By Jeff Richards
BOYS BASKETBALL
McConnellsburg 67, Forbes Road 44.  The Spartans visited county rival Forbes Road Cardinals on Friday January 24^th for the second of two conference games and completed quarters two through four ahead and at the last buzzer held a 25-point margin of victory to dampen the home crowd’s early enthusiasm for a rematch.

The win extended the Spartans’ winning streak to 13 games, with 13 victories by a margin of 10+ points and 12 by 20+ points.

To a packed house of over 100, the game’s opening minutes were neck and neck close with one minute to go in the first quarter Forbes tied the game at 12 apiece.  The Spartans coach Lowery called a time out and was stern in the huddle to get the fellas more motivated and focused.  After the break, each team traded baskets, and the quarter ended on a draw at 14-14.

In the second quarter, the Spartans were called for a delay of game in the sideline huddle, so the Cardinals were awarded two technical foul shots and hit one.  Then the Spartans got the lead right back on the next possession with a trey from Brayden Ramsey.  The Spartans forced two Cardinal turnovers, and they suffered three missed shots to allow the Spartans, who made their return possession shots, to open the lead to 11, including a trey from Hoyt Glenn, at 3:30 remaining with the score 26-15.  The quarter ended 31-20, with the Spartans leading.

In the early third quarter, the Cardinals rallied to come within five, the score 31-26.  Then, the Spartans put together a rally and Hoyt Glenn, Brayden Ramsey, and Cohen Hall hit treys and busted the lead wide open to 22 points, the score at 50-28 with just under three minutes to go.  The quarter ended at 54-37 with the entire crowd energized and active as game play was muscular with 12 fouls (five for FR and 7 for MHS) committed in the frame with one Cardinal that fouled out.

In the final quarter the Spartans outscored the Cardinals by almost twice by using good teamwork to move the ball around the horn to find the open man.  Forbes also made a few captivating plays at the hoop in this frame, to make a last run at a comeback.  Yet the points difference was too great to overcome as overall the Spartans had outscored the Cardinals by almost three times in the second quarter and nearly double in the final quarter and held the edge by six in the third. Final 44-67 Spartans.

Coach Josh Lowery commented, “Tonight’s win against a very good Forbes Road Cardinal team was a great one.  We were down one crucial starter, our forward Shaffer Earley, and managed to win this cross-town rivalry game on the road.  Calls were not going our way, and we did ourselves no favor shooting 43% from the charity line.  But, we took advantage of mismatches on offense and our 13 steals to capitalize!  The boys were very poised considering everything.  I’m proud of them!”

The Spartans (14-1 overall, 5-0 ICC South) had big nights led by junior forward Brayden Ramsey with a double-double of 28 points and 10 rebounds, and sophomore guard Hoyt Glenn recorded a triple-double (!) of 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists.

Spartans’ scoring: Hoyt Glenn 5 0-0 12, Dom Jefferson 4 1-1 9, Brayden Ramsey 10 5-13 28, Jake Hann 2 2-4 6, Galen Clevenger 2 0-3 4, Kohen Hall 2 2-2 8, Totals 25 10-23 67. FTM% 43.4%. 3-point shots — 7 (Glenn 2, Ramsey 3, Hall 2).

Team stats:  38 rebounds, 20 assists, 13 steals, 3 blocks, 11 turnovers, team fouls 17.

Other stats: Hoyt Glenn 11 rebounds, 10 assists, 1 steal, 1 block; Brayden Ramsey 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 6 steals, 1 block; Dom Jefferson 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block; Jake Hann 2 rebounds, 2 assists; Galen Clevenger 5 rebounds, 2 steals; Kohen Hall 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals.

Cardinals’ scoring: Michael S. 5 2-4 12, Sawyer Hollibaugh 3 1-2 8, Jacoby Knepper 7 3-4 18, Camden Lupey 1 0-2 2, Owen Long 1 2-3 4, Totals 17 11-15 44.  FTM% 73.3%.  3-point shots — 2 (Hollibaugh 1, Knepper 1). Team stats:  fouls 22.

McConnellsburg   14  17   23   13  —   65
Forbes Road        14    6    17     7  —   44

Next Up:  McConnellsburg JV/V will travel to Williamsburg for non-conference games on Wednesday, January 29^th at 6 PM.

Notes:  JV boys’ result:  MHS 47, FR 24