Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Conestoga coach Mike Troy earns 300th win
Pioneers storm back from 9 down in fourth to beat Strath Haven in overtime
Conestoga head coach Mike Troy’s 300th win Thursday evening didn’t come easy.
The Pioneers fell behind a tough Strath Haven squad (93, 6-2) 10-0 with the game less than five minutes old, trailed 3627 with just six minutes left, and had to rely on a last-second threepointer by sophomore guard Milton Robinson to send the game into overtime.
Once into the extra session, the Pioneers (11-1, 8-0) prevailed, winning 52-47, to give Troy his 300th career win in 20 years of coaching — 11 at Conestoga, nine at Devon Prep.
“When you start coaching, 300 wins is unthinkable,” said Troy, who turned 50 on Dec. 29. “The credit goes to all of [my] players over the years — they’ve worked so hard. Winning 300 games means that you’ve had great young men to coach, terrific assistants, good support from the school, and a terrific wife that has the patience
“The credit goes to all of [my] players over the years — they’ve worked so hard. Winning 300 games means that you’ve had great young men to coach, terrific assistants, good support from the school, and a terrific wife that has the patience to be a coach’s wife.” – Conestoga coach Mike Troy
to be a coach’s wife.”
After Conestoga fell behind 10-0 with 3:30 left in the first quarter, the Pioneers patiently chipped away at the Panthers’ lead and trailed 19-16 at halftime.
“Our guys were pretty amped up at the start of the game, and we weren’t taking great shots in the first quarter,” Troy said. “But we settled down offensively in the second quarter. We [coaches] always preach to the players, ‘Get the ball to the open man, find the open man, and take your time.’”
Conestoga senior forward Charlie Martin, who scored 12 points, said, “This was a game of runs, and you can’t get down on yourself when [the other team] goes on a run. We’ve been down before, and the older guys on the team, the seniors, really stepped up tonight when we fell behind.”
The Pioneers got to within one point at 24-23 midway through the third
quarter, but then Strath Haven went on a 12-4 run. The Panthers’ 6-8 senior forward/center John Harrar capped the run with an offensive rebound and layup to make the score 3627 in favor of the visitors with just six minutes left. Harrar, a two-sport standout at Strath Haven (basketball and football), finished with a team-high 14 points — nine of them in the first half.
Then it was the Pioneers’ turn to go on a 10-0 run, capped by senior guard Scott Shapiro’s 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Conestoga its first lead of the night, 37-36, with 2:58 left. Shapiro’s sharpshooting from the outside was a thorn in Strath Haven’s side Thursday night, and he finished with 21 points (including a trio of treys).
“Beating a tough team like Strath Haven is an awesome accomplishment,” said Shapiro. “We had a bunch of energy tonight, and got contributions from a lot of people coming off the bench.”
Troy said, “Going into the fourth quarter [trail- ing 33-25] I had a feeling we were going to win. We were getting the ball to the open man, attacking and attacking, and our [defensive] pressure disrupted [Strath Haven] a little bit late in the game. [Junior forward] Charlie Schappell and [senior forward] Scott Lambert did a terrific job holding Harrar to 14 points — only five in the second half and overtime.”
Strath Haven took a 38-37 lead with 1:37 left on free throws by junior guard Chris Rosini and Harrar. Then, a Conestoga missed shot was followed by a Strath Haven turnover underneath. Conestoga spent most of the final minute passing the ball around, looking for a good shot, but a Strath Haven foul (and a missed free throw by the Pioneers) gave the ball back to the visitors with 11 seconds left.
Rosini was fouled, and made both of his free throws to give the visitors a 40-37 lead with nine seconds left.
Trailing 40-37, the Pioneers brought the ball down for one last possession, and passed outside
several times, looking for a final 3-pointer. Robinson caught the ball outside the 3-point circle with 2.2 seconds left, and from the right side of the court let it fly. The ball swished through the hoop, and the quarter-ending buzzer sounded, almost simultaneously.
“I knew it was going in whenI let it go,” Robinsonsaid.
The Pioneers’ gym exploded in noise, but after that adrenaline rush, Conestoga did not let down in overtime.
Troy said: “Our senior captains, Scott Shapiro and Charlie Martin and Angus Mayock, kept saying to the team in the huddle, ‘We’re not done, we’re not done, we’re not done.’”
Just 32 seconds into overtime, Shapiro hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give Conestoga a 43-40 lead, then, folowing a Strath Haven turnover, Martin nailed a trey from the right side to make it 46-40. Conestoga had seven 3-pointers Thursday evening, compared to one for Strath Haven.
After Strath Haven junior forward Jeff Con- ner (who finished with 10 points) drove inside to make it 46-44, Martin returned the favor with an inside drive and basket that gave the Pioneers a 48-44 lead. On the play, Harrar committed his fifth foul and had to leave the game.
With 1:29 left, Robinson cashed in two free throws to give the hosts a 50-45 lead. All of Robinson’s five points Thursday evening were scored in the final 4:02 of the game.
“Everyone on our team played as hard defensively as they could,” said Strath Haven head coach Dave McFadden. “We try to focus on our defense. Conestoga shoots well in their gym — and everywhere else. Wehadathreepoint lead with nine seconds left, but Conestoga got the momentum in overtime.”