BY JEFF FALK
MYERSTOWN – In the game of basketball there exists an unseen yet measurable element of karma. One team can make strides and improve, but not without affecting the other end of the spiritual continuum.
For as much as success as the Annville-Cleona boys’ basketball team has enjoyed this season, Elco has proportionately endured a similar level of struggles.
On Tuesday night at Elco High School, that mystical trend continued during the Little Dutchmen’s entertaining 72-67 road triumph over the Raiders. After enjoying double-figure leads in the second and third periods, maturing Annville-Cleona repelled a number of Raider runs down the stretch.
The result lifted Annville-Cleona to a surprising 7-2 on the season and 2-2 in Section Three of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. The Little Dutchmen recorded a total of six wins all of last season.
Conversely, it left Elco a disappointing 2-7 overall and 1-3 in the section.
“We wanted to get over the hump from last year,” said Annville-Cleona head coach Chris Bradford. “We’ve got seven wins now. You’re looking at Elco as a good measuring stick. We had a little size-able lead. We held Mason (Elco senior sniper Bossert) in check early, but he made some tremendous shots. We’re happy with the selfless team basketball.
“We’ve been in that situation (the game on the line in the fourth quarter) five or six times this season,” continued Bradford. “At 6-2, we could’ve gone the other way. We showed we learned some things. The last few practices were intense. The guys came into work. We knew we had to come in here with defensive poise. We continue to work and continue to build.”
“I’m not concerned,” said Elco head coach Brad Conners. “It’s a process. These guys need to learn to win close games. We’ve been in these now. They need to figure it out. They need to learn to do it together. They either figure it out or they don’t.
“Our big goal was to get better everyday.” Conners continued. “That goal hasn’t changed. If we stick with that goal the other things will come. But I expected to win on our home floor tonight.”
Perhaps the most important element of the outcome for the Little Dutchmen was the fact that they never allowed Elco to gain the lead, after enjoying advantages as large as 14 points, as late as six minutes to go.
But by spreading the scoring around, the Raiders pulled to within 63-61 with 3:26 left, on a Devin Stoops three-pointer. Elco’s 15-3 burst featured five other points from Stoops, a Bossert trey and inside deuces from Ryan Eshleman and Nate Beamer.
It was an Isaac Burris post move that ultimately righted the Little Dutchmen ship. Annville-Cleona opened a 72-64 margin with 15 seconds remaining, thanks to a combined seven-for-12 free throwing by Cameron Hoch, Don Friday and Cole Waldhausen.
“That’s poise,” said Bradford. “That’s guys who have been in that situation before. The guys were able to keep their composure. I’m sitting here with two timeouts still in my pocket because they took care of business.
“That (Elco) was a tested team,” added Bradford. “They made us work for it. But there were a lot intangibles there. We’ve seen adversity now. When the rubber hit the road, it was nice to see our guys respond.”
“We do things to get back in it,” said Conners. “But when we got really close, you can feel the kids put pressure on themselves. I thought at times, down the stretch, we forced some things.
“Down the stretch, when we had opportunities, we just didn’t execute,” Conners added. “There are certain sets we’d like to run. Early on it was our defense. Early on it was turnovers. I didn’t think we played particularly well over the first three quarters. But we stayed in the game. We just couldn’t come up with things.”
The Raiders opened the second half with an 11-2 spurt to shave Annville-Cleona’s 11-point halftime advantage to 39-37. Eshleman recorded three straight Raider baskets during the run, while Beamer contributed a trey.
The Little Dutchmen’s response came in the form of a 17-6, third-quarter ending burst. It was fueled by 11 points from Myers, four points by Friday and a Burris stick-back.
“Sixty-seven’s not good enough,” said Bradford of his team’s defensive work. “But we put up 72, so we earned it.
“We didn’t get burned on the boards,” continued Bradford. “They (the Raiders) had six or seven second-chance points. Take that away and you’re looking at 60. But we did a good job on the boards. All those little things add up, and it wasn’t just one guy doing it.”
“Defensively, we need to be better,” said Conners. “Seventy-two, that’s too many points. Our goal is (to allow) ten points a quarter. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable goal.”
The versatile Hoch spearheaded the Little Dutchmen attack with 20 points, while Myers connected for 14 points and Waldhausen registered a dozen. Bossert pumped in 25 points, including the 1,00th of his career – a charity toss with 1:50 of the second period remaining- Eshleman stuck 14 points and Stoops and Beamer finished with 13 apiece.
Elco outscored Annville-Cleona 33-15 from beyond the arc, but the Little Dutchmen outscored the Raiders 44-26 inside of it. Annville-Cleona benefited from the Raiders eight-for-19 foul shooting.
“We prefer multiple guys in double figures,” said Bradford. “When you spread the wealth, that’s unselfish basketball. We threw multiple guys at Mason, but the only number that really matters is the final score.
“Elco’s not what it’s record is,” Bradford added. “It’s got to be in their heads a little bit. But I’m happy for our guys. We’ll enjoy this a little bit, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
“When he’s out, it puts a little more pressure on everybody else,” said Conners of Beamer. “He’s learning to play an entire 32 minutes. He’s a stud, but we’ve got to find a way to keep him on the floor. It’s a learning process.”
