BY JEFF FALK
FREDERICKSBURG – The Northern Lebanon boys’ basketball team has broken from the blocks slowly this year. But nothing has the power to jump start a campaign like a championship at one’s own holiday tournament.
After all, Christmas is, more than anything else, a season for hope.
On Tuesday evening, during the opening round of its annual holiday tourney, Northern Lebanon pieced together one of its most complete efforts to date – or perhaps one of its best second halves of the year – during a 66-55 triumph over Schuylkill Valley. On the strength of a strong second quarter, the Vikings opened a 31-23 halftime cushion, then made enough hustle plays down the stretch to keep the Panthers at bay.
The victory was just the second of the year for the Vikings, now 2-4 overall. It propelled Northern Lebanon into Wednesday’s 7:30 p.m. championship game opposite Penn Manor, which shaded Daniel Boone 60-45 in Tuesday’s other opener.
The setback dropped Schuylkill Valley to 2-4.
“We needed that,” said Northern Lebanon head coach Chris George. “What you saw, that’s how we’ve been playing all year. We’ve been winning every single game at halftime. We’re a young team, so that’s to be expected. A lot of guys in new roles. A lot of new roles. We’re learning how to win. We’re learning how to win when teams come at us. We made a couple of mistakes in the third and fourth quarters, but we also made some big plays.
“We’re 2-4. We have goals of trying to potentially make the (Lancaster-Lebanon) league playoffs,” continued George. “It’s early in the season, but we want to be in the district mix. We could be 5-1. For us, it was a game we just had to have.”
The key moment of the contest occurred early in the fourth quarter, after the Panthers had erased all but one of the Vikings’ 12-point lead.
Actually, Northern Lebanon’s decisive volley began with a Dominic Celleri lay-in late in the third quarter, and spilled over into the final period, in the form of five consecutive points from Alex Yeager. A minute later, Caleb Light drained a couple of foul shots to re-up the Vikings’ lead to 52-46.
During crunch time, Northern Lebanon went eight-for-14 at the foul line and came up with at least three key offensive rebounds.
“We’re not focusing on the negative of not making the foul shots, we’re just staying with the rebounds,” said George. “We made one or two mistakes, but we didn’t make three or four or five. We didn’t compound our mistakes.
“Penn Manor is a big team, a Section One team,” added George. “We respect them, and they have a lot of size. But we’d really like to come out of it with our championship.”
The Vikings led by a dozen twice in the third quarter – 38-26 courtesy of a jumper from Michigan Daub and 40-28 on a Daub drive, two minutes into the second half. But Northern Lebanon managed but a single point during a five-minute span later in the stanza, as the Panthers closed to within 43-42.
“Not much,” said Geroge, when asked about the difference between his team’s wins and losses this season. “That’s how it’s been. It’s just the guys looking to focus a little bit more. We need more from our bench. Some of it is the guys learning in these spots. Tonight, you saw some guys step up.
“Alex (Yeager) is a streaky kid,” George continued. “I think tonight he kept fighting. He hit some big shots down the stretch. We’re going to make good plays and we’re going to make bad plays. Some of our young guys are trying to play perfect.”
Daub poured in a game-high 21 points, while snaring 13 rebounds. Yeager popped for 20 points and Light dropped in 14.
Thanks in part to the Panthers’ six-for-19 night there, Northern Lebanon outscored them by 11 points at the foul line.
“We’re a different team when Michigan attacks,” said George. “This gives us a couple in-a-row where Michigan has played well. When he scores, we’re a different team. He’s sort of the heart of our team. Plus he’s a defensive stopper.”
Following a back-and-forth opening eight minutes of action, Northern Lebanon asserted itself in the middle of the second stanza, in the form of a 12-2 spurt which turned a 20-17 deficit into a 29-22 lead. Daub and Cameron Gensler accounted for four points each during the Viking run, while Yeager and Light contributed a couple apiece.
“Everybody’s in the same boat,” said George. “Everybody’s on a non-traditional schedule. But if you use this time wisely, you can take advantage of it. It’s important for us to come together personality-wise.”
The Vikings grabbed a 12-8 lead on a Light three-pointer 4:17 in. But the Panthers ended the opening stanza on an 8-3 jaunt.
“We played really well at Columbia, on their floor,” said George. “If you could take two 30-second stretches out of that game we win by ten. We’re getting better. We’re not going to win the L-L (Lancaster-Lebanon League) this year. We know what we are. We have to take what we can get.”
To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.
2016-17 Northern Lebanon Boys’ Basketball Schedule
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
RESULT |
|
|
| 12/09 # |
@Donegal
|
7:30 PM |
L 46-58 |
|
|
| 12/10 |
Susquehannock
|
6:00 PM |
— |
|
|
| 12/13 |
Middletown
|
7:30 PM |
— |
|
|
| 12/15 |
@Conrad Weiser
|
6:00 PM |
— |
|
|
| 12/16 * |
@Annville-Cleona
|
7:30 PM |
L 49-56 |
|
|
| 12/19 * |
Lebanon Catholic
|
7:00 PM |
W 68-40 |
|
|
| 12/21 * |
@Columbia
|
7:30 PM |
L 52-61 |
|
|
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
LOCATION |
|
| 12/27 # |
Schuylkill Valley
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/03 * |
Pequea Valley
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/06 * |
Lancaster Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/10 * |
@Lancaster Mennonite
|
7:30 PM |
Lancaster Mennonite High School |
|
| 01/12 * |
@Elco
|
7:30 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 01/17 * |
Annville-Cleona
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/20 * |
@Lebanon Catholic
|
7:00 PM |
Lebanon Catholic School |
|
| 01/21 |
Tulpehocken
|
4:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/24 * |
Columbia
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/26 |
@Manheim Central
|
7:30 PM |
Manheim Central High School |
|
| 01/27 * |
@Pequea Valley
|
7:30 PM |
Pequea Valley High School |
|
| 01/31 * |
@Lancaster Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
Lancaster Catholic High School |
|
| 02/03 * |
Lancaster Mennonite
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 02/07 * |
Elco
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
Lancaster-Lebanon League
Section Thee Standings
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