District 2 Boys Game Recap (Old Forge at Valley View)
Written by: Jon K on December 17, 2023
December 15, 2023
Cougars Pounce on Blue Devils to Remain Undefeated
Valley View 61, Old Forge 38
By Jon K.
ARCHBALD – Taking in a basketball game at Valley View always delivers a great hoops atmosphere and Friday evening was no different in the matchup between the Cougars and Old Forge. Both programs have had their share of recent success and while each team graduated several key contributors, both brought plenty of confidence and intensity onto the court. The Cougars slowly pulled away throughout the contest as they began to aggressively drive to the basket and wear down their opponent getting a 61-38 victory to remain undefeated on the season.
Valley View took a 6-3 lead via a traditional three-point play by Nick Kucharski’s driving layup and triple by JT Homentosky wrapped around a trey by DJ Fox. Old Forge top inside threat Logan Fanning got a putback to cut it to 6-5, but the Blue Devils then missed several opportunities with a combination of missed shots and turnovers. Fanning would get a good block on an Homentosky shot. But, the 6-3 sophomore would soon exit the game with an injury that would factor into the outcome of this one. Fox cut the deficit to 8-7 before the Cougars finished the quarter on a 6-2 run getting contributions from Kucharski (block and layup), Dom Memo, and Noah Veno’s drive down the lane before the buzzer sounded for a 14-9 advantage.
The second period featured some sloppy play by both teams. Old Forge could only generate 5 points, all from Fox as the Cougars slowly built their lead to double digits at the break. Leading VV scorer Kyle Rupp finally got into the scoresheet at the 2:50 mark before Beyon McLean went on a 6-0 scoring streak capped off by a halfcourt steal and slam dunk that brought the Cougar Crazies to their feet as VV took a 25-14 lead into the locker room.
Fox would continue to be the offensive catalyst for the Blue Devils scoring 8 of their 13 points in the third period, but Valley View countered by getting a combined 13 points from Kucharski and Rupp as they took their defense to a higher level and expanded their lead to 42-27.
The final quarter was the Kyle Rupp Show as he netted 10 points in their 12-3 run to start the final stanza. The scores came with plenty of confidence and determination – a floater in the lane, a 3-point play, a spinning layup that got him to the free throw line, a lay-in off a steal, and capped off with a fast break layup. The Cougars went to the 61-38 victory.
Valley View placed 9 players into the scoresheet led by Kyle Rupp with 17 points (15 in the seocnd half). Nick Kucharski (14 points) and Noah Veno (10 points) also reached double figures. Beyon McLean proved to be a spark scoring 8 points. Aiden Smola, JT Homentosky, Dom Memo, Jagger Roe, and Noah Symuleski combined to add 12 points. Valley View connected on 4 triples and made 9 of 13 free throw attempts.
Old Forge received a tremendous effort from DJ Fox with 20 points. Dom Palma, Cameron Parker, Ryan DeMarco, Logan Fanning, Cam Krushnowski, and Chris Rasmus combined to contribute 18 points. The Blue Devils scored 5 treys and hit 5 of their 6 opportunities from the charity stripe.
— LLHoops Neast Beat (@LLHoopsNEPbeat) December 15, 2023
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