Saegertown 50 Cambridge Springs 32

These rival teams met last in a double overtime win by Cambridge at home. I of course had to travel out to Saegertown tonight to this exciting backyard rival rematch. The 18 point spread does not do this game justice as it was a much closer game than the final score would indicate.

Those crazy Saegertown student body fans were again out in full force. I do believe they seem to be growing in numbers as the season progresses. It is amazing the things you can see at a basketball game.

Saegertown went with their regular crew, Wetsell, Z. Beatty, Campbell, K. Beatty and Mondi to start. Cambridge however started a very young team with junior, Spaid; two sophomores - Dunton and Kargol and two freshmen - Kondzielski and Lewis. I found Cambridge's starting line up interesting.

Saegertown's #3 Ben Wetsell was honored prior to the start of tonights game by his teamates(the all important assist men) as they presented him a plaque for scoring his 1,000th point on Dec. 28th. Congratulations Ben!

The opening tip went to the home town Panthers who missed a long outside shot which was rebounded by the Devils. The Devils turned the ball over on their first possession, leaving Saegertown to strike first on a fast break. The Panthers then committed three back to back fouls on the floor. Cambridge turned the ball over again which was finished off by an attempted dunk from the Panthers #4 Beatty. The Devils added their own points from a drive by #10 Young. Saegertown added their next points from the line as the Devils #24 Sinclair picked up his first foul. Cambridge committed another turnover on their next possession, however Saegertown was called with another foul on the floor and then turned the ball over with 3:50 remaining in the opening quarter. The Devils called time with 3:27 left to play, score 9-6. Cambridge would manage to turn the ball over 4 more times and add another foul before the quarter would come to an end. Saegertown held the ball with for over a minute for the last shot, but turned it over and committed a foul with 5.8 seconds remaining. Cambridge was lucky considering all their turnovers off of bad passes that typically Saegertown converts to points on the break to still be within four with the score 12-8 to end the first.

Cambridge started the 2nd quarter with a three from Young. Saegertown answered quickly with 2 of their own in the paint. Cambridge managed to turn the ball over again. The Devils called time at the 5:09 mark, score 19-15. Cambridge played a nice diamond and one defense (at least that is what Big told me it was called) and shut down the inside play of Saegertown, however Saegertown has several guys who can shoot the long ball too. Cambridge only turned the ball over twice in the second quarter which Saegertown managed to convert into 2 points. The half ended with Saegertown being up by one, 25 -24. This had the makings of another nail bitter.

The 3rd quarter saw Cambridge in possession. They turned the ball over at the 7 minute mark which #22 Beatty converted to 2 points off the break. The Panthers outscored the Devils by 7 points in the 3rd quarter. This period saw very little action as just over the 3 minute mark with a 34 - 26 lead Seagertown decided to hold the ball for the last shot???? After holding the ball over 2 minutes they passed it around the perimeter until they took a shot and missed with 20 seconds left. Cambridge's #15 Lewis came up with the board. Score at the end of three 34-26.

Cambridge turned the ball over on their first two possessions of the 4th quarter. The Panthers and Devils both had their share of turnovers and fouls in the final frame. The Devils never recovered from their 3rd quarter deficit and the Panthers went on to win this one 50 - 32.

Saegertown's #22 Z. Beatty was on tonight. He led their scoring with 17 points. He was able to hit a couple three pointers when their was nothing open inside. #3 Wetsell added 10 and #1 Amy added 8 more. #4 K. Beatty also added some nice clean blocks in the paint tonight.

Senior #10 Young led the Devils tonight with 15 points. He took the ball to the hoop tonight as did senior#23 Green who added 7. #22 Spaid also added 4 and several nice rebounds. Freshman #15 Lewis continues to add a spark to the team when he is on the court.

This wasn't the backyard rival rematch I had anticipated, but Saegertown has a nice looking team and Cambridge has a good team to build on.

Big was there with the camera, be sure to check out the Saegertown Super Fans! Pictures here:

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

Next big rematch, Meadville and McLane at Meadville, February 4th. See you there!

Region 5 Showdown Meadville 58 General McLane 69

I traveled out to Edinboro to see the General McLane Lancers host the Meadville Bulldogs tonight. Both teams went into tonights matchup unbeaten in Region 5. The Dogs had an overall record of 9-4 while the Lancers stood at 11-2.

The opening tip went to McLane. McLane's #41 Walker shot first and missed, Meadville rebound. Meadville took the ball up the court and turned it over on a 5 second call. McLane shot a long 3 and missed but had two boards. McLane called timeout at 6:54 to avoid turning the ball over going out of bounds. The score 0 -0. The first points of the game came from #11 O'Neal at the 6:34 mark. Meadville answered with their own points in the paint. The Lancer's attempted another 3 pointer but it bounced off the backboard - Meadville's ball. The Dogs #14 drove the lane and ended the play with an offensive foul. Meadville went with a press and caused a Lancer turnover. Meadville had their own turnover on a bad pass. The next two points came from the Lancers at the foul line - score Meadville 2 - McLane 4. McLane added a 3 pointer to up the score to 2 - 7. Senior #12 Geiger came in off the bench and gave the Dogs a spark they needed. Meadville had 4 fast breaks and took their first lead 10 - 7. The tempo of the game changed in the last few minutes of the first quarter as Meadville's #12 came in and got them running. End of the first quarter Meadville was up 15 - 11.

