By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
DUKE CENTER, PA – There’s good ways to start the season, there’s great ways to start the season and then there’s the way the Otto-Eldred boys’ basketball team began their season.
Not only did they kick off their 2024-2025 campaign during their annual tournament, the Randy Stebbins Memorial tournament, but they opened with a 57-point win over Smethport where two of their stars etched their name in program history.
Ahead of their debut against the Hubbers, Landon Francis sat just two points away from claiming the program’s all-time scoring record. His counterpart, Manning Splain, was just five points away from reaching the 1,000 Point Club, where he would be joining Francis. As the warmups concluded, intros were announced and the ball was tipped off, there was a palpable anticipation in the air.
Surprisingly, the Hubbers held the Terrors duo at bay – for as long as they could. Three minutes into the game, Francis knocked down a triple, earning the scoring title to the Terrordome’s delight. Another three minutes later, a steal and score gave Manning a wide open layup as he reached quadruple-digit career points. Another moment of celebration and another accolade for the perennially rising Terrors.
“They definitely earned it. They’ve put more time and effort into their skill, into this program, into this team and into this school,” said Otto-Eldred head coach Derrick Francis. “It’s not just on the court, it’s in the classroom.”
With all the pageantry out of the way, O-E could get back to business. At this point they were up 14-7 and it wouldn’t be a true Otto-Eldred hosted North Tier League contest without an insurmountable deficit on the scoreboard. While they would end the first quarter up 21-7, the Terrors would really open things up in the second.
Led by their infamous full-court-press, O-E forced turnover after turnover which resulted in score after score. The Terrors lit the rim on fire from every inch of the floor. Between a flurry of 3-pointers to a fastbreak Shene Thomas slam dunk, they dominated their home opener, outscoring Smethport 26-4 before the break.
Having all but won the game already, the Terrors mixed in their reserves for some quality experience-building minutes. By the final buzzer, all but one Terror made their mark in the scorebooks as O-E claimed their first win of the year.
“We had dudes that maybe didn’t play a lot last year came off the bench, they made threes, they did what they needed to do. It’s going to be really hard to defend when you can get six or seven guys in the stat sheet,” said Derrick Francis. “I want to make them uncomfortable. The more you can make them uncomfortable early in the year, the better you’ll be down the road.”
Landon Francis led the team in scoring with 19 points, hitting five 3-pointers in the win. Splain also hit five 3-pointers, ending with 17 points. The men in the middle, Davey Schenfield and Shene Thomas each tallied double-digit points, scoring 16 and 11, respectively.
The Terrors will play in the tournament championship game on Saturday, facing Eisenhower at 5 p.m.
“It just one game. One game at a time,” said Derrick Franics. “Now we have to worry about Eisenhower. I’m going to go home and figure out a plan to stop (Austin Hanson.)”
AT DUKE CENTER
Smethport (20)
Okerlund 3 2-4 9, Riekofsky 2 0-0 4, Sherry 0 2-2 2, Costa 1 0-1 2, Willer 1 0-0 2, Hallowell 0 1-2 1. Totals: 7 5-9 20
Otto-Eldred (77)
Francis 5 4-4 19, Splain 6 0-0 17, D. Schenfield 8 0-0 16, Thomas 5 0-0 11, M. Schenfield 2 0-0 4, Sheeler 1 0-0 3, App 1 0-0 3, Minard 0 1-2 1. Totals: 29 5-6 77
Smethport 7 11 15 20
Otto-Eldred 21 47 69 15
Three-point goals: SMT (1) Okerlund, O-E (14) Francis 5, Splain 5, Sheeler, App, Thomas, Minard; Total fouls: SMT 6, O-E 12; fouled out: None.
