Preview Crest at Hempfield Jan 30

Written by: Dell Jackson on January 30, 2018

Jan. 30 preview

Crest @ Hempfield

District 3 rankings: (6A)
Hempfield 2 Crest 3

LL standings: Section1
Hempfield 1 Crest 2

Hempfield is 10-1 overall 16-2
Losses to Crest, Dallastown
Top scorers:
Ryan Moffatt 18, David Martin-Robinson 11, Elijah Washington 10, Anthony Alston 10
Team avg: 57 ppg and giving up 45 ppg

Crest is 9-2 overall 16-3
Losses to TWP, McCaskey, York
Top Scorers:
Blake Thompson 16 ppg, Cole Laney 16 ppg Logan Horn 9 Jaiden Melendez 9
Team Avg. 61 ppg and giving up 49 ppg.

Last game: Crest 41 Hempfield 39 : Jan 5^thCrest up early; Hempfield comeback and short lead; Crest steal and basket by Logan Horn: Hempfield last shot. Dylan Miller, Crest was LLhoops star of the game= scoring and defense.
Dell’s recap / podcast from last game.

Points- last game:
Hempfield :Moffatt 17, Robinson 11
Crest: Dylan Miller 12, Laney 12, Thompson 11

What to look for:
Crest likes to get it up and down. Hempfield seems to be comfortable playing fast or slow, but their tempo vs. top teams tends to be more controlled. That said (written), the Knights lit it up at home vs. TWP on a big early season game. I believe a faster tempo will favor the Falcons.

Crest got out to an early lead in the last game. This forced Hempfield to go to their ½ court trap, which bothered the Falcons. Look for Hempfield to hold back the trap until they need it or not at all if in the lead.

Both teams defensively played man most of the time, using the arc as the pickup line. The idea is to make teams hit from the perimeter. The thinking here is that the team that hits the most 3 balls will win. Crests’ top 3-ball shooter is Cole Laney. Hempfield counters with Anthony Alston and Ryan Moffatt. Hempfield played some zone the last game. With both teams packing it in the paint and talking away the middle, the game will probably be a low scoring affair.

Both teams are physically strong. The battle of the boards should be a push, but if one team gets more offensive boards than the other, it could tip the game.

Foul me: Sometimes a Section 1 game will come down to the foul line. Crest has a bit of the edge there as they are shooting 69% as a team. The Knights come in around 65%. Top foul shooters in this game are Thompson, Crest and Alston, Hempfield.

Top teams…both of these teams have seen their share of big games the last few years. Hempfield had a great run in the PIAA last season. Crest had a three year stretch before last year that was the best run in school’s history (LL, District 3, and PIAA berths). There should be no jitters here. Both coaches veterans of the LL wars.

Media magnet…big game = media galore. Channel 66 comcast will be tape delaying the game (Warren Goodling and John Graham providing the call); LNP’s John Walk (@JWalkLNP) will be there (we assume a great photographer too), Lebanon Daily’s Pat Huggins (@phuggsports)..and of course LLhoops (@llhoops) will be there. Basically, fans will get video, picts, tweets and write-ups…and perhaps a podcast from LLhoops:)