A good night in a loss

Okay, the Lancaster-Lebanon League finals are tomorrow afternoon at Manheim Township. It matches Hempfield and McCaskey. But like many, I think the true finals were played last night at Lampeter-Strasburg High School.

That's where the league's two best teams -- the Tide and McCaskey played. McCaskey, the Section 1 champs were able to hold on for a 61-54 win over the Tide.

This one also had the David and Goliath aspect as well. The biggest school in the L-L League against the smallest. Well, the little guy almost beat the big guy.

The Tide rallied from a 16-point deficit at the half and got the game tied at 51-51 on a Mike Seibert three-ball with 4:10 left in the game. McCaskey was able to make a few foul shots in the final minute to hold on for the win.

Columbia stood toe-to-toe with the much bigger and more physical Tornado. They scored the first five points of the game, led 10-5 at one point in the first quarter and only trailed 19-16 after eight minutes.

Some of the keys in the first eight minutes for McCaskey were the six points they got from Leontae Turner and the seven points from Jarren Harris.

For the Tide, they were able to get some easy shots in the paint and held their own on the boards.

The game started to get away from the Tide in the second quarter. A three-point play by Turner started McCaskey on a 13-2 run, which put the Section 1 champs up 41-25 at the half.

Yes, it did look bleak for the Tide at the half.

They needed to make some adjustments and they did. They junked their man-to-man defense in favor of a 2-3 zone. It had the Red Tornado baffled. At the other end, Columbia started to warm up.

Yahya McIntyre, who had a huge night on the boards, scored off feeds from Adam Pittman and Mike Seibert. Pittman and Seibert got free for some good shots and three minutes into the second half, McCaskey’s lead was down to seven.

That’s when McCaskey went on a 5-0 run (their only five points of the quarters) to go back up five. But McIntyre scored four more and Ben Guiles hit two from the foul line. After three, the Tide and its fans were back into the game as McCaskey led just 46-40.

With the Tide turning more toward Columbia, Pittman smoked a three-pointer to open the quarter, but McCaskey answered with five points by Pitt recruit Lamar Patterson gave the Red Tornado a 51-45 lead.

Seibert and Guiles hit back-to-back threes to tie the game with 4:10 lead.

McCaskey weathered the storm to pull out the win.

The Tide and its fans should be proud of their efforts and now get a few days to regroup for the start of what should be a good run through the district playoffs.

Despite the loss, the Tide did well.

Scouting report

I promise I won't be like the scouts who scouted Wampum for the 1958 state title game and came back and told Mr. Kreiser, Wampum would pose no problem for the Tide. I will tell you without a doubt that McCaskey is easily the best team the Crimson Tide has faced all year and perhaps in the last few years.

Coach Steve Powell's team brings an impressive 20-4 record into tomorrow night's game. They finished Section 1 play with a perfect 16-0 record. Columbia had the second best league record at 15-1.

The Red Tornado has won 12 in a row since losing to York High, 64-60, in the finals of the McCaskey Tournament around Christmas.

Three of their four loses were to the top teams Class AAAA teams in the state -- Chester by 16; Norristown by 8 and Reading by 23. They play an impressive non-league schedule.

Common opponents: There are now three. McCaskey beat E-town, 68-62 on Dec. 11; Ephrata, 62-46 on Jan. 15 and Manheim Central, 63-44 last night.

Atmosphere: McCaskey is a city school and they really aren't a big draw in terms of fans. The night I saw McCaskey play Hempfield, there was plenty of room in McCaskey's gym. If the Tide fans turn out in mass like they have over the last week, it will be a huge lift for the Tide. McCaskey fans can be cruel, so the Tide will have to overcome some "words" from the stands that might not be too kind. Can I hear the sportsmanship code being damaged or broken tomorrow night, probably.

Game Site: I have yet to see a basketball game at the new gym at L-S. Was there for the L-L League wrestling tournament last year. It's big and had that new gym smell. One thing to watch is the rims. Are they shooter's rims? Are the rims going to be tough that neither team will get the bounce?

Game Time: Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. I'd get there well before 6, just to make sure that the fans get the right seats.

Refs: Was looking in the morning paper today to see what officials had first round games. The Lebanon game didn't list the officials. Names I didn't see having first round games were Travis Sorenson, Lenny Neff (who I saw at last night's game), Ron Metzger, Tim Bartholomew and of course Rick Hartl. Would be nice to see three of the top officials at the game. There are two I mentioned above that would be nice and one that wouldn't.

Coaches: One thing fans will notice is the number of coaches that sit on the McCaskey bench. There's head coach Steve Powell. He's been there forever, first as an assistant under Pete Horn and the last thousand years (just kidding) as head coach. I remember when he played at the 'Ville. The interesting question is what color sweater will Powell, who won his 300th game earlier this year wear. The night I saw the Tornado he had a brown sweater on. He also has a ton of assistants. The J.V. coach definitely is GQ and there's another coach that dons a sweater and one that wears warm-ups.

