ST. MARYS, Pa. – The slipper fits just fine for Union.
Also see: D9 2A Semifinal Recaps
The Cinderella Knights, the 6-seed, trailed by 10 going into the fourth quarter, but showed no panic in rallying for a stunning 51-48 win over No. 2 DuBois Central Catholic in the Class 1A semifinals.
“We came out, played as a team, moved the ball around, and made their defense shift a lot more than they did in the first half,” said Union’s Payton Johnston.
See Johnston’s full interview:
It was a frenetic ending that got the Knights to the finish line.
Down 40-30 in the fourth quarter, it was Johnston, who scored a game-high 20 points, that keyed the Knights’ comeback, drilling back-to-back 3s, the second of which tied the game at 48 apiece with just over a minute to play.
DCC came up empty on its next offensive trip and Dawson Camper was fouled on the rebound, knocking down 1-of-2 from the line with 50 seconds to go to give Union its first lead since 17-16 in the second quarter.
The Cardinals held the ball until 10 seconds left and called timeout. The ensuing inbounds pass was picked off by Trey Fleming, who raced down the court and laid the ball in as he was being fouled.
Fleming missed the free throw, but the ball went out of bounds to Union.
Another errant inbounds pass ensued, this one giving the ball to DCC, resulting in a fastbreak opportunity and a look at a 3 to tie the game, which didn’t draw iron and went out of bounds with a second to play.
Union was able to cleanly get the ball in and the clock expired.
The celebration was on as the Knights advanced to their first D9 title game since 2011. They haven’t won a D9 title since 1981.
“I just told them to hang in there,” said Union coach Eric Mortimer about overcoming the 10-point deficit to start the fourth. “I said we’re still in the game, our defense has got to win it for us, we have to get a couple of steals, and go. We’re really a fast-paced team, we don’t like to slow it down.”
It was a game Union actually had control of in the early stages.
Zander Laughlin, who scored 21 points in a 58-48 quarterfinal win over No. 3 Clarion, drilled an early triple to make it 7-2 in the first quarter, and a pair of Johnstown free throws made it 13-9 early in the second stanza.
DCC closed the half on a 16-7 run to close the half, keyed by Andrew Green, who scored the final seven points of the half for the Cardinals, capped by a 3 with five seconds to go in the half that rattled in and out of the rim before falling in to make it 25-20.
That momentum stretched into the third quarter with the Cardinals ultimately taking their largest lead of the game, 38-27 on a Marek Hoyt layup.
A Johnston 3-point play got the Knights back within eight, but Hoyt made another shot to close the quarter to push the lead back to 10, setting the stage for Union’s comeback.
“We know we can compete with anybody,” said Union coach Eric Mortimer. “We had a bad run there mid-season, but we had a talk with them and said we’re all one family guys, let’s get it together and ever since then they’ve played well. I knew we were one of the hotter teams coming in.”
Skyler Roxbury, who also drained a 3 in the fourth quarter, finished with 10 points for the Knights, as did Fleming, while Laughlin added six.
Brendan Paisley had 14 points to pace DuBois Central Catholic, while Green finished with 11
The Knights are far from done, as they get Elk County Catholic, which knocked off No. 5 Cameron County 43-28 in the other semifinal, in the title tile. The Crusaders are District 9 royalty, having won 27 D9 titles since 1974, including last season.
Johnston knows they will be ready to go.
“The mood right now is at an all-time high,” Johnston said. “It’s the first time since 2011 playing there. We’re looking to go there and win and just very excited to play.”
Mortimer, for his part, was ecstatic for his team.
“It means everything to those guys,” he said. “In reality, I don’t think they ever thought they would be here, but they’re here.”
(1) ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 43, (5) CAMERON COUNTY 28
ST. MARYS, Pa. – Elk County Catholic went on a 15-0 that started in the second quarter and ran into the third in a 43-28 win over Cameron County to punch its ticket to the District 9 championship game.
The run started with a Jordan Wasko layup, which was significant in itself as it marked Wasko’s first game action since injuring his knee on Feb. 7 against Brookville.
Lance O’Neil, who scored all nine of his points in the third quarter, capped the run with a steal and layup with 5:37 to go in the third.
Cameron County’s Landon Farren broke an eight-minute scoring drought for the Red Raiders with 5:20 to go in the third, but by that point, the Crusaders had a double-digit lead and were well on their way.
“We’re excited, it’s going to be fun,” O’Neil said about the prospective of the Crusaders defending their D9 title. “Our 2-3 zone (was really working for us). We dropped into it and just played it well, found shooters, and were able to stop them.”
See O’Neil’s full interview:
Wasko, ECC’s leading scorer on the season, only had those two points in the second quarter, but coach Aaron Straub, while noting that he’ll be limited with the injury, said it was great seeing him back out on the court.
“Just seeing him back was really good,” Straub said. “Jordan’s very limited (with the injury). We want him to be able to stretch the floor. What Jordan does best is shoot the ball. He didn’t get up to the line on his three-point attempt tonight, but when he gets up to the line, he’s really good. Jordan can fill a really important role for us. Just having him back out on the court after that really terrible injury says a lot about him and his will and desire and love of the game.”
Cameron County got as close as 24-15 at the 4:25 mark of the third quarter on Josh Smith’s putback, but O’Neil responded with another bucket and the lead never dipped below double-digits the rest of the game.
Michael Jacobs scored a game-high 10 points for Elk County Catholic, including four in the fourth quarter to help put the game away.
“I don’t think it’s anything special we did,” Straub noted. “They had some open looks. We were just fortunate that they didn’t have a better shooting night.”
Colby Nussbaum had the hot hand early for the Crusaders, scoring five of his seven points in the first quarter, but Camdyn Allison’s bucket with 1:55 to go in the first tied the game at 7
Allison’s runner with 5:40 to run in the second quarter gave Cameron County an 11-9 lead, which is when ECC’s 15-0 spurt began.
“I don’t think it was one of our best efforts on any end, but any time you make that statement, it’s not your best effort, a lot of times that maybe has more to do with your opponent than id does yourself. They were able to expose us in a lot of areas that we need to clean up. We haven’t been exposed like that in many games this year.”
Wil Wortman added nine points for ECC and Adam Straub six.
Allison had 12 points and Smith six for the Red Raiders.
The Crusaders draw No. 6 Union in the title game, while Cameron County gets DuBois Central Catholic in the consolation game.
“It’s not where you’ve been, it’s where you’re going,” Straub said of Union. “They’ve hit their stride and beat a really good team (DuBois Central Catholic) tonight in a really exciting game. I think what you saw from Union is that they never blinked. They didn’t change anything and that’s a real testament in believing in your system.”
