City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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Anticipating a possible encounter with a Mechanicsburg club that’s been one of District 3’s top 5A entries all season long, Northeastern’s Jon Eyster has spent plenty of time the past few weeks eyeing up the Mid-Penn Keystone Division champions.
 
In fact, Eyster watched Bob Strickler’s bunch live several times and he also checked out whatever video he could find on the senior-laden Wildcats.
 
Come Friday night, Eyster will get another look at those same Wildcats from his perch alongside Hershey’s Giant Center court when his top-seeded Bobcats (26-2) square off against Mechanicsburg (22-5) in a highly anticipated 5A title game.
 
Particularly since a remarkably athletic Northeastern club bounced into the 5A tournament after capturing the YAIAA’s Division I and postseason championships and Mechanicsburg rolled in carrying the 16-team field’s No. 2 seed.
 
“They’re good,” Eyster admitted Monday night, just a few moments after his Bobcats closed out a convincing 78-58 victory over YAIAA-I playmate Spring Grove. “I’ve seen them more than you’d think. They’ve been up high in the power ratings all year, so you find time to go see them or see them on the Internet or something.
 
“They’re playing really well right now. They’re scoring more points the last two or three weeks than they’ve scored all year. They’ve really picked up the pace and tempo a lot.”
 
Playing faster and crisper has been a significant key to Mechanicsburg’s postseason success as Strickler has allowed 5-11 senior lead guard Kyle Scheib to flash his quicks and display his savvy in the Wildcats’ dash to the Mid-Penn tournament championship (where they lost 77-68 to State College) and in three impressive district successes.
 
Scheib totaled 19 points in Monday’s 56-45 conquest of Milton Hershey, another splendidly athletic outfit, getting to the hoop or pulling up in transition or canning a trey while going 3-for-6 from the floor. He also sank 12 of his 14 freebies.
 
What made Scheib even more effective was his ability to elude Milton Hershey’s attempts to trap him, luring the Spartans in before accelerating past defenders to put the Wildcats in favorable attacking situations.
 
“Scheib, their point guard, was really key for them tonight,” Eyster admitted. “He handled Milton Hershey’s pressure, drew fouls left and right. We’re not gonna play the same kind of game Milton Hershey did.”
 
Eyster’s biggest concern — literally — just might be Mechanicsburg’s 6-5 Cade Alioth since his Bobcats lack a true interior presence in the paint. Alioth, who is committed to Wheaton (Ill.), scored 11 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and blocked one shot.
 
Once again, we’ll have to deal with a post guy and that’s always a challenge for us. He’s quality,” Eyster continued, lauding Alioth’s ability. “What he does a really great job in is offensive rebounding. He really cleans up the offensive glass. That’s maybe his biggest asset for them. Once again, for us, it’ll be rebounding. We’ll get shots.
 
“Whether we make enough or not, that remains to be seen on Friday night.”
 
If Mechanicsburg continues to receive production from the likes of 6-2 senior Shane Homick and 6-0 Nathan Mayernick and solid play off the bench from 6-2 sophomore Ty Deiter — Homick scored 10 points and snared eight boards, while Mayernick netted 10 of his 12 in the first half — the Wildcats can cause all sorts of problems.
 
“They’re a good team,” 6-2 Northeastern junior Antonio Rizzuto said of the Wildcats, who can play in transition yet also have a solid plan when they run their half-court stuff. “That just means we’ll need to be more patient and take good shots.”
 
In its 20-point triumph over Spring Grove, quality shots from all over the place were falling for Rizzuto and his talented Northeastern teammates.
 
Rizzuto finished with 30 points, burying three first-half treys and finishing in transition in the second half when the Bobcats solved Spring Grove’s desperate pressure.
 
High-flying 5-9 junior guard Fred Mulbah added 25 points — Mulbah knocked down three long treys in the first half and wowed the crowd late with a stunning windmill jam — for a Northeastern side that led by just four (37-33) at the break.
 
The Bobcats also picked up eight points from 6-2 senior wing Brandon Coleman, seven from slashing 5-10 senior guard Austin Greene, six from sweet-shooting 6-2 freshman Nate Wilson and a bucket from 6-2 junior Nate Eyster, the coach’s son.
 
“We just gotta keep playing our game,” Mayernick said of the Wildcats, who have won games by scoring in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.
 
“Keep playing defense, hit some shots and we’ll be all right.”
 
In its first District 3 title game since the 1995 Wildcats captured the Class 3A championship — assistant coach Kevin Rutherford was part of a group that reached the PIAA Class AAA quarterfinals one year after Strickler graduated — Mechanicsburg has ripped off victories in 12 of its last 14 outings.

“We love playing in these kinds of environments,” Scheib remarked. “Our whole team’s loving it, with the whole Mid-Penns and districts. It’s just a fun time in basketball.”
 
“They’re good enough that they belong here,” said Strickler, who is in his 13th season as head coach at his suburban Harrisburg alma mater. “They punched their ticket to get another night here in what will probably be another neat atmosphere.
 
“We’re extremely excited and we’re getting somebody tough on Friday.”
 
That would be Northeastern, the explosive York County group that spent most of the season ranked among Class 5A’s best by City of Basketball Love.
 
These Bobcats, in their first District 3 final since falling to Steel-High in 2004, have rattled off eight consecutive victories.
 
While something will give, both of these squads will be front and center when the PIAA Class 5A tournament begins next week — and playing close to home.
 
The victor will meet District 1’s seventh-place outfit, either West Chester’s Bayard Rustin or Wissahickon. Meanwhile, District 1’s sixth-place side, Chester or Springfield-Delco, will be waiting for Friday night’s runner-up.
 
“It’s always been a goal of ours,” a grinning Rizzuto revealed. “Like this year, we wanted to win our division [YAIAA-I], we wanted to win counties [YAIAA tournament] and we want to win districts and we’re actually here. Giant Center’s a great place to play.”