Rockets down Mt. Union in consolation
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THREE SPRINGS -- Mount Union and Southern Huntingdon faced off for the second time this season under completely different circumstances. In the first meeting it was for the Holiday Tournament crown at Juniata College. But, on Thursday night they clashed again in the Rockets' gym to see where they placed in the District 6 playoff seeding.
The Rockets ran the floor for four quarters and shot well from the floor while the Trojans struggled and were not hitting from the outside, falling behind early in the game. They did close in during the second half to seven points, but the Rockets pulled away in the fourth quarter to log the 67-50 win over the Trojans.
The Trojans slip to 14-11 and are the 6-4 seed going into the PIAA State 2A Tournament likely to face Muncy next Saturday night. The Rockets improve to 20-5 overall and are the 6-3 seed to be determined where they play. This will be the first team in Rocket history to make the state tournament bracket. In the first meeting between these two teams, the Rockets came from behind in the fourth quarter at the Holiday Tournament to win a 45-43 decision and the Lions Tournament Crown.
"They came out on fire tonight and you could see that they wanted the win," commented Rockets head coach Stacy Horne. "We worked on more passing, and it showed that it made improvements in our offense. We did have a couple miscues at times, but cleaned it up and played a good game. The team is hungry and wants to play on."
The Rockets were hitting inside and drained three treys in the first quarter. The Trojans were struggling to get shots to fall and were not hitting from the outside. Bryce Danish did drain one trey and a couple buckets for seven of the Trojans 11 points in the quarter. Nate Myers drained a pair of treys and Owen Winter hit a bucket and a trey with Lance Carbaugh cleaning up inside with the Rockets hitting for 19 points to go up eight.
The Trojans spread 11 points around in the second quarter with Danish adding five to his night. Carbaugh continued to hit inside for six and the Rockets ended the quarter with 10 points and a seven point lead at the break.
Jayvien Brumbaugh finally got going for the Trojans in the third quarter, scoring nine of the Trojans 13 points. Josh Griest scored six points in the frame for the Rockets and Winter hit his second trey and a bucket to extend the Rockets lead to 10 points going into the fourth quarter.
Carbaugh took over inside, adding 10 points in the fourth quarter and Myers added six of the team's 22 points to pull away. The Trojans spread 15 points around but could not close in with the Rockets winning 67-50.
Carbaugh led the Rockets with 23 points and Winter had 18 while Myers hit for 16.
Brumbaugh and Danish both hit for 16 points for the Trojans. Andrew cuff chipped in 10 points.
The Rockets hit 28 of 49 from the floor for 57 percent while the Trojans hit 23 of 53 for 43 percent.
The Rockets had 10 turnovers and the Trojans turned the ball over 15 times. The Rockets had 30 rebounds and the Trojans cleaned the glass for 32 boards.
"We were not focused tonight and you could see that in the shoot around before we got on the bus," stated Trojans head coach Scott McClain. "We were not ready to play today. The Rockets outhustled us on loose balls all night. It got late and we could not get any stops to try to get back in it."
S. Huntingdon 67, Mt. Union 50
Mount Union 11 11 13 15--50
Southern Huntingdon 19 10 16 22--67.
MOUNT UNION (50): Francis 0 0-0 0; Bilger 1 0-0 2; Danish 7 1-2 16; Stewart 2 0-0 4; Brumbaugh 9 1-1 16; Cuff 5 0-0 10; Plank 1 0-0 2. Totals: 23 2-3 50.
SOUTHERN HUNTINGDON (67): Grissinger 0 0-0 0; Harper 0 0-0 0; Hamilton 0 0-0 0; Rice 0 0-0 0; Winter 8 0-0 18; Myers 6 0-0 14; North 1 0-0 2; Trish 0 0-0 0; Griest 4 0-0 8; Carbaugh 10 3-4 23; Gibbons 0 0-0 0; Erwin 1 0-0 2; Fields 0 0-0 0. Totals: 28 3-4 67.
3-Point Goals: Mount Union: Brumbaugh, Danish. Southern Huntingdon: Myers 2, Winter 2.