BY JEFF FALK
SOUTH LEBANON – Last night, the Cedar Crest boys’ basketball team placed an exclamation point on a super-terrific regular season.
But as they did, the Falcons touched off a second season, one which they have been looking forward to for quite some time – perhaps most of their young lives.
On Tuesday’s emotional Senior Night at ‘The Cage’, Cedar Crest took care of some important business, and also had a little fun along the way, with a 72-43 triumph over Penn Manor. After starting their regular-season finale with four senior reserves, the Falcons blew away the Comets when they inserted their regulars in the middle of the first quarter.
The victory gave Cedar Crest an unblemished regular-season record at home and created a tie for the Lancaster-Lebanon Section One title with McCaskey, which nudged Hempfield 62-56. The Falcons will carry a 19-2 overall mark and a 14-2 section record into Thursday night’s one-game, winner-take-all, playoff with McCaskey, at 8 p.m. at Warwick High School.
The win also likely assured Cedar Crest the top seed in the upcoming District Three Class AAAA tournament. The Falcons have already qualified for next week’s Lancaster-Lebanon League postseason.
“I’d say, ‘I’d take it’, but it would be pretty hard,” said Cedar Crest head coach Tom Smith, when asked if he would’ve taken a 19-2 record at the beginning of the season. “The two losses we had (to McCaskey and to Warwick) were by three points and four points. And I’m not sure we played our best games.
“It’s (the regular season) just a grind,” continued Smith. “When you play Section One basketball you’ve got to get up every night. I think it became monotonous. But I think the two losses gave us a chance to refocus. It gave the kids an opportunity to feel defeat and deal with adversity.”
Though they certainly didn’t light up the scoreboard, what Cedar Crest’s make-shift starters did do is play hard defensively when they were in there. And it was a mindset that the Falcon regulars continued when they were inserted into the game, 3:08 in.
Cedar Crest’s man-to-man defense surrendered but a single point over an 8:18 stretch that spanned the middle of the first quarter and into the second. Meanwhile, the Falcons were opening a 24-4 bulge on a lay-in from junior Raymie Ferriera, with 5:29 of the second period to play.
Along the way, seven different Falcons scored, including senior Josh Bucher, who stroked a pair of treys and senior Andrew Eberhart, who matched Ferriera with four points of his own.
“The way it came about was we threw five starters out there who deserved a shot to start,” said Smith, whose troops are the defending Section One and Lancaster-Lebanon League champions. “I’m around those guys everyday in practice and I had no doubt they would go out there and be fine. They have bought into the program. I couldn’t think of a better way to send them off.
“No, I couldn’t have expected them (his regular starters) to play any better,” added Smith. “Our kids came out and played the way we play. It had become work for them, it had become a job for them. But they got back to having fun.”
Just before halftime, Cedar Crest pieced together another run, this one a modest 9-2 spurt that gave it a 33-8 cushion. Eberhart stuck back an offensive rebound, Dom Garloff followed up a three-pointer with a lay-up and Jimmy Kern nailed a little baseline runner.
“I thought we played very well defensively,” said Smith. “The effort was good. We were getting looks at the basket. We got back to what we do very well. And we were able to get some easy ones.
“I’m just pleased with the way these kids played, and played together,” Smith continued. “They got their swagger back. If we do our thing, I think we’ll be fine. And that goes for whoever we see.”
Bucher, Eberhart and Ferriera all netted a dozen Falcon points. In all, ten different Cedar Crest players scored.
The Falcons connected on a total of 29 field goals, compared to Penn Manor’s 16.
“It was a little emotional before the game, in the locker room,” said Smith. “We knew that this wasn’t the end of the road. But these guys have done this together for a long time.
“We had a very good film session on Sunday and a very good practice yesterday (Monday), and refocused,” added Smith. “I’m not sure we did play a bad game (in a loss) against Warwick. But the kids were ready to practice.”
Cedar Crest’s lead reached 40-15 on a three-pointer from Evan Horn, 2:49 into the second half. By the middle of the final stanza, Cedar Crest was sitting on a 68-38 cushion.
“Being number one in the power rankings doesn’t count,” said Smith of District Three’s Class AAAA. “We want to be number one in Hershey. Our first goal was to be undefeated at home. Our next goal is the Section One championship, and after that the goal is to win the Lancaster-Lebanon League. But districts is still a goal.”
