Photo for the Mirror by Roger Kerekes Central Cambria’s Brayden Swope heads upcourt after getting a rebound.

By John Hartsock

jhartsock@altoonamirror.com

EBENSBURG — On a night in which both the Central Cambria and Bishop Carroll Catholic boys basketball teams were playing for a cause that was much bigger than a game, the Red Devils rode a big fourth quarter to a 65-57 Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference victory over their neighboring rivals Tuesday night at the Central Cambria High School gymnasium.

Both schools and their fans teamed up to raise money for the Griffith Foundation’s Sideline Cancer organization, with proceeds from donations and various other sales, including a silent auction, generating 9,500 dollars to help Tara Hillegas, a Carroll alum who is battling breast cancer.

For the third straight season, the Griffith Foundation presented the ” I Can” Cup to the winners of the rivalry game, and Central Cambria players were celebrating jubilantly on the court following the game after winning the trophy for the first time.

“This is a great event for Sideline Cancer, and it shows how great both the Bishop Carroll and Central Cambria communities are in coming together to support this worthy cause,” said Central Cambria coach Adam Stephan, whose players received the trophy from Cathy Griffith and her son, Jordan.

The Griffith family has been working tirelessly for over a decade to raise funds for the Sideline Cancer cause in honor of Cathy’s late husband and Jordan’s late father, Greg Griffith, a former Hollidaysburg High School basketball standout who died at the age of 50 in 2011 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.

Both teams, with their schools located just one mile apart, had plenty of motivation in Tuesday’s game, and both played like it in a back-and-forth affair that wasn’t decided until the final quarter.

With the score tied, 49-49, entering the fourth quarter, Central Cambria (6-5 overall, 5-4 in the conference) took control of the game by scoring the first five points of the period to take a 54-49 lead.

Sophomore guard Brayden Swope converted a fast-break layup to start the rally, and junior guard Grady Snyder followed by hitting one of two free throws.

Senior guard Joe Iacano added a pair of free throws to give Central Cambria the 54-49 advantage.

“This whole environment here tonight was just amazing, especially our student section,” said Swope, who led Central Cambria with 22 points. “It’s awesome to play against (Carroll), especially when we are able to win.”

As was the pattern of the game all night, Carroll battled back after the Central Cambria spurt. Sophomore guard Jace Casses, who scored a game-high 24 points, pulled the Huskies (6-6, 4-4) to within 54-51 by converting a driving layup, before Central Cambria junior Connor Serenko hit a driving bucket from the key to push Central Cambria’s lead back up to five points, 56-51.

Carroll senior Luke Repko and Snyder exchanged field goals as Central Cambria held serve with a 58-53 lead.

Repko followed with a steal and layup, but Snyder countered with a lay-in shot after Central Cambria broke the Carroll press, giving the Red Devils a 60-55 advantage with under two minutes remaining.

“This was definitely a very good game – both teams played very hard,” said Snyder, who scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. “We played some good defense tonight, and that’s ultimately what won us the game.”

After Iacano made one of two free throws to put Central Cambria up, 61-55, Casses registered a duck-under layup to make it a 61-57 game with 1:58 left.

Serenko fed senior forward George Dill for an inside bucket, and Dill made one of two free throws after being fouled moments later. Swope followed with one of two free throws with 36 seconds left, giving Central Cambria its final margin of victory.

“We couldn’t get stops in the fourth quarter, and they kept scoring,” Carroll coach Cosie Aliquo said. “Hats off to them.”

Successive putbacks by Repko, who had 12 points, and Casses, gave Carroll a temporary 48-47 lead late in the third quarter, but Swope’s fast-break layup put Central Cambria back in front, 49-48, before senior Parker Alexander made one of two free throws for Carroll to create the 49-49 tie after three quarters.

“It was a back-and-forth game, but our defensive pressure in the fourth quarter turned this game around,” said Stephan, whose team hosts Chestnut Ridge in a conference game tonight, while Carroll is idle until Friday, when it visits Huntingdon.

“They had four or five possessions in the fourth quarter where they were not able to get great shots, and we were rebounding well and getting out in transition for baskets,” Stephan added. “We knew that it was going to come down to who would outlast who tonight, and we were able to do that in the fourth quarter.”

BISHOP CARROLL (57): Repko 5 2-2 12, Oravec 3 2-3 8, Tremel 2 0-0 4, Casses 9 6-7 24, Alexander 2 1-2 7, Becquet 1 0-0 2, Severak 0 0-0 0. Totals – 22 11-14 57.

CENTRAL CAMBRIA (65): Dill 3 2-4 8, Serenko 2 2-2 7, Snyder 7 1-2 17, Iacano 3 3-4 10, Swope 9 2-3 23, Muldoon 0 0-0 0, Ray 0 0-0 0. Totals – 24 10-15 65.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Bishop Carroll 16 17 16 8 — 57

Central Cambria 20 16 13 16 — 65

3-point goals: Bishop Carroll 2 (Alexander 2); Central Cambria 7 (Swope 3, Snyder 2, Serenko, Iacano).

Records: Bishop Carroll (6-6 overall, 4-4 in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference); Central Cambria (6-5, 5-4).

Officials: Sam Zambanini, Shawn Sinclair, Brock Kaufman.

JV: Central Cambria, 60-29. High scorers–Vinny Myers, BC, 10; Isaac Bradley, CC, 20.