With 6-9 Bucknell recruit Nana Foulland cranking out a powerful double-double and 6-7 Connor Jack grabbing 13 rebounds, a longer Berks Catholic group ground out a 55-50 victory over a gallant New Hope Academy side in the opening game of the fifth Harrisburg Play-By-Play Classic showcase Sunday afternoon at Central Dauphin High School.
Pop Lacey added 11 points for Ken “Snip” Esterly’s Saints (9-3) — including six in the pivotal final quarter — who won their fourth straight game since tumbling on a buzzer-beating heave in the finals of Harrisburg’s Slam Fest Tournament.
Montrel Morgan banked 23 points and dished out six assists for David Archer’s Mighty Ants (5-6), who dropped their third game in as many days. Michael Coleman chipped in nine points — all on 3-point goals — for the Ants.
REVIEWING THE NUMBERS
Berks Catholic shot 50 percent from the floor for the game (20-for-40) and 50 percent in each half. The Saints, who drilled Governor Mifflin on Saturday, knocked down four of their five treys. Berks Catholic also shot 23 freebies, converting 11. …
Foulland also served up five assists and blocked two shots, while Jack dropped four dimes and rejected one New Hope pop. Isaac Lutz also dished out four assists for the Saints, who outboarded New Hope by a decisive 39-22 margin. …
New Hope converted 37.5 percent of its field-goal attempts (21-for-56), but canned six of its 13 3-balls. The Ants attempted just three free throws — all by the electric Morgan — draining two. … Morgan also led the Ants with four boards.
PIVOTAL SEQUENCE
While Berks Catholic snapped a 48-all tie with a Foulland layup at the 2:21 mark, Morgan’s soft pull-up jumper from just inside the foul line on the Mighty Ants’ next trip moments later forged a back-and-forth game’s final deadlock.
Foulland’s jump hook, off a Jack entry pass, pushed the Saints in front at the 1:31 mark. Then, after a Morgan miss and a turnover on a subsequent trip, Cooper Kutz’s stickback with 54 seconds to go had Esterly’s outfit up four.
Two excursions to the foul line — New Hope needed to foul to stretch the game since Berks Catholic was in the spread — resulted in a Lacey freebie as the Saints salted away a satisfying victory.
MORE NOTES AND NUGGETS
Berks Catholic played without lead guard Chris Warren for the second straight game. Esterly said Warren, who was parked on the bench with a heavy wrap on his right knee, is likely done for the season with ligament damage. …
New Hope held out wing NaGus Griggs for disciplinary reasons. … Esterly’s group will visit Berks 2 co-leader Conrad Weiser on Tuesday night. … New Hope will play at suburban Philly’s Gospel of Grace on Friday. …
Berks Catholic came into the game at No. 5 in PennLive’s Class AAA rankings, while New Hope held down the No. 10 spot in the Class A array. ... One member of Bucknell’s coaching staff was on hand to watch Foulland play. ... Kareem Oden added six points for New Hope. ...
New Hope, when it was employing a man defensive set, tried desperately to deny entry passes to the taller Foulland and Jack or double when those players received the ball. Fouls caused Archer's Ants to slide into a 2-3 zone for much of the second half.
THEY SAID IT
(Archer on his club’s effort) “We’re trying to find an identity. Games like today are going to define who we are. We gained more in a loss than playing anyone else today. Jack and Nana are real, real good. We knew what they were gonna try to do, they were gonna try to pound it in. They allowed us to play physical. It was a good game for us. … We couldn’t pull away. They couldn’t pull away from us.”
(Archer on Morgan’s play) “Montrel Morgan, pound for pound, is like a boxer. Pound for pound he’s one of the best players I’ve ever coached. He’s one of the best players in the state and he’s proving it literally right in front of everyone’s eyes. … Montrel Morgan I think is going to be one of the great players in this state.”
(Esterly on his club’s performance) “They changed defenses on us, really tried to double us. It’s a very scrappy team. Well-coached. They came at us, changed defenses — which we needed — and that’s why we play these games. Very athletic team. That guard [Morgan] is a very nice player. … They just didn’t have big size to deal with Nana, which is a luxury that we have. We just seemed out of sync today. I don’t know if it’s because we played yesterday and didn’t have a practice in between, but that’s making excuses. We need to be focused on defensive changes.”
(Esterly on his big players’ ability to find teammates) “Those two are so unselfish and they’re really good passers. Connor Jack is an incredible passer from the high post. Nana works hard tremendously hard, but Connor gets him the ball in perfect spots and vice versa. Nana, this year, has become a better passer just by getting doubled and guys doing the right thing cutting to the basket.”
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