×

Red Devils breeze into championship

Special to the Mirror

HOLLIDAYSBURG — When scouting Juniata, Central Cambria coach Adam Stephan thought the Red Devils could turn their District 6 Class 3A semifinal in their favor by cranking up the pressure. The Devils encorporated a full-court press to take the second-seeded Indians out of their usual slow pace from the opening tip.

Central Cambria used runs of 15-0 in the first and 9-0 in the second to dictate tempo and lead 34-9 at halftime. Four Red Devils scored in double figures as the Ebensburg squad was firing on all cylinders on its way to a commanding 73-42 victory.

CC earned its first District 6 title game appearance since 2009 opposite top-seed Richland at 6 Saturday at Mount Aloysius.

“Confidence is at an all-time high,” was how CC senior Nate Gillen described the team’s mindset after winning eight straight contests. “All of the intensity, heart and hard work we’ve been putting in all season, it’s finally paying off.”

Junior center Matt Holsinger led all scorers with 20 points while adding five blocks. Gillen added 19 points, while Luke Bennett and Evan Bopp chipped in 14 and 13 points, respectively.

By playing airtight defense, Central Cambria set the tone early by trapping Juniata and anticipating passes in the back court. The Indians finished the first half with just three made field goals while coughing it up 16 times.

“All three games I watched, it was a kind of a ‘walk the ball up the floor’ game,” Stephan described Juniata’s preferred pace of play. “We don’t like to play that like that. We like to get out and get up the floor, use our athleticism and finish in transition. We figured if we came out and brought that pressure right from the start, we’d be able to get some turnovers and get into the transition game.”

Juniata failed to settle into any kind of offensive flow in the first half. The Indians will look to regroup in Wednesday’s third-place game against Bellwood-Antis.

“We knew they were going to come out aggressive, that’s how they come out and they play their game,” Juniata coach Al Ream said. “We worked on handling their pressure and we didn’t handle it.”

Gillen and Holsinger combined to tally 12 points in a 15-0 run that occurred in the first quarter. Senior Marcus Magley hit a late 3-pointer before the buzzer to give CC a comfortable 20-4 lead after one.

“We talked about how we wanted to start on them early. It just snowballed right there from the beginning,” Stephan said.

The sixth seed scored the first nine points in the second to run its advantage up to 29-4. Juniata finished the first half shooting 3-for-15 clip with 16 turnovers.

Central Cambria has realized its vast potential by playing its most complete basketball, which begins on the defensive end.

“That’s the key to us winning is playing that intense defense,” Holsinger said. “If you want something that bad, things are going to go your way. We’ve been working this hard for this goal the whole time.”

Ben Lauver led Juniata with 15 points.

Central Cambria will play Richland in a rematch of a Dec. 12 meeting that went in CC’s favor, 57-48.

“They’re definitely a lot better; they’re a very well-coached team, so we just have to come out and play our hardest,” Gillen said. “We have to be focused and just play our game.”

“It was their first game of the year, it seems like ages ago,” Stephan said. “I actually have to go find some more recent tape on them.”

CENTRAL CAMBRIA (73): Bennett 4 4-4 14, Davis 0 0-0 0, Gillen 6 6-7 19, Bopp 6 1-2 13, Holsinger 7 5-6 20, Persio 0 0-0 0, Magley 1 0-0 3, Knopp 1 0-0 3, Bezek 0 0-0 0, MeInyk 0 1-2 1, Young 0 0-0 0, Seymour 0 0-0 0, Pellegrino 0 0-0 0, Beecher 0 0-0 0, Walwro 0 0-0 0. Totals — 25 17-21 73.

JUNIATA (42): Leonard 3 1-2 7, T. Clark 2 0-0 6, Lauver 6 2-3 15, B. Clark 1 1-4 3, Jo. Parson 2 0-0 5, Je. Parson 0 2-2 2, Bailer 0 0-1 0, Martin 0 0-0 0, Becker 0 1-2 1, Bodley 0 0-3 0. Totals — 15 7-17 42.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central Cambria 20 14 19 20 — 73

Juniata 4 5 20 13 — 42

3-point field goals: Central Cambria 6 (Bennett 2, Gillen, Holsinger, Knopp, Magley); Juniata 5 (T. Clark 2, Lauver, Jo. Parson, Bailer).

Records: Central Cambria (19-6); Juniata (20-5).

Officials: Jim Klausman, Todd Parker, Keith Redfoot.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.39/week.

Subscribe Today