BY MIKE MASTOVICH
HOLLIDAYSBURG — Johnstown High started its District 6 Class AAA semifinal by hitting nearly every shot in the opening minutes, including five of six 3-point attempts.
The defending champs put up 26 first-quarter points and answered each Tyrone threat en route to a 71-56 victory at Hollidaysburg Senior High.
The third-seeded Trojans (20-3) will advance to the district championship game for a second straight year. Tyrone is 13-11. The No. 7 seed had upset No. 2 Indian Valley in the quarters.
�We brought our guys in early, and they worked on a lot of shooting during the shoot-around before the game,� Johns-town coach Neil Cobaugh said.
�I still wasn�t happy with they way we were defensively. We started slow defensively. Luckily, we shot the ball well or we could have been in trouble.�
As has been the case most of the season, Johnstown displayed great balance and used a mix of seniors and underclassmen in key roles.
Sophomore Mark Watson had two first-quarter 3-pointers and finished with four 3�s and 16 points. Senior Richard Agurs had 14 points and seven rebounds. Junior Cliff Eddins netted 11 points off the bench, and senior Josh Konar hit a pair of 3-pointers and had 10 points.
�We were just in the flow and played together,� Watson said. �We got the ball to the hoop. We played hard defense. We played as a team. We�ve been practicing hard. Outside the gym we�re good friends. We practice outside the gym too.�
Tyrone�s Andrew Brokenshire had 18 points, and Richard Stever netted 14.
The Trojans led 36-26 at halftime and scored nine of
11 points during one third-quarter stretch to lead 49-34 after Alkwan Williams� rebound basket with 2:36 on the clock.
An Agurs layup made it
65-45 with 3:51 left in the game.
Cobaugh was pleased that each time Tyrone made a big shot or a defensive stop, Johns-town managed to bounce back with a key play of its own.
�That shows the heart of our kids and the toughness of our kids,� Cobaugh said. �They fight through all that stuff. It shows the character this team has. If they got a basket or put a little run on, we fought back and answered it.�
The Trojans will play No. 5 Huntingdon, a 50-41 winner over top-seeded Lewistown.
�The journey has been great,� Cobaugh said. �We have a lot of young kids. Our seniors have been great leaders. The kids are really playing well as a team. It shows you a lot about what kind of kids we have here. Our first goal was to win the conference championship. Our next goal is to be in position to win the district championship. We�re in the game we just have to go out and play it.�
