HS BASKETBALL: Red Raiders survive Williamsburg, advance to PIAA quarterfinals.
Article & photo by Hunter O Lyle Bradford Era
ALTOONA — For a moment, it looked like the Cameron County boys’ basketball team’s season was coming to an end. A troubling second quarter left the Red Raiders trailing, however, a 38-point second half pushed them over the top, taking down Williamsburg 62-47 and advancing to the second round of the PIAA state tournament.
CC is no stranger to these high-stakes situations. A season ago, the Red Raiders pushed their way through the District IX Class A consolation bracket to claw their way to the state playoffs, then making it to the quarterfinals before falling to Union Area. Flash forward to now and CC has done it again, churning out the third seed from D9 and securing a matchup with District VI runner ups Williamsburg.
“We have to be ready and we have to show up,” said Cameron County head coach Marcus Brown ahead of his game against the Pirates. “We have to stay locked in, we have to stay focused and we can’t start slow. That’s the biggest thing.
Turning their gameplan into a reality, the Red Raiders came out strong, hustling for every possession. Implementing a full-court-press on the initial Williamsburg drive, CC came away with a steal from Jake Narby. While they weren’t able to cash in on their shots early, the Red Raiders were able to get on the board first by their efforts under the glass, with Landon Farren and Josh Smith cashing in on back-to-back second-chance points.
From there, CC used crisp and patient passing to find open shooters or backdoor cuts while their defense stripped the passing lanes, building up a 16-11 lead at the end of the first.
In the second quarter, however, the Pirates would spring to life. After focusing their offense in the half-court set in the initial eight minutes, Williamsburg switched to pushing the pace. Collecting defensive rebounds, they would spark fast breaks with long outlet passes that caught Red Raider defenders out of position and forced them to foul. While CC went scoreless for the first four minutes of the period, the Pirates built up a lead from the foul line, where they shot 5-for-7. At the four minute mark, Williamsburg had taken their first lead of the game.
The Red Raiders, on the other hand, couldn’t put the ball in the basket. Despite several close looks at the rim, they struggled to tack on points. To make matters worse, the Pirates closed out the half with a 11-4 run to take a four point lead heading into the break.
“In the second quarter we came out sluggish. It was a really bad second quarter, I’m not sure what happened,” said Brown. “I told our (four seniors) we had 16 minutes for the rest of their careers. We had to start fast and could’t let that four-point lead get to eight. That’s when it starts to get scary, so we had 16 minutes to get after it.”
Despite having the momentum ripped away from them, CC found their spark once again in the third. Led by defense, including a steal on Williamsburg’s first possession, the Red Raiders clawed their way back in front. Smith opened the third quarter with a successful drive to the basket before swatting a Pirates shot and tying the game on the other end with a contested layup.
Moments later, the momentum in the gymnasium would shift with a Ryan Shaffer drive, resulting in two points, plus a foul, plus the lead. At this point, the Red Raiders were too hot to handle, scoring eight unanswered points to build up a two-possession advantage on the scoreboard. While the Pirates were able to stop the bleeding and draw fouls and trips to the line, CC had put themselves in the driver’s seat with a 41-34 lead going into the final quarter of play.
With just eight minutes in between them and the next round of the tournament, CC initially slowed down the game, burning clock and forcing the Pirates to search for answers. On defense, the Red Raiders continued to pester Williamsburg, forcing sloppy passes that turned into steals and points on the other end. Even when the Pirates managed to score, CC was able to respond, holding a 11-point lead half-way through the period.
As the clock worked against the Pirates, they were forced to chuck up desperation 3-pointers. Finding little success, Williamsburg was ultimately forced to foul intentionally, sending the Red Raiders to the line to ice the game and punch their ticket to the quarterfinals once again.
“It came down to grit. Being down in a state playoff game, we had to have some grit,” said Brown. “We came out with better energy in the second half and pulled away.”
Shaffer led the way for CC on offense in the win, scoring a team-high 22 points. Smith finished with 18 points while Josh Beer had 10 and Farren had nine. Maddox Baughman tallied two points.
With the win, the Red Raiders will now play on District 10 champions Farrell Tuesday, March 12, playing in neutral territory that is yet to be decided.
“There’s hundreds of teams in the state of Pennsylvania that wish for a state playoff win,” said Brown. “It’s an awesome thing and an awesome experience for these kids.”
AT ALTOONA Cameron County (62)Shaffer 8 3-7 22, Smith 8 1-2 18, Beer 5 0-4 10, Farren 4 1-2 9, Baughman 0 2-2 2. Totals:
25 7-17 62 Williamsburg (47)
Gorsuch 5 11-18 22, Brumbaugh 3 0-0 7, Isenberg 1 2-2 5, Brantner 2 0-0 4, Reffner 1 2-2 4, Parks 1 0-0 3, Zebner 1 0-0 2. Totals:
14 15-22 47 Cameron County 16 24 41 62 Williamsburg 11 28 34 47
Three-point goals: CC (2) Shaffer, Smith, WB (4) Gorsuch, Brumbaugh, Parks, Isenberg; Total fouls: CC 17, WB 16; fouled out: None.
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