Lancaster Catholic defeated Kutztown 46-40 in a District 3 Class 3A quarterfinal Monday at Kutztown.
The fifth-seeded Crusaders (8-12), who are the defending champions and finished third in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section IV, used effective ball movement and tight defense to stifle the fourth-seeded Cougars (13-10) in front of a packed gym.
Both teams played strong defense in the first quarter, with the edge going to Lancaster Catholic. The Crusaders double-teamed the Cougars’ Xavier Goodman on multiple possessions and limited the scoring opportunities for Kutztown.
“They were double teaming me the whole game,” Goodman said. “I tried, I really tried.”
Lancaster Catholic led 11-6 after the first quarter and Kutztown head coach Craig Mogel said he believed his team played with some nervousness early on.
“I think in the first quarter we started with some jitters,” Mogel said. “This is the first time these kids ever saw an atmosphere like this for us in districts. Some shots just weren’t falling for us at first.”
Jack Engle led the Crusaders with six points in the first quarter.
Lancaster Catholic continued to move the ball effectively on offense in the second quarter. The Crusaders went on a 6-2 run to start the period. Kutztown called a timeout with 5:03 to go and the score 17-8.
After the timeout, the Crusaders capitalized on multiple Kutztown turnovers and passed the ball effectively in the paint to go and extend their lead to 22-12 at the half.
Engle and Thaddeus Lee each had six points for the Crusaders at halftime. Goodman led Kutztown with eight points at the half.
Kutztown made adjustments during halftime to counteract the double coverage on Goodman.
“I just told them if they’re doubling Xavier, they need to sit there and get the open spot,” Mogel said. “That’s what we told them to do and that’s what opened everything up there for the kids. And I just told them to play like they want to be here, and play like they deserved to be here.”
The Kutztown offense started to gain momentum in the third after Grant Fitzgerald converted a four-point play a minute into the quarter. Kutztown found open guys in the middle and made the most of some sloppy Lancaster Catholic possessions to claw their way back into the game.
The Cougars outscored the Crusaders 16-9 in the third.
Lancaster Catholic held a 31-28 lead going into the fourth.
Scoring was at a premium early in the fourth. Fouls and missed shots cost the Cougars late.
Engle converted 7-of-11 free throws down the stretch to help Lancaster Catholic maintain the lead.
The starting five of the Cougars started to look tired in the fourth and could not keep up with the defensive pressure from the Crusaders. Goodman played every minute of the second half to try and help Kutztown complete the comeback.
Engle finished with a game-high 20 points and the Crusaders outscored the Cougars 15-12 in the fourth. Kutztown came as close as four points in the final minutes.
Goodman, a senior, finished with a team-high 13 points. The loss snaps Kutztown’s seven-game winning streak. After the game, Mogel had a lot of high praise for Goodman’s career and his talents.
“X gives 100 percent every time he plays for me,” Mogel said. “I’m looking forward to seeing him play at college somewhere and wish more people would give him a bite because he has the ability to play in the upper-level. He reads my mind half the time when I call plays and shows everyone how it is to play. I’m going to miss the kid whole-heartedly.”
Both Goodman and head coach Craig Mogel were disappointed with the loss as the Cougars were making their first appearance in districts since 2019.
“Its disappointing losing this game,” Goodman said. “I was hoping to at least win this game and maybe go to states. A lot of people didn’t think we could make it this far but I thought we could go way further, and I just wanted to make a statement that we could do this.”
Mogel also believed his team’s regular season performance was a sign that the Cougars could make a decent run in districts.
“We only had three wins last year and came to be 13-10 now so I think the kids had a successful season,” Mogel said. “Still, it’s hard to go out with a loss. It really is, especially in the first round because you want to go out and win that first game so you get to play more.”
Lancaster Catholic will take on top-ranked Columbia on Thursday at 7 p.m.at Columbia in the semifinals.
Source: Berkshire mont
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