BY JEFF FALK

 LITTLESTOWN – It is a concept that youth sometimes finds hard to grasp.

 Because we all are allotted only a certain amount of it, time and what we do with it becomes precious. How we spend our time reveals our character, our values and the depth of our upbringing.

 Now, having said that, the Elco boys’ best basketball may be ahead of them.

 On Wednesday night at Littlestown High School’s ‘Thunderdome’, the Raiders capped a successful 2018-19 campaign with a disappointing 68-34 setback at the hands of the hometown Thunderbolts, in the fifth-place game of the District Three Class AAAA postseason tournament. Elco missed out on an early opportunity to make some hay, gave ground and then was never able to get it back.

 With the outcome, the Raiders concluded their somewhat uneven season with a 14-12 mark. After finishing second in Section Four of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, sixth-seeded Elco dropped four of its final five outings.

 The result earned the now 24-3 and fourth-seeded Thunderbolts District Three’s final Class AAAA berth into the PIAA playoffs.

  “A state berth would’ve been nice,” said Elco head coach Brad Conners. “I think the kids had a nice season. We competed with the best the district had to offer. We had some really good games. We had a couple of really nice wins. We’ve been in some really tough games. And we got some experience.

 “I think that’s what it was (facing an elevated level of competition as the season wore on),” Conners continued. “We were consistent throughout. The competition definitely had something to do with it.”

 Elco had a chance to put Littlestown under some early duress. And when the Raiders fanned, they were not afforded a second one.

 The Raiders held the Thunderbolts without a point for the initial 5:16 of the contest. But during that time, all Elco could come up with was a 4-0 lead, thanks to buckets from Braden Bohannon and Bryce Coletti.

 Elco was still up 7-5, with 1:27 left in the opening quarter, thanks to a Asher Kemble jumper. But the Thunderbolts netted 11 unanswered points over the next 2:04 to take a 16-7 lead and firm control of the flow.

 “It was there,” said Conners. “With their (the Bolts’) senior-laden group, that had to weigh on you. I thought it was an opportunity for us. But we couldn’t extend it (the lead).

 “They played with more urgency than us,” continued Conners. “They wanted it more. I thought the home court was huge. We had to make this (90 minute) drive. You don’t always want to say you’re going to get it next year. When the opportunity is there, you’ve got to take it.”

 Now with momentum squarely with the home team, Littlestown hit the Raiders with a hay-maker at the end of the half.

 First, Evan Huey drilled a three-pointer to pull Elco to within 16-10 of the Bolts. But after that, Littlestown rattled off 13 straight, critical points to extend its lead to 29-10, mere seconds before the intermission.

 “We struggled throughout the season to score points, at times,” said Conners. “For whatever reason, we can’t get what we want. We’re in the playoffs now. Teams are going to take advantage of it.

 “The game plan early was to sag in the paint and not let them (the Bolts) get anything easy,” added Conners. “When you get down, you’ve got to come out, and if you don’t come up with it, bad things can happen. You’re chasing, and the next thing you know, you’re out of position and not able to rebound.”

 Bohannon’s 13 points led the Raiders and represented the only Elco scorer to reach double figures. The Bolts outscored the Raiders 21-12 from ‘distance’ and 15-4 at the foul stripe.

 “Bo is a kid who we ask an awful lot of,” said Conners. “All year long he’s playing guys who are 6-4, 6-5, and he always draws the other team’s best defender. He just competes. He’s our guy. We look to him.

 “We were really disappointed at halftime,” Conners added. “I felt like we weren’t executing. That was a little bit concerning. I thought we could’ve came out with more enthusiasm, more energy. We’re still looking for that vocal guy. They (his players) still look to me. Hopefully, that’s something that naturally occurs.”

 Littlestown began the second half with back-to-back three-pointers, as its lead expanded to 35-12. The closest Elco could get after that was with 5:06 remaining, when Bohannon nailed a three-pointer to draw the Raiders to within 50-34 of the Bolts.

 “There’s no doubt about it,” said Conners, when asked if the Raiders’ best basketball is ahead of them. “I think everybody knows what we have here. Let’s take some time off, but this is a big off-season for us. Now is the time to get better. If we do that, then the wins will take care of themselves.

 “It’s always emotional. I always have a hard time in the locker room after the last game,” concluded Conners. “We talked a little bit about the game. You get choked up. All of our juniors have been talking about it. They talk about districts and they want to go to states. Hopefully next year, we can look back and say that there was a lot of learning going on this year.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 2018-19 Elco Boys’ Basketball Results