Hershey 62 Red Land 60: Wrap via David Bray Jr
Written by: Dell Jackson on January 5, 2024
A Game of Momentum – Red Land vs Hershey
Interview with Hershey’s Coach Paul Blackburn
Written by: David Bray Jr
The Hershey versus Red Land game featured up and down basketball that makes the game of basketball itself great. Hershey led by double digits in the second and Red Land came crawling all the way back to tie the game with less than a minute remaining. The game atmosphere felt like a playoff game with the two of the top three teams in the Keystone division battling it out until the very end.
At the beginning of the game, Red Land started off strong, leading 16-10 at the end of the first, with Anderson French and Colton Rose leading scoring. Isaiah Danner contributed 7 in the first posing a paint presence early in the game. Once the second quarter started, Hershey’s defense came alive leading to steals for layups, including one from Logan Richards. “I think our defense [was the catalyst for the win]. We were finally able to get a stop. We had a lot of momentum defensively in the first half.” Hershey Trojans’ coach Paul Blackburn reflects. “For me, Alex Murray in the first half had an impact making shots and then our team defense happened. Isaiah [Danner] was very big in the first half as well.” Hershey took a 31-24 lead after Colton Rose took a breakaway layup to the basket to close the gap just before the break. Murray was the leading scorer going into the half for Hershey with 10 while Colton Rose led Red Land with 7 points for himself.
The second half presented some tight basketball, with momentum shifting to Red Land’s side after halftime adjustments closed the gap little by little. “In the second half, we were a little more choppy, but Logan [Richards] had a stretch where he buried some huge threes in the third quarter.” Blackburn recalls. “It seemed just every time we would fumble the ball, it would bounce to them at key moments and it was just a relentless, difficult game.” And indeed it was, with Red Land moving within three as the score was 47-44 at the end of the third. Many steals and key defense played a huge role in the comeback with Tyler Kerlin nailing a triple and Bryce Zeiders hitting mid-range jumpers. Anderson French and Elijah Espinosa played a key role as the big man duo had many points in the paint, however were battling foul trouble, but that didn’t stop them from pushing Red Land back into the game, playing a heavy role in getting offensive rebounds and playing an intimidating role on defense.
The fourth quarter is when the whole home Hershey gym started rocking with energy as the fans were going crazy, the benches were getting excited, and the best stretch of offensive pressure from both sides came to play. “It’s kind of like the way our team personality is. We kind of spread out and when it’s time to make a play, our guys step up and make plays to help us and that is why Red Land was in the game because they have guys who are the same way.” Blackburn said. With foul trouble starting to set in for both teams, they both battled hard with it being a one score to a tie game for the last six minutes of the game. After back and forth gameplay, Colton Rose got fouled on a three by Isaiah Danner, and with him knocking down all three, it was a tie game once more. Danner was then fouled under the basket, to which he made one of two on his trip to the line. Red Land had time to make a play with only being down one, however Derek Guzman stole the ball with seven seconds to go. Red Land’s Bryce Zeiders got fouled by Logan Richards, causing him to shoot two free throws. Missing both, Danner got fouled and sealed the game away with two clutch free throws. “With the perimeter defense, I think in the last couple of minutes, we were able to get the stops we needed.” Blackburn remarked.
With such a competitive game, Blackburn had many great things to say about the Red Land Patriots team, “[Colton] Rose for them was incredible tonight, we really came in worried about [Tyler] Kerlin, he’s a great shooter and made some shots for them, but [Bryce] Zeiders, his pullup game and shooting, their post guys under the basket…created a relentless and difficult game.” And indeed they all did, with Colton Rose finishing with 16 points, Anderson French finishing with 15 points, and Elijah Espinosa finishing with 11 points. Bryce Zeiders finished with 9 points and Tyler Kerlin finished with 5 points. Hershey was led by a 18 point game from Isaiah Danner along with an 11 point game from Logan Richards and a 10 point game from Alex Murray. Hershey gained a two point victory over visiting Red Land, 62-60.
Red Land moves to 8-4 on the year and 4-2 in the division while Hershey moves to 8-1 on the season and 5-1 in the division. Hershey will play on the road versus Mifflin County and Blackburn provided his insight on the upcoming matchup. “They’re having a great season and I know Coach Wade is coming with his group and they have shooters, they have size with their really well coached team. It’s sure to be a great battle between the two teams.”
“We’re happy to be where we are right now, we were lucky to win and as we take it a day at a time and we found a way to win, despite all of our errors, I’d rather learn all of our lessons by winning than by losing.” Blackburn concluded. After the cancellation of the Hershey vs Governor Mifflin game tomorrow, Hershey will take their winning streak of 5 on the road versus Mifflin County on Tuesday as the co-leaders of the Keystone Division. Red Land will play their next game at Cedar Cliff as both teams have been on hot streaks recently, with Cedar Cliff winning 4 of their last 5 and Red Land winning 6 of their last 9.
For more updates and schedules for Keystone games, check out my Twitter (now X) at @KeystoneBBall.
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