ST. MARYS — District 9’s basketball dynasty has added another chapter.
For the fourth consecutive season, and for the 33rd time since 1972, the Elk County Catholic Crusaders are heading to the D-9 Class A title game.
But the Crusaders certainly had to work for it on Tuesday night.
After a back-and-forth opening half that saw Elk CC leading by just five, the Crusaders flexed their muscle to dominant the Rams over the final 16 minutes and come away with a 62-44 victory.
These two teams have plenty of recent history, as the Crusaders topped ‘Burg in the 2017 title game before the Rams stunned Elk to win the D-9 championship last year.
But the Crusaders (25-1) got the upper hand for the third time this season, and will now play the winner of North Clarion and Clarion-Limestone on Friday for a shot to reclaim their championship crown.
“I thought we attacked the basket much better than the first two games against Johnsonburg,” Elk County Catholic coach Aaron Straub said. “I think we stayed aggressive, but the bottom lines is that we hit shots. You can say any fancy words you want, or paint it any way you want, but the bottom line is we shot it well.”
And nobody shot the ball better on Tuesday — or perhaps throughout any District playoff game so far this year — than Elk’s Alex Breindel.
The Crusader senior put on a fascinating display from the 3-point line, sinking eight treys and missed just a handful of shots to lead all scorers with 26 points.
“The biggest thing that he did was when he got his shot blocked in the first quarter, he didn’t let that phase him at all,” Straub said. “I think that was the big key, because he just kept playing. He got the ball stronger to the hoop.
“He’s worked as hard as anybody I’ve ever had. Flat out. He’s in the gym all the time, he’s shooting all the time. He’s worked extremely hard to put himself into the positions to make shots.”
Breindel sank five of those 3-pointers in the second half, as the Crusaders cruised to a 35-22 advantage over the final 16 minutes.
In addition to Breindel shooting it lights-out, Elk was also able to contain Johnsonburg’s biggest offensive threat on the other end of the floor in the second half.
After Austin Green netted 11 first-half points for the Rams (16-9), the Crusaders clamped down on him late and held him to just two made field goals in the second half.
“We really tried to keep the ball out of his hands. I thought we did a really nice job guarding him man-to-man, but I thought we did a poor job knowing where he was and to pinch on him,” Straub said. “Man-on-man we did a nice job. He’s a good player who makes shots and gets the ball to the hole.”
Isaac Schloder (11 points) and Nick Bliss (10) were also in double-figures for J’burg.
The Rams’ patented 3-2 zone, which usually slows teams down to a crawl, wasn’t any issue for Elk on Tuesday. Straub said a big reason for the success against it was his team’s knowledge — and preparation — for what the Rams were going to try to do after being held to 36 points the last time these two teams met.
“I think our mentality was better,and all we preached was to attack the basket,” Straub said. For the last month, we’ve just been working every night to dedicating a segment at practice to working against the 3-2 because we knew we were going to run into Johnsonburg. We had been working a lot on it.”
Alec Wehler also had a nice offensive output for the Crusaders, scoring 19 points to create another lethal scorer for J’burg to guard.
“I think our mentality was better, that’s all we preached. Attack the basket. The other thing is, for the last month, we’ve just been working every night to dedicating a segment to working against the 3-2 because we knew we were going to run into Johnsonburg. We had been working a lot on it.”
Johnsonburg, meanwhile, will play the loser of that North Clarion-Clarion-Limestone game on Friday in the consolation round. With a trip to the PIAA playoffs already guaranteed, the game will sort out seeding and opponent for the states.
AT ST. MARYS
Johnsonburg (44)
Isaac Schloder 4 3-3 11, Austin Green 6 0-0 15, Nick Bliss 5 1-1 11, Notarianni 1 0-0 2, Stelene 1 0-0 2, Lombrana 1 0-0 3. Totals: 18 4-4 44
Elk Catholic (62)
Alex Breindel 9 0-0 26, Regis Wortman 8 3-3 19, Uberti 2 0-0 5, Wortman 3 0-0 6, Gregory 1 0-0 2, Hoffman 0 0-1 0, Bauer 1 0-0 2. Totals: 25 3-6 62
J’burg 8 22 35 44
ECC 10 27 47 62
Three-point goals: Burg 4 (Green 3, Lombrana), ECC 9 (Breindel 8, Uberti); total fouls: Burg 10, ECC 12 ;fouled out: Watts (Burg)
