Cougars Building Momentum, by Thriving in the Moment

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Cougars Building Momentum, by Thriving in the Moment

Dec 24, 2016
Jeff Falk
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BY JEFF FALK

PALMYRA – The Palmyra boys’ basketball team has embarked on a journey. But because they are so focused on the process, the Cougars can’t see their final destination.

They’ll know it when they get there.

On Friday night at the Palmyra High School gymnasium, the Cougars’ process produced another win, a 57-41 non-league handling of Cocalico’s Eagles. Palmyra never trailed after starting fast and strong, and generally played well overall.

It was the Cougars’ fifth straight victory, and it moved them to 7-1 on the year. The result left Cocalico 2-6 overall.

“I don’t care that much about our record,” said Palmyra head coach Pete Conrad. “We want to improve everyday, and I think we are.

“We have to continue to get better guarding the ball,” added Conrad. “Just continuing to work defensively and sit down and guard. It’s every area (which needs improvement), in a lot of ways. When the ball moves quickly, we’re hard to guard. But we didn’t reverse it as much as I would’ve liked, and a lot of that had to do with their (the Eagles) zone.”

The Cougars employed their athleticism, length and unselfishness to get out of the blocks quickly.

Five points from Braden Vernet, an Isaac Blatt drive, a Bryant Willis reverse lay-in and a Bennett Van Stetten hoop blended with some stingy man-to-man defense propelled Palmyra to an 11-0 lead. And when Blatt, Nick Jelliff and Sam Shiels scored buckets later in the opening period, the Cougars had themselves a 17-3 bulge.

In all, six different Cougars scored points in the opening stanza.

“In terms of what we’re trying to accomplish, we want to be focused, we want to control the game,” said Conrad. “I thought our guys did a really good job of that early.

“We don’t want to run clock,” Conrad continued. “There are certain times when you want to spread the floor, but that wasn’t the case tonight. I think there’s an element of human nature, and there’s an inclination to relax. But you’ve got to fight that.”

Then in the second period, the Cougars pieced together another run, this one an 8-2 job courtesy of six points from Blatt and an elbow jumper from Willis, to extend their advantage to 27-12. Willis drilled a pair of three-pointers in the final 46 seconds of the first half – one of which was offset by Eagle Austen Harvin’s half court buzzer-beater – but Palmyra still led 33-18 at the break.

“They’re all important,” said Conrad. “Every single game, every single practice, every single possession. We had to have this win. We had to play well. That’s very important every time we take the floor.

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Cocalico,” added Conrad. “They do a great job of keeping tempo where they want to keep it. They gave us a lot of challenges.”

Blatt, a senior, went off for a game-high 21 points. He was supported by Willis’ 14 points and Vernet’s ten.

Defensively, the Cougars held the Eagles to just six two-point buckets and only six free-throw attempts.

“I think we’re making progress,” said Conrad of his club’s defensive effort. “We’re far from perfect. I though there were some good things that we did. We sat down and guarded. But that’s what they (the Eagles) do. They’re a good three-point shooting team.

“I thought Braden (Vernet) did a lot to limit a guy who they were running a lot through,” Conrad added. “I thought he played well and scored, but was very patient. He played a very opportunistic game.”

Palmyra put Cocalico away late in the third quarter, when Jelliff scored on a follow and then drained a couple of charity tosses to extend the Cougar margin to 44-25, their largest of the evening. Vernet opened the final period with a lay-in that gave Palmyra a 46-28 lead.

“We’re not a great press team,” said Conrad. “We’re going to play it possession by possession. We’re not going to beat anyone by 40 or 50 points.

“To their (the Eagles’) credit, they made shots,” Conrad continued. “I don’t know if we executed perfectly. Maybe we need to do a better job of getting out to the arc.”

To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com, or to view more go to www.https://lebanonsportsbuzz.com/photo-gallery/?nggpage=4.

2016-17 Palmyra Boys’ Basketball Schedule

DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	RESULT
12/09 #	Susquehannock	6:00 PM	W 72-34
12/10 #	@Donegal	7:30 PM	—
12/13 *	Mechanicsburg	7:30 PM	L 47-57
12/16 *	Susquehanna Twp.	7:30 PM	W 65-60
12/17	@Milton Hershey	6:00 PM	W 62-61
12/20 *	@Cedar Cliff	7:30 PM	W 54-38
12/21 *	@Bishop McDevitt	7:30 PM	W 70-50

DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION
12/23	Cocalico	7:30 PM	Palmyra High School
12/27 #	@Elco	4:00 PM	Ephrata High School
01/03 *	@Red Land	7:30 PM	Red Land High School
01/06 *	Hershey	7:30 PM	Palmyra High School
01/10 *	@Lower Dauphin	7:30 PM	Lower Dauphin High School
01/13 *	@Mechanicsburg	7:30 PM	Mechanicsburg High School
01/17 *	@Susquehanna Twp.	7:30 PM	Susquehanna Twp. High School
01/20 *	Cedar Cliff	7:30 PM	Palmyra High School
01/21	New Oxford	7:50 PM	Gettysburg High School
01/24 *	Bishop McDevitt	7:30 PM	Palmyra High School
01/27 *	Red Land	7:30 PM	Palmyra High School
01/31 *	@Hershey	7:30 PM	Hershey High School
02/03 *	Lower Dauphin	7:30 PM	Palmyra High School