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Lions put up fight in finale

EBENSBURG — The Altoona Area High School boys basketball team’s season ended not without a fight on Saturday afternoon.

The Mountain Lions went up against a taller and more athletic Erie team in the District 6-8-10 Class 6A subregional play-in game at Central Cambria High School and succumbed, 78-62, to finish the year with an 8-15 record.

The sub-.500 record wasn’t the sole gauge on how to measure the team, according to third-year coach Doug West.

“The positive comments I’ve heard from people outside of the program mean more to me than the wins and losses,” West said. “When people are talking about how hard they played, how they stayed with it and how they were together. That’s more important to me.”

The Mountain Lions played together against Erie, which started three 6-foot-4 players and one 6-foot-7, but needed to execute their game plan flawlessly.

The lead changed hands 11 times in the early going with Altoona taking a 28-27 advantage on a P.J. Charles basket with 2:45 left in the first half. The Royals then forced several turnovers off their press and went on a 10-0 run before settling for a 37-30 halftime lead.

“(The Royals) were long everywhere,” West said. “We played a team like them in (Central Dauphin) East, but they were not as long — and at multiple positions. With their arms, when they pressed and trapped, it would take away our vision.”

Altoona was also without its starting point guard, K.J. Futrell, and a top bench player, Caleb Pierce, for the second straight game after both were suspended for violating team rules.

“It’s been a challenge these last two games,” West said. “(Futrell) was really solid on the top of our zone (defense) and dealing with pressure. (Erie) did the right thing. They pressed us and got us sped up, and we had some unforced turnovers.”

Erie went on an 11-3 run to begin the third quarter to open up a 15-point lead, and Altoona never got closer than 11 the rest of the way. Junior Jhamien Smith led Erie with 24 points, and senior Kyrion Pacley had 22.

“Altoona shot the ball real well in the first half,” Erie coach Tom Koval said. “We knew they had shooters. We made some adjustments at halftime to make sure we were not overly helping on the ball and to make sure they weren’t getting wide-open shots.”

Erie (12-12) will now face District 8 champ Allderdice in the four-team subregional on Tuesday. District 10 champ Kennedy Catholic and District 6 champ State College will meet in the other semifinal with the two winners earning state playoff tickets while also playing for the subregional title.

Altoona will lose four seniors to graduation — Nate Cherry, who led the Lions with 19 points, Aaron Foose, who hit three 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 12 points, and Tyler Robinson and Kurt VonColln, who combined for 10 points.

“Those guys were my first group,” West said. “Their games have all grown. They were very good this year at being teammates with the younger guys and showing them how the program is run and what to expect. They were positive leaders on and off the floor.”

“I wouldn’t want to battle high school ball with any other team,” Cherry said. “They’re my brothers.”

Charles, a junior, will give the Mountain Lions hope for next season. And West is hoping to see a stronger turnout next year.

“We have a great group of juniors,” West said. “We have a few in the high school who should be playing basketball, and we expected them to be here this year. With those guys, we’re a different team. We’re longer and a better rebounding team. But people make decisions on what’s best for them and their families, and we respect those decisions.”

ERIE (78): Smith 10 1-1 24, Bailey 6 0-0 13, Pacley 8 6-8 22, Darnell 1 0-0 2, Nickson 2 0-0 4, Woodward 0 0-0 0, Camp 3 2-2 8, Gibbs 2 1-1 5, Banks 0 0-0 0, Scheppner 0 0-0 0. Totals — 32 10-12 78.

ALTOONA (62): Charles 7 1-3 15, Cherry 6 4-4 19, Robinson 3 0-0 8, Foose 4 1-2 12, VonColln 1 0-0 2, Crockett 0 1-2 1, Becker 1 0-0 3, Warren 0 0-2 0, Cornelius 0 0-0 0, Pheasant 0 2-2 2, Lawhead 0 0-0 0, Lawson 0 0-0 0. Totals — 22 9-15 62.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Erie 15 22 17 24 — 78

Altoona 16 14 12 20 — 62

3-point goals: Erie 4 (Smith 3, Bailey); Altoona 9 (Cherry 3, Foose 3, Robinson 2, Becker).

Officials: Steve Searer, John Thompson, Jeff Heider.

Records: Erie (12-12); Altoona (8-15).

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