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Second-seeded Black Knights out in quarters

HOUTZDALE — Sizable remnants of the capacity crowd that packed intimate Monte Close Gymnasium 20 minutes earlier still mulled about.

The remaining fans applauded their heroes as they emerged sporadically from the locker room. Hugs were given. Tears flowed.

It wasn’t supposed to end like this. But it had.

“Knowing that we worked so hard the last four years, to come up short, it’s really painful,” said Moshannon Valley’s towering 6-foot-7 Connor Holobinko, appearing to fight to stay composed.

Shaking seventh-seeded United proved to be trickier for the host Black Knights than finding a seat with 45 minutes to tipoff for Thursday night’s District 6 Class 2A boys basketball quarterfinal game. In the end, Luke Means rattled in a shot from 21 feet away on the left wing to lift the Lions to a 50-47 upset of the No. 2 seed, despite 24 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks from Holobinko and 16 points from Knight senior point guard Curtis Neff.

Mo Valley finished the season 21-3. The Black Knights led by nine with 3:25 left before United ran off 16 of the game’s last 20 points to advance to play second-seeded Bishop Guilfoyle in the semifinals at a neutral site on Tuesday.

“It was a tough one. When we look back, we want to reflect on the last four years and how (these players) built the program,” Knights coach Derrik Eckenrode said. “These players are the face of the franchise, and people are going to talk about them for a long time.”

As will United fans when it comes to Means. The very charitably-listed 6-foot sophomore showed the cold blood of a season veteran to take and make the game-winning shot almost from the same exact spot where he tied the game about a minute before.

He only had three points in the first 31 minutes.

“I wasn’t on at the beginning, but my coach (Tyler Stokes) and teammates kept encouraging me. I was lucky enough for them to keep us in the game. They played their hearts out, and I finished what I could do,” Means said. “Our record doesn’t show how good we are. I can’t even explain (the feelings of winning this). It’s awesome.”

Neff, who made three 3s in the second quarter to give Mo Valley a 25-24 halftime lead, had a desperation trey at the buzzer that hit the back of the iron. He tried to answer Means first 3-pointer in the final minute with one of his own but the deep shot was off.

Stokes said it was Means’ second game-winning shot this year.

“I told him before the game, ‘Luke, you’re going to have a big night tonight,'” Stokes said.

Now 14-10 after beating Blairsville in the first round, United had three players score in double digits — Collin Moore with 13, Devin Mack with 11 and Nate Fabrizio with 10.

“We always made sure we knew where (Neff) was at and tried to double (Holobinko) anytime in the post to make sure he had a tough night,” Stokes said.

For a while, it worked, but Holobinko was able to begin getting good touches within a few feet of the basket in the third quarter, when he scored 10. He then was 6-for-6 at the foul line in the fourth, during which the Knights were 10-for-10 as a team.

“We tweaked where he was getting the ball,” Eckenrode said. “Every once in a while, he wouldn’t catch the ball in the right spot, and he would kick it out and repost.”

The game has a very similar feel to Mo Valley’s 37-35 win over McConnellsburg for the Inter-County Conference championship last Saturday. In that game, too, the Knights’ opponent was able to dictate the tempo before a capacity crowd before Mo Valley got a high single-digit cushion late.

In that game, though, Mo Valley got the big defensive stop at the end to preserve victory. The Knights haven’t had to play a lot of down-to-the-wire contests this season.

“These kinds of games are always tough. They just shot the lights out,” Holobinko said.

The contest was much anticipated at the southern Clearfield County school district. Even with an hour to go before tipoff, the parking lot was largely filled, and so were the bleachers inside. This was a team that had captured the imagination of a school more commonly known for its football and wrestling.

“This won’t define our season,” Holobinko said. “Our season was defined by winning the ICC and winning the Mo Valley League, and always having fun while doing it.”

“These guys are family to each other, and they’re family to me,” Eckenrode said. “When you think of Mo Valley basketball, you’re going to think of these teams.”

UNITED (50): Silk 1 0-0 3, Moore 5 2-3 13, Means 3 0-0 9, Fabrizio 3 4-4 10, Mack 5 1-4 11, Montanti 0 0-0 0, Stevens 0 0-0 0, Al. Ringler 0 0-0 0, Ai. Ringler 1 0-0 2. Totals — 18 7-11 50.

MOSHANNON VALLEY (47): Neff 5 3-5 16, A. Kitko 0 2-2 2, J. Murawski 2 1-2 5, Stanton 0 0-0 0, Holobinko 7 10-12 24. Totals –14 16-21 47.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

United 7 17 10 16–50

Moshannon Valley 7 18 12 10–47

3-point goals: United 5 (Silk, Means 3, Moore); Moshannon Valley 3 (Neff 3).

Records: United (14-10); Moshannon Valley (21-3).

Officials: Sean Albright, Anthony Brezovec, Steve Yesenosky.

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