Dragons persevere against PC
H.S. boys basketball
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MARTINSBURG -- No matter the sport, Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference colleagues Penn Cambria and Central have developed a spirited rivalry over many years.
Friday night's knock-down, drag-out overtime street fight between the two high school varsity boys basketball teams in a playoff-type atmosphere at the Central High School gymnasium certainly lived up to those expectations.
After Penn Cambria had pulled into a 57-57 tie on a 3-point shot from sophomore Caden Gibbons with 15 seconds remaining, Central won the game, 59-57, on a layup by senior guard Nick Garver with five seconds left.
After Central inbounded the ball near midcourt, Garver found an opening, drove to the basket and laid the ball in as the jam-packed, raucous crowd on hand roared its approval.
Penn Cambria was unable to get the ball up the court in time to get a tying shot, and the latest edition of the riveting basketball series between the two schools went to the Scarlet Dragons.
"They're a phenomenal team,'' Garver said of Penn Cambria. "This is the type of game that you live for.
"I saw a lane and I knew I had about 12 seconds to take it to the hole,'' Garver said of his game-winning shot. "I figured that in the worse-case scenario, I would get fouled and go to the foul line.''
It was a senior leader-type play by Garver, who scored 17 points for Central.
"The great thing about it is that he made a confident move, and that's what seniors are supposed to do,'' Central coach Paul Frederick said of Garver, a first-year starter.
"He has been waiting on his time to play, and he stepped up big tonight,'' Frederick added. "We had just given up the tying bucket, and (Garver) had a step on one of their defenders and took the ball to the hole.''
Central prevailed in a thriller of a game in which the lead changed hands throughout and the Scarlet Dragons overcame a 42-35 third-quarter deficit by reeling off 11 consecutive points to grab a 46-42 lead early in the fourth quarter.
An inside bucket with 23 seconds left in regulation by junior Brandon Rabish, who scored a team-high 16 points for Penn Cambria, created a 52-52 tie and forced the four-minute overtime session.
Garver's bucket from the paint opened the overtime scoring and put Central up, 54-52, before 6-foot-5 senior forward Brady Albright, who scored a game-high 20 points and added 11 rebounds, hit one of two free throws to give Central a 55-52 lead.
After a fast-break layup by senior Robert Long-Yarrison put Central ahead, 57-52, Penn Cambria - keeping the game true to form - got a pair of free throws from Rabish and the 3-pointer from Gibbons to set the stage for Garver's game-ending heroics.
"Crazy, insane,'' was Penn Cambria coach Jim Ronan's description of the great back-and-forth battle and the frenzied finish. "Both of these teams are so mentally tough. We knew coming in here and playing in this building that it was going to take every bit of emotion and toughness we had for us to succeed, but they just got in the last punch.''
Albright's contributions were huge.
"Brady had an awesome game, he was phenomenal,'' Frederick said.
Albright made his presence known in the paint on the offensive boards, scoring several buckets on putbacks or feeds from teammates.
"This was a great game,'' Albright said. "They're a great team, and our players played really well on defense tonight. We just did a couple of things right that helped us to come out on top.''
Frederick and Ronan know that both of their teams will benefit from a game like Friday's.
"It seems like every time that we play these guys, it goes down to the wire,'' Frederick said. "They have a bunch of tough kids, and I like to think that our kids are pretty tough, too.
"This was a great showing by both teams, and a great basketball game here on a Friday night.''
Game notes: Senior guard Easton Semelsberger chipped in 13 points and senior forward Carter McDermott grabbed a game-high seven rebounds for Penn Cambria, which hosts Westmont Hilltop in a league game Monday night. Central also hosts Penns Valley in a league matchup the same night.
PENN CAMBRIA (57): Harrold 3 2-2 8, E. Semelsberger 4 2-4 13, McDermott 0 2-4 2, Farabaugh 1 1-2 4, Rabish 5 2-2 16, Gibbons 5 0-0 13, Lilly 0 1-2 1, Plunkett 0 0-0 0, Strittmatter 0 0-0 0. Totals - 18 10-16 57.
CENTRAL (59): Muthler 2 1-2 5, Smith 2 1-1 5, Albright 9 2-7 20, Garver 7 2-6 17, Long-Yarrison 2 0-0 4, Bettwy 2 1-2 6, Klotz 1 0-0 2, Byler 0 0-0 0, Black 0 0-0 0. Totals -25 7-18 59.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Penn Cambria 13 13 16 10 5--57
Central 12 9 20 11 7--59
3-point goals: Penn Cambria 11 (Rabish 4, Semelsberger 3, Gibbons 3): Central 2 (Garver, Bettwy).
Records: Penn Cambria (2-2 overall, 0-2 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Central (2-0, 2-0).
Officials: Joe Bilka, Bill Pferrer, Craig Andros.
JV: Penn Cambria, 27-6. High scorers– Caden Gibbons and Isaac Strittmatter, PC, 6 apiece; Josh Beltz, C, 3.