CLARION — For three and a half quarters, the Elk County Catholic Crusaders couldn’t figure out how to score on Cornell’s 2-3 zone defense.
And when they finally did, down by 15 points in the fourth, it was too late.
Held to just 26 points through three quarters, the Crusaders had their season ended in the PIAA Class A second round by District 7’s (WPIAL) Cornell, 53-44, Tuesday at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
The Raiders (20-8), boasting three four-year starters, employed the zone attack from the opening whistle and never deviated from it.
The Crusaders (27-2), one of the most composed teams in District 9, committed 13 turnovers — including nine in the first half — in an uncharacteristically sloppy performance.
“They were very good. They came in with a really good plan,” ECC head coach Aaron Straub said of his opponents. “We’re a really good team when we’re in our element and this year our element was playing against a man more than it was playing against a zone. Next year our element could be playing against a zone and attacking a zone better.”
The game went back-and-forth in the opening period, with Cornell holding a slim 3-point lead after one.
In the second quarter, however, things began to unravel quickly for the Crusaders and it ultimately got them into a deficit they couldn’t overcome. Forcing turnovers and shooting at a 50% clip from the field (10-for-20) in the first half, the Raiders went on a 13-4 run mid-way through the second to take a 24-12 lead. ECC did score the final five points of the half to make it 24-17 and stay within striking distance.
And while ECC shot 6-for-19 in the first half, it was hurt by those nine turnovers that were a result of an added wrinkle in Cornell’s zone that the Crusaders weren’t used to, according to Straub.
“That was a different type of zone than we’ve seen as far as they really got away from the baseline so we needed to probably get the ball in behind the zone on the baseline and attack from there,” Straub noted. “They were so quick out front that we weren’t able to get the ball to the baseline. We tried to do that a couple of times and we weren’t successful. Hey, that’s a good team and a very senior-laden team, as we were, and tonight they played a little bit better than we did.”
Behind eight points in the third quarter from Zaier Harrison and five from Kaden DiVito, Cornell built its lead up to 38-26 heading into the fourth. That duo gave the Crusaders fits all game, as Harrison netted a game-high 15 and DiVito added 13.
And after Harrison drilled a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter and give his Raiders a 41-26 lead, it looked as if the game was over.
But the Crusaders — with six seniors and one of the best coaches in Pennsylvania history — had other ideas.
Mark Kraus, Will Uberti and Carter Lindemuth each hit 3-pointers over the next couple of minutes, and the Crusaders forced turnovers to hold Cornell scoreless on the other end. Lindemuth’s 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining cut the Raiders’ lead to six, 45-39.
“First of all, you don’t want to get into that position where you’re down by 15, but when you find yourself there (you have) to scrap back,” Straub said.
“I thought we battled; I’m really proud of our kids for taking their best shot and still hanging in there and trying to scrap.”
ECC had a chance to trim the deficit even further on its next possession, but Lindemuth missed both of his free-throw attempts. From there, the Raiders went on to score their next five points via free throws, and two makes from Isaiah Langston at the charity stripe with less than 40 seconds remaining put the Raiders up by nine and sealed their win.
Despite making just three shots from the field in the fourth quarter, Cornell shot over 50%, 18-for-35, for the game.
“They played extremely well; they shot it lights out from the first shot of the game,” Straub said. “They have three kids that were four-year starters for them.”
Cornell made just two more 3-pointers (7) than ECC (5), but four of the Crusaders’ makes from long range came in the fourth quarter.
Regis Wortman had a team-high 13 points and finished his two-game PIAA postseason with 38 points. On this night, he was also the only Crusader who could successfully attack that zone.
“We didn’t shoot it very well but there’s always a reason you don’t shoot it very well,” Straub said of ECC’s 14-for-40 shooting night. “Our attack wasn’t very good. Regis got the ball to the hoop and kept us in there for awhile. We just needed a little bit of a better plan.”
The loss marks a tough ending to the careers of six Elk County Catholic seniors, five of whom were in the starting lineup on Tuesday.
Straub contends that his team was by no means intimidated by facing the second-place team out of the WPIAL, but rather that they struggled to make the proper in-game adjustments — which he blamed on himself.
“Our schedule prepared us for this game,” Straub said. “I believe that we’ve played against some really good teams like this year. Like I said, a lot of the responsibility (of that) poor offensive attack was a lack of direction that I had for them.
“We talk about two things in our program: give more than you take and leave the program in better shape than you found it. Our six seniors are wonderful examples of what an Elk County Catholic high school athlete is all about.”
Cornell advances to Friday’s quarterfinals against Bishop Carroll, 52-51 winners Tuesday against Shade High School.
AT CLARION
Cornell (53)
Zaier Harrison 6 0-0 15, Kaden DiVito 5 1-3 13, Isaiah Langston 3 4-5 10, Sams 2 2-2 8, King-Waldon 2 0-0 4. Totals: 18 7-10 53
Elk Catholic (44)
Regis Wortman 4 5-6 13, Lindemuth 3 0-3 7, Kraus 2 0-0 6, Gregory 2 2-2 6, Hoffman 1 0-0 3, Uberti 1 0-0 3, Breindel 0 2-2 2. Totals: 14 9-13 44
Cornell 11 24 38 53
ECC 8 17 26 44
Three-point goals: Cornell 7 (Harrison 3 DiVito 2, Sams 2), ECC 5 (Kraus 2, Lindemuth, Hoffman, Uberti); Total fouls: Cornell 13, ECC 14; fouled out: Wortman (ECC)
