Trending
By Matt Michelone
sports@altoonamirror.com
EBENSBURG -- Both the Bishop Carroll Catholic and Bishop McCort Catholic boys' basketball teams traded equal opportunities through the first three quarters of Friday night's Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference matchup.
It was once things went to the fourth quarter that the Crimson Crushers pulled away and cruised to a 65-55 victory over the Huskies at the Bishop Carroll gym on senior night.
"They just hit some open shots," Bishop Carroll coach Cosie Aliquo said. "They got the loose balls, and we didn't. (During the Huskies 70-51 triumph on Dec. 14 at McCort) just flip it. We made the shots, they didn't."
The loss knocked the Huskies down to fifth in the District 6 Class 1A rankings while the Crushers aren't far behind in seventh after Friday night's game.
It took until after an extended possession by the Huskies for the first points to score, as Shakile Ferguson came up with the take away for a layup for two of his 20 points just over a minute into the game.
Late in the opening stanza, Bishop Carroll's Luke Repko -- off an inbound play -- scored two of his game-high 24 points to give the Huskies a 12-9 lead.
Both sides continued answering scoring chance after scoring chance in the second. Repko scored on a putback, flying over traffic to give Bishop Carroll a 20-17 advantage.
Mike Preuss, however, answered as he got a putback and scored off a steal to give the Crushers a 26-25 lead at the break. He finished the night giving McCort its third scorer in double-figures with 10.
"Our guys really hunkered down on defense, and we got a little bit of a lead. I think as the clock's winding down, you can't be so selective," Bishop McCort coach Chris Pfeil said. "They're very patient on offense, and they work to get their shot. But when you're down at about the three-minute mark, I think they took some shots that they didn't want to take and we started to control the glass and limit them from second chances."
In the third quarter, Carroll got an early big play from Jace Casses as he drew an extra free throw to tie the game at 28. He finished the night with 18 points.
Nick Dressick responded with a pair of 3-pointers as he recorded a Crusher team-high 21 points -- 15 off of the long ball -- to help stretch the advantage to 39-32 before the Huskies tightened things up at 45-44.
"When Nick gets hot, that opens everything else for everybody," Pfeil said. "He got to his spots tonight, got his feet set and drained them. Shakile Ferguson was unbelievable tonight for us. He really pushed the tempo for us."
Once the fourth quarter started, the Huskies offense went cold and the Crushers pulled away, thanks to an 8-1 run which Dressick helped power. He scored 10 of his points in the final frame.
Ferguson also helped put the game away with a pair of buckets in the fourth.
Aliquo is reminding his team to not take these last two regular-season games for granted -- both coming on a back-to-back -- if they want a chance to compete in the postseason.
"That's why we go on the road," he said. "We got Johnstown on Monday, Huntingdon (on Tuesday). We're going to be on the road in the playoffs (if we qualify)."
He also took a moment to salute his seniors on the night that could be their final home game.
"They're tough. Part of two district titles," Aliquo said. "Some seniors don't even get there."
BISHOP MCCORT (65): Ferguson 7 6-9 20, Beppler 1 0-2 2, Dressick 9 0-2 21, Pfeil 2 0-0 5, Peruss 5 0-2 10, Dudinack 0 0-0 0, Gallucci 3 1-2 7. Totals-- 27 7-15 65.
BISHOP CARROLL (55): Casses 7 2-3 18, Repko 9 2-2 24, Alexander 0 0-0 0, Oravec 1 2-2 4, Sekerak 1 0-0 2, Tremel 2 1-2 7, Becquet 0 0-0 0. Totals--20 6-8 55.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Bishop McCort 9 17 19 21 - 65
Bishop Carroll 12 13 19 11 - 55
3-point field goals: Bishop McCort 6 (Dressick 5, Pfeil), Bishop Carroll 5 (Casses 2, Repko 3)
Records: Bishop McCort (10-11), Bishop Carroll (11-9).
Officials: Mark Skubick, Sam Bernetti, Tony Warnovich.
JV: Bishop McCort, 54-25. High scorers: Brent Schmidt, BM, 20; Brennon McCloskey, BC, 6.