By HUNTER O. LYLE
PORTVILLE, NY – In a wire-to-wire rout, the Pennsylvania boy’s Big 30 All-Star team dominated New York, completing the Keystone sweep with a 108-94 win in the Big 30 Senior Classic.
Suiting up for Pennsylvania was a collection of 12 athletes from seven schools. While four schools in total sent multiple representatives to Portville Area High School for the tenth All-Star game iteration, the sidelines looked the especially familiar to Port Allegany, who boasted not only three player selections but also the head coaching slot.
“It was awesome (to be selected) and really unexpected. It’s something you dream about doing but when I got that email and that phone call, it was surreal,” said Port Allegany head coach Kyle Babcock. “It’s been an awesome experience.”
Holding the immediate size advantage, PA began forcing their way through the paint, with Parker Calla of Johnsonburg and Lucas Thrift of Warren – listed at 6’2 and 6’4, respectively – combining for the first seven points for Pennsylvania. Choosing to perch on the perimeter, New York insisted on pulling up for constant jumpers, an area that Olean’s Mykel River and Portville’s Aidan DeFazio took the lead on as NY kept in stride.
However, once the second shift of All-Stars entered the game, the evenly balanced scales began to tilt.
Up against PA’s fluid second wind, NY seemed unable to hold back the reins. Using crisp outlets passes or maneuvers in transition, they weaved through the defense and up the court before consistently finding success on the other side. Garnering points inside and out and frequently unanswered, PA quickly amassed a double-digit lead midway through the half before taking a 17-point advantage going into the break.
“From the moment these guys went into the locker room, it was like they were best friends for years. They’re in there laughing and talking and chatting then we went down for a little 20-minute shootaround and they’re all just loose and having fun,” said Babcock. “Obviously we weren’t putting in an offense or anything, so I just told them to play and showcase their skills.”
In the second half, both teams centered their attack on the inside. While PA continued to slice and dice, grabbing points in bunches, NY began probes inside churned out trips to the charity stripe rather than points on the board. Unable to find their rhythm, the clock began to work against them.
Maintaining the tempo, Pennsylvania gave them no respite, instead continuing to find quick lanes through the crowd and to the hole. Despite a late surge, including a sequence of back-to-back triples from Cuba-Rushford’s Zack Deck, the Empire State offense ran out of gas and shy of the finish line.
Playing on his home court, DeFazio led all scorers with a game-high 21 points while Deck and Rivera both ended with 15 points for NY as well. On the Pennsylvania side, Thrift ended with 19 points, followed by Calla with 18 and Crissey with 15. Jude Schreiber of Johnsonburg tallied 12 points while Isaac Grovanz of Cameron County finished with 15.
“It was an awesome experience,” said Babcock. “Not a lot of coaching was done today. I just sat back and smiled.”
AT PORTVILLE
Pennsylvania (108)
Thrift 8 1-3 19, Calla 8 0-0 18, Crissey 7 0-2 15, Schreiber 5 1-2 12, Grovanz 5 0-0 10, Van Why 3 0-0 9, Funk 3 0-0 8, Zucal 2 0-0 5, Terwilliger 2 1-2 5, Wilfong 1 2-2 4, Bure 1 0-0 2. Totals: 45 5-11 108
New York (94)
DeFazio 6 3-3 21, Deck 6 0-0 15, Rivera 5 5-6 15, MacKenzie 3 0-0 9, Joy 3 1-2 8, Sisson 3 0-0 6, Rhett 2 0-0 6, Bradley 1 3-4 5, Merrill 1 2-2 5, Roe 1 0-0 2, Calladine 1 0-0 2. Totals: 32 14-17 94
Pennsylvania 57 108
New York 40 94
Three-point goals: PA (13) Van Why 3, Thrift 2, Funk 2, Calla 2, Crissey, Zucal, Schreiber, NY (16) DeFazio 6, MacKenzie 3, Deck 3, Rhett 2, Merrill, Joy; Total fouls: PA 9, NY 8; Fouled out: None.
