Cambridge Springs 57 Meadville 43 Girls

I very seldom get to see a girls game but this evening I had opportunity to watch two 9-1 teams play for the Cambridge Springs Holiday Tournament Championship. Cambridge coach Clint Rauscher can be very proud of how his girls played in defeating a Dean Henderson coached Meadville squad 57-43.

BigSkinny Player of the Game goes to Annie Wilson who ran the offense from the point very efficiently and hitting 4 of 5 three pointers was very impressive.




More pictures are here: http://www.bigskinnyonline.com/CS%20Vs%20MDVL%20Girls.htm

McDowell 55 North East 54

For the second night in a row I got to see two undefeated teams go at each other. North East at McDowell gave me plenty of reason to travel back to the McDowell Tournament and I was not disappointed. McDowell barely kept their undefeated record safe for now 55-54.

McDowell jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead on buckets by Ryan Skellie and Zach Spronatti but North East ran off nine in a row to take a 9-4 lead at the 3:28 mark. The nine point run included a 3 pointer by Ryan Szwejbka followed by buckets from Michael Rouse, Bryan Kirsch (on a nice assist by Aaron Meehl) and Rouse once again. McDowells Jason Keim got in gear with a drive to the hoop and the harm followed by another 2 to tie the game 9-9 at 2:26 to go in the first. North East’s Matt Triana and Rouse took control from there. Matt hit a three and Rouse made a 3 ball to end the quarter with NE up 16-10.

The second quarter was much like the first with each team going on mini runs with McDowell cutting the North East lead to four at 26-24. McDowell’s Keim, Skellie, and Bryant Kimball each netted 4 points while North East reserve #2 David Coburn scored 5 points.

At the break I went for the Nachos and Cheese with a water combo. I really do go to the games to eat!

McDowell came out in the Second half in defensive lock down mode while scoring the first six points to lead 28-26 until North East finally got on the board at the 4:27 mark with a bucket by Meehl to tie 28-28. Zach Spronattii scored 4 straight to give McDowell an uncomfortable lead at 32-28. I call it uncomfortable because it took a couple foul shots by point guard Kimball for McDowell, who had lost the lead again, to tie it back up at 34-34. McDowell regained the lead at the buzzer with a big three pointer by Dillon Loomis. McDowell 37 North East 34

The fourth quarter was like watching a tennis match as I did my best Big Bobble Head doll impersonation. At 2:02 Loomis hit another three to knot the score at 50-50. Bobble, bobble, at 1:07 Matt Triana gave North East a 52-50 lead on a beautiful baseline move and layup. At this point McDowell did something very curious by bringing the ball up the floor and going into a stall like they might be waiting to take the last shot. They got the clock down to :33 and called timeout while I was scratching my head questioning this strategy. Out of the timeout they finally got the ball to #4 Spronatti who took aim at a three with about 19 seconds left on the clock, swish for a 53-52 lead. North East point guard Triana raced down the floor and went to the hoop hard and drew a shooting foul with :09 left. As cool as the other side of the pillow Matt made both foul shots to give his team a 54-53 lead. The inbounds pass for McDowell came to point guard Kimball as he quickly headed up the floor looking for the hot hand of Zach Spronatti who got the ball with 4 seconds left. He pumped once he pumped twice and then let it fly from just inside the three point line. The ball was in the air, the clock read :00, swish! Final Score: McDowell 55 North East 54

BigSkinny Player of the Game: Zach Spronatti and his 19 points

Observations: If that last shot had not fallen to give McDowell the victory, I was all set to call Aaron Meehl my Player of the game. That kid is everywhere! He does all the nasty work like boxing out guys a foot taller and jumping the passing lanes not to mention he made two huge threes in that fourth quarter. He was also 5-5 from the free through line. No North East player or fan should hang their head low after the game they played. McDowell just had the ball last.

I continue to be impressed with the job Coach Hetz is doing with his squad. They are very disciplined and hard working. They go 8 or 9 deep and I love their energy. Spronatti is a great shooter and they get good point play from Kimball. The big guys hit the boards and have nice touch underneath. Dillon Loomis joins Spronatti as a huge threat from beyond the three line. The best thing I see in this team is their willingness to play hard on defense.

I look for both of these teams to have a good showing come playoff time. I love D10 Basketball!

