Looking ahead: E-town vs. Harrisburg
The Bears will do battle tonight with Harrisburg in the third-place game in District 3. Here's a look at how each team got to this point.
Harrisburg:
The Cougars struggled at times this regular season, limping into the playoffs with a 12-10 overall record. But Harrisburg also played a lot of tough teams in the regular season – including Central Daupin East twice and Reading once. Eventhough the Cougars are an 18-seed in these playoffs, they are still a very talented and capable team.
Right now they sit at 15-11 after a nice run in the postseason. For the year, they average about 62 points per game and allow 59.5. But in the playoffs, defense has been a major storyline for them. They've allowed just 46 points per game in four district playoff games, allowing 50 points just once – in a win over Chambersburg in the play-in round.
In the playoffs, they beat Chambersburg 58-52 in the play-in round, topped McCaskey 50-41 in the first round and beat Red Land in the second round 56-46 before losing to CD East for the third time this year in the district semifinals, 45-39. They had a lead over CD East with 2 minutes left in the game, but allowed the Panthers to come back and take the game.
Harrisburg has plenty of height, with 10 players listed at 6'2" or taller and three players at at least 6'4". Their best player is probably 6'5" senior Quincy Roberts. He had a tough go against East on Tuesday, shooting just 3-for-13, but he's certainly a better player than that. Guards Eric Henry (team high 10 points against CD East) and Alphonso Washington are both lightning-quick and can penetrate very well. To an extent, that's all I really know about Harrisburg and I can't seem to get any statistics on them (sorry). But I did get to see the fourth quarter of their semifinal game against East, and I can tell you that they play relentless defense. They're quick to the ball and will use turnovers to fuel a solid transition game. They are similar in terms of defensive quickness to Reading, and the Bears had a tough time with that on Tuesday.
But if E-town has one advantage, I think it is mental strength. If things start going wrong for the Cougars, you'll see a bit of bickering amongst teammates and they'll tend to get out of the gameplan and force things. So the key for the Bears will be to hound Roberts and get into Harrisburg's heads.
E-town:
It's been quite a postseason for the Bears. They came in as the 13th seed in districts and cruised past Gettysburg in the play-in round. They then promptly dismissed 4-seed Cedar Crest, and pulled away from 12-seed Mechanicsburg in the quarterfinals before running into Reading.
The two teams have three common opponents this season:
• Reading: Harrisburg lost 66-54, E-town lost 61-38.
• Cumberland Valley: Harrisburg won 59-55, E-town won 59-54.
• J.P. McCaskey: Harrisburg won 50-41, E-town lost 68-62.
If E-town is going to win, they have to shoot the ball better than they did against Reading. Period. All of you there know that the E-town you saw shooting is not the same E-town that won 17 games to that point. I think nerves were a big part of it, as were the unforgiving rims of the Giant Center. But this game is in a much more familiar setting – a high school gym. I think if E-town shoots well, it wins. If they struggle to get open beyond the arc and are constantly shooting with a hand in their face, they'll have trouble. They also have to knock down free throws. If they had shot better from the line in the first half against Reading, they would have been trailing by single digits at the half, not 12. And that could've made a difference in the second half. I'm not saying they would have won, but it certainly would have been closer.
They also can't get caught up in the mystique of Harrisburg. Yes, the Cougars have a ton of history when it comes to District Three basketball and yes, they're one of the traditional district powerhouses. But that doesn't matter now. E-town needs to look at them as just another team standing in their way, and attack them with the style of play that they've used all season. They have the athleticism to hang with Harrisburg, they just have to believe that they can do it.
I think they can.
My prediction: E-town 58 - Harrisburg 52.
What's on the line:
OK, both teams have already made states, that much we know. But how will this game affect the seeding?
IF E-TOWN WINS:
A win would give the Bears the third seed in District Three. Looking at the PIAA brackets, that would match them up against the third seed from District 12. D12's brackets are a little tough to follow, but it looks like the third seed would be the winner between Simon Gratz (18-8) and John Bartram (20-6).
IF E-TOWN LOSES:
A loss to Harrisburg makes the Bears the 4th seed in the district, and that means they'll meet the fourth seed in District 1.
Pennsbury (26-2) and Penn Wood (21-7) will be playing for thrid place in District 1. So if E-town loses tonight, they'll get the loser of that game in the first round of states.
The state tournament begins March 1. When the brackets are set, I'll be posting an in-depth preview of the game.
Harrisburg:
The Cougars struggled at times this regular season, limping into the playoffs with a 12-10 overall record. But Harrisburg also played a lot of tough teams in the regular season – including Central Daupin East twice and Reading once. Eventhough the Cougars are an 18-seed in these playoffs, they are still a very talented and capable team.
Right now they sit at 15-11 after a nice run in the postseason. For the year, they average about 62 points per game and allow 59.5. But in the playoffs, defense has been a major storyline for them. They've allowed just 46 points per game in four district playoff games, allowing 50 points just once – in a win over Chambersburg in the play-in round.
