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Central Cambria wins rivalry clash with Panthers

CRESSON – Anytime the Central Cambria and Penn Cambria boys basketball teams take the floor, expect an intense, high-energy battle.

After all, there is a long-standing rivalry between the two schools.

Thursday night’s Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference Section 1 contest was no exception.

Led by an aggressive defensive presence and timely offense, the Red Devils outlasted the Panthers, 65-53.

The victory was Central Cambria’s third this season over its district neighbor.

“I told the kids, ‘When you come and play at Penn Cambria, throw the records out the window.’ It’s a rivalry game,” Central Cambria coach Adam Stephan said. “We already beat them twice this year, so you know they were going to come after us. To get out of here with a win, it’s a great team, grind-out win.”

Although the Panthers (5-12, 2-5 LHAC Section 1) led by as many as eight in the first quarter and kept the Devils at an arm’s length, they could not limit Central Cambria to a one-and-done team, giving up second-chance points at-will.

“They just got a ton of offensive rebounds,” Penn Cambria coach Jim Ronan said. “We preached it all week and still didn’t do a good enough job on the defensive glass. That’s what really hurt us – their second-chance points. They missed a lot of shots, but they got a lot of put-backs and we ended up fouling.

“We played well. I was happy with the way my kids fought. They battled the entire night. It’s tough to swallow a loss, but they’re fighting. That’s the biggest key.”

Central Cambria’s Evan Bopp led all scorers with 22 points, but he scored six points in less than two minutes in the fourth quarter, including a three-point play after a steal near mid-court.

Luke Bennett sealed the victory late for the Red Devils (10-8, 5-2). He was 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the final 1:08 and finished with 17 points.

On the defensive end, Penn Cambria didn’t make another field goal after Mason Ronan’s 3-pointer cut the Central Cambria lead to 55-52 with 4:04 remaining.

“We hit some big shots at some big times in the second half,” Stephan said. “And then (Bennett) was just lights out from the foul line down the stretch.

“Down the stretch, we were really aggressive defensively.”

Penn Cambria forced the Red Devils into 14 first-half turnovers, and held them to 10-of-28 shooting. A 6-for-17 mark from the free-throw line in the first half didn’t do Central Cambria any favors, either.

“With the approach we were going with (Thursday night), we were daring some kids to shoot,” Ronan said. “We executed that aspect, they were missing, but we ended up giving them some easy chances.”

“I didn’t think we played very well in the first half,” Stephan said. “To only be down two at the half was a blessing in disguise.”

Central Cambria forced the Panthers into three turnovers to open the third quarter, but couldn’t capitalize offensively. Still, it was enough to awaken a mostly-quiet gym as the team’s traded buckets for a majority of the frame.

“Defensively, we just wanted to ratchet up the intensity,” Stephan said. “When we did that, we were able to turn the momentum our way.”

CENTRAL CAMBRIA (65): M. Gillen 2 1-2 6, Bopp 8 5-15 22, N. Gillen 2 0-0 5, Bennett 3 8-10 17, Holsinger 6 0-2 12, Eckenrode 1 0-1 12, Fedorko 0 0-0 0, Magley 0 1-2 1. Totals 22-56 16-32 65.

PENN CAMBRIA (53): Gould 3 4-7 12, Janosik 2 0-0 4, Simanski 2 1-3 6, Kost 2 2-2 8, Ronan 6 5-8 19, C. Farrell 1 0-1 2, P. Farrell 0 0-0 0, Shuagis 1 0-0 2, Driskel 0 0-0 0, Perrone 0 0-0 0. Totals 17-57 12-21 53.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central Cambria14 14 17 20 – 65

Penn Cambria18 12 14 9 – 53

3-point goals: Central Cambria 5-13 (Bennett 3, M. Gillen, N. Gillen); Penn Cambria 7-21 (Gould 2, Kost 2, Ronan 2, Simanski).

Records: Central Cambria (10-8, 5-2 LHAC Section 1); Penn Cambria (5-12, 2-5 LHAC Section 1).

JV: Penn Cambria, 58-37. High scorers-Knopp, CC, 11; Mardula, PC, 11.

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