There are a few Pictures here: http://www.bigskinnyonline.com/MCNE.htm

North East 72 North Allegheny 68

The undefeated Clas AAAA North Allegheny Tigers brought their undefeated record to the McDowell First National Bank Holiday Tournament in Erie where they took on the equally undefeated class AA North East Grape Pickers. Someone would hit their pillow tonight with one loss and that is sad because both of these teams are well coached and very talented.

The Tigers got off to a quick start when #33 Dan Kusnyer hit a 3 pointer to put them up 7-0 at the 6:25 mark and directly went up 9-0 on two foul shots by #25 Stephane Batton. The Pickers scored two buckets by #3 Aaron Meehl and #20 Michael Rouse to cut the lead to 9-4 until Kusnyer hit his second 3 ball to make it 12-4. NE scored 3 more on a bucket and free throw to close to 12-7. NA's #2 Ted Connolly, the Tigers leading scorer tonight with 16, then made 2 free throws to double up the Pickers 14-7. At this point NA's coach showed their depth by bringing in four fresh players which was his pattern for the evening as he rotated 9 good players in and out. The pickers point guard, #10 Matt Triana, then kicked it into high gear with an awesome no-look pass pass to #00 Ryan Szwejbka for an easy layup to make it 14-9. I was sitting behind the Tigers bench and I heard their coach say about Triana, "That kid is killing us". That statement would be prophetic as you will see later. The no-looker would propel the pickers to a first quarter tie at 17-17 with NE's Rouse going for 7 straight points to give him 9 in the frame. The Pickers also got some good rebounding and shot blocking from their sixth man, #50 Patrick Lafuria.

The second quarter started out like the first with NA scoring the first two to make it 19-17 and the score would see-saw throughout the quarter until the Pickers Szwejbka hit his only three of the night at the buzzer to give the Pickers a lead at 34-30.

At halftime I kind of wondered if NA depth would wear down what seemed like an undermanned Pickers squad as they played 6 or 7 against 9 all evening. But.......

At the 4:30 mark of the third quarter the score was 50-37 North East. Wow, can that Rouse kid shoot. He hit two 3's and three 2's for 12 points in a very short period of time. Most of his buckets came off of steals by teammates Triana, Meehl, Szwejbka, and Kirsch. A total team effort! That was fun to watch but just as I began expecting a blowout, swoosh, here came NA shooting the lights out with five 3's with Jeff Finke hitting two of them. NA came to within two at 55-53 to end the quarter and set up an exciting fourth quarter.

The Tigers continued their hot shooting into the fourth on a bucket by #15 Damian Founds and a 3 pointer by Stephane Batton to give them the lead at 58-55. NE tied it at 58 on free throws and then NA's Jeff Finke hit another three to regain the lead 61-58. NE tied the game again at the 2:11 with both teams at 63. Holy cow! NA missed the first of a one and one free throw opportunity and the Pickers #50 Patrick Lafuria made his only field goal of the night to take the lead at 65-63. Back came NA's Connolly with a drive to the hoop for two and the harm for an old fashioned 3 point play to give the Tigers a one point lead, 66-65. Folks, it was at this point that I wondered if North Allegheny's depth had taken its toll on the Grape Pickers. The last few plays I had noticed that they were not getting to loose balls like they had earlier and I just thought they looked tired after a long battle.

This is when I remembered the NA Coach saying, "That kid is killing us", and just as that thought entered my head Matt Triana pulled the trigger and stole the inbounds pass and in one motion got the ball to Rouse and rouse hit a streaking Meehl for a layup and the lead 67-66. NA would take the lead again at the :51 mark 68-67 but Triana pulled the trigger again by diving hard to the hoop and drawing a two shot foul. Swish, swish 69-68 NE with :38 on the clock. After NA called timeout to set up a play they were called for traveling and were forced to foul Mr. Triana and he made both again for a 71-68 lead with 12 seconds to play. NA took a 3 pointer but it was partially blocked and Bryan Kirsch came up with the ball while being fouled with 1 second to go. He knocked down the first one to give North East the Victory 72-68. Whew, those kids will sleep well tonight. What a great effort it was an a great win as well.

View some pictures here: http://www.bigskinnyonline.com/NE%20Vs%20NA.htm

Observations: North Allegheny is a very talented team and they are very deep with 4 quality kids off the bench. I was very impressed by the calm demeanor of their coach yet I could see those kids played hard for him.

