Scotties win third in a row, top Gators, 74-59
ALVERTON — Southmoreland won its third game in a row, fighting off a scrappy effort by visiting Geibel Catholic for a 74-59 non-section win on Thursday.
The Scotties used their size against the Gators, and got big nights from Riley Comforti, who scored a game-high 26 points, and Brandon Peterson who finished with 22.
“I’m very pleased to win our third straight, but there are some things we can still do better,” Southmoreland coach Frank Muccino said. “In the end we took care of business, but there are some things we need to clean up. We have to cut down on turnovers, too many missed layups, and not closing out on shooters, giving them too many good looks at the basket.”
The Scotties came out strong in the first quarter, behind a 10-point effort from Peterson, six from Comforti and Issac Trout added four of his 13 points. The Gators were able to stay close on the hot shooting of Cole Kendall, who provided the only offense for Geibel in the first quarter in scoring 16 of his team-high 24 points. He hit four 3-pointers to bring the Gators back to within one at 20-19 after the first quarter.
“Cole really shot well for us in the first half and kept us in the game with 21 points,” Geibel Catholic coach Don Porter said. “Southmoreland adjusted in the second half and Comforti did a good job of slowing him down and holding him to three points in the second half. Scoring 21 in the first half was a heck of an effort.”
The Gators battled to stay close in the second quarter, scoring 15 points, getting threes from Ryan Anderson and Jaydis Kennedy, while Kendall added five in the quarter.
Southmoreland countered that scoring 18, with Comforti hitting 10 points that included a pair of three’s and Trout added four to give the Scotties a 38-34 edge at the half.
In the third quarter, the Scotties’ defense held the Gators to six points, while scoring 17, getting six apiece from Peterson and Comforti to take a 55-40 lead into the fourth.
“Comforti and Peterson were just too big for us,” Porter said. “We had some bright spots but they beat us inside. We slowed them down with a zone early in the third but they adjusted and sliced it up pretty good.”
The Gators had too much ground to make up in the fourth, despite playing the Scotties even.
Drew Howard scored seven of his 14 points in the fourth, but Peterson hit for six, Comforti picked up four and Zach Cernuto came to life with seven points in the final period to help secure the win.
“I was very pleased with Brandon Peterson tonight,” Muccino said. “He’s only been playing basketball for less than two years. He is a little raw and not as instinctive as other kids that have been playing the game longer, but he is a very good athlete and picks things up quickly. I hope that continues through the rest of the season. He can really help us.”