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TREDYFFRIN >> Another night, another suffocating defensive effort from the Conestoga boys basketball team. The surging Pioneers dominated Springfield (Delco) with a stellar 45-34 Central League victory Friday.
Impressive sophomore Rowan Miller led the Pioneers (7-2 Central, 9-4 overall) with a team-high 12 points, while Wes Fryberger added 11 and Landon Ross came off the bench to score nine points and grab three rebounds.
“Every possession in this league is very important,” Miller said. “We don’t have a shot clock and we have to really get after teams on the defensive end and we have been doing that well lately. The games are slower in their league and defense is very important and we played it well tonight.”
The Cougars (3-5, 5-7) shot a frigid 12-for-40 from the field. They only had 16 points at halftime and 20 after three periods when they trailed, 30-20. The Pioneers outscored them 12-4 in the decisive third to open the game up.
Miller scored on two quick jumpers in the third to give the Pioneers a 22-16 lead. Brendan Slyer then hit a jumper and the Cougars were down 24-16. Conestoga drained seven three-pointers on the night. Springfield also drained seven, five coming from Jake Adams, who had a game-high 19 points.
The Pioneers had a 10-point lead going into the fourth and Sam Gibbs bumped that up to 33-20 after notching a long three-pointer. Adams came right back with a trey of his own to cut it to 33-23 with 4:58 to play.
‘Stoga started to hold the ball and make the Cougars chase them. Miller ran the show from the top the key and appeared to be able to penetrate to the basket anytime he wished. Miller hit Fryberger underneath for a layup and it was 37-28 with 3:42 left.
“I feel I can get to the basket and beat my man when I want to,” Miller said. “Then, I can score or kick it out to our shooters for open shots when the defense collapses. This team is coming together right now and we are all playing for each other.”
The Cougars shot just 4-for-14 in the period and except for Adams, had no real scoring threats. Adams drained a three from the left corner to pull them to within 40-34 with 49 seconds remaining.
Miller brought the ball up the floor and got fouled. He missed his second free throw, but the Pioneers grabbed the rebound to retain possession. Miller got fouled again, and drained both free throws to make it a 43-34 lead with 36 seconds left.
The Cougars misfired on two long three-point attempts and the Pioneers had their fourth win in a row and are starting to make some noise in the Central League race.
“We got a lot out of a lot of guys tonight,” Conestoga coach Sean Forcine said. “Landon Ross, who has not played much this season, comes in for Sean Mackey, who hurt his knee the other night, and he gives us some real good rebounding and he really played well. Their big guys were hurting us a little on the boards early, and Landon came in and did a great job.
“Rowan has a high burst of speed and he gives us a third ball handler. We are tough when we get a lead in the fourth period. Teams have to chase us because we have three or four guys that can handle the ball.”
Conestoga 45, Springfield 34
SPRINGFIELD: Adams 6 2-2 19, Dolan 1 0-0 3, Flaherty 0 0-0 0, Toomey 0 0-0 0, Treude 1 0-0 3, Johnston 3 0-0 6, Valletti 1 1-4 3. Totals 12 3-6 34.
CONESTOGA: Syer 0 2-2 2, Fryberger 4 0-0 11, Ross 3 3-3 9, Robinson 2 0-0 5, Gibbs 2 0-0 6, Miller 3 5-6 12, O’Brien 0 0-0 0, Hogan 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 10-11 45.
Springfield 11 5 4 14 – 34
Conestoga 7 11 12 15 – 45
3-point goals: Adams 5, Dolan, Treude, Fryberger 3, Robinson, Gibbs 2, Miller.
On Fri, Jan 12, 2024 at 7:46 PM Peter DiGiovanni <pdigiovanni07@gmail.com> wrote:
By Peter DiGiovanni
pdgiovanni07@gmail.com
@PeteDLNontwitter
TREDYFFRIN >> Another night, another suffocating defensive effort from the Conestoga boys basketball team. Friday night, the surging Pioneers dominated Springfield with a stellar Central League victory.
Impressive sophomore Rowan Miller led the Pioneers (7-2 Central, 9-4 overall) with a team high 12 points while Wes Fryberger added 11 points and Landon Ross came off the Pioneers bench to score nine points and grab three rebounds.
“Every possession in this league is very important,” Miller said. “We don’t have a shot clock and we have to really get after teams on the defensive end and we have been doing that well lately. The games are slower in their league and defense is very important and we played it well tonight.”
The visiting Cougars (3-5, 5-7) shot a frigid 12 for 40 from the field and only had 16 points at halftime and 20 points after three periods when the trailed the Pioneers 30-20 after three periods. the Pioneers outscored the Cougars 12-4 in the third period to open the game up.
Miller scored on two quick jumpers in the third period to give the Pioneers a 22-16 lead. Brendan Slyer then hit a jumper and the Cougars were down 24-16. The pioneers drained seven three-balls on the night and the Cougars also drained seven, five coming from Jake Adams, who had a game high 19 points, including five three-pointers.
The Pioneers had a 10 point lead going into the fourth period and Sam Gibbs drained a long three-ball to make it a 33-20 Pioneers lead. Adams came right back with a trey of his own and it was a 33-23 game with 4:58 to play in the fourth period.
The Pioneers started to hold the ball and make the Cougars defense chase them. Miller ran the show for the Pioneers from the top the key and he appeared to be able to penetrate to the basket anytime he wished. Miller hit Fryberger underneath for a layup and it was a 37-28 Pioneers lead with 3:42 to play in the fourth period.
“I feel I can get to the basket and beat my man when I want to,” Miller said. “And then I can score or kick it out to our shooters for open shots when the defense collapses. This team is coming together right now and we are all playing for each other.”
The Cougars shot just for for 14 in the fourth period and except for Adams, had no real scoring threats on this night. Adams drained a trey from the left corner to pull the Cougars within 40-34 with 49 seconds to play.
Miller brought the ball up the floor and got fouled. Miller hit one of two free throws but the Pioneers grabbed the rebound on the miss and the Pioneers retained possession. Miller got fouled again and he drained both free throws to make it a 43-34 Pioneers lead with 36 seconds left in the fourth period.
The Cougars valiantly tried to stay in the game but they misfired on two long three-point attempts and the Pioneers had their fourth win in a row and are starting to make some noise in the Central League race.
“We got a lot out of a lot of guys tonight,” Conestoga coach Sean Forcine said. “Landon Ross, who has not played much this season comes in for Sean Mackey, who hurt his knee the other night and he gives us some real good rebounding and he really played well. Their big guys were hurting us a little on the boards early and Landon came in and did a great job.
“And Rowan has a high burst of speed and he gives us a third ball handler. We are tough when we get a lead in the fourth period and teams have to chase us because we have three or four guys that can handle the ball.”
Conestoga 45, Springfield 34
SPRINGFIELD (34) Adams 6 2-2 19, Dolan 1 0-0 3, Flaherty 0 0-0 0, Toomey 0 0-0 0, Treude 10-0 3, Johnston 3 0-0 6, Valletti 1 1-4 3. Totals 12 3-6 34.
CONESTOGA (45) Syer 0 2-2 2, Fryberger 4 0-0 11, Ross 3 3-3 9, Robinson 2 0-0 5, Gibbs 2 0-0 6, Miller 3 5-6 12, O’Brien 0 0-0 0, Hogan 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 10-11 45.
Springfield 11 5 4 14-34
Conestoga 7 11 12 15-45
3-point goals: Adams 5, Dolan, Treude, Fryberger 3, Robinson, Gibbs 2, Miller.
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