Published Saturday, March 27, 1999
Kennedy Christian's Tony Hurl is upended after putting in a layup late in the fourth quarter of the PIAA Class A title game Friday.
(David E. Dale/Herald)
|
On Friday at HersheyPark Arena, the Golden Eagles made good on that collective admonition.
Three months to the day the club was laboring along with an uncharacteristic 4-5 record, Kennedy was a once again crowned king of the Commonwealth's Class A competition.
Junior John Reimold posted a 28-point, 7-rebound performance and he and his teammates coerced Bishop Hannan into a 21-for-52 shooting performance, as Kennedy claimed a 78-51 victory at HersheyPark Arena.
By virtue of the victory, the Golden Eagles (24-6) garnered their second straight Class A crown and fourth during head coach Joe Votino's 17-year tenure.
"Same feeling -- it's unbelievable!'' Votino replied when asked how these back-to-back titles compare with those his '86 and '87 clubs copped. "I'm so proud of our kids, so proud of our program. This is the greatest feeling in the world. I love it. It's one of the reasons I coach.''
The Golden Eagles, who ran roughshod over five state playoff opponents by a composite 71.6-45.4 margin, trailed just once, 3-2 one minute into Friday's title tilt when Bishop Hannan freshman sensation Gerry McNamara connected on a trey. However, it was virtually a wire-to-wire win, in which Kennedy led 13-6 at the quarter, 28-21 at intermission on Ryan McElhinny's tip-in at the buzzer, and 47-36 entering the fourth frame.
Kennedy's Keenan Christiansen lofts up a runner during the PIAA Class A title game.
(David E. Dale/Herald)
|
"I just think we have a very good basketball team, we have great leadership, we've got guards who can handle the ball -- and that's important because (the Lancers) give you fits with that press -- and if you don't have guards who can handle the ball, then it can be a long night. So I thought them not being able to get points off their press was a key.''
Kennedy Christian committed only a half-dozen first-half turnovers and eight through three periods.
Eight Reimold points, coupled with 2-for-12 Bishop Hannan shooting, staked the Golden Eagles to that 7-point first-quarter lead. Ten points evenly split between McElhinny and Reimold, complemented by Keenan Christiansen's club-leading 66th trey, enabled the Eagles to extend their margin at intermission, aided by McElhinny's tip-in of a Christiansen miss as the buzzer droned. Eleven McNamara markers kept Bishop Hannan in contention.
A 9-2 late-third quarter spree proved pivotal for Kennedy. The highlight occurred when McElhinny dove on the floor to recover a Bishop Hannan turnover and passed to Christiansen, who, in turn, fed Reimold for a layup as he was fouled. His subsequent free throw and his baseline drive 71 seconds later extended the Golden Eagles' advantage to 45-31 with 1:34 remaining in the period. Bishop Hannan never cut its deficit to less than double digits for the duration.
In early December, Reimold sustained a deep thigh bruise which caused him to miss a handful of games, during which Kennedy went 2-3. With him, the Golden Eagles were 22-3.
Kennedy Christian's Gary Satterwhite (50) battles with Bishop Hannan's Shawn Hayes for a rebound.
(David E. Dale/Herald)
|
In eight District 10 and PIAA playoff games, the 6-foot-5 Reimold poured in 170 points, a 21.2 points-per-game norm. The memory of the deep thigh bruise (and subsequent sprained left wrist sustained in a D-10 playoff win over Cochranton) was still vivid in Reimold's mind.
Asked if he thought then, that he would be leading the Golden Eagles to a second straight title three months later, he admitted, "No I did not. I didn't know if I was gonna be able to play. I was really scared. But now, here I am -- this is great! We played great; we came together at the right time of the year and I just helped out.''
McElhinny converted his first three free throws on Friday -- extending his consecutive skein to 30 -- before missing the front end of a fourth-quarter 1-and-1 bonus situation. However, he turned in 11-for-12 marksmanship from the line, including eight straight following that lone miss.
"I've played since I was a freshman and so has John (Reimold), so we try to help the younger people, get them fired up for a game like this,'' the emotional McElhinny admitted.
Senior co-captains Tony Hurl and Marcus Oatis concluded their scholastic cage careers as two-time state champions.
"It's really a good note to go out on, you always want to go out on a winning note,'' Hurl admitted. "You'd never like to come in and turn in your uniform with everybody crying and coaches saying, 'We love you guys' and all that. It's so much more memorable when you go out on a win."
"It's always good to go out with a win,'' Oatis echoed, "but it's more special this year because I'm a senior and I participated more and I led the team spiritually -- me and Tony Hurl -- and we left a little something for John Reimold, Ryan, Keenan and all those younger guys to try to come back here for.''