In the playoffs, they beat Chambersburg 58-52 in the play-in round, topped McCaskey 50-41 in the first round and beat Red Land in the second round 56-46 before losing to CD East for the third time this year in the district semifinals, 45-39. They had a lead over CD East with 2 minutes left in the game, but allowed the Panthers to come back and take the game.
Harrisburg has plenty of height, with 10 players listed at 6'2" or taller and three players at at least 6'4". Their best player is probably 6'5" senior Quincy Roberts. He had a tough go against East on Tuesday, shooting just 3-for-13, but he's certainly a better player than that. Guards Eric Henry (team high 10 points against CD East) and Alphonso Washington are both lightning-quick and can penetrate very well. To an extent, that's all I really know about Harrisburg and I can't seem to get any statistics on them (sorry). But I did get to see the fourth quarter of their semifinal game against East, and I can tell you that they play relentless defense. They're quick to the ball and will use turnovers to fuel a solid transition game. They are similar in terms of defensive quickness to Reading, and the Bears had a tough time with that on Tuesday.
But if E-town has one advantage, I think it is mental strength. If things start going wrong for the Cougars, you'll see a bit of bickering amongst teammates and they'll tend to get out of the gameplan and force things. So the key for the Bears will be to hound Roberts and get into Harrisburg's heads.
E-town:
It's been quite a postseason for the Bears. They came in as the 13th seed in districts and cruised past Gettysburg in the play-in round. They then promptly dismissed 4-seed Cedar Crest, and pulled away from 12-seed Mechanicsburg in the quarterfinals before running into Reading.
The two teams have three common opponents this season:
• Reading: Harrisburg lost 66-54, E-town lost 61-38.
• Cumberland Valley: Harrisburg won 59-55, E-town won 59-54.
• J.P. McCaskey: Harrisburg won 50-41, E-town lost 68-62.
If E-town is going to win, they have to shoot the ball better than they did against Reading. Period. All of you there know that the E-town you saw shooting is not the same E-town that won 17 games to that point. I think nerves were a big part of it, as were the unforgiving rims of the Giant Center. But this game is in a much more familiar setting – a high school gym. I think if E-town shoots well, it wins. If they struggle to get open beyond the arc and are constantly shooting with a hand in their face, they'll have trouble. They also have to knock down free throws. If they had shot better from the line in the first half against Reading, they would have been trailing by single digits at the half, not 12. And that could've made a difference in the second half. I'm not saying they would have won, but it certainly would have been closer.
They also can't get caught up in the mystique of Harrisburg. Yes, the Cougars have a ton of history when it comes to District Three basketball and yes, they're one of the traditional district powerhouses. But that doesn't matter now. E-town needs to look at them as just another team standing in their way, and attack them with the style of play that they've used all season. They have the athleticism to hang with Harrisburg, they just have to believe that they can do it.
I think they can.
My prediction: E-town 58 - Harrisburg 52.
What's on the line:
OK, both teams have already made states, that much we know. But how will this game affect the seeding?
IF E-TOWN WINS:
A win would give the Bears the third seed in District Three. Looking at the PIAA brackets, that would match them up against the third seed from District 12. D12's brackets are a little tough to follow, but it looks like the third seed would be the winner between Simon Gratz (18-8) and John Bartram (20-6).
IF E-TOWN LOSES:
A loss to Harrisburg makes the Bears the 4th seed in the district, and that means they'll meet the fourth seed in District 1.
Pennsbury (26-2) and Penn Wood (21-7) will be playing for thrid place in District 1. So if E-town loses tonight, they'll get the loser of that game in the first round of states.
The state tournament begins March 1. When the brackets are set, I'll be posting an in-depth preview of the game.
Labels: boys baskeball
posted by Chris McCarthy at
11:01 AM
3 Comments:
Nice prediction! Your boys looked like a bunch of scared girls until Q Roberts got hurt. Everytime they tried to make a game of it the burg had an answer. The 3 zebras tried giving the game to your boys but they refused to take it.
What's your prediction on the next game?
Thanks for weighing in. Agreed that E-town didn't look good, but don't get confused: they aren't "my" boys. I'm just a reporter. All I do is cover them. But I will say that the Roberts injury made a difference. Of course, E-town was playing without their best player too (Quinn Cozzens), but I'm sure you already knew that. If Cozzens had played, it would've been different.
If Harrisburg can't hold onto a 20-point lead without letting the other team get back in it like they did with E-town, they'll be lucky to get out of the first round of states. That's a prediction for you, one and done.
ooooh! You get sensitive when called out for the homer journalism. "I just cover them!" YEAH RIGHT!!! You're their biggest cheerleader.
Like I said the officials did everything they could to let YOUR BOYS back into the game and they still couldn't take advantage.
Agreed they could have won if Cozzens played, but only with Roberts' injury. If Q hadn't gotten hurt then YOUR BOYS would have lost by 30 or 40!
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