Well, I haven't come down with carpal tunnel syndrome just yet (although my fingers are a little sore from frantically typing), so I figure I might as well go through with the back-to-back live blog as planned.
Following the Delone Catholic girls victory over Spring Grove, the Delone boys hit the floor to face a formidable West York squad. I watched these two teams faced each other in the semifinals last year and remember West York scoring 82 points and winning by 14 before going on to win its second straight championship. It might be tougher this year, with Delone fresh off an upset of York Suburban, presumably playing its best basketball of the season.
I'll be updating this entry throughout the game, which has just begun. You can watch the video here. Just keep reloading this entry to read my running insight and analysis, or whatever you want to call it.
Early signs of a shootout: Delone is looking strong early in this contest, Cody Smith hit a jumper from the left elbow, Chris Hartmann blocked Ben Cable's shot and drove for a dunk and Noah Landi turned a steal into a layup to help the Squires grab a first-quarter lead. Hartmann is looking strong, scoring again in transition with a layup and using all 6 feet, 6 inches on both sides of the court. Of course, West York made sure the Squires remembered which team has won the last two league tournaments, getting 3-pointers from a couple players, I think they were Zmolek and Cable, helping the Bulldogs come back and take a 20-19 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Champs staying strong: West York got a quick Jordan Rinehart layup and a score in transition to jump ahead 24-19 with 6:46 left in the second quarter. From what I've seen, the Bulldogs haven't exactly been a high-scoring outfit this season, but I guess they are in their element, with this being the YAIAA tournament.
Delone needs better defense: I'm not sure what the Squires did to take down York Suburban on Tuesday, but when I saw them lose to Kennard-Dale a couple of weeks ago, their big problem was allowing too many easy shots. The Rams shot over 60 percent while beating the Squires. Delone is having similar issues tonight. West York is getting a ton of open looks, especially from behind the 3-point line. The Bulldogs just hit another 3-pointer, and this one was from Luke Cable, I think, to grab a 31-22 lead with 4:06 to go until the half.
Double-digits for the Bulldogs: The scoring continued for West York at the end of the second quarter and the Bulldogs, led by Ben Cable's 11 points, hold a 36-26 lead at the break. Coming out of a timeout at the four-minuet mark, the Squires pulled to within five, and Hartmann had a chance to make it a one-possession game with a pair of free throws, but the senior missed both and the West York defense locked down from there while the offense continued to take advantage of open looks.
Halftime: When Chris Hartmann is in the zone, he is the best basketball player I have ever covered at the high school level. He can display toughness and has speed and court smarts and can even hit a jump shot. But when he is struggling, he doesn't look any better than an average varsity player. After the first three or four minutes, the West York defense found a way to control Hartmann, and he has struggled since then. Plus, the Bulldogs keep knocking down open shots, as you would expect. It seems like Delone needs to put more pressure on West York on the perimeter and force some turnovers to get back into this game.
More West York: The Squires scored the first field goal of the third quarter, but West York struck back with four straight points one two layups, one on an offensive rebound by Brandon Parker and another by Zmolek off an inbound. Delone coach Jim Dooley must not of liked what he saw, calling a timeout with his team down 12 and 6:07 left in the third quarter.
Delone's outside touch: Cody Smith to the rescue. The Bulldogs led by as many as 15 points midway through the third quarter, but Delone started draining shots from beyond the arc, hitting three 3-pointers on a 13-2 run that cut the West York led to 47-43 going into the fourth quarter. Smith had at least two of those field goals from bonusphere and I think he had all three of them. Plus, the Delone defense is battling much better in the paint and coming down with key rebounds.
Controlling the boards: I don't think West York has come down with an offensive rebound since early in the third quarter. Delone is getting position, boxing out, and limiting the Bulldogs to only one shot on offense. With the Bulldogs in a shooting slump over the last fre minutes, Delone had managed to creep even closer, pulling to within 49-47 with 5:52 left in the contest.
Neck and neck: West York scored four straight points on a Ben Cable jumper and a Parker layup to go up by six, but Smith just hit a pair of free throws for Delone to make the score 53-49 with 4:21 remaining. Smith has 16 points, second only to Hartmann's 18, which is a game high at this point. Delone is much improved defensively, and has forced several turnovers over the last few minutes.
Brady can shoot too: Delone guard Austin Brady just hit a 3-pointer from the left baseline to make the score 53-52 with 2:34 left to play. That's the last thing West York needs: another shooter to worry about on the perimeter.
It always seems to come down to free throws: West York managed to draw fouls on its next two possessions, with Parker making one of two and Ben Cable sinking both from the free throw line. Cable then stepped up and stole the ball from a Delone player (I think it was Hartmann), diving for the rock and calling a timeout with 1:49 left and West York up 56-52. That's the kind of all-out play that has become typical of the West York program. It led to Mark Fox drawing a foul of his own and hitting both shots to make it a six-point advantage.
More charity-stripe sweetness: After Delone made a basket to cut the West York lead to four, the Bulldogs worked the ball around the perimiter until the Squires were forced to foul Ben Cable. The senior hit both free throws and then, after Hartmann was called for traveling, was fouled again and hit two more. That put West York up by eight with 43 seconds left. Another Delone turnover led to another trip to the line for Cable. This time he only made one of two, but it was still enough to put the Bulldogs ahead by nine points and basically seal the victory.
Turnover, turnover, turnover: Literally. Three straight on three possessions from Delone with less than a minute and a half left in the game. That's unacceptable for a championship-aspiring team under any circumstances, and helped West York turn a one-point game with two-and-a-half minutes left into a 64-54 victory.
Wrap-up: As they always seem to do, the Bulldogs came through with stellar play in the clutch, stepping up in the fourth quarter and picking up the victory. West York looks poised for a postseason run and should make some waves in the district tournament. They still have a lot of work left if they want a YAIAA three-peat. I believe next up for the Bulldogs is Eastern York, which hasn't lost a game since December and ended West York's season last year in the first round of the district tournament. Delone played well in spots, but could not make it two wins in a row over Class AAA powers. The Squires are still a major contender for the District 3 Class AA crown a year after Delone finished as the runner-up in that tournament.
Delone is the epitome of hot and cold. But when they do find consistency, they're hard to stop. What helps? Kauffman hitting a few putbacks, Austin Brady/Cody Smith hitting a few outside shots, and Noah Landi being a nuissance on the defensive end.
That what's happening?
Notice: Delone doesn't have much beyond their starting five.
As many negatives as Hartmann has, he has an equal amount of negatives. I won't list the positives because they're obvious.
Negatives: poor shot selection, handle, jump shot beyond 15-feed, tendency to give up on defense, emotions affect his play....I mean, if a team stops him, they stop Delone. That's the bottom line.