Like Reimold, Oatis, who sustained hip and wrist injuries in the West Regional finale against Duquesne, was playing in pain. However, he admitted with a grin, "Now, I can't even feel (the pain).''
As the defending state champion and being ranked No. 1 in the Harrisburg Patriot-News' poll for the past several weeks meant Kennedy was going up against every team's "A'' game each time out.
But as Votino noted, "I really think they have handled the pressure extremely well. When we were ranked No. 1 about a month ago ... I always tell our kids I don't what them reading the papers, because, sometimes, they can get a big head over it. But I thought we handled being ranked No. 1 very well,'' Votino assessed. " ... Anything can happen in sports, just look at New Castle (an overtime loser in the Quad-A Western Regional finals to McDowell); there was nobody who was gonna touch New Castle this year, and our kids know that. And I will guarantee you they will remember that for a lot of games next year.''
For now, Votino is indelibly etching his name in Pennsylvania schoolboy cage coaching annals. His 17-year mark is 364-130 and he has guided the Golden Eagles to five finals berths, winning Commonwealth crowns in '86, '87, '98 and this year. In Herald-area coverage history, he is surpassed only by his mentor, legendary Eddie McCluskey and Mercer's Dave Cook.
Kennedy's Ryan McElhinny, left, collides with Lancers' star freshman Gerry McNamara.
(David E. Dale/Herald)
|
"Coach McCluskey is the best; I would hope that he's very proud of me,'' Votino, his voice receding into a reverant tone, said. "Coach McCluskey has taught me a lot of basketball and I have molded myself after him, but I have a great staff (Lou Christiansen, Mike Bluey, Gary Wilson and Woody Pippens). My assistants coaches, they prepare and they're knowledgeable ... we just prepare.
"Yeah, I think he would be, yes,'' Votino responded when asked if "Mac'' would be proud of his protege. "I work hard. I wouldn't say that I'm the most knowledgeable coach around, but I know I work pretty hard, and that's the way my parents raised me.''
Notes: Led by Reimold's 13-for-19 marksmanship, the Golden Eagles connected on 26 of 47 (55.3 percent) and 23 of 27 (85.1 percent) free throws, compared with Bishop Hannan's 39.6 percent shooting from the floor and 8-for-15 effort from the line. ... with Reimold and Gary Satterwhite each snaring seven caroms, the Golden Eagles outrebounded the Lancers, 33-29. ... Kennedy committed a dozen turnovers, compared with nine for Bishop Hannan. ... McNamara bucketed a team-leading 21 points for the Lancers before fouling out with 1:54 remaining; however, he was the lone Lancer to reach double digits.
BISHOP HANNAN (29-3) -- Coyle 3-7 1-3 7, Murtaugh 1-7 1-1 3, Hedden 0-0 1-2 1, Gilroy 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 2-4 2-3 6, Callagher 0-0 0-0 0, Conway 0-0 0-2 0, Hayes 0-1 0-0 0, Moskwa 2-4 0-0 4, McNamara 9-21 2-2 21, Tighe 0-0 0-0 0, Foley 4-9 1-2 9, Langdam 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-53 8-15 51.
KENNEDY CHRISTIAN (24-6) -- Passerello 0-0 0-0 0, D. McElhinny 0-1 0-0 0, Oatis 3-6 3-3 9, George 1-1 0-0 2, Hockett 0-0 1-1 1, R. McElhinny 1-5 11-12 13. N. Reimold 0-0 1-2 1, J. Reimold 13-19 1-3 28, Hurl 2-2 4-4 8, Rossi 0-0 0-0 0, Pisegna 2-2 0-0 5, Satterwhite 1-1 0-0 2, Clayton 0-0 0-0 0, Hurl 0-0 0-0 0, Christiansen 3-9 2-2 9. Totals: 26-47 23-27 78.
BISHOP HANNAN 6 15 15 15 51
KENNEDY CHRISTIAN 13 15 19 31 78
3-Point goals -- Bishop Hannan 1-16 (McNamara 1-7, Hayes 0-1, Coyle 0-1, Murtaugh 0-4, Foley 0-3), Kennedy Christian 3-12 (Christiansen 1-5, J. Reimold 1-1, R. McElhinny 0-3, D. McElhinny 0-1, Rossi 0-1, Pisegna 1-1). Fouled out -- McNamara, Christiansen. Rebounds -- Bishop Hannan 29 (Foley 6), Kennedy Christian 33 (J. Reimold 7). Total fouls -- Bishop Hannan 25, Kennedy Christian 18. Attendance -- 7,137.
