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During the first quarter of Friday’s opener at the 34th Mountain Cat Tournament, it appeared that the Greater Johnstown Trojans were going to run away and hide with the lead against North Star before they eventually won 77-60 at the UPJ Sports Center.
After all, Johnstown pressed its way to the first 10 points of the game and built a 12-point lead just as swiftly.
Then the Cougars connected on three straight 3-pointers to close within a point. North Star held serve with the Trojans, never trailing by more than eight points until a similar run to start the fourth buried the WestPAC squad.
Though the Trojans defense between the two spurts had a bit to be desired in the eyes of Johnstown coach Neil Cobaugh.
“Our pressure kind of got to (North Star),” Cobaugh said.
“North Star handled it much better than we expected and they played real well. They shot well from the floor. Our defensive intensity wasn’t there tonight. We played very flat. We had to have some young guys come off the bench and bring some intensity and some pressure.”
The Trojans can take a crack at a third consecutive Mountain Cat Tournament title tonight when they face Conemaugh Township, which downed WestPAC rival Conemaugh Valley 52-44 in the nightcap.
“We set goals as a team throughout the year,” Cobaugh said. “First goal is to win the conference, then the district then try to win a state title. We have smaller goals in between, the Mountain Cat Tournament is a big one for us. It’s a hometown tournament, a great place to play and it’s big for us.”
A pair of dunks by Dwight Andrews highlighted the Trojans’ opening run that also saw buckets from Roshon Fields and Mark Watson.
A lay in by North Star’s Beau Soberdash ended the run a short time before Greater Johnstown extended its lead to 16-4 on a Watson lay in.
After two free throws by Soberdash, Brandon Smith, Bryan Zborovancik and Cory Bloom cut the Johnstown lead to 16-15 just 3 seconds before a Phillip Madison’s half-court heave pushed the lead to 19-15 after a quarter.
“Our guys, once they calmed down, realized that we had a chance and that we could play with these guys a little bit,” North Star coach Matt Fox said.
“It just took a couple buckets to calm them down.”
The teams traded baskets throughout most of the second quarter with Johnstown’s 3-point shooting coming alive with a pair of treys from Madison and one each from Watson and Damean Barfield.
Soberdash, who led the Cougars with 23 points and nine rebounds, scored eight points in the frame with Bloom pitching in six of his own.
The Cougars drew as close as three points in the third quarter on a Corey Miller jumper in the key. Two straight baskets by Fields helped the Trojans close out the frame strong and carry a 52-47 edge.
Then Greater Johnstown regained its defensive swagger, forcing North Star turnovers in the backcourt and promptly expanding the lead to 11 points.
Andrews, scored 9 of his 16 points in the fourth with his lone 3-pointer sending the Trojans to a 68-52 lead.
Madison led Johnstown with 21 points while Watson closed with 18 and Alkwan Williams 11.
Bloom tallied 17 and Smith 12 to supplement Soberdash’s 23-point night.
Both teams will be back in action tonight. Johnstown advanced to the title game, while North Star will play in the consolation game.
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