Starters:
C - Jarren Harris, (15) 6-4. He missed the first half of the season with an eligibility problem. Returned before Christmas and has been a factor in the low post. Was expected to be out this week because of academic issues. He returned last night with a vengeance against Central.
Harris posts up on the blocks and is a tough match-up for anyone. He’s left –hand as well. He bangs the boards and Columbia will need to block out and get Harris called for going over the back. They also need to keep pushing him off the blocks like they did Saturday’s with Catholic’s Simon O’Leary.
F – Lamar Patterson, (21), 6-5. He’s just a junior and already has verbally committed to Pitt. The brother of Perry Patterson is up and down. He has the ability to take over and dominate games, but usually is seen working the perimeter. He can burn you for 40 points one game and five or six the next. Can drive to the bucket and dish out or shoot the outside j.
G – Jamaal Parker (11), 6-0. He’s the point guard. Dishes the ball off. Doesn’t score much. Did have 10 points on Monday. He will pressure the opposing point guard all over the floor. Likes to hand check while playing defense.
G - Franklyn Thomas (23), 6-2. May not play because of a separated shoulder. If he doesn’t play, look for Bryant Bryd (22) to start. I think he is the team’s best guard and substituted a lot against Hempfield for Parker.
F – Damien Ruiz (44), 6-4. He’s a banger. He can rebound and get some cheap baskets. Did come off the bench Monday night against Central.

Subs: Jared Shaeffer, (10), guard; Byrd (22), Victor Asencio (40), Leontae Turner (44). McCaskey plays a lot of players and sometimes they lose some consistency.

Defense: McCaskey will play man-to-man and looking to pressure the ball. Against Hempfield, they did not play very good defense in the first half, but turned it up a notch in the second half, with more pressure.

Match-ups: McCaskey size will present big problems for the Tide. Athletically, the Tide is just as athletic and quick.

What I saw: Hempfield played a very deliberate game against McCaskey. The kept the floor wide in their half-court set and McCaskey got very little offside help. Hempfield had success with their point guard penetrating the middle and dishing out for a three-pointer or an easy bucket on the offside. Hempfield also had easy buckets or chances by cutting players off a high post screen and because McCaskey had no help side, they got easy looks.
Columbia needs to keep the floor wide. Run a lot of back doors and pull the string when McCaskey overplays. McCaskey does rely on its big boys, i.e. Harris to block anything in the lane.
Talked to someone who was at the McCaskey game last night with Central and they were surprised by Patterson’s effort and wondered what Pitt saw in him. He should be a bigger part of the game plan than he is.

Hempfield, who doesn’t have the athletes that Columbia does, got into trouble against McCaskey when they tried to run with them. When Hempfield was under control, they gave McCaskey problems.

McCaskey definitely likes to get up and down the court and at times takes a lot of bad shots.

Foul shooting could also be a factor in the game as well.

Columbia can play with McCaskey, but they need to get over the “wow” factor of playing them and take advantage of every chance they get.

Should be an outstanding game. Yep, the league title game, if you ask me.

Some early McCaskey thoughtsome first thoughts

Might tomorrow's game at L-S between Columbia and McCaskey be the true championship in the Lancaster-Lebanon League? Many think that. And I believe that as well. I saw Hempfield play McCaskey a few weeks back. Hempfield plays hard and should beat Lancaster Catholic.

But in terms of talent and how the two teams have played this year, yes, Columbia and McCaskey are the two best teams in the L-L League and should make for an entertaining game.

Columbia has a two-game win streak going against McCaskey, beating them in the L-L League playoffs back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Later today, I will post a scouting report on the Red Tornado.

I can remember as a manager for the Columbia basketball team back in 1973 opening the season with McCaskey, at home. They were loaded and they had a new coach, Pete Horn. Names such as Bruce BeBord, Jeff Hawkins, Jesse Roberson, Jeff Alleman and a guard by the name of Hawkins. They had size, they had everything to win a championship. They beat Columbia that night.

Also one time when I was working at WSBA I attended a game at McCaskey involving Lebanon when Sam Bowie played. Joe B. Hall, the old Kentucky coach was there that night and I think it was Mel Newcomer's first varsity game as an official.

In 1989, Mike Wisler ripped McCaskey for 37 points in a 67-61 win for the league title.

In 1990, Will Patton hit a couple of big foul shots in the first round of the l-L League playoffs to give the Tide a 64-62 win.

So the big question I ask. With McCaskey year in and year out, having most of the top talent in the L-L League why haven't they won more league, district and state titles?
They are the biggest school in the L-L League, but I guess being big doesn't equate to championships.