Basketball is a game of runs.
Friday night at Reiffton reinforced that statement to the fullest extent.
Exeter lost to Greater Latrobe 64-58 in the first round of the PIAA Class 5A playoffs, despite leading for the first 30 minutes of the game.
“They’re a team that pressures for 32 minutes,” Eagles coach Jeff VanGorder said. “They hit us in waves and to be honest with you, probably the last two minutes of the fourth quarter was a combination of us being a little bit tired, and starting to not simplify some things, because they do make you work so hard. So, I’m not taking anything away from them. Some of our mistakes were self-inflicted, but they were self-inflicted because I think we were tired from going against their pressure the whole game. So, they do a really good job with that.”
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Eagles (14-12) led 52-41, having controlled the game up until that point.
However, Exeter didn’t pull away enough, allowing the Wildcats (21-6) to linger around, hopeful of a comeback in the fourth.
Led by junior Ian Decerb, that is exactly what they did.
After cutting the deficit to single digits, Decerb stole an Exeter inbound pass and slammed down a two-handed dunk, causing the Wildcats’ crowd to erupt.
“Credit to number 5 (Ian Decerb),” VanGorder said. “Part of the fun and not fun of state playoffs is you don’t have as much stats and numbers behind some things that we do during the regular season. He’s somebody that, as far as seven or eight games that we had, had not shot the three very well, and he banged in three in the first half (tonight). Which really kind of steadied them in the first quarter. If some of those don’t go in we could have had a bigger lead. So again, credit to them. They made shots.”
Sawyer Butina scored the last basket of the 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 52-50.
Each team traded baskets before Jayden Ware scored four straight points, giving the Eagles a six-point lead with three minutes left.
With a little breathing room, it still seemed like Exeter would hang on despite the Wildcats’ comeback.
But that’s when another run began off some costly mistakes by Exeter.
Kyle McNeil grabbed an offensive rebound and put the ball back in before Max Butler scored in the paint while drawing a foul.
Butler missed the free-throw but the Wildcats retained possession.
Greater Latrobe failed to capitalize on an extra possession but got a steal at the other end, leading to McNeil scoring another basket in the paint and converting an and-one opportunity.
For the first time in the game, Exeter trailed 59-58.
Down the stretch, the Eagles turned the ball over twice while trying to push it downcourt, leading to intentional fouls.
The Wildcats converted 3-of-4 and led 62-58. With time not on their side, Aidan Dauble had a good look from 3-point range with 18 seconds remaining but could not connect.
Two more free throws sealed the comeback for the Wildcats, leaving the Exeter crowd stunned by what they had witnessed in the final minutes.
The Eagles finished as District 3 Class 5A runner-ups as an eighth seed and made their fourth consecutive state tournament appearance.
“They’re resilient and they’re competitors,” VanGorder said of his team. “They overcame adversity throughout the year at different times. The way they were able to come together and be friends and stick together through everything I’m really, really proud of. This is something the whole community should be really proud of.”
To begin the game, the Eagles came out just like they did last week in Hershey, on fire.
Jayden Ware got things started with a quick layup, then followed it up with a steal and two more points.
Ware, a junior, added four more points in the quarter, helping his team take a 19-14 lead.
“Jayden is a competitor and he came out and responded to the competition,” VanGorder said. “He got downhill early and that gives him confidence. When he gets downhill early and finishes at the rim all of a sudden his jump shot goes in. In the last two games, he was tremendous. That’s the Jayden Ware that I think going into the off-season and next year, we would be expected to see all the time. He also locks down the other team’s best guy and does a great job.”
In the second, the first real run of the game began.
After a quick 3-pointer from Decerb, the Eagles went on an 8-0 run to capture their first double-digit lead.
However, at the end of the quarter, the Wildcats fought back with a 9-2 run, cutting the deficit to 35-32 heading into halftime.
It was like deja vu in the third, Exeter responded to a quick Wildcats basket with an 11-0 run.
Ware and Brady Murray each knocked down a 3-pointer during the run, shifting the momentum back in favor of the Eagles.
Exeter maintained a double-digit lead for the rest of the third quarter, but their fate was sealed in the fourth.
For the Eagles, Ware had a team-high 19 points and three steals. Dauble had 16 points and 13 rebounds while Murray finished with 12 points.
For the Wildcats, Decerb had 25 points, Butler had 14 and John Wetzel had 11.
Exeter will graduate three seniors—Carter Redding, Jewliany Orbe-Ochoa, and Brady Murray—losing not only their talent on the floor but also their leadership within the Eagles’ program.
“I just told all of them that I love them,” VanGorder on what he told his guys postgame. “These three seniors took me in last year with a great group of guys that graduated last season as well. I asked all three of those guys to do a lot of things. Not just in games, but in practices, and team bonding off the court. Developed relationships with them and they developed relationships with my son. It’s something that means a lot to me. They mean a lot to me.”
“It probably won’t get easier every year, but this group was special. I told them that. I’ve been a coach for 14 years now, not every team is like that. They battled through adversity. They went on a heck of a run. They did some things this year that are not done very often around Exeter. So they have everything to be proud of, and I’m gonna miss them a lot.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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