McConnellsburg cruises past NB
McCONNELLSBURG — It’s almost impossible to defend a team when it seemingly can’t miss.
That’s exactly what Northern Bedford’s boys hoops team was up against in the District 5 Class AA semifinals.
McConnellsburg proved just why it is the No. 1 seed, as the Spartans were on fire from just about everywhere on the floor in a 65-41 victory to send them to their second straight district title game.
“Obviously they shot the lights out,” Panthers coach Shawn Hicks said. “I thought we defended well early, but they were still knocking down shots. It took us out a little bit when they continued to make shots. We just couldn’t gain ground at that point.”
McConnellsburg (20-4) will face off against Berlin (15-9) for the District 5 title on Saturday at U. Pitt-Johnstown, while Northern Bedford (10-14) falls to the third-place game on Thursday against Conemaugh Township. Times are TBA.
Early on in Tuesday’s semifinal, it was Spartan sophomore Dominick Reed who had the hot hand. He drained four straight 3-pointers to start the game, and McConnellsburg never looked back from a 21-15 first-quarter lead.
“I was just shooting with confidence,” Reed said. “They were passing it to me, and before the game, Coach told me I had to shoot with confidence and they’ll fall, so that’s what I did. We feed off each other, and we play as a team and win as a team.”
That team-first mentality was obvious, as four of McConnellsburg’s five starters scored at least nine points, and the other, Nic Culler, had 11 assists.
“Any of my starting five can score in double figures, even Nic,” Spartan coach Drew Washabaugh said. “Nic doesn’t look to do that, though. He did all the little things that don’t even show up in the stat book, and that’s what makes us a tough team. Nic scored zero points tonight, but helped us out in a ton of other ways.”
Chase Novak led the Spartans with 25 points, Reed finished with 17, and Chance Hawbaker scored 14. The Spartans finished with a staggering 68.9 shooting percentage from the field and were 10-for-15 (66.7%) from the beyond the arc.
“(Being well-rounded) is a major key in our game,” Culler said. “I’m not a big scorer; I’m a pass-first player and try to help the defense and be a role player. Anything I can do to help the team out, and tonight it was passing.”
Northern Bedford didn’t help itself out on the boards. The Panthers were out-rebounded, 25-10, and managed just two offensive rebounds all night.
“The biggest thing we struggled with was crashing the boards on offense,” Hicks said. “We had one guy that shoot and the rest would kind of stand around and watch the action instead of getting into it to get the rebounds. That’s something we worked on a lot this week.”
Despite the loss, it isn’t over for the Panthers. A win on Thursday would earn them a spot in the PIAA tournament, but it’s going to be a quick turnaround.
“It’s hard because your biggest goal coming into the season is to win a district championship, so it’s disappointing,” Hicks said. “But we’ve talked about adversity. We’ve had injuries all year, and with this game, it’s another step of adversity. We just have to move forward and prepare for Thursday.
Jacob Dasher led Northern Bedford with 13 points, while Isaac Drenning added 11.
NORTHERN BEDFORD (41): Jake Cherry 1 0-0 2, Jacob Dasher 6 1-3 13, Chase Donaldson 0 0-0 0, Isaac Drenning 5 0-0 11, Jade Fernandez 3 0-0 8, Andrew Foor 2 2-2 7, Richard McLaughlin 0 0-0 0, Brook Troutman 0 0-0 0, Nick Wilburn 0 0-0 0. Totals – 17 3-5 41.
McCONNELLSBURG (65): Chase Novak 10 1-1 25, Nic Culler 0 0-0 0, Ethan Barclay 4 0-0 9, Chance Hawbaker 7 0-0 14, Dominick Reed 5 2-3 17, Cale Harman 0 0-0 0, Brice Feagley 0 0-0 0, Lucas McClain 0 0-0 0, Kolby Brown 0 0-0 0, Damon Knepper 0 0-0 0, Dalton Sheffield 0 0-0 0?. Totals – 26 3-4 65.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Northern Bedford 15 7 12 7 — 41
McConnellsburg 21 21 13 10 — 65
3-point goals–Northern Bedford 4 (Fernandez 2, Drenning 1, Foor 1). McConnellsburg 10 (Reed 5, Novak 4, Barclay 1).
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