Published Wednesday, March 18, 1998
PIAA BASKETBALL
Eagles 68, Huskies 41
Hershey: It's sweet!
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Kennedy is headed for `A' title tilt
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GOLDEN EAGLES DOMINATE FROM START TO FINISH
How to get Kennedy state playoff tickets
Tickets for the Kennedy Christian Reading-Holy Name PIAA Class A boys basketball championship game at 3 p.m. Friday at HersheyPark Arena will be on sale from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and from 7 to 8 p.m. today (Wednesday) in the Kennedy Christian High School business office.
Tickets will also be sold from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday.
For people interested in getting a ticket on a fan bus, contact the school: (724) 346-5531.
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By Ed Farrell
Herald Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH _ Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.
The Kennedy Christian High School boys basketball team learned from mistakes, past and present, then meted out a painful lesson to Bishop Carroll, 68-41, Tuesday night in the PIAA Class A Western Regional championship game.
By virtue of the victory at Duquesne University's Palumbo Center, Kennedy Christian (29-2), winner of 23 consecutive contests, will meet Reading-Holy Name (27-3) _ a 53-38 winner over Marian Catholic, also Tuesday night _ 3 p.m. Friday at HersheyPark Arena in the state title tilt.
Four days previously, a 20-point Golden Eagles' lead nearly dissipated into near disaster, before the club rallied for a double-overtime victory over Juniata Valley, a past playoff nemesis.
And almost a year ago to the day, Kennedy Christian suffered a crushing 51-50 setback to Sewickley Academy in the last second of the clubs' West Region finale.
Both painful lessons are etched indelibly in the consciousness of veteran mentor Joe Votino.
``We discussed that at halftime, about not letting down,'' Votino, with a grave facial expression said, recalling the Juniata Valley contest. ``Absolutely. And I think we didn't (let down); I think we stayed at our level of intensity. We remained there, and I think we played extremely well in the second half, also. Overall, we played hard for four quarters.
``We're excited,'' Votino continued, before his mood changed perceptibly. ``We blew one last year, we really did. We gave one away last year, and they were not going to be denied that this year.
``It (Sewickley Academy) never came up. I don't have to bring it up. They knew they blew it last year.''
Against District 6 titlist Bishop Carroll, Kennedy Christian collectively exorcised the past demons.
Sitting on a precarious 17-14 first-quarter lead, the Golden Eagles erupted for a 16-2 spree during the first 5:13 of the second stanza, fueled by Justin Green. The senior small-forward turned in 5-for-6 marksmanship, including a trio of treys, and tallied 15 of his 16 points to key Kennedy to a 41-22 margin at intermission.
``Unbelievable. And he can get like that,'' Votino said of Green. ``See, he plays inside a lot, and he's not an inside player. But when we get him on the outside, he can turn it up. He can hit the `3,' as he showed today.''
What damage Green left undone, his frontline classmate, Damon Clayton, finished with as furious a fervor in the second half.
Clayton's seven third-quarter points, coupled with Bishop Carroll's 2-for-shooting, enabled Kennedy to claim a commanding 51-30 lead entering the fourth frame.
Clayton finished with an almost flawless 8-for-9 performance from the floor and 4-for-5 marksmanship from the free-throw line en route to a game-high 20-point outing that also included eight rebounds.
The Golden Eagles' lead grew to as much as 67-35 in the fourth quarter, as the Huskies were not able to maintain their respectable 6-for-13 first-quarter shooting performance. Bishop Carroll ended 14 for 51 (27.5 percent) from the floor, and leading scorer Josh Strittmatter was limited to 14 points after laboring through a 5-for-21 night.
``I thought the whole game was the turning point,'' began Bishop Carroll head coach John Yewcic. ``Kennedy Christian's an extremely, extremely good basketball team. They're a lot quicker than they showed against Juniata Valley and they showed on film, and they showed it tonight. They're tall inside, they're strong inside, they move the ball well out front, they're quick.
``They're just, absolutely, a state-championship caliber basketball team, and we would've had to play a pretty darn good basketball game tonight to win,'' Yewcic admitted.
Although acknowledging his teams' impressive performance, Votino seemed intent on keeping Kennedy focused toward its ultimate goal.
``It's exciting,'' Votino, allowing himself a moment, admitted, before adding with an edge to his voice, ``But we're going down to play a basketball game; we're not going down to have fun. We're going down to play a basketball game and to win a basketball game. We'll have fun after.
``We didn't even celebrate, if you noticed,'' the veteran mentor continued. ``I told 'em I really didn't want 'em celebrating, 'cause we'll do all the celebrating in the world Friday night. I told them if they thought this felt good, wait until Friday.
``We're on a mission to play a little bit better Friday. But we played extremely well tonight, yes.''
Notes: Kennedy connected on 24 of 47 (51.1) floor shots ... sophomore John Reimold grabbed a game-high nine caroms, leading the Golden Eagles to a 37-24 margin on the boards. John Tremel hauled in a handful for Bishop Carroll (25-6) ... Kennedy committed 13 turnovers, two more than the Huskies ... Strittmatter joined Northern Bedford's A.J. Nastasi and Juniata Valley's Andy Simpson as victims of Votino's voracious defense. Nastasi was held to less than half his 38.8 points-per-game norm; Simpson scored approximately two-thirds of his 25.9 average, and Strittmatter was held to a half-dozen poInts below his ppg. Collectively, the trio connected on 18 of 65 (27.7) shots in the last three games against KC.
PIAA CLASS A
Semifinals
BISHOP CARROLL _ Strittmatter 4-2-3-14; Crum 1-0-0-3; Eget 2-5-6-9; Buck 2-0-1-4;
J. Tremel 2-1-4-5; Greczek 0-0-0-0; McMahon 1-0-0-2; Holtz 0-0-0-0; Salony 1-0-0-2;
Springer 0-0-0-0; M. Tremel 0-2-2-2; Ferrance 0-0-0-0.
3-pt.goals: Strittmatter 2, Crum 1. Totals: 14-10-16-41.
KENNEDY CHRISTIAN _ C. Oatis 2-4-4-8; Jefferson 4-1-2-10; Clayton 8-4-5-20;
Green 6-1-2-16; McElhinny 0-0-0-0; Reimold 2-3-5-7; M. Oatis 1-1-3-3;
Allshouse 1-0-0-2; Christiansen 0-1-2-1; Hurl 0-0-0-0; Hockett 0-0-0-0;
Passerrello 0-1-2-1; Searle 0-0-0-0.
3-pt. goals: Green 3, Jefferson 1. Totals: 24-16-25-68.
BISHOP CARROLL.......14 22 30 41
KENNEDY CHRISTIAN....17 41 51 68
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Updated March 18, 1998
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