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 BY JEFF FALK

 LEBANON – What a difference an opponent can make. What a difference a day can make.

 But perhaps the purer message could be: ‘It doesn’t matter how many times you get knocked down. It only matters how many times you get up.’

 On Saturday evening, during the consolation contest of the 20th annual Lebanon Athletic Booster Tip-Off Tournament, the Elco boys’ basketball team picked itself off the canvas in drastic fashion, with an emphatic 60-37 victory over Red Land. The Raiders never trailed and methodically pulled away from the Patriots, to erase the memory of a disappointing loss to Cedar Crest the night before.

 For the Raiders, .500 never looked so good. Red Land saw its early season record dip to 0-2.

 “We always do a thought of the day, and today’s thought was: ‘It’s not how hard you hit. It’s how many punches you can take and come back,'” said Elco head coach Brad Conners. “I think we really came back strong, together. We got hit pretty hard by Cedar Crest (on Friday night).

 “Last night was disappointing, mostly because it was a 30-point loss,” continued Conners. We met this morning. We talked a little bit. You saw today what we can do and who we can be. I thought our top seven guys had a really good game. Maybe being beaten up on the boards made Asher (Kemble) hungry. Maybe a little of that came into play.”

 Nursing an 11-10 edge, the Raiders began to put some distance between themselves and the Patriots late in the opening stanza.

 Four points from Kemble, a couple of Angel Martinez free throws, a Bryce Coletti steal and lay-up, and a Jordan Fernandez bucket added up to a 10-0 Raider run and a 21-10 lead, 1:12 into the second period. Elco also notched nine of the first half’s final 11 points – six of which came from Braden Bohannon – and carried a 30-16 cushion to the break.

 “It was important to come out and correct some of the mistakes,” said Conners. “You saw a concerted effort to go after the ball with two hands. It was nice to see the offense flow better. The guys always like to see their shots fall.

 “The rebounding stood out a lot,” Conners continued. “They (the Patriots) didn’t have an offensive rebound. They were one and done. That’s going to help.”

 The Raiders pushed their lead to 41-21 in the middle of the third quarter, thanks to a put-back and three-pointer from Coletti. Then Elco placed an exclamation point on its triumph with a Kemble-led 9-2 spurt that gave it a 55-28 bulge, three minutes into the final stanza.

 “We did well defensively,” said Conners. “Our defense is something we’re going to lean on. I thought our defense was really good, and the rebounding was a big part of that. You’ve got to give Braden Bohannon credit, when he goes after a rebound, he goes hard. I’m just really proud of their effort.”

 Kemble was named to the all-tournament team, thanks in part to his 17 points and ten rebounds. Justin Huey complemented Kemble with 11 points.

 Elco outscored Red Land 38-22 on two-point field goals.

 “I think we’re right where we’re supposed to be,” said Conners. “We’re on track. The defense is something we’ve really stressed and we’ve benefited from it. We’re only going to get better offensively. We’ve been focusing on our ‘D’, and I think you’re going to see our offense really improve.” 

 A three-pointer from Huey and an offensive rebound by Kemble staked Elco to an early 8-2 lead. Thirty seconds later, Huey nailed another trey to make it 11-4 Raiders.

 “I feel like playing Cedar Crest, and in this tournament, gets us ready,” said Conners. “I don’t think it’s too big for us. We welcome the competition. I love playing (Lancaster-Lebanon League) Section One teams.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2018-19 Elco Boys’ Basketball Schedule

 
 
Date Teams    
12/07
6:00 pm
Cedar Crest
Elco
at Lebanon
   
12/11
7:30 pm
Elco
at Annville-Cleona
   
12/14
7:30 pm
Elco
at Cocalico
   
12/17
7:30 pm
Manheim Central
at Elco
   
12/19
7:30 pm
Elco
at Solanco
   
12/21
7:30 pm
Lampeter-Strasburg
at Elco
   
12/28
7:30 pm
Elco
at Eastern York
   
1/04
7:30 pm
Elco
at Octorara
   
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
   
1/18
7:30 pm
Elco
at Lancaster Catholic
   
1/22
7:30 pm
Octorara
at Elco
   
1/25
7:30 pm
Elco
at Donegal
   
1/29
7:30 pm
Elco
at Northern Lebanon
   
1/30
7:30 pm
Elco
at Conrad Weiser
   
2/01
7:30 pm
Elco
at Garden Spot
   
2/05
7:30 pm
Lancaster Catholic
at Elco
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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