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By Nate Ritchey
nritchey@altoonamirror.com
PORTAGE -- Portage and Cambria Heights find themselves in similar situations in regards to not being as experienced as they've been in the past.
Both coaches agree that they've got a long way to go but are already seeing progress made in the early going.
On Tuesday night, the Mustangs and Highlanders met at the Len Chappell Gymnasium in a Heritage Conference battle that went back-and-forth at times and was tied midway through the third.
That's when the returning experience of Portage won out as it closed the contest in a dominating way to earn a 60-44 victory over Heights.
"We've been like that all year where we can't find that consistency," Portage coach Travis Kargo said. "We play well in spurts, and then we have a spurt of a couple of minutes where we look like we've never played before.
"I keep telling them that we've got to be consistent with what we do. If we can do that, I think we have the makings of a pretty good basketball team. We've got some pieces, but we just aren't clicking on all cylinders."
Portage improved to 4-1, while Cambria Heights fell to 1-6.
"We talk about it every day at practice -- we're getting there. We're not there yet, but we're getting there," Cambria Heights coach Eric Nagel said. "As many young kids as we have, that's a positive right now."
In the first half, Portage led by as many as eight (17-9) when Jacob McCoy made a layup while getting fouled with 38 ticks remaining in the first quarter.
Cambria Heights scored the first five points of the second stanza to pull within one when Connor Yeckley converted a layup.
The Mustangs put together an 8-2 run to increase their advantage to 25-18 when McCoy made good on a three-point play opportunity midway through the quarter.
A 3-pointer from Reece Garrison followed by layups from Cameron Abrams and Yeckley tied the contest at 25-25 with 2:25 left.
Another Yeckley bucket gave the Highlanders their first lead since 9-7.
The two teams traded baskets as Owen Gouse and Trae Kargo scored for Portage, while a Yeckley layup with 12 seconds to go set the score at 29-29 at the half.
While the Highlanders never led the rest of the way, they did, after Portage went up 34-29 at the start of the second half, tie things up at 36-36 with a 7-2 spurt capped off by a Yeckley 3-pointer.
"We were there (29-29) at the half," Nagel said. "We were down five (42-37) going into the fourth and then kind of lost it there toward the end. We tried to play not our style of basketball."
From there, the Mustangs tightened up and played more disciplined on defense -- leading to a 24-8 game-ending run.
An 11-1 burst kick-started things as Gouse's layup put Portage in front for good.
It was 47-37 before another Heights field goal as Reese Garrison hit a floater at 6:47 of the third.
"I thought we dug in better defensively, communicated a little better defensively," Coach Kargo said. "And, then we started playing a little more consistent."
The Mustangs not only forced some turnovers by the Highlanders but also some ill-advised, rushed shots that led to runouts in transition or points in the halfcourt for Portage.
The 47-39 differential was the last time the game was in single digits as the Mustangs got hoops from Bode Layo, Brennan Kunko, the lone senior on the roster, and Gouse to make the score 53-39 with 5:14 to play.
Gouse, who led all scorers with 19 points, converted an and-1 chance with 1:25 to go to set the final as both coaches emptied their benches.
Trae Kargo finished with 18 points, while Layo added 10 for the Mustangs.
"We've been trying to replace guys each year, and it gets tougher and tougher to replace some of the pieces," Coach Kargo said. "We've managed to do it, and we're still finding our way a little bit. Guys are in different roles, even though they've played (in the past), they're playing different roles now."
Yeckley fronted Heights with 15 points and Garrison tacked on 10.
CAMBRIA HEIGHTS (44): Garrison 4 0-0 10, Farabaugh 1 0-0 3, Nolan 2 0-0 4, Weiland 1 0-2 2, Yeckley 6 1-2 15, Abrams 3 1-3 7, Nagel 1 0-0 3, Lobick 0 0-2 0, Baker 0 0-0 0, Ivory 0 0-0 0, Leamer 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 18 2-9 44.
PORTAGE (60): Kargo 6 4-4 18, Kunko 3 0-0 7, Layo 5 0-0 10, Gouse 8 3-3 19, Z. Hodge 0 0-0 0, E. Hodge 0 0-0 0, McCoy 2 2-4 6, Gathers 0 0-0 0, Bobolsky 0 0-0 0, Kick 0 0-0 0, Caldwell 0 0-0 0, Harshberger 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 24 9-11 60.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cambria Heights 11 18 8 7 -- 44
Portage 17 12 13 18 -- 60
3-point field goals: Cambria Heights 6 (Garrison 2, Yeckley 2, Farabaugh, Nagel); Portage 3 (Kargo 2, Kunko).
Records: Cambria Heights (1-6); Portage (4-1).
JV: Portage, 35-34. High scorers--Cameron Abrams, CH, 15; Lucas Gathers, P, 11.