Young Spartans Find Thier Way As Garden Spot Rides Prolific Long-Range Shooting Display En Route To Win Over Lebanon
Written by: Andy Herr on December 20, 2022
While some on the outside simply may have seen the combined 1-8 records coming into Monday possessed by both Lebanon and Garden Spot respectively and their matchup to begin the week against one another, a deeper look inside the numbers quickly demonstrated that there is much, much more there than what immediately came up to meet the surface.
For the Lebanon Cedars, a program that has rightfully established itself as arguably the premier brand in all the Lancaster-Lebanon League over the last couple of seasons on the boys’ basketball scene, immense graduation losses that came coupled with a new man in charge on the bench these days in head coach, Kris Uffner, meant that this winter in Cedar Country may be a bit different those of recent times given that many of the same familiar names and faces no longer reside there at Lebanon High. Even still though, as long as the name reads “Lebanon” across the nameplate, underestimating and taking the Cedars lightly on a yearly basis is a chore that let’s just say is one not highly recommended. And yet while the wins had not yet come in for Lebanon heading into their Monday night trip to New Holland, the opportunity seemed ripe for the picking in terms of perhaps snatching up that elusive first triumph in 2022-23.
Speaking of Garden Spot, if you’re looking for a team that has already earned its unofficial doctorate in playing close games throughout the first two weeks of the season, rest assured that this right here is your squad de jour.
Just try this this number on for size—15. 15 being the total point differential between the Spartans and their opposition no matter which side of the ledger throughout Spot’s first five contests to begin the campaign. For the mathematical fanatics, yes, that is a whopping total of just three points-per-game. Yet even despite their known ability to find themselves inside what seems to be nothing but nip-and-tuck affairs, albeit save for their lone win against Dover, Garden Spot had been absent of any other victories amidst that white-knuckle stretch to open the season which meant that the Spartans were nothing if not starving for the opportunity to try and right some of those wrongs.
Needless to say, Monday night proved to be a perfect opportunity for either one of these two clubs to try and claim some much-needed mojo for the remainder of the week before heading into the holiday break in this head-to-head affair. And wouldn’t you know it, but of course it would have to end up being a close contest once the final gun fired. This time however, perhaps it be through those precious yet sometimes painful learned experiences gained thus far, but Garden Spot was finally able to get one to go in their favor come evening’s end.
That is to say that you wouldn’t have thought it was going to be a close game though simply taking Garden Spot’s start within a vacuum however.
Aided by a quick fuse found in the form of a pair of 3-balls sunk by 6’0 sophomore sniper, Jace Conrad, the Spartans began the night with a half dozen point lead, 10-4, near the midway point of the opening frame. From there, Garden Spot’s long-range shooting prowess appeared to be deathly contagious given that two more treys, these splashed in by freshman Drew Tibbins and sophomore Owen Usner respectively, helped the hosts open up a sizable 16-6 gap before a timely take to the cup by Lebanon senior big man, Emanuel Mason, gave the Cedars their first field goal found inside the current Garden Spot salvo near the 1:35 mark of the quarter.
All told, for a quarter that largely seemed to be defined by that aforementioned Garden Spot blitzkrieg, it seemed fitting and apropos that the Spartans find themselves in front by a 20-10 count at the end of the initial eight minutes of play given the ten-point window they seemed to play within throughout large portions of the opening frame.
In the second quarter however, Lebanon was evidently tired of playing the role of hospitable houseguest.
Sparked by a trifecta of their own, this courtesy of Mason, Lebanon found themselves back within five at 20-15 just two minutes into the second stanza. But simply getting close wouldn’t suffice for the Cedars given that a putback at the tin by way of junior forward, Jalik Hill, that came with an old-fashioned three-point play by Mason suddenly knotted things up at 23-23 with 3:10 left to play before the intermission as the Spartans had suddenly gone colder than the bone-chilling temperatures found outside.
However, just when they needed to warm up the most, Garden Spot was able to cozy up with their safety blanket –hitting shots from beyond the arc.
For proof, let us cite a pair of triples dialed courtesy of Conrad in quick succession as the emerging star was able to pepper in what would amount to four first half triples inside the opening 16 minutes, all en route to what would total a stellar 27-point night at the office once all was said and done. But in terms of this particular moment in time, Conrad’s back-to-back 3’s here and now put the Spartans back up by six, 29-23, before their halftime cushion would be chipped away just slightly further as Garden Spot was able to head into the locker room with ownership of the 31-25 advantage.
In the third frame, many of the first half’s narratives would ring true here as well.
