By HUNTER O. LYLE
EMPORIUM, PA – When it comes to high-pressure, do-or-die situations, experience matters. Battle-tested, seasoned experience can be the difference between sinking and swimming, fighting or flighting and, of course, winning or losing.
In the ‘Next Chapter’ Otto-Eldred boys’ basketball team’s first taste of playoff action, experience proved exactly that: the missing element as their season came to an end by way of a 44-30 loss to Cameron County.
For years, the Red Raider and Terrors have been the best of enemies and that familiar competitiveness rolled over into this season. After last seeing each other in the District 9 Class A semifinals a year prior – where O-E won on their way to their D9 championship – the two teams went almost a year without a passing glance. However, in the tail end of the season they clashed, meeting twice in five days – three times in 15 days including Wednesday’s game. Although Cam Co swept the regular season series, the Terrors were ready for a chance at redemption.
“I thought we were ready to play. The boys were locked and loaded. They were excited to get down here and play the game of basketball,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Rob Wight. “We knew what the environment was going to be like, we knew the opponent so we knew what we were going against.”
While the Terrors had eagerness and ambition behind them, the Red Raiders had the experience, which showed up in their immediate execution. The first step came on defense, where 6’7 Isaac Grovanz held down the fort.
Stalking the paint in a territorial-help defense, Grovanz kept O-E at bay and cordoned off to the perimeter. Cashing in on some early-game jitters, Cam Co’s oppressive reach extended itself into the open court, where they came away with several early steals which translated into fast break points as the Red Raiders built up a 7-0 lead.
Meanwhile, the Terrors were plagued with hesitation. Stuck on the outside and looking for a way in, O-E scrambled to find any cracks to slip through, but to no avail. Instead, with their offense hydroplaning, they were forced to settle for weak drives to the rim or heavily contested jumpers. With nothing falling, their first points would come just before the one minute mark off a 3-pointer from Michael Sheeler.
“Physcially, I think we did okay. We were in there with them, mixing it up down low and trying to get some easy buckets and rebounds, but from a fundamental standpoint, I don’t think we did a very good job,” said Wight. “We got a couple good looks early but we were going into traffic with the right hand when we had a left handed layup. I thought physically we were ready to play but execution-wise, we were a step off.”
Although the Terrors were late to the scorebooks, they ended the first quarter with a brief streak, outscoring Cam Co. 5-2 in the final minute. However, the Red Raiders were quick to get those points back.
Taking their foot off the gas, Cam Co. calmly crept into their offense, meticulously looking over their options before striking. Patience continuously paid off as their swift player and ball movement easily opened up clean looks at the rim, starting with a triple from Malakai Zucal on their first touch of the second quarter.
When not connecting on their first attempt, Grovanz was there to clean up the mess. Relentlessly dominating the boards, Grovanz asserted his physicality as he kept the Red Raiders’ head above water, pulling down five rebounds in the first two minutes alone.
“(Grovanz) has been playing very well down the stretch. You hear it when he picks up a foul, the opposing team and fans go crazy because it’s tough to play against us when he’s in the game,” said Cameron County head coach Marcus Brown on Grovanz, who ended the game with 17 rebounds. “The biggest thing with him is not picking up the dumb fouls and he’ll make it difficult for any team.”
As the Terrors endured the onslaught, their offense sporadically chipped away at the growing lead before them. After another slow start, Wyatt Blendinger broke the three-minute drought with a banked jump shot before Mason Rees and Mason Schenfield followed in suit with five more points. However, their budding momentum was quickly cut short. In the final two and a half minutes, Cam Co rebuilt their lead with a 7-2 run, holding onto a 23-14 advantage going into the break.
“We knew we couldn’t let them stall it. We wanted to get after it and on the offensive end we just wanted to keep attacking and find good looks,” said Wight on his team’s focus at halftime. “I think we did a lot of settling through the first and second quarters for jumpshots. At halftime we just said, ‘don’t let them stall it and keep attacking and see what happens.’”
In the second half, the Terrors’ intuition came true. To their opponents’ frustration, Cam Co. immediately furthered their grip on the clock, burning time as they continued to patiently scan the floor. Yet, their offense never missed a beat. Out of the gates, Grovanz stretched the Red Raiders’ lead to double-digits with a post hook before Zucal tacked on another three points shortly after.
All the while, O-E’s own attack was constantly stumped. Despite mixing up the offense by infusing a handful of jumpers alongside smothered drives to the hoop, nothing fell for the Terrors. After another dry spell to start a quarter, Jack Sherry ended the drought with a pair of shots from the free throw line. However, their scattered scores failed to muster any momentum and in their race against the clock, they only fell further behind.
Wyatt Blendinger rises to the rim during Otto-Eldred’s third meeting with the Red Raiders in 15 days. Blendinger finished with six points in the season-ending loss. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
With just eight minutes left to salvage their season, O-E looked up at a 32-22 deficit.
While the Terrors were looking to drag themselves within reach of the lead, the Red Raiders were looking to put the final touches on their inaugural playoff win. And they did so sooner rather than later.
Kicking off the final quarter, Cam Co.’s lead quickly ballooned to 16 as they eviscerated the paint with post maneuvers, back door cuts and second chance points that came in bunches. As O-E continued to sputter, going another three-minutes-and-change without a basket, the hole they were in deepened and after the first four minutes, with their prayer 3-pointers refusing to fall, the game was all but decided.
With just over a minute and a half left, the Terrors relented, substituting their benches to finish out the season.
Beckett Bure led all scorers on the night with 15 points while Grovanz ended with 13. The Terrors were led by Sherry with eight points, Blendinger with six and Rees with five.
For the Red Raiders, a return trip to the Class A semifinals is bitter-sweet. Although they broke through their Blue-and-Gold-tinted glass ceiling, their reward is a meeting with top-seeded Elk County Catholic, the favorite to win out of the District. However, despite a head full of steam, the Red Raiders are cautiously optimistic about the road ahead.
“Our team’s confidence is up there but you have to channel those emotions. The job’s not finished. You can’t think we’re the greatest team ever just because we won a couple games,” said Brown. “Not until the job’s done and that’s a District championship.”
The Terrors, on the other hand, return back to the Terror Dome in defeat, but not defeated. For a team that was surrounded by questions and unknowns just a few months prior, their efforts show the start of something deeper than a final record.
“I’ve learned in my short time of coaching a bunch of different sports that when the season comes to an end, if you’ve got kids in the locker room that are visibly upset and emotional, it means they care,” said Wight. “That’s what you want as a coach. You don’t want to lose, you don’t want to see kids upset but at least they care enough to be expressing that emotion. I love it. I love being a Terror, I love the Blue and Gold. The kids showed up every day ready to work as hard as possible and that’s what I’ve appreciated this season.”
AT EMPORIUM
Otto-Eldred (30)
Sherry 2 4-4 8, Blendinger 3 0-0 6, Rees 2 0-0 5, Sheeler 1 0-0 3, Splain 1 0-0 2, Schenfield 1 0-2 2, Yingling 1 0-0 2, Collins 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 4-6 30
Cameron County (44)
Bure 7 1-2 15, Grovanz 6 1-2 13, Zucal 3 0-0 8, Tucker 3 0-0 6, Goss 1 0-0 2. Totals: 20 2-4 44
Otto-Eldred 5 14 22 30
Cameron County 11 23 32 44
Three-point goals: O-E (2) Rees, Sheeler, CC (2) Zucal 2; Total fouls: O-E 11, CC 12; Fouled out: None.
