Spurt sparks Bloom
BLOOMSBURG — In a game full of streaks, Bloomsburg went on a much-needed one late in the third quarter to put an end to any thought of one-win Millville pulling off an upset.
Holding onto a five-point lead, the Panthers scored 13 unanswered points in a span that stretched into the fourth quarter to put the Quakers away, 71-55.
At the heart of the run was Nasir Heard, who scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half. He was complementary to Adam McGinley, who seemingly found all the gaps under the hoop and scored at will to finish with a game-high 33 points.
“I think [Heard] recognized in the second half that it takes more than one guy, and Adam has been consistent all year,” Bloomsburg coach Mike O’Shea said. “It was good to see [McGinley] recognize that we needed him to dump them in tonight and he delivered.”
McGinley did most of his damage in the first half, matching Millville’s (1-15) entire production with 20 points before halftime, and out producing the Quakers at one point early in the third.
“I was just crashing hard for rebounds and looking for opportunities,” McGinley said. “Our offense is designed to get open looks and I just took advantage of that.”
Millville, though, wasn’t flustered despite facing a 14-point deficit to start the second half. Quite the contrary as players were smiling and enjoying themselves during warmups.
“We tell them all the time to have fun because for some of these guys, this is the last year they’ll play the game,” Quakers coach BJ Farrow said. “They play better when they’re loose and talking to each other.”
They certainly looked that way in the third quarter, going on an 18-7 run, helped by a 12-1 streak, to close within 45-40.
Just as Bloomsburg (12-3) seemingly couldn’t sustain a drive or get any shots to drop, the Quakers had the opposite effect — even with shots from beyond the arc. Eli Klinger drained two of his three 3-pointers during the stretch and Patrick Stefan added three field goals. The duo finished with a combined 34 points, with Klinger leading the team with 22.
“We saw some gaps defensively that allowed us to take some of those deeper shots,” Farrow said. “They really helped us get back into the game.”
The Quakers accounted for all six 3-pointers in the contest with Micah Savidge draining the other three. Savidge finished with 17 points.
Bloomsburg, though, didn’t need to take the long shots, having lanes to the board all evening. Finding those lanes, and even having to create them by opening the passing game was the team’s bread and butter during their scoring sprees.
Regardless of when they needed them.
Not executing to their standards on either side of the court midway through the opening frame, the Panthers called timeout twice in a 90-second period. The second started the first of many runs by either team with the Panthers responding to O’Shea’s challenge with a 12-0 run.
“We’re in a little bit of a slump, it’s a mental battle right now for our guys,” O’Shea said of a team that had dropped two of three games entering Monday. “That second timeout early was just about getting that competitive spirit and energy and attention to playing together back.
“We didn’t have that issue early in the season, but we have the last few games. ... Guys have responded tonight, certainly offensively. Adam McGinley and Nasir Heard definitely took over the game and pushed the lead whenever we needed it and that’s what it took.”
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