Lancaster Catholic 48 Sus. TWP 46 : 4A semis game wrap

Written by: Dell Jackson on February 24, 2020

Lancaster Catholic 48 Sus. TWP 46
Boys 4A Semis
Feb. 24, 2020

A tip at the buzzer separated these 2 teams. It’s the second time the teams have met- the first time an OT win by Lancaster Catholic, keyed by a late 3 pointer, and this time a tip with little time on the clock. I’d say both are evenly matched. However, the home team, Crusaders, move on to the District 3 championship against Bishop McDevitt in a repeat from the 2019 title game.

In a way this game featured to contrasting styles. The Lancaster Catholic Crusaders have a big strong team with height at all positions. Sus. TWP has some height but the Indians have speed to burn and slashers to the basket.

The first quarter was back and forth early. Sharp shooting guard, Mahki Jones, started the scoring early with a three-ball. Lancaster Catholic would take a lead at 7-4 off a David Kamwanga, 6’6” sn, post move. Ross Conway, 6’1” jn, scored 5 in a row toward the end of the quarter – capped off by a three-ball. LCHS would have a 16-11 lead after one.

The second period was a slow offensive showing, but the defense was outstanding by both teams- blocks, steals, rotations. The Indians forced 3 turnovers in the quarter but could only score 9 points in the 2^nd stanza. Catholic would take control early in the period – post by Trey Wells, 6’5” sn, off a sweet pass by Nevin Roman, followed up by an Atkinson layup from Kamwanga assist. 20-13. Sus. TWP would answer the call- three –ball by Jones. A bucket by Michael.Marable, 6’2’ jn, for the Indians would end the scoring at 25-20.

Sus TWP came out strong in the beginning of th4e third. Malik Murphy, 6’4” sn. drove to the rack and posted 7 points. Marable scored in a variety of ways and he put up 7 points as well. The Indians scored the first 5 points of the period to tie it at 25. Catholic would come back and take a short-lived lead at 31-27. A bank three-ball by LeMar Lester and a layup by Marable gave Sus. TWP a 32-31 lead midway thru the quarter. The game was back and forth the rest of the way. Catholic would lead 41-39 at the end of the 3^rd.

With the final being 48-46, there certainly was not a lot of points put up on the board. TWP tied it at 41 following a “T” on Kamwanga during a scrum on a rebound.Lancaster Catholic would hit 4 big foul shots- 2 each by Roman and Atkinson- as they pushed the lead to 45-41. TWP again comes back yet again- three-ball by Murphy and a drive by Jones. Indians up 46-45 at the 1:52 mark. Atkinson would make one of 2 from the line..tied up. TWP would turn the ball over late, setting up the last minute tip by Atkinson. The Crusaders ran 45 seconds off the clock to get 3 cracks at the win – first jumper by Kamwanga, a tip by Titus, and a second tip by Atkinson.

Points:
Lanc. Catholic: Devin Atkinson 13
Sus. TWP: Michael Marable 14, Makhi Jones 13, Malik Murphy10

Stats: Unofficial
Rebounds: LCHS – 29, Sus. TWP 22
Turnovers: LCHS – 11, Sus. TWP 8
Blocks: LCHS- 3, Sus. TWP 6

Sidelines….nice crowd- not huge…Had a bit different view tonight as sat a bit lower…Spent some time with Ex-Etown College boss, Bob Schlosser…We had a good time discussing strategy…Lancaster Catholic will play Bishop McDevitt in the finals Thursday night at 8:00 in Hershey…Sus. TWP will play ELCO Wed at ELCO.

-Dell Jackson

Game winner!

Game winner…not sure if it went out first time..tip by Devin Atkinson at the buzzer…then celebration pic.twitter.com/CyzSi72UlR

— LLhoops (@LLhoops) February 25, 2020