This was the first time I have seen the 2007-2008 version of the Pickers and all I can say is, "WOW", are they ever fun to watch. When the Lafuria kid comes in off the bench he gives them a nice inside presence as he blocks shots and rebounds. I also need to mention that when Triana got in foul trouble in the second period, Cory Rossman gave NE some valuable minutes and he played well. I noticed that when rebounding against NE you better not take the ball to your waist or Meehl will take it away from you. He did it time and again.


I think this may be the first time I have ever awarded BigSkinny Player of the Game to two players but tonight it goes to the North East Duo of Michael Rouse and Matt Triana. The M&M Boys, they don't melt, period! Michael was the games leading scorer with 30 points. He scored inside and ouside, he hit turn around jumpers and runners, he made three 3's and nine 2's. This kid can flat out shoot, best shooter I've seen this year. Matt Triana, 17 points, is what I call a true point guard. He sees the floor and controls it like nobodies business on defense as well as offense. He is very quick and will rob your dribble at the blink of an eye. At games end he put it away at the free throw line where he went 7-9 in the fourth quarter and 10-13 overall.

Congrats to the whole team and coaching staff on a great win.

I also might add that I stayed until halftime of the McDowell/Milliken Mills game but spent the whole second quarter at the concession stand. Those are some nice gals at that concession stand. I had a hot dog and pretzel combo meal and I think the halftime score was McDowell 28 Milliken 21. Anyway, I know that McDowell went on to win 56-39 to set up another undefeated match up with North East Friday at 7:30pm. That should be a great game!

Girard Vs Titusville Score Needed

If you have the score of the Saturday game between Girard and Titusville please email it to me at big@bigskinnyonline.com I heard that Girard won but no score has been able to be found on any news source. Thank You!

McDowell 46 General McLane 35

I arrived at General McLane at the end of the first quarter of the JV game with the Lancers up 17-4. I thought this was going to be a laugher but McDowell's coach wasn't laughing. As a matter of fact he encouraged and challenged his team to not give up and boy did they rise to his challenge. After 3 quarters McLane's lead was only 5 at 36-31 and at :38.3 of the fourth it was all tied at 44-44. With :o1.5 left on the clock, McDowell missed two free throws and went on to lose a tough one 54-49 but I was very impressed with McDowell's comeback and kudos to the coach.

Now on to the main event. Both teams were playing pressure defence all over the floor and points were hard to come by. McDowell jumped out to a 4-0 lead but McLane came back and tied it 4-4 on a bucket by Shawn Walker. Jason Keim gave McDowell a 9-7 lead at the 1:04 mark on a nice 3 point play the old fashioned way but McLane quickly knotted it up at 9 to end the first quarter.

The second quarter was much like the first with pressure defense by both squads and blocked shots by McDowell's big man Keim. McDowell outscored McLane by one point 10-9 with Shawn Walker netting 5 for the Lancers and five different players for McDowell getting 2 each. Halftime score 19-18 McDowell.

The third quarter was the key for McDowell as they turned up the heat and the offense scoring 21 to 10 over the Lancers. Several of their points came as a result of GM overplaying on defense and getting backdoored. Their 21 points were more than the 19 they scored the whole first half. Score after three was 40-28 McDowell.

The fourth quarter was basically Coach Hetz slowing it down and using clock as they only mustered 6 points but they held McLane to only 7 and breezed to a 46-35 victory.

Observations: McDowell is strong and play a very disciplined game. The Keim boy rebounds well and blocks shots to give McDowell a presence in the paint. They move the ball very well and attack the lane. I also noticed that they have a strong bench.

McLane's Shawn Walker is a man under the basket but he also hit two 3's tonight to lead all scorers with 14 points. After a tough 3rd quarter these kids never gave up and played hard to the end which I have come to expect from an Andy Shultz coached team.

BigSkinny Player of the Game: McDowell's Jason Keim who scored a team high 13 and rebounded well with at keast 4 blocked shots.

