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Gilbertson, Trinity pick up "measuring stick" win over P-W

01/29/2017, 7:45am EST
By Michael Bullock

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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CAMP HILL — Finalize your college destination on Tuesday, then play a lead role several days later as your team upends one of Pennsylvania’s traditional powers.

Hmm, that’s what one might call an eventful week.

And that’s indeed what it was for Trinity’s Austin Gilbertson, the Pace commit who rang up 23 points and dished out several assists as he and his Shamrocks teammates pocketed a satisfying 70-64 victory Saturday night over Plymouth-Whitemarsh in Game 4 of Trinity’s Play-by-Play Classics showcase at packed Trinity High School.

“For us, this is a huuuuge win, probably the biggest win in my eyes,” gushed Gilbertson, the highly animated 6-3 lead guard. “I’m so proud of my guys.”

Timmy Edwards reeled in MVP recognition for Larry Kostelac Jr.’s determined Shamrocks (16-2) — the sixth-ranked Class 3A outfit in City of Basketball Love’s latest rankings — collecting several clutch hoops en route to a game-high 25 points.

“That was a huge win,” said Edwards, who had 13 second-half points. “A big measuring stick of where we’re at. I think we’ve improved a lot since we started the season.”

The Shamrocks also picked up eight points and nine boards off the bench from 6-5 junior Jack Bucher, who brought a physical presence the moment he hit the floor. Sean Good also used his 6-11 frame to snare seven boards and block a pair of shots.

“At this point of the season, I thought it was a great test,” Edwards added. “Great test to have someone like this come in and then beat them.”

Sophomore 7-footer Naheem McLeod racked up a double-double for Plymouth-Whitemarsh (16-3), netting 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds for Jim Donofrio’s Colonials.

McLeod, who scored just one point in the final quarter, was tagged MVP.

Junior twins Ahmad and Ahmin Williams shared 25 more points for PW — Ahmad Williams dropped a handful of dimes to go with his 13 points — which had its seven-game winning streak brought to a halt by the inspired Shamrocks.

“That’s a heck of a basketball team and they were just absolutely relentless on defense,” Kostelac said, commending Donofrio’s Colonials.

While McLeod’s last point of the night tied the game at 64-all with 1:30 to play, Trinity closed out a big-picture victory with a game-ending 6-0 run highlighted by Marcus Hall’s finish at the hoop, an Edwards layup and freebies from Matt Long and Gilbertson.

It was a neat finish for the Shamrocks, who encountered all sorts of problems just trying to solve PW’s assortment of trapping defenses early. Not only were Donofrio’s Colonials able to turn Trinity over, but they also converted those swipes into quick points.

PW, in fact, was up 13-4 with just 3:30 gone.

Cheo Houston was the early benefactor, scoring all nine of his points.

“They pressured the crap out of us,” Gilbertson admitted. “They were a really fast team, probably the fastest team we’ve seen all year. Those two twins are two total studs, so their pressure’s out of control. It seemed like we’d beat the trap and there were like 13 more guys. They were just all over the place and it was tough for us to get into our stuff, but throughout the game we started to slow down and get our heads into it.”

Once the Shamrocks adjusted to the traps and the physicality offered by the Williams twins and Houston — PW did force Trinity to pile up 18 turnovers, including 11 in the first half — they were finally able to get into their stuff. They responded with their own burst, capping an 11-2 run and pulling even (15-15) on Long’s trey.

Trinity cranked out another salvo to start the second quarter, constructing a 12-point advantage (35-23) on Long’s finish just before the midway point. Edwards offered five points, while Gilbertson matched Long with his own 3-ball.

“When we finally got into the flow of the game, we were golden,” Gilbertson said of a Trinity squad that wanted to play faster than PW.

Yet the Shamrocks only led by a deuce (37-35) at the break after PW unveiled its pressure again late in the half, closing the gap behind a 6-0 run.

From that point on, neither side led by more than four.

PW was up 45-41 with 4:40 left in the third quarter following a pair of Ahmin Williams freebies. And while Trinity sported a 62-58 lead with 3:29 to go after Gilbertson located Edwards for a big hoop underneath, Ahmad Williams’ banked jumper from the foul line and Jason Paul’s deep look from the left wing had the Colonials in front (63-62).

Just 2:45 remained.

An Edwards floater, off a Gilbertson feed, pushed Trinity back in front and had the partisan crowd buzzing. Yet when McLeod sank the back end, it was all square.

Until the Shamrocks closed everything out and claimed consecutive win No. 5.

While defeating PW will give Kostelac’s crew all sorts of oomph when the postseason finally arrives, Trinity will have a couple of toughies standing in the way next week in Mid-Penn Capital Division rivals Middletown and Milton Hershey.

“It was a big help winning this game, because that increases our confidence that much more,” the 6-4 Edwards said. “For us to win that is huge.”

Especially since all three are vying for the league’s regular-season crown.

“In my eyes, this is probably the toughest team we played all year,” Gilbertson expressed. “Not saying anything bad about Middletown and Milton Hershey, but these guys can ball. They’re just as good, but this is gonna play a huge role going into this week with this solid win in our bag. Now we can go into the week feeling good, hopefully get two wins and take the Capital out of it.”

For Gilbertson, next week can wait for a bit since he just brought to an end a memorable stretch that began with his verbal commitment to the D-II Setters.

“It’s been great,” Gilbertson confirmed. “I think a lot of pressure’s off my back now and I’m like, ‘Recruiting’s over. I can just focus on winning basketball games.’

“It’s just such a relieving feeling. Hopefully, Timmy gets it out of the way so we can just be two laid-back guys that want to win basketball games.”

“He makes plays — and that’s why he’s gonna go to school for free,” Kostelac said of Gilbertson. “They don’t hand those things out like lollipops. You’ve got to work for that.

“He’s a scholarship kid and he’s earned it.”

For Kostelac, who for years has tested his program against all sorts of competition in an effort to prepare the Shamrocks for postseason play, Saturday’s success was as big a win as Trinity has tucked away in the ledger for a long, long, long time.

“It was a great game,” said Kostelac, who more than a decade ago hosted eventual PIAA Class AA champion Prep Charter and battled hard behind two-time all-state choice Brian Morris before falling to the likes of Rodney Green and the Morris twins.

Several seasons later, the Shamrocks played a powerful St. Benedict’s (N.J.) outfit featuring future pros Tristan Thompson and Lamar Patterson at Harrisburg and tumbled big despite 32 points from then-junior Eric Kindler, the first-year Conwell-Egan coach.

Saturday, however, turned out much differently.

“I’m glad we played it, obviously, and it worked out well,” Kostelac continued. “It’s been a great day for us here. It’s like the cherry on top of a sundae to walk away with W.

“I’m very, very happy.”


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