BY JEFF FALK

 FREDERICKSBURG – If you’re going to keep score and compete and aspire to improve, then success must be measurable.

 There exists traditional and tangent ways to gauge success, things like points, wins and standings. Then there are less concrete ways to measure it – stuff like energy, experiences and reaction to adversity.

 Right now, one must look hard – and in all the right places – to see the Annville-Cleona boys’ basketball team’s improvement. But it is there.

 On Thursday evening, during the opening game of the annual Northern Lebanon Christmas Tournament, the Little Dutchmen continued to identify positives, despite dropping a 74-53 decision to powerful Littlestown.  Annville-Cleona hung with the athletic Bolts for about a half, before eventually succumbing to the York County club’s length and its own turnovers.

 With the loss, Annville-Cleona slipped to 3-6 on the year. The Little Dutchmen will now take on Tulpehocken in Friday night’s 6 p.m. consolation tilt of the tourney.

 The result kept now 8-0 Littlestown unbeaten.

 “It’s very important to come back tomorrow night and get a ‘W’,” said Jason Coletti, who’s in his initial season as Annville-Cleona’s head coach. “From November 16th to December 27th, we’ve come a long, long way. Some of these guys only pick up a basketball for the first time during try-outs. For an inexperienced team, we’re learning on the fly, but we’re getting better every time out.

 “We look for any success we can have, because we need the confidence,” Coletti continued. “But we’ve come a long way in that area.”

  Two minutes into the second quarter, Little Dutchman Yadiel Cruz drilled a three-pointer to tie the score at 19. But over the final 3:36 of the half, Littlestown outscored Annville-Cleona 21-11 to take a 40-30 advantage to the intermission.

 During that span, the Little Dutchmen struggled to handle the Bolts’ ball pressure and to guard Littletown’s slashing Logan Collins.

 “Their press wears on you,” said Coletti of the Bolts. “If they can get a couple of buckets, they can set up their press. We had turnovers. It wears on you, and not just physically. For a young team, we hung in the best we could.

 “We’re actually getting better at that (reducing turnovers),” continued Coletti. “We were (in past games) in the 20s. When they don’t pressure us like that, we do pretty well. Those (lLittlestown) guys are pretty long.”

 Annville-Cleona had pieced together a modest 6-0 run early – on four points from Caden Horning and an Adam Long basket – to assume a 6-1 lead. A pull-up from A-C’s Junior Bours knotted the score at nine, and the opening quarter ended in a 12-all deadlock, thanks to Cruz’s three-ball.

 “I thought we competed pretty well,” said Coletti. “Littlestown is very good, and number 22 (Collins) is very good. He hurt us early. We played well. We just had two- or three-minute stretches where it was like, ‘What are we doing?’ But I’m happy with the way we competed.

 “Every game is an important one,” added Coletti. “We wanted to see where we are against an undefeated team. We’ve gotten so much better since November 16th.”

 Annville-Cleona’s balanced attack featured four scorers in double figures. Bours poured in 14 points, Adam Long connected for 11 points, while Horning and Andrew Long pumped in ten apiece.

 Collins netted 16 of his game-high 24 points in the first half. Littlestown outscored Annville-Cleona 21-12 from three-point land, and the Little Dutchmen made good on only five of their ten foul shots.

 “I thought we defended pretty well, except on 22,” said Coletti. “We knew he was one of the best players in York County. They (the Bolts) ended the second quarter very strong.”

 The Little Dutchmen tallied the initial basket of the second half – a jumper from Andrew Long – to close to within 40-32 of the lead. But Annville-Cleona went without a point over the next 2:35, and Littlestown pushed its lead to 13 points.

 “It was hard to tell tonight, but we have to get better at team rebounding,” said Coletti. “We’re never going to win the rebounding battle, but we can’t get blown out either.”

 When Bours connected on back-to-back three-pointers early in the final quarter, it appeared Annville-Cleona still had life, at 58-45. But they would prove to be the Little Dutchmen’s last gasp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2018-19 Annville-Cleona Boys’ Basketball Schedule