Blade
02-20-2010, 05:30 PM
Boys Basketball: Shikellamy beats Shamokin
Shamokin and Shikellamy engaged in a physical battle in their regular-season finale Friday night at the Field House. And that was just fine with the Braves: They needed to let off a little steam.
Coming off its worst loss of the season, Shikellamy responded by getting big performances from a number of players in a 47-41 victory.
“For the first time in a while, one of our teams doesn’t mind the physical play,” said Braves coach Tim Foor, whose squad fell by 37 to Danville on Wednesday. “We have some strong, athletic kids. For the most part, we pride ourselves on defense. Before Wednesday, we were only giving up 48 points per game.”
Sophomore guard Tyler Pratt led the way for Shikellamy (13-9, 5-9 Heartland Athletic Conference Division I), scoring a game-high 17 points; he was 8-for-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter as Shikellamy kept Shamokin (14-8, 10-4) at bay.
“We were back in the gym Thursday and it was one of our best practices all year,” Pratt said. “We wanted to come in and prove that ... we could get back on track for the playoffs.”
The victory assures the Braves of the No. 4 seed in the District 4 Class AAA playoffs, which begin next week. Shamokin holds on to the third seed despite the loss (Mifflinburg and Danville are 1 and 2). Both teams will get a bye into the quarterfinals.
“We were probably at the bottom of where we could be (emotionally) after Wednesday,” Foor said. “Now we’re feeling good about ourselves and heading toward the playoffs.”
It was a physical game throughout, with plenty of jostling and pushing, especially in the paint. At one point, the officials had a talk with Pratt and Shamokin’s Brent Forbes to let them know that the hard fouling on both sides had to stop.
Kieran Kelley tallied 15 points to lead the Indians, while Forbes added 12. Forbes, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, had six points in the first quarter. But he had to settle for just two field goals the rest of the way as the Braves switched to a 2-3 zone.
“It was hard to get the ball into Forbes,” Indians coach Joe Klebon said. “You have to be very patient, and when that opening does occur ... it has to be a good pass and you have to hit it at the right time. Most of the time we were impatient.”
With Forbes taken out of the game, the Indians had to resort to their outside shooting, which abandoned them. Shamokin made just four of 22 shots from beyond the arc.
“When a team’s playing a 2-3 zone, you’ve got to hit some shots,” Klebon said. “That’s why the basketball gods invented zones: to make you shoot from the outside.”
There were seven ties and three lead changes. The Braves were down one at the end of the first quarter and up by one at the break. Brett Yeomans scored all seven of his points in the first half to spark Shikellamy, and freshman forward Taylor Mantz scored eight points on the night while jostling with Forbes underneath.
“We have a lot of great players on the team who know the game of basketball,” Pratt said. “We wanted a big win, and everybody contributed.”
With senior guard Cody Daddario leading the way with seven boards, Shikellamy had a slight rebounding advantage for the game (32-28). The Braves pulled down eight more boards in the second half, including 10 on the offensive glass.
By Todd Stanford
The Daily Item
Shamokin and Shikellamy engaged in a physical battle in their regular-season finale Friday night at the Field House. And that was just fine with the Braves: They needed to let off a little steam.
Coming off its worst loss of the season, Shikellamy responded by getting big performances from a number of players in a 47-41 victory.
“For the first time in a while, one of our teams doesn’t mind the physical play,” said Braves coach Tim Foor, whose squad fell by 37 to Danville on Wednesday. “We have some strong, athletic kids. For the most part, we pride ourselves on defense. Before Wednesday, we were only giving up 48 points per game.”
Sophomore guard Tyler Pratt led the way for Shikellamy (13-9, 5-9 Heartland Athletic Conference Division I), scoring a game-high 17 points; he was 8-for-10 from the foul line in the fourth quarter as Shikellamy kept Shamokin (14-8, 10-4) at bay.
“We were back in the gym Thursday and it was one of our best practices all year,” Pratt said. “We wanted to come in and prove that ... we could get back on track for the playoffs.”
The victory assures the Braves of the No. 4 seed in the District 4 Class AAA playoffs, which begin next week. Shamokin holds on to the third seed despite the loss (Mifflinburg and Danville are 1 and 2). Both teams will get a bye into the quarterfinals.
“We were probably at the bottom of where we could be (emotionally) after Wednesday,” Foor said. “Now we’re feeling good about ourselves and heading toward the playoffs.”
It was a physical game throughout, with plenty of jostling and pushing, especially in the paint. At one point, the officials had a talk with Pratt and Shamokin’s Brent Forbes to let them know that the hard fouling on both sides had to stop.
Kieran Kelley tallied 15 points to lead the Indians, while Forbes added 12. Forbes, a 6-foot-3 senior forward, had six points in the first quarter. But he had to settle for just two field goals the rest of the way as the Braves switched to a 2-3 zone.
“It was hard to get the ball into Forbes,” Indians coach Joe Klebon said. “You have to be very patient, and when that opening does occur ... it has to be a good pass and you have to hit it at the right time. Most of the time we were impatient.”
With Forbes taken out of the game, the Indians had to resort to their outside shooting, which abandoned them. Shamokin made just four of 22 shots from beyond the arc.
“When a team’s playing a 2-3 zone, you’ve got to hit some shots,” Klebon said. “That’s why the basketball gods invented zones: to make you shoot from the outside.”
There were seven ties and three lead changes. The Braves were down one at the end of the first quarter and up by one at the break. Brett Yeomans scored all seven of his points in the first half to spark Shikellamy, and freshman forward Taylor Mantz scored eight points on the night while jostling with Forbes underneath.
“We have a lot of great players on the team who know the game of basketball,” Pratt said. “We wanted a big win, and everybody contributed.”
With senior guard Cody Daddario leading the way with seven boards, Shikellamy had a slight rebounding advantage for the game (32-28). The Braves pulled down eight more boards in the second half, including 10 on the offensive glass.
By Todd Stanford
The Daily Item