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EASTON — For the first 10 or so minutes, it looked like Pocono Mountain East was going to do what many felt like was impossible.
The Cardinals held an early lead against the three-time defending district champion Parkland Trojans, finishing the first quarter up 10-8. But a strong second quarter by Blake Nassry, and a strong third quarter from Javian Porter, helped Parkland pull away with the 53-41 victory and advance to the district finals.
East's season is not done (all semifinal teams will go to the 6A state tournament), but that doesn't erase the sting. However, the Cardinals came in as heavy underdogs, even after upsetting top-seeded Northampton, delivered a sucker punch to start the game, and never let Parkland run away with it.
Joe McManus' squad also earned the respect of a lot of fans and media alike who witnessed the intensity and pressure for the first time. And the first-year head coach felt the same way about his team.
"I'm really proud of our guys," McManus said after the game. "We had to beat a tough Northampton team, and it didn't get any easier going against Parkland, and we still had a lot of doubters. Our guys fought, they're tough. It's just that you have to play the game for four quarters. Unfortunately, we didn't do that and we have to live with those results.
"But we'll learn from it and get ready for our next game."
East's defense showed up against Parkland, especially early in the game. The team did well on closing airspace on shooters and contesting all shots. While there were some lapses that creeped in as the game went on, the real catalyst was Nassry, who drilled a couple of 3-pointers from the volleyball line in the second quarter and caught fire.
Nassry finished with 30 points, and McManus pulled out all the stops to get him out of rhythm, but to no avail.
"When a player plays that well, you have to give him credit. We had him on our board as someone to watch out for," McManus said. "I thought our help defense should've been a little better - we talked during timeouts and at halftime about getting a hand in his face and pinching the middle on drives. We tried making the adjustments, unfortunately it wasn't enough.
"Nassry showed out. Give credit where credit is due."
More: PV's Evan Gillespie wins district wrestling title, 6 advance to regionals
Aside from Nassry, Porter, who misssed most of the season due to injury, added 15 points and a transition dunk that felt like a dagger in the end. But there was little scoring to speak of from anyone else on Parkland. Nassim Addams, TJ Lawrence, Jude Ruisch and others were all held in check for the most part, which kept East in the game late.
What kept the Cardinals from making a late push was not capitalizing on their defense. When East plays with pace and everyone gets a touch and moves without the ball, they get open shots. They're even better in transition, where Dominic McManus, Aiden Pierre and Christian Varkanis all shine with their athleticism and finishing.
But when Pierre got in early foul trouble and the offense was slowed down, that's where the challenges started to arise.
"I thought we got more looks than we did in the quarterfinals, we just couldn't finish," McManus said. "I kept guys in there a long time so they might've been a little fatigued."
McManus knew East had to play nearly a "perfect" game to beat Parkland, and to their credit, the first 10ish minutes were as close to perfect as anyone expected. More importantly, East should walk away from the semifinal knowing they have what it takes to compete with a state title contender, which Parkland has been the last few years.
There's one last tuneup before states - a consolation game vs. Whitehall at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 at Executive Education Academy Charter School. The opening round of states will be Saturday, March 7.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: East boys basketball learns hard lessons in district semis loss
Continue reading...
The Cardinals held an early lead against the three-time defending district champion Parkland Trojans, finishing the first quarter up 10-8. But a strong second quarter by Blake Nassry, and a strong third quarter from Javian Porter, helped Parkland pull away with the 53-41 victory and advance to the district finals.
East's season is not done (all semifinal teams will go to the 6A state tournament), but that doesn't erase the sting. However, the Cardinals came in as heavy underdogs, even after upsetting top-seeded Northampton, delivered a sucker punch to start the game, and never let Parkland run away with it.
Joe McManus' squad also earned the respect of a lot of fans and media alike who witnessed the intensity and pressure for the first time. And the first-year head coach felt the same way about his team.
"I'm really proud of our guys," McManus said after the game. "We had to beat a tough Northampton team, and it didn't get any easier going against Parkland, and we still had a lot of doubters. Our guys fought, they're tough. It's just that you have to play the game for four quarters. Unfortunately, we didn't do that and we have to live with those results.
"But we'll learn from it and get ready for our next game."
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East's defense showed up against Parkland, especially early in the game. The team did well on closing airspace on shooters and contesting all shots. While there were some lapses that creeped in as the game went on, the real catalyst was Nassry, who drilled a couple of 3-pointers from the volleyball line in the second quarter and caught fire.
Nassry finished with 30 points, and McManus pulled out all the stops to get him out of rhythm, but to no avail.
"When a player plays that well, you have to give him credit. We had him on our board as someone to watch out for," McManus said. "I thought our help defense should've been a little better - we talked during timeouts and at halftime about getting a hand in his face and pinching the middle on drives. We tried making the adjustments, unfortunately it wasn't enough.
"Nassry showed out. Give credit where credit is due."
More: PV's Evan Gillespie wins district wrestling title, 6 advance to regionals
Aside from Nassry, Porter, who misssed most of the season due to injury, added 15 points and a transition dunk that felt like a dagger in the end. But there was little scoring to speak of from anyone else on Parkland. Nassim Addams, TJ Lawrence, Jude Ruisch and others were all held in check for the most part, which kept East in the game late.
What kept the Cardinals from making a late push was not capitalizing on their defense. When East plays with pace and everyone gets a touch and moves without the ball, they get open shots. They're even better in transition, where Dominic McManus, Aiden Pierre and Christian Varkanis all shine with their athleticism and finishing.
You must be registered for see images
But when Pierre got in early foul trouble and the offense was slowed down, that's where the challenges started to arise.
"I thought we got more looks than we did in the quarterfinals, we just couldn't finish," McManus said. "I kept guys in there a long time so they might've been a little fatigued."
McManus knew East had to play nearly a "perfect" game to beat Parkland, and to their credit, the first 10ish minutes were as close to perfect as anyone expected. More importantly, East should walk away from the semifinal knowing they have what it takes to compete with a state title contender, which Parkland has been the last few years.
There's one last tuneup before states - a consolation game vs. Whitehall at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28 at Executive Education Academy Charter School. The opening round of states will be Saturday, March 7.
This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: East boys basketball learns hard lessons in district semis loss
Continue reading...
