By Jeff Richards

BOYS BASKETBALL

McConnellsburg 51, Conemaugh Township 48.  The top-ranked District 5/8 Class 2A Spartans earned a hard-fought, nail-biter championship victory over the second-ranked Conemaugh Township Indians, thanks to a strong first half, essential defensive stops, and Hoyt Glenn’s decisive free throws in the final seconds, winning their second straight title on February 26 at Univ. of Pitt-Johnstown Sports Center.

To start, the Spartans came out quickly with the first five points from Jake Hann and Jace Fletcher.  At 3:30 to go it was six all.  Then a Colin Dinyar two-pointer made it an Indian lead.  Glenn quickly countered to tie it at eight.  Four more by Shaffer Earley and Hann made it 12-8.  By quarter’s end Glenn had five points and the Spartans led 14-10.

The Spartans opened the second quarter with two quick three-pointers by Glenn and Earley, pushing their lead to 20-10.  After both teams exchanged threes, the Indians narrowed the gap to 23-18, but Glenn and Ramsey answered with five points, making it 28-18 with three minutes to go.  The Spartans led 31-22 after another Glenn three and two Indian baskets.  Seconds before the half, with the Indians seemingly having the final possession, on a back court throw-in, a speedy Earley intercepted the ball and made a buzzer-beating layup giving the Spartans a 33-22 halftime lead.  Outscoring the Indians 19-12 in this crucial quarter set the stage for their victory.

Early in the third, the Indians trailed by 13 when Glenn lofted a short shot over defending 6’8” forward Erik McClemens. The Indians regrouped out of the locker and tightened the defense around Glenn and Ramsey reducing access.  The Spartan lead soon dwindled to seven (35-28) when Greyson Studer hit two buckets and Colin Dinyar a jumper.  Glenn got a backcourt steal to Ramsey but was fouled while shooting. He made both throws, putting the lead to nine.  The lead was cut to five after Dinyar made two free throws and McClemens a short jumper.  The quarter ended with the Spartans leading 39-33, but the Indians outscoring them 11-6.

In the first three minutes of the fourth, the Spartans added two from Glenn and Ramsey (43-34) stretching the lead.  The Indians got to within four points (45-41) with 1:26 remaining. With under a minute, Studer made two and cut the Spartans lead to two (47-45) with 44.7 secs remaining.  Next possession, Glenn’s shot on McClemens was blocked and the ensuing return shot by Stephen Stango banged on the rim and off and was secured by board-crasher Earley.  A Spartan timeout was called with 24.2 seconds remaining.  On the throw-in, Glenn was fouled at half court for the fourth Indian team foul.  On the next throw-in, Glenn was fouled again, sending him to the line where he made one of two but got the rebound and fouled.  He made both free throws to make it 50-45.  Then Studer hit a three (he led with 10 points this quarter) to cut it to two with two seconds.  On the back-court throw-in Glenn was fouled with 0.8 seconds to go.  He made 1-of-2 from the line (in total to 6-of-8 in the quarter) to ace the game.

Hoyt Glenn amassed 21 points (6-of-9 FGs, 7-of-10 FTs), five rebounds, four assists, five steals, one block and two three-pointers: his fourth game in a row with at least 15 points.  Shaffer Earley almost dropped a double-double with nine points (4-of-6 FGs) and nine rebounds.  Brayden Ramsey had nine points (3-of-11 FGs, 2-of-2 FTs), six assists, and one three-pointer.  Jace Fletcher added eight points (3-of-8 FGs, 1-of-1 FTs), three rebounds, and one three-pointer.  The D5/8 First Seed (D5/8-1) Spartans (25-1) advance to the PIAA 2A first round and will host (D7-5) Eden Christian on March 7 at 1 p.m. 

The Indians put two in double figures, led by Greyson Studer with 22 points and shot 60% from the field.  Colin Dinyar had 13 (5-for-12 FGs) along with six boards and four steals. The loss snapped a three-game Indian win streak and dropped their record to 20-5.  (D5/8-2) Conemaugh Twp also advances to the PIAA 2A first round and visits (D7-3) Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

MCCONNELLSBURG (51)

Glenn 6 7-10 21, Ramsey 3 2-2 9, Earley 4 0-0 9, Hann 2 0-0 4, Fletcher 3 1-1 8, Sipes 0 0-0 0, Washabaugh 0 0-0 0, Totals 18 10-13 51.  3-point goals = 5 (Glenn 2, Ramsey, Earley, Fletcher).  Totals: 22 rebounds (8 off/14 def), 14 assists, 9 steals, 4 blocks, 17 turnovers, 10 fouls, 2FG% 54%, 3FG% 38%, FTM% 77%.  

CONEMAUGH TOWNSHIP (48)

Dinyar 5 2-2 13, Stango 3 0-0 6, Studer 9 2-3 22, McClemens 2 1-4 5, Brotz 1 0-0 2, Dail 0 0-0 0, Totals 20 5-9 48. 3-point goals: 3 (Stuter 2, Dinyar).  Ttls: 14 rbs (5 off/9 def), 10 ast, 14 stl, 2 blk, 11 to, 16 fl, 2FG% 61%, 3FG% 30%, FTM% 56%.

Conemaugh Twp …. 10    12    11    15  —   48

McConnellsburg ….  14    19     6    12  —   51