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Mifflin County falls to Altoona

Sentinel photo by CHUCK MEYERS
Cole Knable gets into the lane and gets a shot up against Altoona’s Kurt VonColln (35) in a non-league boys basketball Tuesday in Altoona.

ALTOONA — The Mifflin County boys basketball team started Tuesday night’s Mid-Penn Conference Commonwealth Division game against Altoona in the Carolina 4-corner offense.

Unfortunately, the Huskies don’t have a player to run that offense like Phil Ford, the former Carolina All-American.

Altoona sat back in a zone defense for a couple of minutes. When the Mountain Lions decided to apply some pressure, they forced a turnover and P.J. Charles converted a layup at the other end.

After Xavier Vega’s jumper tied the score, Altoona went on a 10-4 run to lead 12-6 after one quarter. The Lions blew it open in the second quarter and led 32-10 at the half en route to a 63-32 victory.

Altoona improved to 3-9 in the Mid-Penn and 6-10 overall. Mifflin County remained winless at 0-11 and 0-14.

“We’ve been running that (Carolina 4-corner) in some games because we’re better against man-to-man defenses,” Mifflin County coach Scott Gaffey said.

It hasn’t been easy for first-year coach Gaffey. He wasn’t hired until August and the Huskies didn’t have the benefit of a summer program.

“Our 3-point shooting hasn’t been good,” Gaffey said. “This was the second straight game we didn’t have a single 3, so that’s hurting us right now.

“We haven’t been that good against zones so I thought we’d try the (4 corners) against them.”

Gaffey was an assistant coach to his dad at Bishop McDevitt before getting the Mifflin County job.

“I was part of the Keystone Division with my father at McDevitt,” Scott Gaffey said. “The Keystone is good, but nothing compares to the Commonwealth where you come out every night against teams with legit players.

“It (Commonwealth) is one of the top teams in the state,” Scott Gaffey continued. “After the two Philadelphia leagues, it’s probably next. You have to be ready to go every night … we’ve learned that, for sure.”

It hasn’t been easy for Altoona’s Doug West either. The former NBA standout has found victories hard to come by in the Mid-Penn.

Tuesday’s win was only the third in 12 league games for Altoona. However, the Mountain Lions have been playing better recently. They defeated Central Dauphin on the road last Friday.

“They’ve shot better the last couple games,” Gaffey said of Altoona. “Central Dauphin is good. Altoona’s zone has been pretty sticky in some games, too.

“And if you can make threes, that’s the equalizer.”

While the Huskies failed to connect from behind the arc, the Lions nailed six 3-pointers, including three by K.J. Futrell, who scored 17 points.

“We’ve been practicing well and have had a good stretch,” West said. “I couldn’t believe they held the ball at the beginning. I eventually broke because we needed to do something.

“My guys stepped up,” West continued. “I don’t think any of them had ever seen that (4 corners).”

Altoona 63, Altoona 32

MIFFLIN COUNTY

Wright 4 2-4 10, E. Shilling 3 0-0 6, Vega 2 0-0 4, Knable 1 0-0 2, Jackson 1 0-0 2, C. Cherry 2 2-2 6, Metz 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 4-6 32

Did not score: Shoemaker, Sheetz, M. Shilling

ALTOONA

N. Cherry 3 0-0 6, Charles 7 1-2 15, VonColln 1 2-2 5, Futrell 6 2-4 17, Robinson 1 0-0 3, Crockett 4 0-0 9, Pierce 3 0-0 6, Foose 1 0-0 2. Totals:26 5-8 63.

3-point goals: Futrell 3, VonColln, Crockett, Robinson.

Did not score: Warren.

Score by quarters

Mifflin County 6-4-12-10 — 32

Altoona 12-20-14-17 — 63

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