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District 3: Rhoades Classic thrills as Cedar Crest downs Lower Dauphin in 2OT

01/07/2018, 12:00am EST
By Michael Bullock

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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ANNVILLE — Blake Thomson may have awakened sometime Saturday morning with some mighty tender wheels and a sizable shiner under one of his eyes, yet by the time the Cedar Crest senior and his Falcons teammates began to warm up a few hours later he was ready to go.

Had to be since Crest was attempting to back up one satisfying result — and the first was a real physical and emotional grind — by pocketing another and completing the weekend sweep.

Well, Tom Smith’s resourceful club did just that.

Wasn’t easy, however, as the Lebanon Countians had to bounce off the deck in regulation and again in the first of two overtime periods before they could even think about walking out with a W. Yet thanks to some wonderful free-throw shooting down the stretch — especially from the youngster with the weary pins and the discolored eye — Crest had what it came to Lebanon Valley College for ... yet another satisfying result.

Thomson and Cole Laney each racked up 17 points, Logan Horn added 13 and Dylan Miller checked in with 11 as Crest claimed its fourth straight victory by turning back Lower Dauphin 73-68 in two overtimes in Game 3 of the Rhoades Foundation Classic at LVC’s Sorrentino Gymnasium.

Lower Dauphin (7-3), which led by four midway through the fourth quarter and by three early in the first overtime, was led by senior Casey Caruso’s 23 points. Rick Attivo’s Falcons also collected 19 points from Luke Hedrick, as well as a wonderful defensive effort from junior stopper Ryan Becher.

“Losing was not an option for us,” said the 6-1 Thomson, who pocketed 11 points in Friday’s 41-39 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section I victory over previously undefeated Hempfield. “We had a chance to go 2-0 this weekend, so we had to get this one today.”

“We need the day off tomorrow,” Smith added. “I’m really proud of them.

“They beat a really tough Hempfield team and they played very, very well.”

And while Crest (10-2) was up 30-24 at the halftime break — Laney had 15 of his 17 points in the opening two quarters, ostensibly against LD’s zone looks — Smith’s resilient bunch had to find another way since Becher spent most of the second half and OTs locked on the 6-6 senior.

Laney took just two shots after the break and made a pair of free throws.

“[Becher] did a real good job,” Smith commended.

So …

“Coach always says it’s a different person’s night every night,” Thomson reminded. “Tonight it was a different half. That’s the way basketball goes, because there’s always someone stepping up for us.”

In this particular case, however, several members of Crest’s balanced group stepped up.

Consider:

The springy 6-0 Horn — the younger brother of former Crest great and, these days, New Hampshire two-sport athlete Evan Horn — collected 11 of his 13 points after halftime. He also added seven rebounds.

Miller, a 6-0 senior, added nine second-half points to go with his two boards and two assists.

“Those guys are big for us,” gushed Thomson, who easily could have added 6-8 sophomore Jason Eberhart (9 points/5 rebounds) to Horn and Miller. “They’re really important for us. They do all the little things. Brandon Showers (4 points) is another one.”

And Thomson, a three-year regular who remembers losing tight games like these not all that long ago, netted 14 second-half points, corralled six boards and dropped six dimes.

Thomson really displayed his mettle at the foul line, though, sinking 12 of his 14 free-throw attempts. In the second overtime alone, Thomson drained nine of his 10 looks at the stripe.

“Coach is a big guy about free throws,” Thomson cracked. “We’re constantly working on them.”

They need to be since Smith’s system — Crest prefers to spread the floor and use the dribble drive to attack, so players such as Thomson, Horn, Miller and Laney are really strong on the ball and have the ability to take defenders off the bounce. So, while heading for the rim, they often encounter contact.

Crest also hasn’t shucked its tenacious man-to-man defensive approach, a look that tends to frustrate opponents since the Falcons really like to get into the other guys’ bodies and challenge people physically.

“Defense is part of the culture,” Thomson said. “Man-to-man, full-court defense is the way we do things at Cedar Crest.”

It’s the same M.O. that Smith espoused when Crest reached back-to-back District 3 Class AAAA championship games in 2014 and again in 2015 — only to be turned away twice by York High.

“It’s a good system and our kids understand it,” said Smith, who is in his eighth season fronting a Crest program that shares the L-L’s Section 1 lead with Hempfield. Manheim Twp., which was postponed on Friday and will make up that game against Penn Manor on Monday, is a half-game back.

Yet with Crest trailing 52-48 with 3:48 left in regulation after Hedrick canned two freebies, Smith’s Falcons pulled to within two at the 2:56 mark on Thomson’s runner and tied it on Horn’s finish at the rim with less than a minute to play. LD held it, but could not get off a shot.

Then, following Hedrick’s conventional three-point play with 2:43 to play in the first OT, Crest trailed 57-54. LD never scored again in the first OT, turning the ball over on four consecutive possessions. Smith’s Falcons, though, drew within one on Laney’s two freebies and tied it when Thomson made the front end.

Crest had a chance to win it — after holding the ball for nearly a minute — but Horn was challenged on his drive into the paint and couldn’t get his effort anywhere near the rim.

Although Smith’s Falcons yielded Hedrick’s wing jumper to start the second overtime, Crest ran off five unanswered — all from the line — and held the lead for good. Eberhart made the front end of a two-shot look, Thomson buried a pair and Miller matched his classmate with two of his own.

Thomson made certain his Falcons didn’t lose, scoring Crest’s last seven points at the line.

“In the dribble-drive, we need to finish with contact and you’ve got to continue to go to the foul line and knock down shots,” admitted Thomson, a three-year regular at the suburban Lebanon school. “You can’t have empty possessions, so foul shots are a big thing of what we do.”

What undoubtedly helped the Falcons, too, were the chops and savvy they’d built up while learning how to win tight, hotly contested scraps. Lower Dauphin has an experienced side in place, but the Falcons are still in that learning-how-to-win phase and that doesn’t come easily.

“There’s no substitute for experience,” Smith said. “It definitely helps out in games like these.”

Attivo’s group is going to get there, however.

“Lower Dauphin’s a good basketball team,” Smith added. “They gave us everything we could handle.”

Yet Crest found a way to pocket the second result it wanted, even if Thomson’s legs were sore as he rolled out of bed and his eye was a bit puffy after absorbing an elbow from Hempfield standout Ryan Moffatt.

“Being 10-2 is huge for us,” said Thomson, part of a Crest club that began the weekend fourth in District 3’s Class 6A power rankings. “We like where we are. We still control our own destiny.”

And for these guys, they hope that destiny includes a Section I championship, reaching the L-L’s tournament final and hopefully much, much more.

“I won’t lie. We’ve talked about playing at Giant Center [in Hershey],” Smith said. “If we keep playing well, everything will take care of itself.”


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