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Watkins plays hero this time as No. 2 Loyalsock wins at buzzer to down No. 3 Mount Carmel 53-51

BRETT R. CROSSLEY/FOR THE LOYALSOCK LANCERS
Loyalsock’s Bam Brima holds the ball as two Mount Carmel defenders close in to make a stop. Brima finished with four rebounds and four points as Loyalsock defeated Mount Carmel 53-51 in the opening round of the PHAC playoffs.
BRETT R. CROSSLEY/FOR THE LOYALSOCK LANCERS
Loyalsock’s Gerald Ross grabs a rebound and puts it back for a quick two points during a PHAC playoff game against Mount Carmel. Loyalsock overcame a slow start to defeat Mount Carmel, 53-51.

By BRETT R. CROSSLEY
For the Loyalsock Lancers
SHIKELLAMY—For a second consecutive game Loyalsock found itself planning a play for the final seconds that could possibly give it the win.
It was the second game it came down to the final possession and for a second straight time No. 2 Loyalsock delivered. Gerald Ross took the shot for the win the first time. He then displayed another level Wednesday as Loyalsock opened the Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference playoffs against No. 3 Mount Carmel. Ross is typically the focal point of the defense. He used that to suck the defenders in, which allowed Connor Watkins to break free for an open look at the basket.
Loyalsock looked tired for three quarters, but found a way late, scoring 22 points over the final eight minutes and receiving a second consecutive buzzer-beater to defeat Mount Carmel 53-51 in the semi final round of the PHAC playoffs.
Loyalsock will take on No. 1 seeded Danville Friday at 6 p.m. once again at Shikellamy high school. The Lancers and Ironmen split the season series. Danville won on a late three from Jordan Bickhart at Loyalsock. In the final regular season game of the year for the Lancers, Ross canned a three late to give Loyalsock a dramatic win over Danville.
It all added up to a championship matchup between the two most consistent teams in the league. Danville lost just one game within the league all season. Loyalsock avenged one of its two losses with the win at Danville. All told, it’s exactly the way any good league championship should be claimed.
As for the Wednesday’s game, a small roster hit with sickness throughout the season and that dramatic win over Danville, meant Loyalsock opened with an emotional letdown that nearly doomed it from the jump.
“You hate to see that, but that’s why you play the game,” Loyalsock coach Ron “CI” Insinger said. “That’s why sports are so unpredictable.”
The only predictable thing about Wednesday’s game was the suspenseful finish. Both teams looked like tired boxers in the 12th round of a championship fight. Mount Carmel would score. Loyalsock would head right back down the court to match.
There were two lead changes and a tie through the final quarter. Locked at 51 apiece, Loyalsock needed some more late drama. Unlike Monday’s win at Danville, Loyalsock had the advantage of time as Anthony Pastore dribbled the ball up court with nearly 30 seconds left on the clock. The Lancers moved the ball around and quickly called a timeout with 4.6 seconds left.
“It was Gerald’s shot, but Connor was the second option,” Insinger said. “He did a great job and had good body control. He blew by the kid. The worse thing we thought he would end up at the foul line.”
Ross didn’t have the look he wanted as defenders quickly got on top of him. That meant there was an opening somewhere in the defense and Ross found it as Watkins made a break for the basket.
“We were trying to get the ball into Gerald and just make a play on it,” Watkins said. “I told him before if they weren’t guarding me I was going to cut hard to the basket. I’m just happy he gave me an opportunity.”
As far as last second, buzzer-beating shots it wasn’t at the high end of the difficult scale. Watkins cut directly to the basket, split two defenders and put the game-winner up without much interference.
“That suggest the signs of a good athlete,” Insinger said. “He knows what it takes to win.”
Watkins finished with six points. All six came over the final two quarters. He also pulled down five rebounds over the stretch. Mitchell Klingerman, the lone Lancer to finished with double-digit points, helped the rebounding effort with four over the last two quarters.
“We said we had to start doing what Mount Carmel did to us the first three quarters,” Insinger said. “That was getting second, third, and fourth efforts and winning the 50/50 balls. We also had to clean up on the glass. We had to stay in our stance and put pressure on from 90 feet.”
Loyalsock’s offense looked sluggish to open the game. Klingerman was the lone spark, scoring six points in the opening quarter and following that up with two more and a rebound in the second.
“We came up underestimating Mount Carmel’s level of play,” Klingerman said. “We thought we would be in Friday no matter what, but it hit us really hard they were the real deal. We came out slow and just needed to wake it up.”
Klingerman hit five threes in the game to lead the Loyalsock offense with 18 points. He also pulled down four rebounds.

Pennsylvania Heartland Athletic Conference Boy’s Basketball Playoffs

No. 1 Danville 50, No. 2 Central Mountain 48
Central Mountain (48)
Issiah McCann 2 1-2 5; Collin Jones 0 0-1 19; Matthew Storeman 1 2-2 4; Tyler Adair 1 1-1 3; Jake Sketch 2 0-0 5; Trevor Hanna 4 2-3 12. Totals 19 6-9 48.
Danville (50)
Coleman Cush 0 1-3 1; KJ Riley 0 0-0 0; Shane Kozick 6 0-1 12; Peyton Riley 5 0-0 11; Jack Smith 0 0-0 0; Mavin James 1 1-2 3; Jordan Bickhart 3 2-3 10; Colin Holcombe 6 1-2 13. Totals 21 5-11 50.
CMT 16 5 13 14-48
DAN 19 6 14 11-50
3–Point Goals: Central Mountain 4 (Hanna 2, Jones, Sketch). Danville 3 (Riley, Bickhart 2).
Records: Central Mountain 11-10. Danville 18-3.
Next: No. 1 Danville vs. No. 2 Loyalsock at Shikellamy, Friday, 6 p.m.

No. 2 Loyalsock 53, No. 3 Mount Carmel 51
Mount Carmel (51)
Michael Belichik 1 0-0 2; Anthony Moser 0 0-0 0; Donovan James 8 3-4 20; Evan Salamone 0 2-2 2; John Ayres 1 0-0 2; Tommy Reisinger 10 1-3 22; Michael Hood 1 0-0 3. Totals 21 6-9 51.
Loyalsock
Gerald Ross 3 3-6 9; Collin Graver 0 0-0 0; Anthony Pastore 3 0-0 7; Connor Watkins 3 0-0 6; Mitchell Klingerman 6 1-2 18; Bam Brima 2 0-0 4; Aiden Gair 3 3-3 9. Totals 20 7-11 53.
MC 13 16 14 8–51
LOY 9 7 15 22–53
3–Point Goals: Mount Carmel 3 (James, Reisinger, Hood). Loyalsock 6 (Pastore, Klingerman 5)
Records: Mount Carmel 17-6. Loyalsock 18-5.
Next: No. 1 Danville vs. No. 2 Loyalsock at Shikellamy, Friday, 6 p.m.

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