an old-shool 3-point play but missed the shot, and Keystone answered with a 7-0 sput to regain an eight-point lead, 50-42, with just under two minutes to play.
The Lions were able to get back within three, 51-48, in the final minute before Bret Wingard, who had 26 points and 14 rebounds, for Keystone, hit two free throws with 21 seconds left to all but seal the win.
Colin Say added 10 points in the victory for the Panthers.
Hayden Callen had a big night for C-L with 26 points and 10 rebounds with Jordan Hesdon adding nine points. Callen finished his Lions career with 1,613 career points, the second-most in school history.
Keystone will take on second-seeded Coudersport at Coudersport Thursday, March 11.
Parts of this game recap are courtesy of the Jeffersonian Democrat
A-C Valley, Brockway, Brookville, Clarion, Clarion-Limestone, DuBois, DCC, Keystone, North Clarion, Redbank Valley, and Union recaps are powered by Computer Support in Clarion.
COUDERSPORT 63, SMETHPORT 44
COUDERSPORT, Pa. – Coudersport welcomed back leading scorer Hayden Keck for the playoffs after a three-game absence because of injury, and the senior netted 16 points to go with seven rebounds and six assists in a 63-44 D9 Class 2A quarterfinal victory over visiting Smethport.
Dalton Keglovits added 16 points, five rebounds, and five assists for the second-seeded Falcons, who also got 11 points from Derek Easton.
A 16-0 second-quarter run sealed the game by halftime for Coudersport.
The Falcons held a 12-11 advantage after eight minutes but extended it to 28-11 by the break.
Alex Ognen, who scored nine of Smethport’s 11 first-quarter points, led the Hubbers with 18 points.
Richie McDowell score eight of his 14 points in the third quarter for Smethport, the seventh seed.
Coudersport will host third-seeded Keystone Thursday in the semifinals.
KANE 68, MONITEAU 32
KANE, Pa. – Kane advanced to the District 9 Class 3A championship game by rolling past visiting Moniteau, 68-32.
The Wolves raced out to a 37-17 halftime lead and never looked back.
Zuke Smith scored 13 of his game-high 19 points before halftime. Smith finished with a double-double thanks to 11 rebounds.
Carson Whiteman added 17 points, five rebounds, and five assists for Kane with Matt DeLuca chipping in eight points, Bryce Bizzak seven, and Mason Zuzek six points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Kyle Pry led Moniteau with 14 points with Ryan Jewart adding 12.
Kane will travel to Brookville for the District 9 Class 3A title game Saturday at a time to be announced.
