Your source for Lancaster-Lebanon League Boys Basketball

 
 
 
District 2 Boys Recap (Robert McGrane Championship Game – Holy Redeemer vs. Crestwood)
 

District 2 Boys Recap (Robert McGrane Championship Game – Holy Redeemer vs. Crestwood)

Written by: Jon K on December 28, 2022

 

 

December 28, 2022

 

Holy Redeemer Wins 56th Robert McGrane Tournament

 

Holy Redeemer 43, Crestwood 33

 

By Phil Thrash

WILKES-BARRE – In what many consider a holiday hoops tradition at this point, the Royals of Holy Redeemer walked from the Wyoming Valley CYC with the Robert McGrane Tournament championship in hand.

On Tuesday night, in the opening round, both Crestwood and Holy Redeemer made quick work of their opponents with the Comets winning (73-34) and Holy Redeemer taking their game (60-31).  A similar scoreline seemed all but assured when HR ran out to 13-5 lead midway through the opening frame.

But, the hot shooting hand would go cold on this December night for the Royals, allowing the Comets to battle back and pull themselves to within a score in the ensuing quarter.

Holy Redeemer would remain defiant and maintained their lead into the halftime break.  Even when Crestwood would go on a run to start the second half, the Royals were still able to remain on top of their opponent and secure their 43-33 holiday tournament victory.

Two jumpers from Jacob Hunter and Louis Lussi spotted the Royals the lead, one which they would never relinquish.  Zach Perta followed his teammates with a steal and coast-to-coast finish to solidify Redeemer’s early control.

Noticing how the Crestwood offense wasn’t having the finishing touch, Drew Sechler took the ball into his own hands, draining a triple and driving to the basket for his team’s first five points of the game.  A quick defensive adjustment would slow the senior guard and allow the Royals to get back into gear.

Quick 3-point field-goals from Darryl Wright and Lussi would get the Royals started with Wright finishing it with another triple followed by a spectacular layup in traffic to cap an 11-3 run to send the Royals to an 18-8 lead.  Brandon Burbank would convert two chances at the charity stripe before the end of the frame to lessen the Comet deficit to single-digits, 18-10, after one period.

The Comets used three different scorers to get themselves on the board to start the ensuing period as they cut their once double-digit lead down to a single possession.

Maybe it was the sound of the horn, maybe someone left the door open, maybe it was something with the water in the cooler; whatever it wasn’t the same Holy Redeemer team taking the court to start the second frame.

After being held scoreless for the first 5:58 of the stanza, Zach Perta drove to the hoop only to have his shot rim out as was happening to so many of his teammates.  But this time would be different as Perta would grab his own miss and without a delay put it back in the basket to get the Royals on the board.  The hustle bucket from Perta re-energized the Royals’ offense as they would end the half on 10-3 run that not only resecured momentum, but increased their margin on the scoreboard.

Coming out of the locker rooms. Holy Redeemer was able to maintain their momentum as they scored the first two field goals of the second half courtesy of Jeff Kozerski and Perta.  Kozerski would follow that with a spinning jump shot in the paint to increase the HR lead 35-21 halfway through the third period.

Unseen on any stat sheet is Perta’s defensive effort over this span, as his speed helped to Royals to trap various Comet ball handlers preventing any good looks and causing several unforced errors.

Crestwood would swap roles with the Royals this time as they recovered nicely to score the final seven points of the period, winning their first quarter, and cutting their deficit down to seven points (35-28). 

Similar to how the Royals went cold in the second frame, Crestwood’s offense went flat at the wrong time.  As shot after shot went wide, the Comets couldn’t do anything but watch their remaining opportunities slip away.  Derek Johnson would score Crestwood’s first points of the period at the foul line with less than two minutes to play and he would follow it up with a steal and layup but the Comets would still be down 43-29.  With the reserves now on both ends of the court, Crestwood scored a few more times, but never threatened to make the game any closer.

Holy Redeemer’s Darryl Wright would take MVP Award honors in the tournament, scoring 25 points throughout the competition (including 11 in the championship).  Zach Perta added 10 points and played a pivotal role on the boards, bringing down 7 rebounds.  Louis Lussi also reached double-digits in the game, scoring all 10 of his points in the first half.

Crestwood’s Drew Sechler, who took home the Sportsmanship Award, scored a game 12 points in the losing effort.

After a demanding non-conference schedule and tourney championship in their display case, Holy Redeemer heads into conference play on a high note.  They host Lake-Lehman next Wednesday to tip-off their defense of the WVC Division 2 title.

Crestwood heads into conference play looking like a brand-new team compared to their 2021-2022 campaign.  After a lackluster 5-9 record in conference-play a season ago, the Comets will look to take a 1-0 mark when they travel to Wyoming Valley West on Friday night.

Image

 

Image

Image

Image

 

Follow LLhoops on Twitter @LLhoops

 
 
Fifty Years of Lancaster-Lebanon League Boys Basketball
 
LL Hoops Livestream
 
 
 
 
x