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District 3: Moffatt, Hempfield secure share of L-L Section 1 title

01/31/2018, 12:00am EST
By Michael Bullock

Ryan Moffatt (above) and Hempfield captured at least a share of the L-L Section 1 crown with a win over Cedar Crest on Tuesday. (Photo: Michael Bullock/CoBL)

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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LANDISVILLE — Ryan Moffatt got a really, really good look and as the Hempfield standout watched the basketball soar through the air, he thought his effort had a chance to fall.

Yet when the 6-foot-5 senior’s half-court heave fell through the hoop at the end of the opening period — it did catch some iron on the way down — everyone in Hempfield’s white home uniforms was juiced up as was the Senior Night gathering that was barking loudly from the bleachers.

Even Moffatt, the soft-spoken youngster who can play just about every position on the floor, had to admit he was pumped up after cashing in from two area codes away.

“When I saw it was getting close, I had a feeling it was going in and it looked on line,” Moffatt admitted. “I was hoping it would and it would give us a little spark, because they’d just taken the lead.”

It was more than a little spark, however, as Moffatt’s pop had all of the Knights ablaze.

“It gave us more energy,” Moffatt added, referring to the huddle between quarters. “It gave us more confidence to keep on going and we just picked it up from there.”

Ignited by some unexpected half-court fireworks, Moffatt would go on to score 23 points, grab eight rebounds, dish up three assists and hit the floor several times as Hempfield cruised to a 72-55 victory over Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 playmate Cedar Crest Tuesday night at home.

Others contributed — Anthony Alston canned four treys and scored 16 points, Elijah Washington chipped in with 10 points, eight boards and five assists, and Donovan Green came off the bench to net 10 points — for a Hempfield squad (17-2, 11-1) that secured a share of the Section 1 crown.

Yet it was Moffatt’s half-court buzzer-beater that jacked Hempfield’s game and energy to a different level and it was his overall effort throughout his 29-minute stint that really got the Knights going.

“I thought it had a chance,” Hempfield head coach Danny Walck said. “I didn’t know if it was going to be long enough. It was obviously on line, but I thought it was a little short.”

In this case, Moffatt’s pop was just perfect — on a number of levels.

Even his defensive play when Hempfield flashed man — Walck’s bunch used zone in the second quarter, a tactic that really strapped Crest’s dribble-drive attack — was top-notch as Moffatt spent most of the night attached to the Falcons’ highly capable Blake Thomson,

Let’s just say that Thomson had to work extremely hard for every one of his 12 points.

“I thought our defense, his in particular, started our offensive flow,” Walck recalled afterward. “I thought we had some good stops up front, which gave us some energy that way.

“I thought he was outstanding with his floor game. I thought he made everybody else better. And I think part of that was he allowed the game to come to him. When he allowed, he thought, ‘This is fun.’ He went down there in that post area and made some passes out of there, got some duck-in moves.

“He has such a great engine. Heart. Harder,” Walck continued. “Being your Senior Night, after you’ve invested as much as he’s invested, I think there was that drive there.”

For Moffatt, the driven three-year varsity regular, on-court heroics are hardly a novel concept.

His clutch 3-pointer with time winding down in regulation enabled Hempfield to pull even with Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 playmate Manheim Twp. in the opening round of last season’s District 3 Class 6A tournament — a game the Knights went on to collar 62-56 in OT.

Hempfield eventually advanced to the District 3-6A championship game — the Black Knights ran into an impressive Harrisburg side that prevailed 67-40 — then defeated District 11 hammer William Allen (60-55) and District 2-4 champ Williamsport (49-45) to reach the state quarterfinals.

While Walck’s Black Knights fell to Archbishop Ryan in the quarters, Moffatt returned ready to lead a Hempfield program that needed to replace three starters. Obviously, things are going well.

Although Moffatt pocketed just four points in the second quarter — after scoring seven in the opening eight minutes — his dish to teammate Teagan Hazel late in the half led to a timely hoop. His presence on the floor simply demands attention from opposing defenders, freeing his teammates for open looks.

So when the other guys begin to heat up — Hempfield shot 63.3 percent from the floor in the middle two quarters — Moffatt finds more space to operate, whether in the backcourt or in the paint.

Since the 6-1 Thomson was assigned to check him, Moffatt really made an effort to take his shorter defender inside where his length would be an asset. Geez, he even scored on the break to start the game, turning a Hazel bounce pass into a 2-0 lead moments after Hempfield won the tip.

“I like to create mismatches with my height and I can handle [the ball], so when they put a smaller guy on me I want to take advantage of that,” admitted Moffatt, who buried eight of his 11 shot attempts, including two of three from beyond the arc. “And I think I did pretty well.”

Yet even though Hempfield held a commanding 41-23 lead at the break, Walck wouldn’t let his youngsters back off the gas against a Crest club that won the first meeting between these teams.

So Moffatt hit the boards for a stickback, drained a pair of free-throw attempts, collected another finish at the rim, even canned a trey after Temple football recruit David Martin-Robinson found him in the left corner. Moffatt would go on to add another freebie and a reverse layup before the quarter ended.

Finally, with Hempfield holding a 64-34 lead after three quarters, Moffatt could catch his breath.

His final regular-season outing at home — Hempfield could play its first District 3 tournament game at home if the Black Knights finish fourth or better in the power rankings — ended with 3:10 to go and a grip on a share of Section 1’s all-too-slippery championship.

A win Friday at Lebanon and Section 1 belongs to Moffatt and the Knights … outright.

“For us seniors, we’ve been through a lot, and to go out like this is very special,” Moffatt said.

“We just wanted to leave it all out on the floor.”

Several minutes later, after a quick chat with Walck in the locker room, Moffatt and his teammates returned to the floor to mingle with friends and family.

Several colleges are after Moffat, who’s got some Division I interest, as Colgate assistant Mike McGarvey was in attendance. Lebanon Valley assistant Brad Karli also was in the house, ostensibly to see Moffatt as well. Franklin & Marshall, Swarthmore, Elizabethtown (his older brother, Connor, is the Jays’ No. 2 scorer) also are showing interest in a youngster willing to see how everything plays out before deciding.

And why not?

Moffatt’s a hard-working player with a developed skill set and size who makes his teammates more effective and more dangerous every time he steps on the court. He’s also capable of thriving in half-court sets and in transition, whatever the situation calls for at the time.

“That’s a key to any good team,” Walck added. “Your best player being your hardest worker, then you’ve got a chance to be a really good team.

“Check off the box. From basketball to workouts to focus to communication and it carries right over into the classroom, that’s a privilege,” Walck continued. “I was just talking to a coach here and I said, ‘No maintenance.’ And I’ve had that for three years. Just tremendous.”

Tremendous also snugly fits his all-around effort Tuesday night over a quality opponent, including the shot Moffatt hit from the midcourt stripe in timely fashion.

“Seeing shots like that go in, they’re a little bit of luck, but the confidence level just rises,” Moffatt said. “Once the confidence rises, I feel like I just play better.”


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