JOHNSTOWN —
The game between undefeated Johnstown and winless Bishop McCort came down to a wild scramble in the closing seconds.
It was the Trojans’ Alkwan Williams who collected the loose ball and scored the game-winning basket in Johnstown’s 67-65 victory.
“That last play with the tip and keeping the ball alive and getting that last shot to go in with all that traffic shows what kind of athleticism these kids have,” Johnstown coach Neil Cobaugh said. “I give them all the credit for this. I had nothing to do with it.”
The play saved the Trojans from a frantic Crimson Crushers comeback.
McCort cut an eight-point lead down to four with less than a minute to play when freshman forward Nemo Trexler pulled down an offensive rebound before scoring the put-back to make it 64-62.
The Crushers chose to play defense rather than send Johnstown to the line, and the move paid off when Billy Hipp stole the ball and passed it ahead to Jerqual Wilson, who made the layup and one, giving McCort a 65-64 lead.
“Guys look to (Wilson),” McCort coach Pat Hollern said. “He’s an energy guy that can get us going and he makes guys go.”
Williams went to the line with a chance to take the lead for Johnstown with seven seconds left. He hit the first free throw, but his second attempt missed right. Teammate Isaiah Haselrig grabbed the rebound before missing himself and there was a scramble for the ball. Williams eventually banked in the winner as time expired.
“Our kids played great,” Cobaugh said. “Great high school game on both sides. This is a great atmosphere and everything that is right with high school sports. The crowd’s into it and the kids are putting their heart on the line.”
“Johnstown does a lot of things well and they are hard to guard for 32 minutes,” Hollern said.
“They make the plays and do a lot of good stuff. And I thought our guys did a lot of good stuff.”
McCort led at the half 30-27, and it played every step of the way in the second half with Johnstown. Wilson led the Crushers with 15 points while freshman Hipp had 14 and seniors Patrick O’Reilly and Mason del Rosario had 11 each.
Freshman Trexler finished with eight points and 10 rebounds, five of which were offensive.
“We always talk about living in the moment and as long as we play hard, play smart and play together, the winning will take care of itself,” Hollern said.
“One tap here, one tap there, we would have come away with the win.”
Johnstown’s Quentin Brandon scored the first eight points of the game for the Trojans and finished with 19. Mark Watson scored 19 points with four 3-pointers, and Haselrig scored 15 second-half points to finish with 16.
“It all just depends on the time (for who’s scoring),” Cobaugh said. “Our point guard, Mark Watson, you can’t say enough about him. What a ball-player. He takes his team and puts them on his shoulders when we’re down and sets the tone for us. Brandon is a great outside shooter. He got in a rhythm early and those two carried us in the first half.
“(Haselrig) had foul trouble in the first half. He doesn’t like sitting. I think he felt he had something to prove in the second half and showed what his ability is.
“We have great athletes. A lot of the stuff that they do, you can’t coach. So I’m not going to take credit for it.”
Sports
Related Photos
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Johnstown’s Isaiah Haselrig looks to pass around Bishop McCort’s Mason del Rosario during Wednesday’s game. John Rucosky
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