Published Saturday, March 1, 1997
The Trojans trailed from early in the second stanza throughout the contest, and by as many as seven points on two second-half occasions, until Adam Karson drained a trey from the left wing with seven seconds remaining in regulation, drawing Greenville even after 32 minutes.
Then with both Isacco and football teammate Joe Korcinsky fouling out during the first OT period, the Trojans twice rallied from deficits, and Karson's driving layup with 14 seconds left knotted the count at 57 and coerced another extra session.
During that second 4-minute period, unheralded Craig Greenfield drilled a 3- point set shot, providing Greenville with a 60-57 margin a minute-and-a-half into the frame, and the Trojans never trailed again. Ironically, a season-long achilles heel _ the free-throw line _ proved to be the club's salvation, as Greenville converted seven of its dozen attempts while capitalizing on Cambridge Springs' trio of turnovers.
``The kids have practiced hard, they played hard, we substitute in practice, we don't really have a `starting five,' so ... it's almost expected that, when you get put out there, we need you to produce, 'cause we're a team,'' summarized head coach Kelly Jones, who spoke specifically of Greenfield, but also, in general, of Greenville.
Ironically, the game pitted a pair of District 10 championship football schools, as the Trojans and Blue Devils claimed the respective AAA and A crowns last fall. But the perception of Greenville gridiron-only success has expanded to other athletic disciplines.
``The last three years, since I've been on varsity, I've been trying to change that mold and everybody in here's been trying to change that mold,'' senior Jeff Lewis, who tallied a team-leading 17 points including four in the fourth frame, related. ``And I think it's comin' around. It's gonna keep on going, I hope.''
Five Ryan Oman points and four apiece from Lewis and Isacco offseteight Adam Jardina markers and staked Greenville to an 18-15 lead after the first frame.
However, with Ivan Cilik commencing the second stanza with a pair of freebies and a trey and the Trojans committing four costly turnovers, Cambridge Springs assumed its initial lead, 20-18, at the 6:25 juncture, and the Blue Devils never trailed again until Greenfield's trifecta in the second OT.
With Cilik and Jardina scoring seven and five points, respectively, Cambridge Springs built a 28-25 halftime margin. Only Oman's runner at the buzzer kept Greenville close.
Jardina's layup at the 4:15 mark of the third period enabled Cambridge Springs to build a 38-31 lead, but Isacco answered with a traditional 3-point play and another bucket from the inside, sandwiching a Jardina freebie and enabling Greenville to draw within 39-36 with 2:20 left in the quarter. Cilik's drive a minute later provided the 'Spa with a 41-36 edge at the third-quarter turn.
In the fourth frame, Cambridge Springs committed a handful of miscues and turned in 2-for-7 shooting from the floor and a 6-for-9 effort from the line. Greenville parlayed Karson's five points and four apiece from Oman and Lewis.
Cambridge Springs, on a pair of Brad Wheeler freebies with 20 seconds left, led 51-48. On the ensuing possession, Lewis had his shot blocked, but Korcinsky recovered the loose ball and a pass rotated back to Karson, alone on the left wing. He drained a trey to knot the count at 51, and, following a Cambridge Springs timeout, Cilik bricked his potential game-winning jumper.
Isacco and Korcinsky were disqualified on fouls at the 2:59 and 2:15 marks of the first OT period, but Greenfield's pair of free throws with 1:26 left drew Greenville within 56-55. Mike Wilmoth's freebie with 32 ticks left gavethe Blue Devils a 57-55 edge, but Karson's drive deadlocked the score at 57.
Greenville actually had an opportunity to win in the first OT, as Greenfield recovered a 'Spa tunover on the ensuing inbounds play. However, following a timeout with five seconds left, Karson's runner at the buzzer went awry.
``I guess we always had the potential, but for some reason or another, we just never got to put it together consistently over a whole year,'' Karson related. ``But after the first victory over Franklin, that's when we really knew we had the potential to win districts.''
Isacco, an integral part of Greenville's gridiron success, placed an interesting perspective on the cagers' accomplishment:
``To be honest with you, for District 10, I think we were maybe predicted to win District 10 _ we were definitely one of the favorites,'' Isacco said of the football team's prowess. ``But no way were we one of the favorites to win District 10 (in basketball), so this is a lot more satisfying 'cause a lot of people probably think we came out of nowhere _ and we basically did _ but this is a lot more satisfying.''
So, too, did the club's fourth senior, gridder-turned-cager Brent Hoffman:
``We're hopin' to get one more (D-10 title) in track, to make it a `3-sweep,' that'd be great.''
Notes: Greenville (22-5) connected on 22 of 53 (41.5 percent) floor shots and 20-33 (60.6) free throws, compared with respective totals of 19 of 47 (40.4) and 20 of 36 (55.6) for Cambridge Springs (21-6). ... The `Spa outrebounded Greenville, 38-31, led by nine and eight caroms, respectively, by Jardina and Wilmoth. Isacco's seven and Oman's six led the Trojans. ... Cambridge Spring was guilty of 16 turnovers, including 10 in the fourth period and two overtime frames. Greenville committed a dozen miscues, but only four in the game's final 16 minutes.
Updated March 3, 1997
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