Published Saturday, March 1, 1997
Lancers 64
Eagles 54
Eagles felled by defending champions
* * *
GENERAL MCLANE LATE RUN BREAKS OPEN TIGHT GAME
By Brad Isles
Herald Sports Writer
EDINBORO _ Sometimes the calls go your way and sometimes they don't. And for the Grove City Eagles the one that didn't could not have come at a worse time.
The result, combined with poor foul shooting, led to a 64-54 defeat to General McLane in the District 10 Class AAA championship game Friday night before a sold-out Edinboro University. For the Lancers (25-2), it was their second consecutive District title.
With 2:51 remaining in the third quarter, Grove City's Amos Upshaw drove down the right sideline and past a McLane defender for what appeared to be an easy layup. Problem was Upshaw was whistled for a charge.
Instead of the Eagles (23-5) going up, 36-35, they continued to trail by one.
Flabbergasted by the call, Grove City coach Don Fee jumped up, a no-no in the PIAA rulebook, and thus received a technical foul. Jared Meabon made the second of his two freebies, but the damage was done.
From there the Lancers went on a 9-6 run to end the third quarter with a 45-40 advantage.
``I shouldn't have jumped up,'' said Grove City coach Don Fee. ``But I just couldn't believe it. I was thinking `Now we have the lead, we have the ball, the momentum's going our way.' ''
McLane will now play the WPIAL's No. 6 team March 7 in the first round of the PIAA playoffs. With the loss, Grove City must face the No. 4 team out of the WPIAL.
In the '90s, the Eagles have been a presence in the district tournament, making it every year but 1990-91. Although they have made it the past six straight seasons, this was just the Eagles third appearance in the finals.
Grove City won its only championship of the '90s in '92-93, beating Hickory, 56-46. A season later, the Hornets avenged that loss with a 58-55 victory.
McLane's full-court press, which it used the entire game, disrupted the Eagles' backcourt and their guards' ability to get the ball upcourt. Although the height of Grove City's guards should have been an advantage, it really wasn't.
``I thought the only way we could beat Grove City, with their size and how well coached they are, is we had to press them,'' said McLane coach Andy Schulz. ``We couldn't let them get in a halfcourt game and pound the ball inside.''
Matt Nikoloff measures 6-3, Luke Laird 6-1, while point guard Seth Jenny, at 5-10 is the shortest of the Eagles' backcourt. But once Jenny was stopped at midcourt, McLane's smaller defenders would cut up the sidelines and deny any passing lanes available.
If Grove City's guards were able to get across halfcourt, Amos Upshaw then took over. He led the Eagles with 24 points and grabbed nine boards, five steals and dished out four assists.
But the Lancers' darting defenseforced the Eagles into 10 first-half turnovers, including two 10-second calls. Grove City finished the game with 17 turnovers.
Off the first halfcourt violation, Meabon, who led the McLane with 21 points, hit a 3-pointer to make it 10-7 in the first quarter. Grove City followed with another turnover and Mike Peck scored to put the Lancers up five.
McLane went on to lead at the end of the first quarter, 20-16, while shooting 9-for-11 from the field. Meabon had 10 points in the quarter, including two threes, and hit all four of his shots.
``Defensively we didn't match up with their shooters early on and they hit them,'' Fee said. ``It was a bad start defensively. They're a tough team to play from behind against because they handle the ball so well.''
McLane pushed its lead to 26-16 at the 6:22 mark of the second quarter when Mike Peck, who had 16 points and eight at the half, drove past Rob Hill for a layup. The two teams traded baskets and again the Lancers' press disrupted the Eagles by forcing the second 10-second call.
``Coming into the playoffs, we talked about what kind of defense we were going to use,'' Schulz said. ``And decided the press brought us here. We're pressing teams, that's the way it's going to be.''
``We beat a good Vincent team, a good Franklin team and a very good Grove City team with it.''
The Eagles battled back late in the second quarter, going on a 5-2 run the final three minutes to trail at halftime, 29-27. Although the Lancers shot a scorching 65 percent (13-20) from the field in the first half, the Eagles very easily could have taken a lead into the intermission.
But a 4-for-13 performance from the foul line negated that possibility. Included in that was a pair of missed shots after a technical, which Schulz received after arguing a call.
``Foul shooting was huge,'' Fee said. ``We just didn't hit ours.''
In the second half, Grove City had just one attempt, while McLane shot 16 times. They finished a whopping 15-for- 18 from the charity stripe.
Despite the disparity in halves, Grove City managed to tie the game at 31 on an Amos Upshaw putback two minutes into the third quarter.
But Meabon countered with a jumper and Peck followed an Eagles' turnover with a layup to put the Lancers up four. Upshaw then scored on a pretty reverse layup and was fouled. His free throw cut McLane's lead back to one, 35-34, but the Lancers closed out the quarter on a 10-6 run to take a 45-40 lead into the fourth.
After Upshaw's three-point play, the closest the Eagles got was five points, 51-46 at the 4:55 mark.
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Updated March 3, 1997
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