Pictures are here: http://www.bigskinnyonline.com/McLaneMcDowell.htm

Girard 56 Fairview 50

This game epitomizes the reason Skinny and I do this web site. I was told by a very nice Fairview Grandmother to write nice things about the kids. Not to worry, it is all good. In front of a packed house Girard won the tip but it was Fairview's Tyler Sargent that got on the board first with a bucket in the paint. Girard quickly tied it at 2-2 with a bucket by Coltin Ferrick. Sargent made two free throws to put Fairview up by two again but it did not last long as Mike Droll hit a long range 3 to put Girard up 5-4. Girard scored six more points to finish out the first quarter 11-4 by holding Fairview scoreless the final 5:57.

There are a few pictures of the game posted here: http://www.bigskinnyonline.com/Girard%20Vs%20Fairview.htm

Girard opened the second quarter with some very crisp ball movement but again Fairview was the first to score at the 6:47 mark with a foul shot by Justin Haney. This was Justin's first action since being injured in the Tigers last football game. He played well by scoring all five of his points in this quarter bringing his team back to within two at 11-9 with 4:30 left in the frame. Yellow Jackets Ferrick then put them back up by four 13-9 with a strong move under the basket. Whew, I could hardly keep up but buckets by Gary Corbin and Brooks Lankowski's coast to coast effort knotted it up at 13 with 3:40 remaining in the half. The half concluded with the teams exchanging buckets and Fairview gaining a two point advantage 19-17.

The third quarter saw Fairview build a 10 point lead 29-19 with 4:15 to go in the frame on strong play by Sargent who hit a couple 3's and scored 11 of his 20 points in this quarter. Three pointers by Andrew Rickard and Jeff McDonald closed the gap to five with the score Fairview 34 Girard 29 at the end of the quarter.

This is the point in the game, start of the final frame, that last year's outstanding freshman became this year's Sophomore Phenom. Andrew Rickard is truly an amazing young athlete. After both teams starting slowly, Andrew stole the ball and while falling out of bounds saved the possession by tossing the ball to a teammate. It was as though Rickard said enough of this and took the team on his shoulders and would not be denied. At the 5:09 mark he hit a three to tie the score 36-36. Sargent answered with a three of his own to regain the lead at 39-36. Girard's Ferrick added two free throws to pull within one but that was followed by another coast to coast job by Lankowski who by the way I was very impressed with. With Fairview ahead 41-38 and 3:10 to go in the game, guess who hit another three to tie it up. That's right, number 15 in your program, Andrew Rickard. That three was followed by a three from Yellow Jackets Brett Smith at 2:27 to give them a lead that they would not relinquish 44-41. Girard's Droll then found himself wide open underneath for two to give them a 46-41 lead. At this point Fairview would score and then foul. The only problem is, guess who Coach Mayes made sure the inbounds pass went to. Right again, Andrew Rickard! He proceeded to make 8 of 8 from the line and none of those even touched the rim, swish, swish, swish. Final score Girard 56 Fairview 50

Girard Box: Smith 1 1-1 5, Rickard 7 8-8 25, Ferrick 7 2-4 16, Droll 2 0-0 5, McDonald 1 0-1 3

Fairview Box: Lankowski 5 0-0 10, Haney 2 1-2 5, Corbin 1 0-0 2, Patton 1 0-0 3, Glecos 4 2-2 10, Sargent 7 4-7 20

BigSkinny Player of The Game - Andrew Rickard (I should have made you guess)

Observations: Both of these teams are very good and played with great emotion. They are extremely well coached. There were several times this evening where there were no points scored for long stretches and it wasn't because of poor shooting. The defense was really good.

I was expecting Fairview's Tyler Sargent to be good and he did not disappoint. I was also very impressed with the Tigers Brooks Lankowski. He brings the team a lot of energy and I loved to watch him get a rebound and do the coast to coast thing.

For Girard, Coltin Ferrick plays way bigger than he is. He had a great game with 16 points. Mike Droll has a nice stroke from beyond the 3 line. Let me see, am I missing anyone, oh yeah, Andrew. My own basketball skills have diminished over the years to the point that all I can still do is box out. But, I think Andrew and I could beat anyone in a 2 on 2 contest. (Don't laugh, the older I get, the better I used to be.) Seriously, for a Sophomore, he is a phenom and his family can be very proud of him.

It was great meeting some of the folks with kids playing, I really enjoyed myself this evening and I didn't even have a hot dog. I'm slipping.

