Mustangs stave off Colonials, 51-47
YORK RUN 鈥� John Smith reeled off the numbers as if they were embedded in his brain.
鈥淪even, six, five, four, six, eight, five. That鈥檚 how many points we lost seven different games by,鈥� said the second-year Laurel Highlands boys basketball coach.
The number 鈥渇our鈥� went Smith and the Mustangs鈥� way on Friday night, however, as visiting Laurel Highlands fought off rival Albert Gallatin to earn a 51-47 Section 1-5A victory in front of a boisterous crowd in York Run.
The win snapped the Mustangs鈥� losing streak at six while the Colonials dropped their ninth in a row. Laurel Highlands is now 2-10 in the section 鈥� with both wins over AG 鈥� and 5-14 overall while Albert Gallatin is also 2-10 and 7-12 overall.
鈥淭he place was electric, a great atmosphere,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淎G came to play tonight and it was a battle back and forth. It felt good for these guys to get a win. I鈥檓 so happy for them after all they鈥檝e put in.
鈥淭hey have been playing really, really hard for me, all year. If we get our share of those single-digit games, we鈥檙e in the playoffs. We had Gateway on the ropes twice, we had McKeesport on the ropes. They keep battling for me. There鈥檚 only been a few games all year that we weren鈥檛 in.
鈥淚 told them today that I鈥檓 proud of them, proud of the effort.鈥�
Luke Wilson led the way for the Mustangs with 13 points, including a key three-point play after a late steal, and Antwan Black and Aiden Black each followed with 11 points.
JJ Jackson rang up a game-high 23 points for Albert Gallatin which also got four 3-pointers and 14 points from Ethan Kennedy.
Laurel Highlands led 9-7 after the first quarter and 23-16 at halftime but the Colonials pulled even at 25-25 with 3:18 left in the third after a three-point play by Jackson.
The Mustangs answered with a 9-2 run on baskets by Martin, Sevi Vecchiolla and Antwan Black and a 3-pointer by Aiden Black to go up 34-27, forcing AG coach Spencer Macke to use a timeout.
Laurel Highlands would never trail again but the game was far from over.
The Mustangs took a 34-30 advantage into the fourth quarter after Jackson converted another three-point play to close out the third.
Albert Gallatin whittled the gap down to one possession five times but could never get over the hump.
鈥淲e kept getting close, tied it once, and I think if we maybe could鈥檝e got the lead it might have made a difference,鈥� Macke said.
Mekhi Belt鈥檚 basket with 1:27 left got the Colonials within 45-42. The hosts got the ball back with a chance to get within one or tie it but Martin came up with a steal, drove down court and hit a layup while being fouled with one minute remaining. He made the foul shot for a 48-42 lead.
鈥淭hat was huge,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淟uke saw an opportunity to be aggressive and he jumped it, came down and got the finish and the and-one.
鈥淟uke had four fouls and he told me that at one point and I told him, Luke, I don鈥檛 care, you鈥檝e got to play the game. Then he came up with that great play.鈥�
Laurel Highlands hit just four of 13 free throws in the fourth quarter but offensive rebounds off two of those misses by Antwan Black and Vecciolla in the final 32 seconds helped the Mustangs milk the clock down.
Kennedy followed Martin鈥檚 clutch play with a 3-pointer to cut the lead back to three and after LH made just one of four foul shots to bump the lead back up to four, Jackson scored on a coast-to-coast drive to pull the Colonials within 49-47 with 17 seconds left.
Again LH made only one of their next four foul shots, leaving Albert Gallatin down 50-47 with 7.9 seconds on the clock and inbounding under its own basket. Antwan Black tipped the throw in and Vecchiolla gathered in the loose ball and was fouled with 4.9 seconds remaining.
鈥淲e were trying to run it to a different side but there was something open there so we threw it there and their kid got a hand on it, credit to him,鈥� Macke said.
Vecchiolla missed the first free throw but made the second to seal the victory.
鈥淭hat was the dagger, finally,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e spent so much time on the free throw line this season, guys have improved but then tonight you have a couple misses and then it starts to kind of snowball.鈥�
Macke was disappointed he wasn鈥檛 able guide his team to a win on senior night.
鈥淚t sucks to lose and I hate that we鈥檙e on a skid like this,鈥� Macke said. 鈥淚 feel real bad for the seniors. Having this been my first year I really like the three that I have, JJ, X (Xavier Rice) and Shy (Shymere Wilson). I鈥檓 going to miss them a lot. They taught me a lot and I wanted to win it for them.
鈥淛J and Shy are great leaders. Shy has been sick all week and he鈥檚 still battling something tonight and was kind of struggling, and I probably put him in a couple bad situations as well.
鈥淭he record might not show it but all of these kids have come such a long way and changed for the better.鈥�
Smith had a similar view of his team.
鈥淥ur overall record is not that good but that doesn鈥檛 tell the full story of these guys,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淭he kids are buying in, they play their butts off, night in and night out, and their grades have been good. They鈥檙e good kids.鈥