The Herald, Sharon, Pa: Winter sports '97-'98

Published Saturday, Feb. 28, 1998

DISTRICT 10 PLAYOFFS
Tigers 59, Mustangs 35
Tigers shut down MCAC rival Mercer

7TH D-10 CROWN MOVES NO. 1 GJR TO IMPRESSIVE 26-1

By Brad Isles
Herald Sports Writer

GROVE CITY _ Like most teams do, the George Junior Republic basketball team set a series of goals prior to the season.

With a 59-35 victory over Mercer Saturday night, the Tigers (26-1) put a huge check mark beside yet another goal on that list _ win the District 10 Class AA championship.

Shortly after the win, GJR's fifth D-10 title of the '90s and seventh overall, members of the team stood on the court reveling in their victory while accepting the customary commemorative plaques. When the championship trophy was handed to coach Bob McConnell, chants of ``G-J-R'' quickly turned into chants of ``Hershey.''

Is that a premature conjecture for the state's top-ranked Class AA team?

``We've sort of set the season as a goal at a time,'' McConnell said. ``Win Mercer County, win the district and now win the state. Now we look at it as a four-game season to get to Hershey and then worry about it when we get there.''

Standing immediately in the Tigers' way is the District 7 No. 6 team, which George Junior will play Friday. Mercer (17-10) will play the District 6 No. 2 team. The teams were unavailable as of press time.

``I know that come next week they'll be ready,'' said Mercer coach Dave Cook. ``I thought we were ready to play tonight. We played hard. I guess, to me as a coach, it's just frustrating because there isn't something else I can do.''

One thing Cook couldn't do for the Mustangs was shoot the ball. Mercer struggled with the taller players in GJR's trapping zone defense and shot a dismal 23 percent (10 of 44) from the floor. From 3-point range, Mercer hit just 3 of 18 attempts.

``You've got to understand, these are little kids shooting over big guys,'' Cook said. ``You don't get a good look at things. It's tough to get good looks.''

George Junior was just the opposite, shooting 58 percent (22 of 38), including 61 percent in the first half, as the Tigers broke out to a 28-18 lead at halftime.

Jamal Benjamin scored 13 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, including the final four points as the Tigers closed the half on a 9-4 run. Mercer's Ben Burk had cut GJR's lead to 19-14 with 4 1/2 minutes left on a driving layup.

``It sort of went like I thought it would,'' McConnell said. ``I said to my assistant before the game, `We'll probably be up 10 or 11 at the half and then we'll push it out.' It was a tough first half.''

In the second half, Mercer continued to get good penetration from guard Jason Eshbaugh, but the outside shots still wouldn't fall on his kick-out passes. Then again, neither would the inside shots. The result was 9 blocks for the Tigers and a rebounding edge of 41-21.

``When you make teams shoot jumper after jumper with a hand in their face, that's hard to do,'' McConnell said. ``And we blocked a lot of shots inside so that had to make it hard.''

George Junior started the the third quarter on a 12-2 run that Benjamin capped with a jumper, giving the Tigers a commanding 40-20 lead at the 4:15 mark. The Tigers settled for a 42- 25 lead at the end of the third quarter.

George Junior put the game away in the fourth quarter, building a 23- point bulge on a deft jump-hook by 6- 10 center B.J. Grove. Jarrod Graham, who scored 12 points and had 6 assists despite missing significant playing time in the first half due to foul trouble, made it 55-30 with under three minutes left.

Notes: Mitch Berndt had team- highs with 12 points and 5 rebounds for the Mustangs. ... Shane Keen had a team-high 11 rebounds for the Tigers to go with 7 points. ... Grove had 9 rebounds, as did Benjamin. ... The 59 points was George Junior's second- lowest output of the year. The Tigers scored 58 in a 24-point win over Sharon earlier in the season. ... The win was George Junior's 23rd in a row.

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Updated Feb. 28, 1998
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