I can be reached at big@bigskinnyonline.com

Farrell 65 Kennedy Catholic 50

I had a very enjoyable first time ever visit to Kennedy Catholic High School to see their Golden Eagles host the crosstown rival Steelers of Farrell. I was very impressed with their Gym and comfy bleachers and I even had the privileged to meet the AD, a very nice gentleman.

As you can imagine, the stands were practically filled as the first quarter began. The Farrell Steelers seemed like they were on a crusade by hopping out to a quick lead after a 4-4 tie they scored 16 straight points to make it 20-4. The score after one was 22-8. Donald Jackson and Myles Ransom blocked almost every shot the Golden Eagles brought into the paint and Farrells defense caused more turnovers than I could count. But, it was the play of Traphael Stubbs that caught my eye. He scored 10 points in the frame and Ransom added 8. Whew, were they ever playing with high energy!

The second quarter started out much the same as they continued their run to build a 31-13 lead at the 3:41 mark. At that point the Kennedy boys started to cause some turnovers of their own and mounted a comeback behind 12 points by the Golden Eagles Randall who was the games high scorer with 24 points. The revitalized Golden Eagles closed the gap to enter halftime at a 34-22 score.

Farrell came out cold in the third quarter but Kennedy's Ponzurick did not. he gave his team a boost by scoring 6 points in the quarter but no one else was able to hit the scoring column. Finally at the 4:09 mark Farrell scored their first points of the second half with a bucket by the Steelers Chapman. From that point Farrell ran off 8 straight points to win the quarter 10-6.

The final quarter started off with the score of 44-28. This would be the only quarter that Kennedy would outscore Farrell 22-21. For the Golden Eagles it was Jones and Randall that provided the bulk of the scoring by combining for 18 of the 22 points. For Farrell this is where big man Donald Jackson made sure that there would be no comeback by scoring 16 of his team high 18 which was one more than Stubbs who added 17 for the game. The final score was 65-50 in favor of the Steelers.

Observations: The Stubb's boy has the best hands of any high school player I have seen since the early 70's. He just swoops rebounds out of the air with one hand and then for effect slaps it hard into his other hand. He is a great player and fun to watch. He is BigSkinny Player of the game.

Like last year, Farrell definitely has the horses to challenge for the District 10 title but I am sure there will be some teams up North that will have something to say about that. They have a wide open style of play and it is fun to watch. My only question is, How will that translate when they meet a very disciplined and deliberate style like Girard or a shoot the lights out Northeast. I don't want to hurry the season but the playoffs in AA are going to be very good again this year.

As for Kennedy, I was very impressed at how they played pretty even with Farrell the final three quarters. The Randall kid is very quick and shoots well off the dribble. The 6'5" Jones really came to life in the 4th quater and I understand another 6'5" boy didn't even play this evening. The Golden Eagles played all kinds of defenses and switched them often. I would think that they will be the #1 rated Class A team in D10. The Kennedy coach will have to sit out the next game because he had two technical fouls.

I enjoyed sitting with Farrell Super Fans Jake, Dustin, and Tyler. They were able to answer any questions I had about the rivalry.

Kudos to The River Radio station. I sat behind the guys broadcasting the game and then listened to them when I got in my truck to head home. They do a nice job plus when they were done with their program they gave me some nice Christmas music for the ride home. Nothing like a Burl Ives tune to make a trip shorter. I lost the signal at Meadville but I enjoyed it while it lasted.

One last comment: There were no Hot Dogs but then again, I was only a couple miles away from the Sharon Hot Dog Shop. So did I or didn't I?

Also, I mistakenly referred to the Kennedy Boys as Crusaders instead of Golden Eagles. I apologize for that brain cramp, I knew better.

I can be reached at big@bigskinnyonline.com

Franklin 55 Meadville 41

You can only imagine the shock I experienced as I gazed upon The House of Thrills concession menu. No Hot Dogs? Needless to say, no Thrills here. Apparently you need a license to sell dogs but not popcorn or candy, hmmm, you learn something every day. The only saving grace was that I learned the stand is completely run by the Student Council and for that I give them kudos and a short stint as #2 in my rankings.

