BY JEFF FALK
MYERSTOWN – Playing two games in 18 hours can be a grueling challenge – physically, mentally and emotionally. But the optimist is constantly seeking opportunities.
And besides, when you do fall off the horse, the sooner you get back on it, the better.
On Saturday afternoon, the Elco boys’ basketball team recorded an important bouce-back win by dismantling Oley Valley 64-36. Following a somewhat sluggish start, the Raiders found their legs early in the second quarter, and that discovery was manifested in their defense.
The Raiders’ home victory came mere hours after they had suffered a disappointing 54-50 upset loss at far-away Octorara, on Friday night. Now back on track, Elco improved to 7-4 overall.
Oley Valley plummeted to 0-10 on the year.
“It’s exactly like that,” said Elco head coach Brad Conners. “Last night was a tough loss. To have a chance to come right back and get a win, that was an opportunity.
“I wasn’t really worried about their (his players’) psyche,” continued Conners. “We have a lot of winners in that locker room. I was worried about their legs.”
The Raiders woke up a minute into the second stanza, after the Lynx had opened a 14-9 advantage. Elco turned up the intensity of its defense and utilized some three-quarter-court pressure to get it going.
Elco held Oley Valley score-less for a 3:30 stretch, while getting ten points from junior guard Bryce Coletti and a three-pointer from reserve Angel Martinez to establisdh a 22-14 lead. But the Raiders were far from finished.
Elco also netted the last six points of the first half – all from Even Huey – to take a 31-20 advantage to the intermission.
“Our kids are really resilient,” said Conners. “I knew coming in this morning what we have here. Once we got our legs going a little bit, we were OK. Early on, our defense wasn’t really there. We started stretching our legs out in the second quarter.
“We wanted to spring that (the fullcourt pressure) on them at some point,” Conners continued. “We wanted to speed them up. It’s something we like to throw out there once in a while. And the kids like it.”
With momentum squarely in their corner, the Raiders rode it throughout a 16-7 third quarter.
First, four points from Asher Kemble, a driving lay-up by Ben Horst and a Huey charity toss added up to a 7-0 Raider run and a 42-23 lead.
Then, Elco held Oley Valley to a mere two points over a 7:34 stretch that spilled over into the foruth quarter. Three-pointers from Braden Bohannon and Huey, and a pair of Kemble foul shots, gave Elco a 50-27 bulge two minutes into the period.
“That’s our staple,” said Conners of his defense. “That’s what we’re hanging our hat on. It’s about our defense. Our defense gets us going. We were like, ‘Let’s get into them’.
“Last night (Friday) was a bump in the road,” added Conners. “When they (his players) all came home, it bothered them. We went down there (Octorara) to win that game.”
Elco’s dangerous scoring attack was its usual balanced self. Coletti popped for 14 points, while Bohannon and Huey each tossed in a dozen.
The Raiders outscored the Lynx 15-6 from three-point land. Elco converted 11 of its 17 free-throw opportunities.
“We’re like that,” said Conners of his side’s balanced scoring. “Asher, Braden and Bryce are right around ten (points) a game. It’s the mark of a good team. That’s hard to scout. If you have guys who are capable and unselfish, it makes you hard to defend.
“We’re 7-4 and have the second half of our season to go,” Conners added. “We definitely feel like we can continue to get better. We have a number of players who have shown drastic improvement since the start of the year. There’s a lot of areas where we can get better.”
Oley Valley tallied nine of the game’s first 13 points and the visitors enjoyed a five-point lead 3:33 into the contest. But Elco notched the next five, on baskets from Coletti and Huey, and a charity toss from Kemble, to knot the score at nine.
“I feel good about where we are as a team,” said Conners. “Our losses were to some pretty good teams. Last night (Friday) was kind of a bump in the road. But those bumps are character builders. We learn and move on.
“We don’t talk about it (competing for a section title, district power rankings, the playoffs), but it’s the expectation,” continued Conners. “There is an expecation and I like the expectation. They’re a good thing. The postseason is out there. I don’t know that we’ve always had the expectation.”
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2018-19 Elco Boys’ Basketball Schedule
Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
12/07 6:00 pm |
Cedar Crest Elco at Lebanon |
67 36 |
|
12/08 6:00 pm |
Red Land Elco at Lebanon |
37 60 |
|
12/11 7:30 pm |
Elco at Annville-Cleona |
67 47 |
|
12/14 7:30 pm |
Elco at Cocalico |
42 39 |
|
12/17 7:30 pm |
Manheim Central at Elco |
31 62 |
|
12/19 7:30 pm |
Elco at Solanco |
61 55 |
|
12/21 7:30 pm |
Lampeter-Strasburg at Elco |
51 31 |
|
12/28 7:30 pm |
Elco at Eastern York |
65 70 |
|
12/29 6:00 pm |
Elco Spring Grove at Eastern York Holiday Tournament |
72 39 |
|
1/04 7:30 pm |
Elco at Octorara |
50 54 |
|
1/05 1:30 pm |
Oley Valley at Elco |
||
1/08 7:30 pm |
Donegal at Elco |
||
1/09 7:30 pm |
Elco at Camp Hill |
||
1/11 7:30 pm |
Northern Lebanon at Elco |
||
1/16 7:30 pm |
Elco at Wyomissing |
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1/18 7:30 pm |
Elco at Lancaster Catholic |
||
1/22 7:30 pm |
Octorara at Elco |
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1/25 7:30 pm |
Elco at Donegal |
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1/29 7:30 pm |
Elco at Northern Lebanon |
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1/30 7:30 pm |
Elco at Conrad Weiser |
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2/01 7:30 pm |
Elco at Garden Spot |
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2/05 7:30 pm |
Lancaster Catholic at Elco |
League | Overall | |||||||||
W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | PS | PA | |||
Lancaster Catholic | 4 | 1 | 80.00 | 6 | 4 | 60.00 | 569 | 441 | ||
Elco | 3 | 2 | 60.00 | 6 | 4 | 60.00 | 546 | 490 | ||
Octorara | 2 | 3 | 40.00 | 5 | 5 | 50.00 | 544 | 543 | ||
Northern Lebanon | 1 | 4 | 20.00 | 4 | 6 | 40.00 | 394 | 505 | ||
Donegal | 0 | 5 | 0.00 | 0 | 11 | 0.00 | 434 | 668 |
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