By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
BRADFORD, PA – For the past four years, no North Tier League team has come close to touching the Otto-Eldred boys’ basketball team. Yet, in the biggest league game of the year, the NTL Championship, Cameron County defied the odds.
Facing their rivals for the third time this season, the Red Raiders survived with a 54-49 victory, ending O-E’s 65-0 league record.
“It was a great win. I told my team that I’m not going to act surprised because, deep down, every time we game plan for them, the result tonight is what I expect,” said Cameron County head coach Marcus Brown. “It’s just a matter of going out and executing. Unfortunately, it’s taken four years to go out and execute and get the win but it was as good a time as ever.”
Perennially sitting at the No. 1 and No. 2 spot in the NTL, O-E and CC have had plenty of high-intensity meetings. However, for the past four years, the Terrors have always walked away as the victor. This season, O-E swept CC with a 23-point margin of victory.
In typical fashion, it was a dog fight right from start with both teams leaning on their usual plan of attack. The Red Raiders looked to slow the ball down as they meticulously scanned the defense for ways into the paint. Finding Landon Farren parked on the low block, CC fed their big for their first four points. O-E, on the other hand, squeezed the trigger from beyond the arc but to no avail.
With shots not falling or finding a hard bounce off the rim, the Terrors pivoted to their athleticism under the basket. Led by Shene Thomas, O-E collected several offensive rebounds for second chance points as they jumped out to a 6-3 lead. However, the Red Raiders would not fall behind. In the final 90 seconds, CC kicked their paint-centric offense up a gear, ending the quarter on a 6-2 run that left the scoreboard knotted at 13 after the first quarter.
Heading into the next eight minutes of play, the Red Raiders’ size and strength stood out as the difference maker. Farren would open the quarter with back-to-back offensive rebounds, scoring one and dishing out the other for a Ryan Shaffer jumper. Farren and CC would continue to control the interior as they began to gain some separation on the scoreboard.
“We had an emphasis on attacking them down low. We have a clear height mismatch with a couple of our guys out there,” said Brown. “So it was really just getting the ball down low, keep pounding it in and make them work hard.”
For the Terrors, their shooting struggles persisted and while they were able to get stops and steals on defense, their offense failed to put points on the board. Besides four points from the charity stripe, O-E would score a total of five points before the break. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders would finish on a 12-2 run that gave them a double-digit lead at the half.
The Terrors would begin to change the tide in the opening minutes of the second half. After two made shots at the line from Manning Splain, Davey Schenfield would cut the lead to just six with a successful and-one. O-E would continue their run to a 11-5 clip with just three and a half minutes left, but while they could stop CC, they couldn’t stop the clock.
Facing a mounting wave, CC turned to their usual tactic: stall ball. Over the final three minutes, the Red Raiders systematically slowed the pace of the game to a crawl. Passing along the perimeter, they patiently waited, burning chunks off the clock as they eyed potential openings. In keeping the typically fast-paced Terrors off the scoreboard, the Red Raiders preserved a seven-point advantage with one quarter left to go.
“If you’re down, that’s what’s going to happen unfortunately in Pennsylvania. Maybe in 2080 we can have a shot clock,” said Derrick Francis. “But it is what it is. Don’t go down.”
Davey Schenfield tosses up a floater during the Terrors’ loss to Cameron County on Friday. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Once again, O-E would start the following quarter with their offense ready. Forcing two turnovers on the Red Raiders first two possessions, Landon Francis would score and get to the free throw line. While he wasn’t able to connect on the bonus shot, Splain would collect the rebound and find Thomas for a made layup. However, similar to the previous period, O-E once again went cold, being withheld from the scoreboard for close to four minutes. In that time, the Red Raiders not only added to their lead, but were also able to drain the clock. With just two minutes left, the Terrors looked up from a seven-point hole.
Feeling the pressure, O-E started to lock in. Thomas would end the scoring drought with a second-chance score, followed by the first Terror 3-pointer of the game from Splain, cutting the deficit to just four points. However, their biggest opponent was still the clock.
Entering the final minute, the Terrors were forced to intentionally foul and while they were able to knock down a desperation 3-pointer immediately after, the game was already out of reach. Sealing their long awaited victory at the line, the Red Raiders came away with their first win over the Terrors in four years, not to mention a NTL title.
“It’s just a loss to a good team. I’ve said it all along, (CC) is really good. Port can be really good, Coudersport can be really good. If you don’t bring you A-game and bring energy, you can get beat in this league,” said Derrick Francis. “The top four can beat anybody.”
Landon Francis finished with a game-high 23 points while Thomas finished with 13 points. Splain would end with seven points while Schenfield recorded six in the loss.
In just a matter of days, both teams will move from one bracket to another. On Wednesday, the No. 3 Red Raiders will take on No. 6 Northern Potter in the quarterfinals of the District 9 Class A playoffs. As the expected winner of that NTL matchup, CC will get one more chance to upset the Terrors, as the two teams will meet for a fourth time in the semifinals. Barring a NoPo upset, that game will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at a neutral site.
“We’re going to take the day off tomorrow. We’re going to mentally watch some game film individually, take notes and get back at it on Monday,” said Derrick Francis.
AT BRADFORD
Cameron County (54)
Farren 6 4-6 16, Bure 3 4-4 11, Grovanz 3 5-6 11, Shaffer 2 4-6 8, Shepard 4 0-0 8. Totals: 18 17-22 54
Otto-Eldred (49)
Francis 6 10-13 23, Thomas 5 3-4 13, Splain 2 2-2 7, Schenfield 2 2-3 6. Totals: 15 15-22 49
Cameron County 13 29 40 54
Otto-Eldred 13 18 33 49
Three-point goals: CC (1) Bure, O-E (2) Splain, Francis; Total fouls: CC 19, O-E 22; fouled out: Shaffer (CC), Thomas (O-E)
