|
|
|
|
Elkers prevail against Gators in overtime |
|
|
|
Tuesday, 05 January 2010 |
By Greg Reedy
Sports Editor
Ridgway basketball couldn't finish Port Allegany off in regulation.
The Elkers didn't miss the chance in overtime.
Ridgway used strong free throw shooting in the overtime period to prevail 71-62 over Port Allegany last night at Ridgway Area High School.
With the game tied at 58-all after regulation, Ridgway (5-4) got a 3-point play from Dom Aiello to take a 61-58 lead. Port Allegany followed with a field goal from Camrin Stuckey to pull within one, however Stuckey fouled out on the ensuing possession. He was the Gators' leading scorer with 17 points.
Jordan Lundin hit 1-of-2 free throws to tie the game at 62-all then Eric Matheson hit a 2-point field goal to take a 64-62 lead with 1:43 remaining.
Aaron Sorge hit 1-of-2 from the free-throw line to pull within three. After Lucas Kline of Port Allegany missed the front end of a 1-and-1, Port Allegany then missed two consecutive layups which ultimately halted any chance of a Gator victory.
Ridgway finished the game with six free throws to take the victory. The Elkers finished 27-for-33 (81.8 percent) from the free throw line.
"Since I've been here, this is by far the best foul shooting team," Ridgway coach Anthony Allegretto said. "We had three or four guys step up at the end and hit big foul shots. It's nice for them, nice for the team."
The Elkers got to overtime after a back-and-forth final quarter which saw four ties. The Gators led 55-53 after a 3-pointer from Matt Bodamer put Port Allegany ahead with two minutes remaining in regulation. Allegretto said he was happy to get the experience of coming back from that deficit and pulling out the win.
"You hate to see a team fall behind like we did," Allegretto said. "It's nice to get that experience of coming back. We fought back, we made some big foul shots. Everybody's been hitting their foul shots this year. We had trouble in the early part of the game rebounding but at the end we were getting some rebounds. Dom and Jordan were battling for rebounds, it was nice."
Matheson hit a free throw and then on a scramble, poked the ball out of Port Allegany's hands. Ridgway passed the ball back to Matheson and he drew the foul. Matheson converted two free throws to put Ridgway ahead 56-55.
Lundin hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to put Ridgway ahead by two, the lead was short-lived as Lucas Kline hit a 3-pointer to take a 58-57 advantage with 10.9 seconds remaining. Aiello received the ensuing inbounds pass and was fouled, he hit one of his two free throws to tie the game. A last effort from the Gators resulted in a low-percentage shot from the corner to force overtime.
Ridgway started with a 7-3 lead and built the lead to 14-5 four minutes into the game. The Gators rallied and cut the margin to four at the end of the first quarter at 20-16. Allegretto said he was not happy with the way Ridgway seemed to get away from the plan after the first four minutes.
"They thought it was all fun and games. They've done this before, I think it was the Smethport game, the same thing happened," Allegretto said. "We were up 25-8 against Smethport and they thought 'OK, we don't have to do all that stuff that coach talks about anymore, we can do our own little thing here, we can make fancy passes, jump in the air and we don't have to play the defense he wants us to.' The next thing you know, we're in a tough ballgame. The same thing happened here. We got the lead, we were doing well and scoring with ease. We have it figured out and then we went undisciplined. Until we get that discipline factor, when we walk into this gym they know what we're going to do and we're going to do it right and stay disciplined no matter if we're down by 20 or up by 20 or anywhere in between."
Both teams began to struggle offensively in the second quarter as the Gators eventually took a 2-point lead at 28-26 entering halftime. The Gators ultimately led by two after the third quarter as well at 43-41.
Allegretto said he hopes the Elkers will learn from the mistakes and understands mistakes happen with a young team such as Ridgway's is.
"We played a really good first four minutes of the game," Allegretto said. "And then they changed some things on us. I think we got a little loose with the basketball. We did some really good things, we made some really big shots. Dom made a couple big shots, Aaron came and made some big foul shots. Ben made a big steal, everybody's contributing. We would two good things and then we'd one really bad thing. That's youth, we'll figure it out that it's one of those deals where they got to learn from those mistakes and until you make those mistakes, you can't learn from them."
Allegretto said the Elkers were excited to come up with the victory.
"They're pumped," Allegretto said. "We've lost a couple of close games and it's nice to get that experience of we can win close games. We pulled it out in an overtime game, we fought like heck, we didn't do everything right but we came out on top and that's the important thing."
Ridgway hosts Clearfield on Wednesday. In junior varsity action, Ridgway was a 37-26 winner.
Port Allegany 16 12 15 15 4 - 62
Ridgway 20 6 15 17 13 - 71
Port Allegany - 62
Camrin Stuckey 6 2-2 17, Matt Bodamer 5 3-3 14, Lucas Kline 4 2-3 12, J.D. Haskins 4 1-2 9, Beau Shively 3 1-3 7, Totals 22 9-13 62.
Ridgway - 71
Dom Aiello 7 4-5 20, Eric Matheson 6 7-8 19, Jordan Lundin 1 11-14 13, Ben Jaques 2 4-4 11, Aaron Sorge 3 1-1 8, Totals 19 27-33 71.
3-pointers: Port Allegany 6 (Stuckey 3, Kline 2, Bodamer 1), Ridgway 4 (Aiello 2, Sorge 1, Jaques 1). |
|
|
|
