Milik Gantz may have been crashing the backboards with his usual high-energy approach and finding teammates with one of his slick, well-paced deliveries, but the highly skilled junior with the sparkling game was looking to do more.
Maybe get a hoop or two that would take some defensive heat off one or more of his basketball-playing Bishop McDevitt teammates.
Or knock down a much-improved jumper that would make defenders play him honestly and not lay off waiting for him to dash to the tin.
And after getting some reassuring words during the halftime break from McDevitt head coach Jeff Hoke — Gantz did not score in the opening 16 minutes — the gifted 6-3 youngster exploded for 19 second-half points as the Crusaders collared a 71-63 decision over Mid-Penn Keystone Division playmate Lower Dauphin Tuesday night in Hummelstown.
While Gantz was 5-for-8 from the floor after the break, he also journeyed to the free-throw line on six separate occasions, canning nine of his 12 looks.
Three of Gantz’s second-half field goals came on pops from 17-18 feet, while a fourth finish came on a putback in the final quarter.
What got him started, however, and really allowed him to settle confidently into a comfort zone was a pilfer and finish with three minutes gone in the third that capped an 8-0 McDevitt burst and gave the Crusaders a 35-27 lead.
“I wasn’t knocking down any shots, so when halftime came he just told me to keep playing I play at practice and just shoot the ball with confidence,” said Gantz, who already sports several Division I scholarship offers. “Once he told me that, I started knocking down jump shots.”
In triplicate.
And all of them came from the top of the key — when LD may have been expecting Gantz to wheel toward the hoop or set up a teammate for a good look.
“I’ve been working on my jump shot, trying to get that to a perfect type of shot,” admitted Gantz, who really settled into the game in the third quarter. “I think I shot very confidently with the ball today with my jump shot.”
Gantz also rebounded the ball very confidently, leading everyone with 14 boards. And while his willingness to look for one of his teammates resulted in three assists, he also used his length, quicks and timing to block one LD shot.
“[Hoke] always tells me, ‘Rebound, kick the ball out and pass the ball. You don’t have to score,’ “ Gantz remarked. “My main focus is I want to get my team involved, so basically I like to rebound and pass. Our team did a good job today by just shooting the ball and just cutting off the ball.”
And as Tuesday night’s game wound deeper and deeper into the fourth quarter, LD made a tactical decision to foul Gantz and send him to the free-throw line.
Since the ball usually is in Gantz’s capable mitts during critical McDevitt possessions — and it was down the stretch — the Falcons popped him on six straight trips down the floor. While Gantz may have endured an adventure at the line a season ago, he responded as a well-tested veteran should.
By draining nine of his 12 looks.
When Gantz first stepped to the line with 2:33 to play, McDevitt was holding a 60-52 lead. When Gantz toed the stripe for the final time and drained a pair, the Crusaders were holding an eight-point lead (69-61) with 30.1 seconds to go.
“Credit to Milik on the foul line,” Hoke said. “He stepped up and knocked down the big foul shots. Again, that’s experience and the difference this year versus last year. These kids have a year under their belts and they’re shooting free throws well.
“I credit my dad [former Camp Hill head coach Dr. Don Hoke]. My dad took over and said, ‘I got this. I got this figured out.’ And he has, honestly.”
“Coach Hoke’s father, Dr. Hoke, makes me practice on free throws all the time," Gantz revealed. "All he says is keep the same rhythm, stay on your toes and follow through. So when I got to the line, I was just following through, I was on my toes and it went in.”
Shot … after shot … after shot.
“That’s my man,” said teammate Justin McCarthur, who finished with 16 points — including career point No. 1,000. “If we were gonna get a win, we needed him to have a big game — and he did.”
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