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

Published Sunday, March 8, 1998

PIAA BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS
Tigers 87, Quakers 41
Tigers eat Quakers for breakfast

By Brad Isles
Herald Sports Writer

Ever had one of those dreams where you're falling into darkness and you awake with a start?

That must have been what Quaker Valley coach Mike Mastroianni felt like after each George Junior steal, block, putback, layup and dunk turned his dreams into a singular free-falling nightmare as the Tigers shook the Quakers, 87-41, in the first round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs Saturday at Sharon High School.

George Junior, winners of 24 consecutive games and the top-ranked AA team in the state, will play Freeport, a 69-30 winner over United, on Wednesday at a site and time to be determined. Quaker Valley is eliminated.

The 11 a.m. start didn't bother the Tigers (27-1) as they raced to a 16-2 lead midway through the first quarter and 23-5 after one.

The Tigers usually practice at 9 a.m. on Saturdays so the game was basically an added bonus.

``It was the same routine,'' said George Junior coach Bob McConnell. ``We had our shoot-around at 8. It really didn't affect us at all.''

The Quakers (17-10), meanwhile, played like they forgot to set an alarm, hitting just 1 of 11 first-quarter shots and 2 of 21 first-half shots while committing 13 turnovers.

After scoring the first two points of the game on free throws, the Quakers failed to score another point until the 1:13 mark on another foul shot. Drew Binder hit Quaker Valley's first field goal with 35 seconds left. But by then it was 21-5 Tigers.

``I think our halfcourt trap really took them out of the game from the get-go,'' McConnell said. ``We felt if we made them put the ball on the floor they would have a difficult time doing that.''

Gerome Ruff, who finished with 12 points, closed the first quarter with an alley-oop jam from Jarrod Graham. In the second quarter, Ruff grabbed a steal and went solo for a high-flying reverse dunk to make it 32-7 at the 4:55 mark.

Graham led all scorers with 29 points, including 18 in the first half, as the Tigers bolted to a 45-9 lead at intermission.

Graham also had a hand in GJR's trapping zone defense, which held the Quakers to 6 of 31 shooting (19 percent) over the first three quarters. Justin Shegog, who entered as Quaker Valley's leading scorer at 19 points per game, managed just 7. Steve Sweeney led the Quakers with 8 points off the bench, all of which came in the fourth quarter with GJR's starters out.

``We set a goal for (Shegog) to give him eight,'' McConnell said. ``I know he had two at the half and that's all I'm really looking at. The second half we just came out and sat back in a 2-3 zone because of what the score was.''

Graham's hot offensive hand, meanwhile, continued in the second half. He opened the third with one of his four 3-pointers and hit another at the 1:59 mark to make it 61-16. About the only thing that Graham, who hit 9 of 14 shots, missed was his attempt at the buzzer. Nonetheless, GJR led 65-21 after three.

Whereas Graham dominated from the perimeter, 6-10 center B.J. Grove reigned supreme on the inside. Grove finished with 19 points, including 12 in the second half. He had back-to-back layups to make it 78-24 with five minutes remaining in the contest.

He had a thunderous dunk nullified in the first quarter because of a traveling call.

38GJR2 The game certainly wasn't a flashback to when George Junior coach Bob McConnell played on Mastroianni's eighth grade team at Slippery Rock Middle School.

``We have a few more athletes than we had when I was in eighth grade,'' McConnell said.

Notes: George Junior committed 10 turnovers, while forcing 18 for the game. ... GJR shot 60 percent, hitting 32 of 53 attempts. ... GJR's Jamal Benjamin, who averages 18 points per game, had 8 against the Quakers.

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Updated March 9, 1998
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