Hempfield 81 McCaskey 55: Wrap
Written by: Dell Jackson on January 10, 2023
Hempfield 81 McCaskey 55
Jan. 10, 2023
The Hempfield Knights met the Tornado of McCaskey for a first place showdown in Section 1 of the L-L. The Knights left no doubt as to why they are on top of the Section and determined to make another run at the elusive L-L title. McCaskey depends on the three-ball on the offensive end and pressure defense to create turnovers. Hempfield used its size advantage to control the boards and limited their turnovers (9 in the game). Furthermore, the Knights hit 9 three-balls to McCaskey’s 5 – another advantage to Hempfield.
The Knights took control early as they shot out to a 12-2 lead after the halfway point of the period. Kamyn Lawerence , 6’5” sn, scored the Knights first 2 buckets and away we go. A Michael Rieker, 6’2” sn., triple capped off the early run. McCaskey cut the lead to 14-7 on a Jonathan Byrd layup late in the period, but Hempfield would put together a 6-0 run to take a 21-7 lead after one. The Knights had 6 different players break through on the scoring end in the first stanza.
Hempfield unleashed a three point barrage early in the second- Ben Troyer, Michael Hester, and Miguel Pena all nailing triples- as the Knights increased their lead to 32-9 with over 5 minutes left in the quarter. Byrd would get too the rim several times and drawing fouls to keep McCaskey from getting farther behind. 42-26 at the half.
McCaskey outscored Hempfield 15-7 to start the third period. Three balls by Eric Centeno, Elias Garcia, and Byrd cut the deficit to 49-41. Game on? Probably not as the Knights outscored McCaskey 7-4 (Pena jumper, Chase Calabretta post and a triple) 56-44 after 3.
McCaskey needed to get some quick shots up in the forth. The Knights turned up the defense and created turnovers and multiple run outs- mainly by Troyer. The ball was popping quickly on the offensive end. Hester scored the first 2 buckets and Troyer netted 10 points of his game high of 26. Both coaches cleared the benches early as the final was never in doubt after the first few minutes of the 4th. 81-55 final.
Points:
McCaskey: Jonathan Byrd 26
Hempfield: Ben Troyer 26, Chase Calabretta 17, Michael Hester 13
Unofficial stats:
Rebounds: McCaskey 16, Hempfield 25
Turnovers: McCaskey 15, Hempfield 9
Blocks: Hempfield 5
Sidelines…A good crowd for a Tuesday night at Hempfield……Dave Brown was the head coach for Hempfield as Danny Walck was out sick…..LLhoops was setup court-side- S/O AD Ryan Landis…Hempfield is now 10-3 overall and 4-0 in Section 1. ..McCaskey drops to 3-1 in section and 7-6 overall…Cedar Crest is hanging in at 3-1….LLhoops live stream will be back next Friday featuring Hempfield at Cedar Crest. BTW- would love to give McCaskey heights but….:)
Michael Hester had a double double tonight- POG (Tshirt compliments of Spooky Nook Basketball)
POG. Michael Hester – hempfield. @AndyBrackets @JWalkLNP pic.twitter.com/mvn1ifpGt7
— LLhoops (@LLhoops) January 11, 2023
Calabretta post pic.twitter.com/5jXGBvGyHw
— LLhoops (@LLhoops) January 11, 2023
Hester block pic.twitter.com/bOX62vrVUX
— LLhoops (@LLhoops) January 11, 2023
Tip pic.twitter.com/XQZ2dONtfP
— LLhoops (@LLhoops) January 11, 2023
~Dell Jackson
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