Penn Manor (43)
PLAYER | FGM | FTM | FTA | 3PM | PTS_TOT | FT% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ryan Atkinson | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | 6 | 1 |
Sean Borden | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 |
Nate Brown | 2 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 0.75 |
Jack Elliot | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
Tanner Erisman | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 |
Sam Greenslade | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 |
Nick Lord | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 |
Cameron Lovett | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 |
Bennett Manning | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
PLAYER | FGM | FTM | FTA | 3PM | PTS_TOT | FT% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kobe Bolanos | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
Josh Bucher | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 0.5 |
Evan Dissinger | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
Andrew Eberhart | 6 | 0 | 3 | – | 12 | 0 |
Raymie Ferreira | 5 | 2 | 2 | – | 12 | 1 |
Soren Frost | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | 6 | 1 |
Dominic Garloff | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
Ryan Gonzales | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Evan Horn | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Jimmy Kern | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 |
Marq Kintzer | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
Nikolai Madsen | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
Nick Miller | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | 6 | 1 |
Iziah Trimble | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 |
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Penn Manor
|
4 | 6 | 15 | 18 | 43 |
Cedar Crest
|
16 | 17 | 12 | 27 | 72 |
TEAM | LEAGUE | OVERALL |
---|---|---|
Cedar Crest | 14-2 | 19-2 |
McCaskey | 14-2 | 17-5 |
Hempfield | 12-4 | 15-7 |
Warwick | 11-5 | 14-8 |
Manheim Twp. | 7-9 | 8-13 |
Penn Manor | 3-13 | 5-17 |
Cedar Crest 2014-15 Results
DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | RESULT | |
---|---|---|---|---|
12/05 |
@Palmyra
|
6:30 PM | W 62-44 | |
12/06 |
CD East
|
5:00 PM | W 70-60 | |
12/10 |
@Central York
|
7:30 PM | W 50-48 | |
12/12 * |
@Solanco
|
7:30 PM | W 65-27 | |
12/15 * |
Ephrata
|
7:30 PM | W 68-53 | |
12/17 * |
@Conestoga Valley
|
7:30 PM | W 74-45 | |
12/19 * |
McCaskey
|
7:30 PM | W 57-48 | |
12/23 * |
@Hempfield
|
7:30 PM | W 46-43 | |
12/29 |
Camp Hill
|
7:30 PM | W 80-61 | |
12/30 # |
Hershey
|
7:30 PM | W 53-42 | |
01/02 * |
@Manheim Twp.
|
7:30 PM | W 58-56 | |
01/06 * |
Warwick
|
7:30 PM | W 55-33 | |
01/09 * |
@Penn Manor
|
7:30 PM | W 45-44 | |
01/12 * |
Garden Spot
|
7:30 PM | W 66-23 | |
01/14 * |
@Elizabethtown
|
7:30 PM | W 67-52 | |
01/16 * |
Lebanon
|
7:30 PM | W 59-42 | |
01/20 * |
@McCaskey
|
7:30 PM | L 54-58 | |
01/22 * |
Hempfield
|
7:30 PM | W 58-54 | |
01/24 |
Central Dauphin
|
7:30 PM | — | |
01/27 * |
Manheim Twp.
|
7:30 PM | W 52-38 | |
01/30 * |
@Warwick
|
7:30 PM | L 57-60 | |
02/03 * |
Penn Manor
|
7:30 PM | W 72-43 |
District Three
Class AAAA Rankings
AAAA School W L T Rating
1 Cedar Crest 18- 2- 0 0.811587
2 William Penn 17- 4- 0 0.798350
3 Cedar Cliff 18- 2- 0 0.797064
4 J P McCaskey 16- 5- 0 0.785385
5 Reading 17- 4- 0 0.771802
6 Harrisburg 16- 5- 0 0.762963
7 Northeastern 18- 2- 0 0.757962
8 Hempfield 15- 6- 0 0.757056
9 Central York 15- 6- 0 0.754914
10 Exeter Township 16- 4- 0 0.736488
11 Central Dauphin East 13- 6- 0 0.731053
12 Carlisle 14- 6- 0 0.728379
13 Warwick 14- 7- 0 0.726993
14 Cumberland Valley 13- 8- 0 0.703333
15 Red Lion Area 12- 8- 0 0.692092
16 Shippensburg Area 14- 5- 0 0.687540
17 Spring Grove Area 12- 7- 0 0.676584
18 Hershey 11- 9- 0 0.669545
19 Dallastown Area 12- 9- 0 0.659563
20 Lebanon 12- 8- 0 0.654741
21 Governor Mifflin 11- 10- 0 0.639773
22 Waynesboro Area 11- 8- 0 0.629069
23 Elizabethtown Area 11- 10- 0 0.628249
24 Conestoga Valley 11- 10- 0 0.627174
25 Lower Dauphin 10- 11- 0 0.621691
26 Mechanicsburg Area 9- 12- 0 0.609166
27 Wilson Senior 9- 12- 0 0.608185
28 Manheim Township 7- 13- 0 0.585888
29 Central Dauphin 7- 12- 0 0.583993
30 Chambersburg Area 7- 13- 0 0.582127
31 Greencastle Antrim 8- 12- 0 0.571449
32 South Western 6- 14- 0 0.525179
33 Penn Manor 5- 16- 0 0.502658
34 Red Land 5- 16- 0 0.483865
35 Northern York 6- 14- 0 0.479813
36 Solanco 6- 15- 0 0.471027
37 Ephrata Area 4- 17- 0 0.446757
38 New Oxford 4- 18- 0 0.434244
39 Garden Spot 3- 17- 0 0.399498
40 Muhlenberg 3- 18- 0 0.399386
41 Daniel Boone 1- 20- 0 0.305842
42 York County School Of Technology 3- 18- 0 0.299776