TodayBoys' basketball: Colts don’t horse around in win
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Article RatingSentinel Reporter
Sportsdoor@cumberlink.com
The roar is back at the Cliff.
It’s been a while since the Colts have tasted the success they are having this season.
Cedar Cliff overcame a slow start and weathered a Chambersburg run to waltz away with a 67-60 Commonwealth Division victory Tuesday night.
“This was a good team victory,” said Colts coach Jim Rowe. “I think Matt Miller played his best game of the year for us. The 3-point shot he hit in the third quarter after they scored five or seven in a row was important. All of the guys stepped up and Brody gave us a big presence inside rebounding some big shots and Aaron shot the ball well tonight. The thing that disappointed me was our lack of making them go to their weak hand when they put the ball on the floor.”
Matt Miller led the way as he knocked down jumper after jumper in the second half. He tallied 16 points on seven field goals after the intermission to help the Colts run out to a 15-point lead. They were able to coast the rest of the way even though the Trojans the deficit to seven in the final ten seconds.
The game was interrupted for approximately 20 minutes early in the second half when T. J. Graham of Chambersburg fell awkwardly and had to be immobilized on a back board and taken to an area hospital. His prognosis was not good and reports were of a lower back injury or tailbone injury.
Chambersburg pounded the ball inside to open the game and jumped out to a 6-1 lead. The Colts finally dropped a shot and went ahead when Aaron Caulfield canned a triple to give the Colts a 10-8 lead. The key was the Colts were able to control the perimeter and cashed in on some easy lay-ups off of steals and turnovers.
Cedar Cliff (3-1 Commonwealth, 5-1 overall) stretched the lead in the second quarter when Brody Ponder came onto the floor. He hit a big 3-point play in the paint and later added a deadly trey at the halftime buzzer from the right corner to give the Colts a 31-20 lead.
Caulfield canned a triple from the to of the key to open the third quarter and the delay occurred and the Colts were a bit slow coming out of the stoppage.
Chambersburg (3-2 Commonwealth, 3-3 overall) tallied seven straight points on an Armond Perez 3-point play and a Ben Eby trifecta and they only trailed by seven.
Miller stepped up and canned a triple to slow the leakage and the Colts were able to withstand two triples from Perez as Miller and Luis Lugo combined to get three baskets for Miller and they stretched the lead to 17 at the quarter break.
Chambersburg outscored the Colts 25-15 in the final quarter.
Freshman Ryan Borzager added a triple for the Trojans. The seven-point margin was as close as the Trojans get the game in the final stanza.
“We spread the floor and got some lay-ups on their 1-3-1 trap but we let them come back down and score. This team likes each other and has good chemistry and knows this is a team game.” added Rowe. “ There is no I-guy on this team. Everyone looks at points but there is so much more to a box score than just points.”
“Graham is a great kid and plays the game the right way with alot of heart and passion,” said a despondent Trojan coach Shawn Shreffler. “I feel really bad for him. The first half we didn’t play well but I was impressed the second half with some of the growth in our players and our leaders tonight. They could have easily folded when Graham went down. Give Cedar Cliff credit. They have some nice ball players that stepped up for them tonight.”
Miller led the Colts with 21 points. Caulfield and Ponder added 15 and 13 respectively. D. J. Rowe only scored eight but added six rebounds and six assists.
Perez led the Trojans with 27 points while Merritt added 16 points in the paint.
Cedar Cliff travels to Hershey Thursday and Bishop McDevitt Friday. Coach Rowe arrived from McDevitt in the off season and will make his first coaching return to Tracy Hall.