It was difficult to concentrate on the game without my normal game time fuel dog but I tried. Meadville's James Ness got the first bucket of the game to take a 2-0 lead but that was about it for the Bulldog's. Franklin's press started forcing turnovers and Knight's point guard, Eric Caffrey, was diving all over the place but his floor burns turned into points for teammate Tim Maleski. Tim scored 6 of Franklin's 14 first quarter points to lead 14-10 after the first frame.

Meadville got the first two points of the second quarter but much like the first quarter Franklin took over and outscored the Bulldog's 12-7 the rest of the way giving them a halftime lead 26-19. Eric Caffrey led the frame with five points.

The third quarter stated like the first two with Meadville scoring first on a bucket by Ray Hamilton while drawing to within 5 of the Knight's 26-21. Tony Phillips scored 6 of his game high 15 points in this period but Tim Maleski matched his 6 and Bryan Smith added 5 as the Franklin squad once again won the quarter 16-12 to build their lead to 42-31.

In that 3rd quarter Meadville actually started to make a run at the Knight's only to have it stalled due to turnovers and more floor burns for Franklin's Caffrey. The fourth quarter was a stall as Franklin became much more deliberate on offence to use some clock and at 3:42 to go the knight's took the clock down to 2:37 with the lead at 52-35. Final Score: Franklin 55 Meadville 41.

Observations: Franklin played with high energy and their play was very disciplined. It is clear that coach Hagar has this team going in the right direction. I was impressed with this win over a much larger team. Caffery 13 points, Maleski 12, and Smith 10 for the Knights.

Meadville has some big boys. They started 3 players at 6'5'' or taller. I enjoyed watching James Ness battle on the boards all evening. I believe coach Price may have a team to be dealt with as this season proceeds. Tony Phillips had a game high 15 points for the Bulldog's and he was joined in double figures by Ness with 10.

Player of the Game: Eric Caffery of Franklin. This kid was horizontally air born at least 3 times tonight.

Pictures of the score book and the game can be viewed here:

http://www.bigskinnyonline.com/meadville_vs_franklin_pictures.htm

Cambridge Springs 45 Greenville 47

Well I hopped in my truck and made the 1/10th of a mile trek to Cambridge Springs High School tonight to catch the Greenville/Cambridge game but before I could even be seated the Concession Stand cried out my name. Last years defending champion Stand got off to a great start tonight by giving me a Chili Cheese Dog that was fantastic. I must warn all the other Stands vying for the top spot on my ratings board that the Spa did not stand pat from last year. They have added to their menu of Dogs, and the Walking Taco the Baked Potato. Their only setback would be that they were all sold out by the second game. Yogi Berra once said, "No one goes to that restaurant anymore because they are always too crowded." If not careful, no one will buy your potatoes anymore because you are always sold out. That aside, I place them solidly in first place to start the season.

Oh yeah, there was a game played as well. It was mostly a see saw battle with the Spa leading most of the way by 2 or 4 points. In the end Greenville got the Devils with a 47-45 win. Chris Young of Cambridge Springs was the games high scorer with 16 points and he was joined in double figures by Larry Green who tallied 10. Greenville had three players in double figures with Tyler Blaschak with 14, Josh Chisholm 12, and Jordan Batt with 11.

Tyler Blaschak showed good leadership and high energy for Greenville and I was impressed with the athletic ability of Sophomore Jordan Batt who appears to have a bright future. I enjoyed seeing Greenville using the old pick and roll successfully on several occasions. That play is as old as I am but it still works much better than I do.

For Skinny's squad I thought point guard Chris Young had a good night and I was impressed with the defense of Tyler Dunton. Adam Sinclair gives the team great energy but he was sitting beside the coach most of the night with foul trouble. Fun, fun, fun! I love basketball.

I just need to add that Heather's report from last night about matching shoes did not fall on deaf ears or blind eyes for that matter. I caught myself checking to see if every one's shoes matched and they do round out the uniform nicely.

It was really nice to see the Engelbert family!

Opening Night!

Make sure you read Heather's Highlights on our main page. I couldn't go to any games this evening but I am thankful to have such a fine writer helping us. Way to go Heather!

Looking at the scores was interesting though. I would say that Northeast made a statement tonight with their lopsided win over a tough Hickory team. General McLane has taken up where they left off. Farrell ran into a tough (AAAA) McDowell team and down in Cochranton I expected big things from Reynolds but they were handed a loss by Maplewood.

This is going to be a great year!!