The game opened at a frantic pace, but it was a pace that the Raiders couldn’t sustain.
With Elco nursing a 13-9 edge, Annville-Cleona netted the final 13 points of the opening quarter. Six of those came from Hoch, while Waldhausen collected five and Burris added a pair.
“It means nothing tomorrow,” said Bradford. “We’re going to prepare for (Lancaster) Mennonite. They’re a heck of a team and they’re going to be a great test for us. We’re still Annville-Cleona, and we’ll still continue to be in games we shouldn’t be in.”
“I told the kids, they’re (the Little Dutchmen) winning games,” said Conners. “They don’t quit. They’re pretty resilient. Even when we made runs, they stayed within themselves and played their game. There’s a reason why they’re winning games this year.”
The Little Dutchmen held Elco score-less for a three-minute stretch early in the second stanza, and Annville-Cleona’s advantage reached 31-18, on a free throw by Myers.
“Two-and-seven does not accurately depict that basketball team,” said Bradford of the Raiders’ record. “Their schedule has been murder’s row. They have got that experience that we’re trying to get. They’ve got players over there. They’re going to fight and scratch and claw to get back into the race.
“More than anything else, we take experience away from this game,” continued Bradford. “At the end of the day, that’s (Elco) a Lebanon County team. We feel fortunate to be bringing home a win.”
To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to; https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.
2016-17 Annville-Cleona Boys’ Basketball Schedule
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
RESULT |
|
|
| 12/09 # |
@Brandywine Heights
|
6:00 PM |
W 50-33 |
|
|
| 12/10 # |
@Northern Lehigh
|
7:30 PM |
W 51-45 |
|
|
| 12/13 |
Tulpehocken
|
8:00 PM |
W 73-47 |
|
|
| 12/16 * |
Northern Lebanon
|
7:30 PM |
W 56-49 |
|
|
| 12/19 * |
Columbia
|
7:30 PM |
L 54-65 |
|
|
| 12/21 * |
@Lancaster Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
L 46-73 |
|
|
| 12/28 # |
Conrad Weiser
|
5:00 PM |
W 59-51 |
|
|
| 12/29 # |
Lancaster County Christian
|
6:30 PM |
— |
|
|
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
LOCATION |
|
| 01/03 * |
@Elco
|
7:30 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 01/06 * |
Lancaster Mennonite
|
7:30 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 01/07 |
Mahanoy Area
|
5:00 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 01/10 * |
Pequea Valley
|
7:30 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 01/12 |
@Middletown
|
7:30 PM |
Middletown High School |
|
| 01/13 * |
@Lebanon Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
Lebanon Catholic School |
|
| 01/17 * |
@Northern Lebanon
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
| 01/20 * |
@Columbia
|
7:30 PM |
Columbia High School |
|
| 01/24 * |
Lancaster Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 01/27 * |
Elco
|
7:30 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 01/28 |
@Oley Valley
|
2:30 PM |
Oley Valley High School |
|
| 01/31 * |
@Lancaster Mennonite
|
7:30 PM |
Lancaster Mennonite High School |
|
| 02/03 * |
@Pequea Valley
|
7:30 PM |
Pequea Valley High School |
|
| 02/07 * |
Lebanon Catholic
|
6:00 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
2016-17 Elco Boys’ Basketball Schedule
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
RESULT |
|
|
| 12/09 # |
@Cedar Crest
|
6:00 PM |
L 63-87 |
|
|
| 12/10 |
@Red Lion
|
6:00 PM |
— |
|
|
| 12/13 |
Manheim Central
|
7:30 PM |
L 69-76 |
|
|
| 12/16 * |
@Lancaster Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
L 58-68 |
|
|
| 12/19 * |
Lancaster Mennonite
|
7:30 PM |
— |
|
|
| 12/21 * |
@Lebanon Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
W 87-40 |
|
|
| 12/27 # |
Palmyra
|
4:00 PM |
L 53-68 |
|
|
| 12/28 |
@Oley Valley
|
4:00 PM |
— |
|
|
| DATE |
OPPONENT |
TIME |
LOCATION |
|
| 01/03 * |
Annville-Cleona
|
7:30 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 01/06 * |
@Pequea Valley
|
7:30 PM |
Pequea Valley High School |
|
| 01/10 * |
@Columbia
|
7:30 PM |
Columbia High School |
|
| 01/12 * |
Northern Lebanon
|
7:30 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 01/17 * |
Lancaster Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 01/20 * |
@Lancaster Mennonite
|
7:30 PM |
Lancaster Mennonite High School |
|
| 01/21 |
@Conrad Weiser
|
2:30 PM |
Conrad Weiser High School |
|
| 01/24 * |
Lebanon Catholic
|
7:30 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 01/25 |
Middletown
|
7:30 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 01/27 * |
@Annville-Cleona
|
7:30 PM |
Annville-Cleona High School |
|
| 01/31 * |
Pequea Valley
|
7:30 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 02/03 * |
Columbia
|
7:30 PM |
Elco High School |
|
| 02/07 * |
@Northern Lebanon
|
7:30 PM |
Northern Lebanon High School |
|
Lancaster-Lebanon League
Section Three Standings
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