CLARION — It may not have been the prettiest of victories, but Johnsonburg is moving on in the state playoffs for the first time since running the table to the state championship game in 2013.
With the 49-39 win over Jamestown, Johnsonburg advances against District 6 champion Saltsburg (25-1), which topped Vincentian Academy, 63-57, Friday night.
In a matchup of the only two sub-.500 teams in the Class A boys tournament, the Rams did enough on offense to come away with the victory to climb back to an even 13-13 on the season. Jamestown went almost six minutes between scores in the first half and Johnsonburg hit on just 13-of-26 shots from the foul line.
“It wasn’t as crisp as maybe it could have been, but a win’s a win,” Rams head coach Bill Shuey said. “Sometimes when you play that kind of game, it has the effect on everyone.”
Jamestown (8-17),making its first-ever state playoff appearance, wore down late in the game as the Rams shuffled in player after player. This strategy by Shuey also gave his younger players experience in a big-game environment and on Tippin Gymnasium’s college-sized court.
“I think this experience for the underclassmen is a good experience for them,” Shuey said. “We want them to experience this as much as the seniors because this is the their last hurrah. It’s nice to be able to get a mixture of players in there and still perform.”
Junior guard Trevor Lobaugh added 10 points off the bench and sophomore Isaac Schloder added four.
“We tend to have that problem starting slowly,” Shuey said. “We missed a lot of easy shots in the first quarter. We subbed some guys out and that seemed to spark us. Isaac Schloder had a heck of a game and Trevor Lobaugh had a nice game coming off the bench. He gave us a spark.”
The Rams jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the first and never trailed after scoring off the game’s tipoff. Yet, Johnsonburg could never fully put away the Muskies, which countered every mini-run with a couple baskets of their own.
Jamestown did cut Johnsonburg’s lead down to four, 28-24, midway through the third quarter after Dawson Urbansky hit a 3-pointer. The Rams’ Ryan Kilhoffer (team-high 12 points) and Kacey Raubenstrauch (nine points) made free throws to extend the advantage.
Jacob Rhoades scored a game-high 15 points to lead Jamestown.
AT CLARION UNIVERSITY
Jamestown (39)
Urbansky 2 2-4 7, Jacob Rhoades 6 1-2 15, Smith 3 3-3 9, Stacye 1 0-0 3, Graham 1 1-2 3, College 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 7-11 39.
Johnsonburg (49)
Ryan Kilhoffer 3 6-9 12, Sheldon 1 0-0 2, Raubenstrauch 3 3-4 9, Akers 0 0-2 0, Singer 2 1-4 5, Lobaugh 2 1-3 5, Schloder 4 2-4 10, Freeburg 2 0-0 4. Totals: 18 13-26 49
Jamestown 9 19 28 39
Johnsonburg 15 27 39 47
Three-point goals: Jamestown 4 (Urbansky, Rhoades 2, Stacey)
Total fouls; Jamestown 15, Johnsonburg 14. Fouled out: Urbansky, Elliot Steadman (Jamestown). Technical foul: Stacey (Jamestown)
