Lancers make a statement with win
Remain unbeaten as stingy defense shuts down Tigers
Neshannock coach John Corey knew he had a good team this season, and the Lancers proved him right when they won their first eight games.
But the definition of good for Neshannock took on a different meaning after Friday night.
Go ahead and classify Neshannock among the best in WPIAL Class 3A after the Lancers went into tradition rich Beaver Falls, held the host Tigers below 40 points and won fairly easy, 50-35, in a Class 3A Section 1 contest.
You’ll have trouble coming up with many teams that have held Beaver Falls below 40 in the storied Beaver Falls Middle School gymnasium. It was another chapter in one of the best starts in Neshannock history.
“For us, this is one of those games you highlight because you know the tradition here [at Beaver Falls] and you know the name,” Corey said. “Neshannock doesn’t have the same recognition in basketball. But I’m of the opinion it should because I’m proud of the product we’ve put on the floor over the years.”
This Neshannock team has produced tremendous defensive efforts. The Lancers (9-0 overall, 5-0 in section) came in allowing an average of only 38 points a contest. They were even a little better than average against Beaver Falls (4-3, 32).
Neshannock played a lot of man-to-man, but mixed in a little zone also to help offset Beaver Falls’ height advantage. Beaver Falls started two 6-foot5 players and Neshannock is missing 6-4 Spencer Perry, the team’s leading scorer (14 points per game) who is out with a hip injury.
“It’s not even the scores that
is what’s most impressive,” Corey said. “It’s just what we’re actually doing on the floor defensively. We’ve got guys starting to play better and better together. That shows up defensively as much as it does offensively.”
Of course, any defense can
look good when a team shoots the ball as poorly as Beaver Falls did.
The Tigers started the game 1 of 16 and finished shooting only 21% (11 of 53). The Tigers made only 19% from 3-point range.
Then again, maybe Neshannock’s
defense had something to do with Beaver Falls’ shooting. Michael Conley, a 6-3 senior guard, scored 21 points for Beaver Falls, but was 5 of 18 from the field.
“This is only the second time we’ve had our whole lineup together, for some different reasons,” Beaver Falls coach Carliss Jeter said. “But that had nothing to do with our shooting. We missed layups and open shots. But they played defense. They tightened it up on defense and we just couldn’t put the ball in the ocean. … Neshannock plays hard and that’s what I like. They get after you and play smart.”
Beaver Falls actually took 21 more shots than Neshannock. Maybe that’s an indication of Neshannock’s offensive efficiency. Neshannock took only 32 shots, but made 14. The Lancers took only 10 shots in the second half, but made 7.
Mike Sopko, a 6-3 junior guard, led Neshannock with 21 points. Russell Kwiat, a 6-3 senior guard, added 16. Neshannock made seven 3-pointers for the game.
Neshannock led by 15-4 after the first quarter and Kwiat’s 3pointer with 5:57 left in the second quarter widened the gap to 18-4.
Beaver Falls cut the deficit to 32-24 in the third quarter, but Sopko hurt the Tigers by scoring 12 points in the quarter. Beaver Falls never got closer than 10 the rest of the way.
So now, the Lancers are ready to head into February with a perfect record. They will miss Perry, who is out indefinitely. But the Lancers, who are the Post-Gazette’s No. 3ranked Class 3A team, still will be formidable. Beaver Falls knows that.
“It hurts not having Spencer, but we knew this could be a special group,” Corey said. “We’ve been waiting for this group. But with all the craziness going on, we’ve got to enjoy it every day we walk into the gym. Who knows? We could all of a sudden be done for a week, a month or forever. We’ve put an emphasis on enjoying every second.”