Wildcats’ height too much for Huskies
LEWISTOWN– The Mifflin County Huskies were at a noticeable size disadvantage in their 49-24 loss on Tuesday night to Mechanicsburg, but in the first half, the Huskies were able to keep the game close due to their relentless effort and hustle.
“Our kids fought. They battled and they were down four at the half to a very good team,” Mifflin County coach Bob Sealy said. “Our kids played with a little bit of spunk.”
The Wildcats held a height advantage at nearly every position but failed to use this to their benefit. The scrappy, Huskies’ defensive unit, shocked the Wildcats who failed to establish any sort of rhythm in the early parts of the game.
Cole Knable, Jace Shoemaker and Jayden Jackson each scored an early bucket, helping the Huskies get out to a quick 6-2 lead.
The shell-shocked Mechanicsburg offense woke up with three minutes left in the first half and ended on a 6-1 run to take a one-point lead.
The defensive battle continued into the second half, but the Wildcats were rejuvenated by their offensive rebounds. They crashed the paint hard and were able to put in a couple second-chance points to pull ahead.
While the Huskies’ defense was doing its best to hold strong, the offense began to struggle. The Wildcats did not allow the Huskies to penetrate the paint; instead opting for tough, mid-range shots.
Owen Wise was responsible for the only six points the Huskies scored in the second, burying two 3-pointers, as Mifflin County trailed just 17-13 heading into halftime.
“I felt we played as good of a first half as we have for a while,” Sealy said.
Mechanicsburg took a 10-point lead in the first few minutes of the second half, going on a 6-0 run. The Wildcats finally began to exploit the Huskies’ lack of size, using their towering center, Tyree Morris, to get easy buckets down low.
“I told the guys at halftime that if I’m (Mechanicsburg’s) coach, that’s what I’m gonna do,” Sealy said about the Wildcats working the ball into the paint. “We just don’t have an answer for that right now.”
While the Huskies had to turn their focus to Morris, Mechanicsburg’s Nicolas Morrison exploded for nine points in the quarter.
With too many options to guard, the Huskies started to fall into a bigger deficit. As the Wildcats’ offense was hitting its stride, Mifflin County continued to struggle to put the ball in the hoop.
The struggles continued into the fourth quarter as the Wildcats put the game out of reach. Both teams got most of their bench players in as time wound down.
“(Mechanicsburg) played good defense, there’s no question about that,” Sealy said. “We just missed some shots… You win games when they fall and when you don’t win games, they don’t fall.”
The Huskies have not been able to have a team practice for the better part of two weeks but wins like they had on Saturday against Philipsburg-Osceola, keep this team energized and ready to battle each time they take the floor.
“I told them in the locker room ‘You’ve got real confidence now.’ When they do things (in game) and they work, they’re gonna be confident, Sealy explained. “We were confident tonight. We needed to play well to win. We played well for a half then we didn’t play well for a half and that’s what happened.”
Mechanicsburg 49, Mifflin County 24
MECHANICSBURG
Lukas Rhodes 7 2-2 17, Nicholas Morrison 5 0-0 11, Tyree Morris 4 2-4 10, Sam Burch 2 0-0 5, James Anderson 1 0-0 2, Sam DeLuca 1 0-0 2, Rashawn Early-Holton 1 0-0 2, Micah Brubaker 0 0-0 0, Connor Catalano 0 0-0 0, Abdul Mohammad 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21 4-6 49.
3-point goals: Rhodes, Morrison.
Rebounds: Morrison 8, Anderson 6, Rhoades 6, Morris 6, Birch 3, Brubaker 2, DeLuca 2, Early-Holton, Catalano, Mohammad.
Assists: Brubaker 4, Birch 2, Anderson, Morris, Early-Holton, Mohammad.
Blocks: Morris 3.
Steals: Anderson, Birch.
MIFFLIN COUNTY
Owen Wise 2 0-0 6, Cole Knable 2 0-1 4, Cade Penepacker 1 2-4 4, Connor Zimmerman 1 2-2 4, Jayden Jackson 1 0-0 2, Jace Shoemaker 1 0-0 2, Jonathan Hartzler 1 0-0 2, Ty Felmlee 0 0-0 0, Alex Kline 0 0-0 0, Landen Eichhorn 0 0-0 0, Quinton Hepner 0 0-0 0, Tagg Silfies 0 0-0 0, CJ Gill 0 0-0 0, Ryan Hine 0 0-0 0. Totals: 9 4-7 24.
3-point goals: Wise 2.
Rebounds: Knable 3, Felmlee 2, Shoemaker 2, Penepacker, Jackson, Zimmerman.
Assists: Jackson, Felmlee, Knable, Wise, Zimmerman.
Blocks: Penepacker.
Steals: Penepacker.
SCORE BY QUARTER
M: 8-9-15-17 49
MC: 7-6-6-5 24
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