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Trojans prove to be too much for Dragons

Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski Central’s Brandon Buchart tries to muscle his way past a pair of Johnstown defenders.

CRESSON — Plenty of somber faces silently made their way to the Central bus following the Scarlet Dragons’ 63-43 loss to Johnstown in the District 6 Class 4A championship Saturday at Mount Aloysius College’s Athletic Convocation and Wellness Center.

Central trailed by just three after one quarter, but the game quickly got away from the Dragons, thanks to some cold shooting.

“I have no doubt the kids expected to win this game,” Central coach Reggie Nevins said. “We played well and beat some really good teams this season. We beat Clearfield, which is 23-1, and we beat them by double figures. We played other teams extremely well, but Johnstown just deserved to win tonight.”

Nevins expressed plenty of frustration on the sideline as Central struggled from both the field and the free throw line.

“We shot terribly,” Nevins said. “We couldn’t make a foul shot, and when you do that, you lose. I don’t think there’s much else to say.

“When you miss every shot, it’s pretty hard to beat an elementary girls team.”

The Dragons made their final four free throws but still finished the game shooting just 11-for-23. Meanwhile, Johnstown shot 11-for-16 from the line and made six 3-pointers.

“If you told me they would shoot better at the 3-point line and the foul line than us, I’d tell you we’d have no chance to win,” Nevins said. “They made shots they usually didn’t make this season, and that’s frustrating when you’re not making shots.”

The Trojans forced just 11 turnovers, but their constant pressure seemed to impact Central.

“We knew they were a solid team that doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” Johnstown coach Rich Price said. “We had to force them into some mistakes, and I thought we did that early. We got a lead in that first half, and I thought that had a lot to do with our defense.”

Johnstown entered the playoffs at just 12-10 but won all three of its games against Somerset, Huntingdon and Central convincingly.

“We started to focus,” Price said. “The kids got together and had a talk. There were games this year that we weren’t interested in. We worked the last two weeks on keeping focus in practice and focusing in the game. I think it really worked out.”

Jemal Gause led the Trojans with 13 rebounds and added 10 points. Gerrell Simon led all scorers with 12 points. Johnstown will play the fifth-seeded team from District 3 on March 11.

“We wanted them to play 90 feet and wear them out,” Price said. “It might have happened, and maybe that’s why they were missing some shots.”

Despite the loss, Central still advanced to the PIAA playoffs. The Dragons, who got 11 points from Brandon Buchart and 10 off the bench from Joey Smith, will play the fourth-seeded team from District 7 on March 11.

“I was really pleased with how we handled the press,” Nevins said. “I thought we battled well on the boards, but we just didn’t put the ball in the basket. At one point we were 6-of-18 from the foul line, and we’re a very good foul shooting team. It was just ridiculous.”

JOHNSTOWN (63): Price 2 2-2 7, Fields 1 0-0 2, K. Gause 3 2-2 8, Berkins 4 2-3 10, J. Gause 4 2-6 10, Williams 3 0-0 7, Tinsley 1 2-2 5, Simon 4 1-1 12, Hancock 1 0-0 2, Tisinger 0 0-0 0, Malcom-Britt 0 0-0 0, Nattile 0 0-0 0, Boggio 0 0-0 0. Totals – 23 11-16 63.

CENTRAL (43): Dodson 1 2-2 4, J. Muthler 2 1-4 7, Karstetter 1 1-2 3, Buchart 4 3-9 11, McKnight 4 0-0 8, Smith 3 4-6 10, Liebal 0 0-0 0, Williams 0 0-0 0, Albright 0 0-0 0. Totals – 15 11-23 43.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Johnstown 9 21 18 15 — 63

Central 6 8 8 11 — 43

3-pointers: Johnstown 6 (Simon 3, Price, Williams, Tinsley). Central 2 (J. Muthler 2)

Records: Johnstown (15-10); Central (16-7)

Officials: Bill Holtz, Jim Raccahini, Chris Garritano.

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