Published Wednesday, Feb. 26, 1997
DISTRICT 10 AAA BOYS BASKETBALL
Eagles 53
Huskies 44
Eagles soaring
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GROVE CITY ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP
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Experience key in win; general McLane next foe
By Brad Isles
Herald Sports Writer
ERIE _ There's nothing like experience.
Grove City has a plethora of it, starting five seniors and having the opportunity to bring another senior, a junior and a seasoned sophomore off the bench.
The Harbor Creek Huskies didn't have that luxury and it showed as the Eagles won the opportunity to play General McLane in the D-10 Finals via a 53-44 victory over the Huskies Tuesday night at Gannon University.
Grove City's Amos Upshaw battles inside to put up a shot against Harbor Creek. (David E. Dale/Herald)
General McLane edged Franklin 51-50, and will go up against Grove City at a place, date and time yet to be determined.
``This was a new experience for our kids and our program,'' said Huskies' coach Mike Pisano of his team playing a playoff game. ``I thought in the first quarter we were a little nervous.''
Grove City (23-4), meanwhile, is a playoff-hardened program and that is a big factor when playing in a hostile environment. Despite being the Mercer County Athletic Conference's No. 1 seed, the Eagles were forced to play in Erie, in front of a partisan Harbor Creek crowd.
Another luxury Grove City coach Don Fee had over his counterpart was that in every game, a different player puts the load on his shoulders and carries the team down the stretch.
Against the Huskies (22-5), it was Luke Laird's turn. Despite not scoring in double figures in the past 16 games, Laird pumped in 14 and hit a pair of 3-pointers that sparked Grove City runs in the first and third quarters, respectively. He also came up big on the glass, namely on the offensive end. Of his seven total, six were at his own end.
``He's struggled a little bit lately, but I'm so happy for him,'' Fee said. ``It's good to see him break out in a game like this, in a game of this magnatude. He was a big part of putting us into the district championship game.''
Laird's first 3-pointer came with just under three minutes to go in the first quarter and ignited an 8-2 run that saw the Eagles take a 15-7 advantage into the second frame.
Amos Upshaw, who finished with a game-high 15 points, capped the run with a 3-point play at the 1:07 mark. But for the following seven-plus minutes, the Eagles failed to make a shot from the field and allowed the Huskies back into the game.
Harbor Creek put together an 11-1 run led by guard Omar Greene and Kurt Norder, who was the only Huskies player in double figures with 10 points.
Norder started the run with a 3-pointer and Greene followed with a deft reverse layup to make it 15-12. After a Laird free throw, Andy Stritzinger scored and Greene tied the game at 16 with another layup. It was the closest the Huskies had gotten since the first minute of the game.
Norder then hit a 15-footer to give Harbor Creek the lead, but Morgan ended the Eagles' scoreless drought with a shot over 6-foot-10 Jason Roseto at the 46 second mark. Nikoloff, who finished with 11 points, closed out the half with a layup and Grove City took a 20-18 lead into intermission despite shooting 2-of-15.
``Sometimes you get here in a playoff situation and the ball just doesn't go in the hole,'' Fee said. ``I think we had a lot of good looks at the basket but we just didn't finish.''
Roseto was a big factor in Grove City's game plan. Anybody who averages 16 points, 11 boards and nine blocks per game would be. But the duo of Upshaw and Morgan shut him down. He had just seven points, and the Eagles as a team outrebounded the Huskies 37-22.
``We had 10 offensive rebounds in the first half but we just couldn't convert,'' Fee said. ``Going into the game the two big keys for us were defensive pressure and rebounding. We didn't want them to get good looks inside with their big guys and we had to keep them off the glass.''
Laird's second 3-pointer came just 15 seconds after Stritzinger recaptured the lead for Harbor Creek, 25-24.
But after Laird's basket made it 27-25, the Eagles went on a 7-2 run to close out the third quarter and take a 34-27 lead into the final eight minutes.
After that, the closest the Huskies got was four points, 39-35, with 5 1/2 to go, while Grove City stretched its lead to as big as 13, 50-37 with three minutes to go.
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Updated Feb. 27, 1997
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