CLAMP DOWN
SOUTH CENTRE TWP. — Central Columbia showed Thursday night that a good defense is a team’s best offense.
Holding a three-point lead over Bloomsburg, the Blue Jays blew the game open early in the second quarter en route to a 61-49 win over the Panthers in District 4 Class 3A boys basketball.
With the win, No. 2 Central will host No. 3 Troy in the semifinals on Monday.
The Jays (11-2) began the second quarter on a 9-2 run, turning the slim lead into a double-digit margin. Russell Gump and Dylan Harris led the charge, scoring 15 of the Jays’ 19 points in the frame.
Coach Chris Snyder attributes the scoring burst to the team clamping down on defense and opening up lanes that weren’t present in the first quarter.
“I thought we started rather slow defensively in the first quarter,” he said. “From the second quarter on, I thought it was much better. ... Every time we stepped up defensively, it fed to our offense and we came down and took a great shot or got a great look. The energy translated directly from offense to defense.
“Our defense allowed us to rebound and then get out in transition. They struggled to guard us in transition.”
Bloomsburg’s (12-7) offense woke up in the second half and pulled to within five midway through the fourth quarter. The Jays called a timeout to snap out of the defensive lull they were in, and it worked to perfection as the Panthers never got closer.
Gump continued his strong night, scoring five unanswered points to make it a 10-point game again. He finished with a game-high 23 points while Harris added 13.
The teams went point-for-point in the third. The Jays’ Garrett McNelis provided the biggest highlight of the quarter, draining a pair of 3-pointers on consecutive possessions. He finished with a trio of 3-pointers and 15 points.
“We presented a threat both on the perimeter with Eli (Morrison), Dylan and Garrett and inside with Russ,” Snyder said. “We made it very difficult because Russ got comfortable inside and Garrett and Dylan were obviously comfortable on the outside.
“They kind of had to pick their poison, and for our team’s sake, it was really a lot for them to guard.”
It didn’t help that the Panthers often rushed possessions and couldn’t get open look shots to fall.
Bloomsburg coach Mike O’Shea still walked away pleased with the performance his guys had, battling to make it a two-possession game late. He also noted that if the Panthers had a deep threat, it could have been a much different story.
“The focus and the message from the beginning was asking these guys to sell out, physically and mentally, for all four quarters,” Bloomsburg coach Mike O’Shea said. “We went through some things that only we know about inside the gym, and I was concerned with where their headspace was and they just gave it everything they had.
“We need to find a 3-point shooter. That’s a component of the game that we didn’t have tonight, and it’s really hard to win these days when you don’t have that. Credit to them, they just brought it.”
Adam McGinley scored a team-high 16 points, nearly all from within the key.
“I feel we have the best point guard in the area in Adam,” O’Shea said. “... He’s a great basketball player all-around — great passer, great shooter and he’s paced us all season.”
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