Case in point, Jace Conrad getting off to a quick start as his turnaround jumper along the baseline helped open the floodgates in terms of the second half scoring as the Spartans found themselves up 37-29 just 1:50 into the third.
But speaking of scoring and most importantly, retaliation, here came the Cedars. And not a moment too soon either as far as they had to be concerned.
In fact, following a confident pullup jumper at the elbow cashed in Lebanon junior forward, Colby Robb, the guests had whittled their way back to within shouting distance at 37-33 roughly one minute of game clock later following the Conrad deuce. And from there, Lebanon kept the hammer down as another trifecta knocked home by the undisputed star of Lebanon’s night, Emanuel Mason, got things all square at a 40-40 count with 3:15 left to play in the third frame. Speaking of Mason, he was an undeniable centerpiece on Monday night given his sensational night of inside/out play that helped him close the game as game-high scorer with a magnificent 30-point display for all witness.
And just when it seemed as if Lebanon had been able to steal all the momentum and perhaps ride off into the sunset, Garden Spot was on scene to quickly wash those aspirations away.
All told, over the final three minutes and change of the third period, the Spartans would close on a 9-6 run. A run that would of course have to come via assistance from bonus distance, such as the case when guess who, Jace Conrad, sprinkled in another triple to help quell the Lebanon storm before a strong take to the tin shortly thereafter by Garden Spot senior big man, Gabe Smeltz, helped the Spartans close the third stanza with the benefit of maintaining the 49-46 lead in their back pocket.
By this point, it was evident that points down the homeward stretch would be at a premium.
In that respect, hang a star next to AJ Hurst’s name as another key cog in what feels like nothing but a litany of Garden Spot underclassmen, specifically the sophomore class, helped raise the curtain on the game’s final quarter as his corner trey put Spot back up by a half dozen to get things rolling.
“Rolling” however may not have been the most accurate of word choices to describe the remainder of the final period from there on out, however.
With both teams beset by an untimely bout with the pesky turnover bug, the score had remained frozen on Garden Spot’s 54-48 lead for what felt like eons. Of course, if turnovers were not occurring, Jeff St. Jean could be seen rejecting would-be shot attempts as the wiry Garden Spot, stop me if you heard this already, sophomore, swatted a Cedars shot attempt near the two-minute mark which could’ve proven to be perhaps break the Spartans’ will down the stretch.
Here though, if we are talking about Garden Spot’s collective mental fortitude, sometimes it’s best to lean on senior experience to provide some of that.
And with the game still hanging tightly in the balance, Garden Spot 5’10 senior, Michael Heisley, found himself toeing the charity stripe for a pair of one-and-one opportunities inside the final minute of play with the Cedars forced to play the foul game. And in proving to be what must have been a concoction something akin to that of ice water running through his veins, Heisley would be able to knock down all the four in the pair of offerings, ironically enough for the only four points on his evening as a whole.
Yet while the Spartans would still have to contend against some late-game Lebanon haymakers, specifically in the form of an Emanuel Mason three-point play also inside the final minute, the Spartans were able to weather the storm by the end of it all as Garden Spot’s second win of the young season came in the form of a 61-51 takedown of Lebanon in what is surely a significant victory over an L-L Section One club.
“This has been it,” Garden Spot head man Nate Musselman said afterwards in regard to the shared commonalties between both this game and his team’s year in totality thus far. “Every game we’re scoring 63 or 64 and giving up like 65 points…We’ve been in every game. I told the kids after Friday at Ephrata that we’re going through all of this for a reason. I truly believe that in my heart,” said Musselman. “Some of these kids are going to start to grow up here and I’m excited for them.”
Of course, sometimes learning comes with a bit of curve.
“We started off tonight with 20 points in the first quarter because we were hitting our 3’s,” Musselman mentioned of Monday. “But again, and this is all part of that growing up side of things, but when we started to shoot 3’s and not make them, we just continued to shoot. I said in the third quarter, ‘Look, we need to diversify a little bit. Shoot the 3’s if they’re there, but if we’re not making them, we can go to the backboard, make some layups, and go inside,’” he said of what he mentioned inside of a Spartans’ huddle. “I thought we did an okay job of that, but that’s where we have to be more consistent; understanding where our moments can come from.”
“As hard as this has been as you can tell with my hair and greying beard, I would much rather be in close games rather than games decided by 30 (points),” Musselman said in closing with his smile and a laugh. “Like I said earlier, I truly believe that we are going through all of this for a reason. Whether it’s this year, next year, whenever, when we start to put this together with our offense and defense, we’re gonna be alright.”
Follow LLhoops on Twitter @LLhoops
