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By Michael Boytim
mboytim@altoonamirror.com
PORTAGE -- The term "load management" has become standard in discussions about the NBA and specifically players often sitting out one side of games played on back-to-back nights.
Portage's high school boys basketball team is in the middle of a stretch that would probably lead the NBA's player union to go on strike.
The Mustangs rallied from a 13-point deficit to edge United, 50-47, in Len Chappell Gymnasium on Friday -- their third game in as many nights. They play again tomorrow against Conemaugh Valley, have Sunday off and then play Monday and Tuesday for six games in seven nights.
"In 25 years I have been a head coach here, I have never seen anything like it," Portage coach Travis Kargo said. "But, as I told the kids, if we have to do it, this is the group I want to do it with. Great senior leadership, and we're prepared for this type of stretch run. We have played enough basketball over the years that we can survive it."
Portage looked good early, jumping ahead 10-2, but United fought back with seven first-half 3-pointers and took a seven-point halftime lead. The Lions built it to 35-22 on a Braxton Jelley putback midway through the third quarter.
"That's three in three days, and all of them came down to the wire," Kargo said. "I think you saw some tired legs. We missed some shots that normally we would make, especially some of those layups underneath, but all the credit to our kids for battling."
But the Mustangs ended the quarter on a 12-2 run highlighted by Owen Gouse's dunk that ignited the crowd in the gym.
"Mental toughness," Kargo said. "When you have senior leadership like we do and a group of kids that believe and refuse to lose, that's what it is -- mental toughness. Credit to them."
Trae Kargo drilled a deep 3-pointer with 6:22 left in the game to give Portage its first lead since the first quarter and then made another to tie the game with 4:11 left to start a 7-0 run that put the Mustangs ahead to stay.
"At the beginning of the game, I wasn't feeling it," Trae Kargo said. "My teammates let me know to keep shooting it, and they got me open. I was luckily able to put some in toward the end."
Kargo finished with a team-high 13 points. Gouse added 12 points, and Bode Layo had 11 points.
"It's tough on the body (playing three nights in a row)," Trae Kargo said. "But with six seniors who play lots of minutes, we all feel we're prepared and can play without practicing most nights."
Portage is being forced to play so many games in a short period because of school being out due to the cold weather and the Heritage Conference semifinals looming with seeding still in doubt.
"The road to the KCAC, when you get there, it's first class," Coach Kargo said. "From top to bottom, everything is run perfectly. Tremendously. But the timing is rough with Pennsylvania winters. It's never really happened before -- this year is an outlier -- but we had four days off school and all four days were conference games. That puts us in a hole, but this is the hand we were dealt. We have to face it head on and keep fighting every day."
UNITED (47): Wothington 3 0-0 8, Darr 2 1-2 6, McGinnis 4 0-0 12, Felix 2 2-2 6, Jelley 4 0-1 8, Burkett 2 1-2 7, Oleksa 0 0-0 0. Totals -- 17 4-7 47.
PORTAGE (50): Kargo 4 2-2 13, Layo 2 7-8 11, Gouse 5 2-6 12, Z. Hodge 0 0-0 0, E. Hodge 3 0-0 6, Slanoc 0 0-0 0, McCoy 3 2-2 8. Totals -- 17 13-18 50.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
United 16 11 10 10 -- 47
Portage 16 4 14 16 -- 50
3-point goals: United 9 (McGinnis 4, Burkett 2, Worthing 2, Darr); Portage 3 (Kargo 3).
Records: United (11-6); Portage (12-4).
Officials: Chad Walsh, Matthew Gueguen, Corey Theys.
JV: No game.