As Pete Conrad’s Palmyra Cougars wobbled into the visiting locker room Monday night for a much-needed halftime respite – and lugging a double-digit deficit that had been worse – there was no need to yell or scream.
And, despite the circumstances, no reason to peel paint.
Instead, Palmyra’s mid-game chat carried more of a reinforcement tone. Something along the lines of one of those, ‘we’re OK, just dig in, continue to run our stuff and we’ll get back in this thing. We’re not done yet.’
Oh, yeah, and tighten up the defense.
Since the Cougars weren’t willing to consider themselves done – and they weren’t about to concede an unsettled result -- Conrad’s resilient outfit unleashed a terrific second-half effort flush with timely plays.
And while those timely plays helped Palmyra climb back into what appeared to be a once-lost contest, they also played a sizable role in the Cougars being able to force overtime and eventually walk off with a 75-72 victory.
Logan Stovall, Adam Newhard and Trey Baker combined for 36 second-half points – and 59 points overall – as Palmyra (15-7, 10-6) shrugged off a 40-29 deficit at the break and roared back for the Keystone Division triumph.
Palmyra also picked up a sparkling all-around effort off the bench from long-limbed Brad Mackey, who scored nine points, grabbed a team-high eight boards and dished out four assists.
"Tremendous. Tremendous," Conrad gushed. "Brad's level of play has just gone up just exponentially over the second half of the season.
"He was so good tonight."
Hershey (9-12, 7-9) picked up a team-high 16 points from lead guard John Miller, but also thrust Jack Gunkel (15), Chase Watkins (13), Tim Gette (10) and Jordan Wix Rauch (10) into double figures.
That was the Trojans' entire starting lineup in a backyard scrap turned thriller that played out before a local television audience.
Paul Blackburn’s Trojans also benefited by shooting a remarkable 56 percent from the field (62.5 percent from beyond the arc) before the break.
So while Palmyra spent the halftime break trying to construct ways to scale the tempo back to a more palatable pace -- and put the clamps on Hershey's sizzling Trojans somewhat -- Conrad's Cougars also were hoping the host Trojans would cool off after sitting down for a bit.
CLICK HERE TO FIND A PHOTO GALLERY OF MONDAY NIGHT'S GAME SHOT BY PENNLIVE.COM'S DAN GLEITER
That happened, too, as Hershey shot just under 35 percent throughout the second half and overtime.
"Coach Conrad at halftime said, 'We gave up 40 points in a half, we can't let that happen again,' " Mackey recalled. "And we didn't.
"We happened to pick it up in the second half, everyone was hitting shots," Mackey added. "This was really a good team win, just a variety of people playing great and scoring the basketball."
Palmyra also was successful at finding a more-palatable tempo after the break, effectively slowing the high-pitched Trojans. Conrad’s Cougars also displayed more patience in their half-court sets.
"We thought we had some opportunities in the first half that we didn't take advantage of, that we rushed a bit," Conrad said. "We talked about keep attacking, believe in yourselves and we'll get some opportunities.
"And we did."
And while those half-court sets enabled wings Stovall and Newhard to take their defenders off the dribble – and possibly get fouled as well – those well-designed schemes also allowed Stovall and Newhard deep looks when their defenders opted to back off a step or two.
Stovall's offensive decision making was extremely sharp, especially when it came time for the nimble 6-3 senior to choose whether to blow by a defender, pull up for a short jumper or step back for a trey.
"He definitely was [taking what they were giving him," Conrad admitted. "Logan's such a versatile player."
Same for Baker, who when he gets his feet and steps into one of his long-distance jumpers is mighty, mighty accurate.
"Once we got back, I thought we really just had some kids make some big plays," said Conrad, who commended Stovall for taking a handful of charges before he fouled out in OT. "Defensive plays.
"Trey's 3-pointer obviously."
Within one point several times in the final two-plus minutes, the Cougars found themselves trailing 64-61 when Baker's smooth, well-delivered trey from the left wing splashed down with about 25 seconds left.
Finally, Conrad's club was even.
Until then, Palmyra had led just three times, but not once after the first quarter came to a close. From that point on, the Cougars never trailed again.
Not once.
While Blackburn's Trojans had one last possession to draw up a game-winner, Baker’s pilfer in the lane suddenly had the Cougars thinking W.
Except his look from deep rimmed out.
Still ...
"It was intense [in the huddle], but we had to get back to it," Mackey said. "We had to retain focus and say, 'Hey, we have four minutes of basketball, let's do our best and hopefully we can take the lead.' "
Which the Cougars immediately did.
Although Palmyra jumped in front in the extra session, the Trojans had chances to pull even or slide ahead at the free-throw line as OT played out.
Blackburn’s club never did regain the lead, however, as three straight two-shot looks netted just three points.
"That helped us out," Conrad said, referring to Hershey's collective 60 percent effort at the charity stripe. While Gunkel (4-for-4) and Miller (8-for-10) were a combined 12-for-14, everyone else was just 6-for-16.
Conversely, Palmyra canned 21 of its 27 freebies.
"That certainly was to our advantage tonight," Conrad added.
Ouch!
And when Mackey canned three of his four freebies in the final minute, the Cougars owned their largest lead (75-70)
Wix Rauch cut Palmyra's lead to three with 20 seconds left on a long deuce, but when Mackey's errant pass returned the ball to the Trojans a few moments later, Blackburn immediately called time.
Just 8.9 ticks remained.
Hershey tried to rub Gunkel off a series of screens and free him in the right corner, but the Trojans could not get him the ball. They did manage a decent look from the top of the key, but Ricky Bugg's trey bounced off the rim.
Soon, the Cougars were bouncing off the floor.
"Pretty gratifying win, but to have so many kids make so many plays," remarked the highly pleased Conrad.
Plus, Palmyra was celebrating a neighborhood victory that may have stopped its recent nosedive in the District 3-AAA power rankings -- to No. 15, thanks to a two-game slide -- and ensured its spot in the 18-team field.
"We're hoping to make a run in the playoffs," Mackey said.
And after Monday night's comeback, they just might.
MICHAEL BULLOCK: mbullock@pennlive.com
BULLOCK ON TWITTER: @thebullp_n