City of Basketball Love

Justin Allen (@jallen_town)
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J.P. McCaskey may be considered a Cinderella story on paper, but its play of late has been anything but that of a lower seed.

For the third time in as many PIAA AAAA playoff games, the Red Tornado entered play as an underdog to La Salle College HS in Saturday’s quarterfinal at Spring-Ford. So much so that members of the coaching staff believed they were 50-to-1.

When La Salle’s David Krmpotich drove for a layup, giving the Explorers a one-point lead with ten seconds left to play, it appeared McCaskey’s fairytale run was coming to an end. However, the Red Tornado once again reached into their bag of tricks and pulled off one more miracle.

Kobe Gantz, McCaskey’s leading scorer, quickly got into the lane and lofted a floater as everyone in the gym held their breath. As Gantz’s shot rolled off the rim, teammate Tyler Owens was there for a put back, giving the Red Tornado a one-point lead with just 2.1 seconds left.

Krmpotich would have a chance at a half-court shot to win, but had the ball knocked away, sealing the 60-59 victory for McCaskey.

“We knew we wanted to get the ball in Kobe’s hands,” Owens said. “When it came off the rim, I was just in the right place at the right time.”

Owens seemed to be in the right place at the right time all afternoon, as he scored 12 of his 18 points on offensive rebounds, which he grabbed against the much larger Explorer forwards. For the game, Owens finished with 11 rebounds, eight on the offensive glass.

Listed at 6-foot-4, Owens was matched up with 6-7 Krmpotich, a Colgate commit, for most of the game. What he lacked in height, he more than made up for in brute strength.

“Tyler can’t be moved by anyone less than three hundred pounds. He really works hard in the weight room and we know we can count on him,” Gantz said.

Gantz also had quite the afternoon. In the final minute of the third quarter, the junior buried a 3-pointer from the corner, which gave him 1,000 points for his career.

“It felt good to get 1000 with my family beside me,” he said. “I’m happy I could do it with these guys. The win just makes it better.”

Gantz would finish with a game-high 26 points, including a lay in which gave the Red Tornado a one point lead with 17.7 seconds left.

Prior to the final buzzer, the two teams had traded buckets all game. McCaskey had jumped out to an 11 point lead during the first quarter, but quickly saw it erased by the Explorers deep shooting abilities.

La Salle, during a stretch in the second quarter, connected on three point field goals on four consecutive possessions, before eventually claiming a one point lead just before the half.

Neither team led by more than four points during the second half, a testament to how evenly matched the two quarterfinalists were.

La Salle was led by seniors Kitt Najee Walls, Daniel Corr, and Krmpotich, who all finished in double figures. Walls scored 17 points and dished out five assists, while Krmpotich finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks. Corr scored 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from 3-point range.

They went on their own magical run through the same bracket last year, getting all the way to the PIAA Class AAAA finals before falling just short at the hands of New Castle. Either way, it’s been a very impressive two-year stretch for the Explorers following the graduation of seven seniors (including two Division I players) back in 2013.

“I’m really proud of our guys. They’ve given out school a lot to be proud of, especially the senior class,” La Salle coach Joe Dempsey said. “It’s a true luxury to get to coach kids like that.”

The Explorers had been a surprise team last season when they reached the state championship game, something the Red Tornado are now ready to do.

“I think we’re playing our best basketball now. We underachieved until now,” McCaskey head coachSteve Powell wrote on his white board.

There rest of the coaching staff agreed, though they hoped teams would continue to overlook them.

McCaskey will look to continue its incredible run against Roman Catholic in the state semifinals. As the Red Tornado have grown accustomed to, they will once again be the underdog against the state’s top seed. The game will be played Tuesday night, but a location has not yet been determined.

Roman Catholic narrowly avoided Pennsbury’s upset bid Saturday afternoon, which set the table for the David versus Goliath type matchup in the semifinals.

“We’ve been the underdog before, so it’s no different. We’ll be ready to play, but we could use a little Saint Patrick’s Day luck on our side,” Owens joked.