McLance started 2nd quarter with the ball, but Meadville scored first with what seemed to be their 7th fast break in a row. McLane's #12 answered with a three pointer. Meadville turned the ball over on their next possession and the Lancers converted it to 2 points. The Lancers took the lead back at the 5:42 mark, 17-18. Meadville tied the game up at 5:03 with hitting one of two foul shots. The Lancers turned the ball over and Meadville took the lead back. McLane's #41 answered with a strong 2 points in the paint. Meadville hit a three to make it 23-20. Time out was called with 3:32 left to play in the quarter. The Lancers ended up the quarter with two 3 pointers. They were fouled bringing the ball up with .1 second left in the half. They hit both shots and lead 27-30.

McLane and Meadville both came out in the 3rd and turned the ball over on their first possessions, McLane was able to convert on Meadville's turnover. The Lancer's #41 had a power rebound under his own hoop and put it back for 2. Meadville called time with the clock reading 6:57 with the score 27-34. Both teams committed fouls on their next possessions which were converted to points from the line. McLane showed press on the in bounds and Meadville turned the ball over. Meadville called time at 4:52 with the score 31-41. Meadville turned the ball over on the in bounds again. McLane held the ball for the final shot in the quarter, #41 missed and Meadville tried for a shot over half court and missed. The Lancer's outscored the Dogs by 8 and the third ended with a score of 39 to 50.

McLane's #41 committed his 4th foul to begin the 4th quarter and headed to the bench. Meadville's shooter missed both foul shots but they came up with the rebound only to turn it over on a walking call. Meadville called timeout at 7:15 after the Lancers had scored 2 points and Meadville committed a turnover and foul. Meadville switched up to man to man defense. The Lancers were shooting on every foul by the 6:25 mark as Meadville had committed its 7th team foul. Meadville took a fast break off of a Lancers missed shot and scored two plus a chance a the line that was missed. McLane's #41 came back into the game at the 4:36 mark. Meadville kept up with the press and got a couple of turnovers. In the end McLane proved to be too much for the Dogs tonight. Final score 58-69.

Big and I were very impressed with the play of #12 Geiger off Meadville's bench, ankle injury and all. He just gives the team a boost when he is out there. #14 Phillips led the Dogs with 20 points tonight. The Dogs press caused several turnovers and bad passes, however they had a hard time getting the trap. Their size inside forced the Lancers to an outside game in the first half. Freshmen #23 Hamilton who added 12 points and fouled out has a definate presence for the Dogs with several more years to improve. They played a very even game excluding the 3rd quarter.

The Lancers were led by #14 Mulligan with 26 points, 10 of which came from free throws as he went 10 for 12 from the line. Lancers #12 DiVito added 11, #33 Steffey and #41 Walker both added 8 of thier own. I was impressed with #11 O'Neals ball handling with the constant pressure Meadville gave him bringing the ball up the court. He definately kept his composure.

Meadville will host this exciting rematch at the House of Thrills on Monday night, Feb. 4th. I anticipate another great game!

Girard 67 Cambridge Springs 41

I ventured out and met Big tonight in Cambridge Springs to see the Blue Devils host the Girard Yellow Jackets. This was my first opportunity to see Girard in action, although Big had given me some low down as he saw them beat Fairview in a close one December 11th.

A very close JV game was finishing up when I arrived. The final score was Girard 32 Cambridge Springs 29.

Tonights opening tip headed right out of bounds and went to Girard. Girards first possession was a long 3 pointer. Swoosh! Cambridge committed three straight fouls to open up the game and called a quick timeout at 5:51 the score was Girard 5 Cambridge 0. Cambridge was held scoreless until 4:44 into the 1st quarter with Sinclair hitting for 2. Girard had several turnovers including a 3 second call, an offensive foul and a carry towards the end of the quarter. Cambridge was struggling on the boards, very few follow up shots. Cambridge's Chris Young hit a 3 pointer from over half court at the buzzer to end the 1st quarter - swoosh! Game on! Girard 9 Cambridge 7.

Girard's #54 opened up the 2nd quarter with a 3 pointer. Both teams seemed to rack up some fouls with Cambridges's #24 Sinclair committing his 3rd foul at the 4:35 mark in the second, which Girard converted into 2 points. Cambridge's #11 answered with a 3 pointer and a Girard timeout followed at the 3:44 mark. The score Girard 17 Cambridge 13. The Devil's called their own timeout at 1:36 with the score 22-15. The quarter ended with the Yellow Jackets up 27 to 19.

Girard came out in the second half ready to go and proved to be too much for Cambridge outscoring them by 15 points . Cambridge turned the ball over on their first 4 possessions of the half which Girard converted to points. Girard's #23 Ferrick was a rebounding machine, many coming off his own shots. The Yellow Jackets have several guys who can shoot the ball from outside. At the end of three Girard was up 50 to 27.

Both teams went to their bench in the 4th quarter with a final score of Girard 67 Cambridge 41.

Girard seemed to have a very disciplined team and host of outside shooters. Their leading scorer was sophomore #15 Rickard with 17 points, Big had told me about him. He spent some time on the bench due to foul trouble early on and still led them in scoring. Senior#23 Ferrick the Rebounding Machine added 13 points as did McDonald.

Cambridge was led by sophomore #11 Kargol with 10 points followed by #22 Spaid with 8. The Devils showed some great defense in the first half, however the sting of the Jackets proved to be too much tonight.

Girard had matching shoes - and socks to boot tonight.

More Photos here: http://www.bigskinnyonline.com/GirardCambridge.htm