District 2 Boys Game Recap (Holy Cross vs. Mid Valley)
Written by: Jon K on January 29, 2021
January 28, 2021
Tempers Flare in Lackawanna Division 3 Thriller
Holy Cross 52, Mid Valley 50
By Phil T.
THROOP – Despite the frigid conditions outside, a Mid Valley vs. Holy Cross game always seems to reach the boiling point. And this latest contest was no exception. Holy Cross looked to be in control of tonight’s matchup against Mid Valley, holding a double-digit lead on two separate occasions, but they could not maintain that advantage as the Spartans stormed back with a late opportunity to capture the win in the final moments. Though the Spartans grabbed the lead momentarily, Holy Cross came out on top in this latest chapter between local rivals, 52-50, and moved to 3-0 in the highly competitive Lackawanna League Division 3.
After trailing since the opening possession, Gabe Tanner hit a triple to give Mid Valley their first lead of the night (48-47) with less than two minutes to play. Unfortunately, that edge would not last for very long as the ensuing Crusader possession resulted in Tanner fouling Hayden Hosie. On the play, a technical foul was also handed out resulting in Hosie converting all four attempts from the foul line to regain the Holy Cross advantage, 51-48 with 1:04 remaining in the contest.
On the next Spartans possession, Mid Valley would call a timeout to draw up a play. However, the Spartans were unable to get the ball inbounded and got called for a 5-second violation with 38.5 seconds left.
Cameron Riccardo kept the Spartans’ hopes alive with a clutch steal and conversion to pull Mid Valley to within one point (51-50) with 24 seconds remaining in regulation.
The Spartans would get yet another opportunity in the closing seconds as Tyler O’Connor was at the charity stripe for a one-and-one bonus, with a chance to tie or give his team the lead. After missing the front end, a scramble ensued for the rebound and O’Connor would come out with the ball with less than five ticks remaining. He chucked it off target toward the basket. landing in the hands of Holy Cross’ Patrick Bennie for his tenth rebound of the night.
Bennie would promptly be fouled and go to the foul line for two attempts in the double-bonus, converting one of the two opportunities. With only 1.7 seconds remaining, Danny Nemetz ran up court and launched a half-court shot that was off the mark.
Both teams came out of the gate firing tonight leading to a 27-18 Crusaders’ edge 12 minutes into the game. However, both teams would hit a wall before heading to the locker rooms and finish the last four minutes of the half scoreless.
Mid Valley would convert half of their eight charity stripe attempts through the first three periods and finish 13-20 on the night.
Bennie would lead the Crusaders to the win with a double-double performance (19 points and 10 rebounds). Hosie provided half of his team’s six buckets from beyond arc, on his way to a 15-point performance for the Spartans.
Tanner led the Spartans with six field-goals and 19 points. Nemitz gave his team the spark they needed to mount their second half comeback, scoring 11 of his 13 points after the halftime break.
Special thanks to the Mid Valley Athletic Department for allowing LLHoops to cover this matchup.
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