Propped up by his teammates even before he arrived at Hershey's Giant Center — and even as he lounged in one of the locker rooms — Quintin Ward was ready to play when the ball finally went up.
At both ends of the floor.
Charged with checking Matt Walsh whenever he and his Susquehanna Twp. teammates were flashing their man defensive sets, the 6-6 junior kept his feet moving and prevented the Manheim Central standout from getting anything done inside the painted area.
Walsh’s first-half points, just six of them, came from the arc.
When the Indians had the ball, whether flying to the other end in transition or engaged in a half-court set, Ward was just as active in the blocks.
Moving without the ball, setting screens and posting up.
Cleaning up the glass when a teammate’s shot went amiss.
Leaving a physical impression on one of his Central adversaries.
In sum, Ward’s high-end, two-way effort generated a high-end standard that pumped plenty of fuel into Vince Rogers’ Indians Thursday night as they hammered out a 59-44 victory over Manheim Central in the District 3-AAA final.
And while Rogers’ Indians (19-7) ultimately claimed their first 3-AAA title since 2008 by getting sensational efforts from a number of people, the early tone set up front by Ward, Roman Letterlough and Joe Marshall was what really got them on their way.
“That’s what everybody thought [that we could win it up front],” said Ward, who finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. “But we kept it in our minds that we’ve got to play every team like they’re better than us.
“When we came back out at halftime, it was 0-0 to us. We’ve just got to keep pushing ourselves and doing better.”
“I thought he played one of his best ballgames,” Rogers said of Ward. “What I mean by that is he controlled the whole paint. … He controlled the whole paint because his blocked shots started a lot of transition points for us as well.
“Tremendous game. Tremendous talent,” Rogers continued. “He’s gonna make some college coach very, very happy. I mean that.”
In time.
Right now, Ward & Co. have more work to do since the Indians will move into next weekend’s PIAA Class AAA tournament. Up first for Rogers’ bunch will be reigning state champion Imhotep Charter on Friday night at a District 3 venue.
First things first.
Since Central (24-4) started just two players 6-4 or taller, Ward’s teammates kept prodding him and prodding him — even before Thursday’s scrap started.
At the Field House beforehand.
“We were in the gym with Q and Roman, me and my dad and my brother [Gabe Mack],” said Nehemiah “Bud” Mack, who led Susquehanna with 18 points. “We were just getting them ready for this game and getting them prepared.
“We shot like 200-300 free throws just to get them prepared for this, because we knew this was gonna be their game.”
And in the locker room as the Indians awaited pre-game warmups.
“I kind of told him before the game started,” Gabe Mack recounted. “This is basically your game. … He definitely played his heart out.
“I told Q, ‘Just stay there and I’m gonna find you, too.’ I told everybody, ‘Just be there, I’ll find you. Just finish,’ “ Gabe Mack continued.
“He came in and put the work in, and I told him I was going to reward him for the work. When he gets better, it makes all of us look good.
“We play as a team, and we get a different title.”
Ward certainly finished throughout the first half, scoring 10 of his 15 points. The big fella also snared six boards as Susquehanna sped to a 28-16 lead.
Ward’s impact also was made on the defensive end, too, as he limited Walsh to a pair of treys whenever the Indians flashed man. And whenever Susquehanna switched to a 1-3-1 — which was often — Ward was parked in the middle of that zone.
A menacing presence, if you will.
Or, in another sense, the protective big brother.
“Family,” Ward said of the good vibe that’s lightened the Indians’ outlook.
“We just had to come out here, like I told you the other day I feel as though nobody likes us, so we had to come out here like everybody hates us. That’s what we did.
“We brought it together like a family. That’s what we had to do.”
Although Takhi Turner took over on Walsh when the second half began — as the Indians stayed mostly man the rest of the way — Ward’s interior presence had been established. And that was more than enough to push Susquehanna forward.
Eventually, gold belonged to the Indians.
Ward stood on the court with his T-shirt pulled over his head. Then, once a championship medal had been hung from his neck, he stood there for a number of seconds admiring the prize he’d just been awarded.
For a lot of hard work.
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