By Jeff Richards
BOYS BASKETBALL
McConnellsburg 71 Berlin Brothersvalley 31. On February 21st, the Districts 5/8 Class 2A #1 seed Spartans hosted #4 seed Berlin Brothersvalley Mountaineers. The Spartans again stormed up front in the first quarter with 31 points to go onto a commanding, unabated win and advance to the championship round.
Similar to the first-round playoff game, in the opening quarter, the Spartans got on board with six points in the first minute, with swarming, attacking full-court defensive pressure, before the first Berlin timeout. Afterward, the Spartans scored another six unanswered points in sweeping Spartans’ start-up fashion with a second Berlin timeout to follow and the score as 12-0. The first Mountaineer’s points came with a three-pointer from senior guard McKelvey Foor, their top scorer, at 4:15 to go. At three minutes left, the Spartans were leading 18-3, with Berlin having reached five fouls. With a packed crowd and full-game standing student section, saw a pretty play by Hoyt Glenn put up a left-side, protected left-hand layup, get fouled and convert the free throw. By the end of the quarter, this top scoring Spartan trifecta group had added 24 points: Hoyt Glenn with 12 points; Brayden Ramsey with seven points; and Dom Jefferson with five points in the barn burner scoring quarter to lead 31-7.
Two minutes into the second quarter, Glenn hit an eight-foot jumper to put the Spartans 30-points ahead 37-7. Berlin was held scoreless for nearly seven minutes between the first and second quarters. Overall, Berlin was outscored 17 to 9. Dom Jefferson flexed his muscles and added nine points to put the Spartans into halftime with a reverberant 48-16 edge.
At the third quarter start, the mercy rule was invoked for the 13th time this season. Berlin started full court defensive pressure and did score seven unanswered points to spark a short run. At the end of the quarter, with Foor adding seven of his team high 14 points, Berlin had won it 11 to 9 points, but put no appreciable dent in the earlier romping of a Spartans’ spread. The quarter ended 57-27.
In the final quarter, Coach Lowery systematically retired his key starters while maintaining actionable tension until the remaining minute, calling his lone time out, to inject also revered bench players to hold the fort. Berlin was held to four points while the Spartans added 14. The final score of 71 to 31 marked the Spartans’ 22nd consecutive victory and their 11th straight seasonal home game victory. Notably, Berlin averaged 57 ppg and was held by nearly half to 31 total in this contest.
The Spartans had three players score in double figures: Hoyt Glenn, who had a superlative triple-double night and led all with 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists (and six steals); Dom Jefferson, who had 19 points; and Ramsey, who added 12 points. The Spartans also commanded the game in total rebounds, steals, assists, and blocks.
The Spartans [23-1 (.958-win pct.) overall] continue to sweep their opponents off the court, having now won 18 matchups by 20 points or more this season and have extended their dominating performance to a 22-game win streak, with 22 wins by double digits and ten wins by 40+ points.
MCCONNELLSBURG
Hoyt Glenn 8 3-3 20, Dom Jefferson 7 1-1 19, Brayden Ramsey 5 2-2 12, Shaffer Earley 2 3-3 7, Jake Hann 4 0-0 8, Kohen Hall 1 1-2 3, Jace Fletcher 1 0-0 3, Totals 28 10-11 71. 3-point goals: 5 (Jefferson 4, Glenn 1). FTM% 91%.
Team stats: Glenn 13 rebounds, 10 assists, 6 steals, 2 blocks; Earley 6 rebounds, 8 assists, 7 steals, 1 block, 2 charges taken; Ramsey 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks; Jefferson 2 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals, 1 block; Hann 4 rebounds, 4 steals; Kohen Hall 2 rebounds; Jace Fletcher 1 rebound; Ethan Lang 1 steal. Totals: 36 rebounds, 31 assists, 28 steals, 6 blocks, 7 turnovers, 10 team fouls.
BERLIN
McKelvey Foor 4 4-5 14, Carson Janidlo 4 0-0 8, Matthew Miller 1 0-0 2, Ryan Janidlo 1 1-1 3, Corbon Kordell 2 0-0 4, Totals 12 5-6 31. 3-point goals: 2 (Foor). FTM% 83.3%. Team fouls 18.
Berlin 7 9 11 4 — 31
McConnellsburg 31 17 9 14 — 71
Next Up: #1 seed McConnellsburg Varsity plays #3 Windber Bulldogs for the D5/8 AA championship on February 27th at 630 PM at the University of Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center.