The atmosphere was rocking, everyone was hype, kids and grandparents were doing the "Roller Clap" for the first 3 quarters of the game as the Rollers had clear cut control of the ball game..... The only problem was, there was another 8 minutes to play......
When the game began, Steelton came out in a box and 1 defense on McD's sniper Aaron Devan which allowed Jordan Brooks to get into an early groove scoring 5 quick points... On the other end Jordan "AI" Milberry and Mark "Little Man" Perry scored 5 a piece themselves and Max Solav hitting a big three giving SH a 17 - 9 lead to end the first quarter...
As the 2nd quarter began, McD came out in a 1-3-1 half court trap that really hurt Steelton for a little while as the second quarter was played evenly as both teams scored 13 points with Steelton going into the half with a 30 - 22 point advantage.... Milberry led the way with 10 points and Perry scored 7pts as SH had 8 players get into the score books.... James "Monk" Warren and ShaQuinn McNeil came off the bench and provided some outstanding energy for Steelton.... Warren ran the show like he's been doing it for a while and "Q" was his normal aggressive self....
Devan just couldn't get a clean look at the basket as he only had 2 points in the first half... McD scoring was balanced but Brooks really stood out for them doing just about everything on the floor.... McD was probably playing the worst basketball they've been playing in weeks..... Poor defense and rushed offense!!! Recipe for failure....
The 3rd quarter started off with McD going on a 6 - 0 run to begin to make this a better game.... Perry then went on a 6 - 0 run himself for SH as he was a monster on the offensive glass.... McD had no answer for him and had to call a timeout.... after a steal and a layup by Devan, JC Brandt hit Perry in stride with two nice assist as Perry scored another 4 points, and Warren finding Broderick Settles-Simmons for a layup giving SH a 42 - 31 lead headed into the 4th.....
ALL OF A SUDDEN MCD WOKE UP!!!!!! They realized that they could actually lose twice in one season to Steelton and senior pg Jaquan "Hungry" Johnson took control of his team.... His defensive intensity on Milberry, Brandt and ANYONE else who tried to advance the ball was incredible..... He helped cause Steelton to get turnover after turnover after turnover until it hit that 4:30 mark and all of a sudden it's a 45 - 42 point game with SH ahead by 3, due in part of SH trying to play the stall game on McD.... Another turnover by Milberry as Brooks stole the ball and was fouled going to the basket... made his 2 free throws making it a 1 point game... after a JC Brandt turnover DJ Polacheck scored a basket inside giving McD a 46 - 45 lead with just about 1:30 to play.... McDevitt did a good job passing the ball around the perimeter but Devan took an ill advised shot that led to Milberry pushing the ball to the basket... What once looked like an open lane, closed up quickly as Milberry was called for the offensive foul causing the entire gym to go nuts at the referees... Brooks gets fouled in the bonus as he makes 1 of 2 free throws and Devan as well hits the final 1 of 2 free throws giving McD the win 48 - 45 in a hard fought game....
** McD defense in the 4th quarter allowed SH to score only 3 points while the backcourt for Steelton shared 13 turnovers..... McD was led by Aaron Devan with 11 points, DJ Polacheck with 10 points and 5 rebs, Jordan Brooks chipped in with 8 pts, 5 assist and 4 rebs, while Johnson had 5 assist, 4 rebs, 4 steals and 2 points.....
Steelton was led by junior forward Mark"Little Man" Perry with 17 pts and 11 rebs, and 3 steals, Jordan Milberry chipped in 10 points (All in the 1st half).... Monk Warren came off the bench and contributed with 2 points and 4 assist... He may have won himself more playing time as he's the regular JV point guard...
Too many close losses for Steelton and maybe they can get it together soon.... Great win for McD as they won 7 of their last 8 games now.....
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It was a very good game. But the Referre's were unreal!!!! My son said to me in the car on the way home (MOM WE NEED TO START PLAYING LIKE FAMILY/BROTHERS!!!)And i have a tat that says FAMILY FIRST!!!!
ReplyDeleteYour analysis of the game is pretty accurate; the questionable officiating was huge in the ultimate outcome. Devann's ill-advised shot and the Milberry questionable charge into Polachak created the final results.(there were many other questionable calls both ways). But the over-all reason the game was so close was the inability of McDevitt to attack S.H. zone and even more important were the OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS that McDevitt allowed. It's always hard to box-out out of a 1/3/1 but S.H. GOT MORE THAN HALF THEIR POINTS FROM OFFENSIVE PUT-BACKS. NOBODY PLAYS HARDER THAN McDevitt's Johnson and Polochak and that's why McDevitt won the game.
ReplyDeleteDH
Right on point.... I tried to stay away from the refs because I wouldn't want kids to look at that as an excuse.... Steelton needed to take better care of the ball and get it to Mark Perry more.... He was "The Guy" last night and got no touches in the 4th.... Refs were confused most of the game and it's a shame they got a check last night.... Especially the lead ref....
DeleteI too was at the game although I didn't arrive until the second half. It's not out of the question that the refs were in over their heads, being out of postion making calls, unsure what to call, but the biggest problem I found was that one ref would start making the calls even though he could not have possibly seen the play and then when he was leaving the floor he was acturally taunting and smilling at some of the Steel-High fans. So be it! All that said, the reason "WE" lost the game wasn't because of the turnovers, though they contributed a lot, but was because we missed too many "LAYUPS & PUTBACKS", PERIOD. It's a learning process for these young players!
ReplyDelete4th quarter Steelton didn't get many shot attempts because they couldn't even get the ball past the foul line.... Between stalling the ball and turning the ball over, there I'd be surprised if they even got 10 attempts at he basket in the 4th quarter.... So I wouldn't say "Layups & Putbacks" Period... That's discrediting McDevitt's defense in the 4th...
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