City of Basketball Love

Tom Robinson (@tomjrobinson)​​​​​​​
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HAZLE TWP. – Math, Civics & Sciences needed an extra four minutes to get the job done, but the Mighty Elephants were able to extend the life of their program for at least three more days.

Milak Myatt scored 16 points, including the go-ahead basket to begin overtime, Saturday afternoon as MCS moved into the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association Class 3A boys semifinals in the school’s final year by defeating Loyalsock Township 62-54 at Hazleton Area High School.

The Mighty Elephants (20-10) outscored Loyalsock 11-3 in overtime to end the Lancers’ 25-game winning streak and their season.

Whenever the MCS season ends – either in Wednesday’s state semifinal against District 12 champion and 2022 state champion Devon Prep (13-13) or in the March 23 final in Hershey – it will also be the final game for the program. MCS, which opened in 1999 and began playing boys basketball in 2005, is scheduled to close when the school year ends.

The Mighty Elephants escaped a frustrating final minute of regulation and a Loyalsock shot at the potential game-winner at the buzzer.

 “We missed opportunities coming down the stretch in the fourth quarter,” Mighty Elephants coach Lonnie Diggs said, “but we just talked right before overtime about sticking together and putting our foot on the gas.”

Myatt had to reset. He had a drive for what could have been the last points of overtime wiped out when he was called for a charge with 36 seconds left. Then, after coming up with a steal and drawing a foul as he headed to the basket with 23.4 seconds left, Myatt missed both free throws and was unable to break the 51-51 tie.

“I missed the free throws,” Myatt said. “I knew my team needed me. They ran a play for me.

“I got the ball in the corner, saw the iso, went baseline and took it to the basket. Then, I just tried to set up my teammates and encourage them to make free throws. That’s how we could win the game.”

Zion Robinson followed Myatt’s score with another drive to make it 55-51 midway through overtime, then MCS closed out the game by going 7-for-10 on free throws in the last 1:16.

The Mighty Elephants keep playing despite going without leading scorer Sair Alsbrook and another key player, Maki Hill, in the postseason because they were ruled ineligible under PIAA transfer rules.

“Numerous guys have stepped up,” Diggs said. “Zion Robinson, a sophomore guard who did not play too much early in the season, had 15 points today. He played big. Aiden Brown, only averaged about 5 or 6 points this year. He’s been in double figures every game in the state playoffs.”

Brown had a team-high 13 rebounds to go along with his 10 points and Azeem Murphy made it four scorers in double figures with 10 points.

“Rahkiy Mason, our back-up point guard, played a lot of minutes today,” Diggs said. “He doesn’t score a lot of points, but he keeps us balanced and plays very hard on defense.”

Mason helped the Mighty Elephants commit just eight turnovers in the 36-minute game. His two free throws gave MCS a 59-54 lead with 32.7 seconds left in the extra session.

The new rotation has proved to be a winning combination.

Myatt has moved up from second-leading scorer to the top offensive option in the revamped attack. He helped the Mighty Elephants get through a game that featured 19 lead changes, nine ties and the teams staying within three points of each other for 32:13 of the first 33:50.

The drives by Myatt and Robinson finally made it a two-possession game for all but 11.7 seconds of the rest of the game.

Myatt said he calmed himself for the overtime period with the help of thinking about honoring his uncle, Khalio Myatt, who passed away recently.

Nathan Bauman led Loyalsock with 15 points. Jaylen Adams had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Gage Patterson had 10 points.

The MCS win avenged a loss to Loyalsock in the 2021 semifinal and put the Mighty Elephants within two victories of their third state title.

By Quarter
Math, Civics & Sciences: 15 | 13 | 16 | 7 | 11 || 62
Loyalsock Township: 17 | 11 | 13 | 10 | 3 || 54

Scoring
Math, Civics & Sciences: Milak Myatt 16, Zion Robinson 15, Azeem Murphy 11, Aiden Brown 10, Rahkiy Mason 4, Alantay Dawson 4, Kevin Carter 2

Loyalsock Township: Nathan Bauman 15, Jaylen Andrews 13, Gage Patterson 10, Tyler Gee 8, Ethan Nagy 6, Isiah Jennings 2

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PIAA 3A Boys

Quarterfinals (Sat., March 16)
12-1 Devon Prep 62, 11-1 Executive Education 57 (2OT)
12-2 Math, Civics & Sciences 60, 4-1 Loyalsock Township 54
10-1 Girard 70, 7-3 Mohawk 50
10-2 Franklin 83, 7-1 Deer Lakes 66

Semifinals (Tue., March 19)
12-1 Devon Prep vs. 12-2 Math, Civics & Sciences
10-1 Girard vs. 10-2 Franklin

Championship at Giant Center (Sat., March 23)
TBD, 2 p.m.