With star player Hayden Keck missing his third straight game with a shoulder injury, Coudersport coach Scott Easton looked to his three other seniors to step up in Keck’s absence.
Derek Easton, Dalton Keglovits and Brandt Kightlinger did just that again on Friday night during Coudy’s 62-33 rout of Bradford at the Owls’ Nest in what was the regular season finale for both teams.
The Falcons (12-5) overcame a slow start, not scoring until the 3:39 mark in the first quarter, and outscored the Owls (8-10), 52-26, after the first quarter on the way to victory. Easton led the team with a game-high 20 points, while Garrett Kellert came off the bench and scored 17 points. Keglovits and Kightlinger each finished with nine points.
“Dalton does a good job attacking the rim. Brandt’s been killing the rebounds for us and Derek’s knocking down shots,” Scott Easton said. “I think it’s a good confidence booster to be able to play without your best player, but you still really want your best player back.”
Keck was a difference maker the last time the two teams met.
The senior and Mercyhurst football pledge helped lead the Falcons to a big second half after the Owls trailed by just three points at halftime that game. He finished that game with 27 points.
While Friday night’s game also ended with Coudy beating the Owls convincingly, it was Bradford that had the momentum to start things off.
After holding Coudy scoreless until the 3:39 mark in the first, the Owls led 7-4, before the Falcons used a 6-0 run to take a 10-7 lead heading into the second.
After tying the game at 10 and trailing by a point soon after, the shots started falling in more for Coudy, who ended the half on a 17-4 run to take a 30-16 advantage.
Throughout the game, Bradford played well in spurts, but wasn’t able to put together a solid four quarters of quality play as missed opportunities on offense early on and turnovers plagued the Owls. The team finished with 19 turnovers to Coudy’s 11, while Falcons shot 50% from the floor to Bradford’s 32%.
“We started in a zone against them. We’ve seen some teams have some success against them and I think it slowed them down a little bit, but we didn’t make them pay for it on the offensive end,” Bradford coach Chuck Bell said. “We hurt ourselves…we had a lot of turnovers that were just our own fault, missed some shots that we’d love to have go in.”
The closest the Owls would get to Coudy in the second half was a 10-2 third quarter run that cut their deficit down to 10 points. But after that, Coudy padded its lead and went on to outscore Bradford, 15-2, in the fourth quarter.
No Bradford players reached double figures as Cam Austin scored a team-high 9 points, while Jarid Wilmoth and Jake Franz finished with seven and six points, respectively.
“The most impressive thing to me was the defensive effort that we gave,” Scott Easton said. “We pushed the ball really hard offensively and we knocked down some shots.”
Friday also marked the final game at the Owls’ Nest for Bradford seniors Gavin Piscitelli and Alex Liners, who Bell said played well on Friday night and brought a lot of energy to the floor.
“I told the whole team, I couldn’t have asked for two better seniors for my first year of (head) coaching,” Bell said. “(They’re) two kids that just know how to communicate with their teammates and come hard every single day of practice and games — just real role models and leaders.”
The two teams will now turn their attention to the postseason.
Coudy, the No. 2 seed in the District 9 2A tournament, will host No. 7 Smethport on Tuesday in the quarterfinals, an opponent they beat earlier this season and not overlooking.
“They’re going to come in and give us a hard game, without a doubt,” Scott Easton said. “We are not looking past them. They’ve been playing really well. They beat Kane, who’s playing really well. They’ve come up with some nice wins, so I expect a physical game.”
Regarding Keck’s status moving forward, Scott Easton said he will be a game-time decision. The Falcons have gone 2-1 without Keck in the three games without him.
Bradford, meanwhile, will travel to Clearfield for the D9 4A semifinals on Tuesday where playing a full four quarters will once again be a heavy emphasis.
The victor will play the winner of the St. Marys-Punxsutawney semifinal matchup in next Saturday’s title game.
“We have not had a long bus trip like that this year, so we have to make sure we get off the bus ready to go and it’s going to be a playoff atmosphere,” Bell said. “It’s got to be four quarters start to finish.”
AT BRADFORD
Coudersport (62)
Derek Easton 6 4-7 20, Garrett Kellert 8 0-1 17, Keglovits 3 3-5 9, Kightlinger 4 0-0 9, Furman 2 0-0 4, Streich 1 0-0 2, Ruter 0 1-2 1. Totals: 24 8-15 62
Bradford (33)
Austin 4 0-0 9, Wilmoth 3 0-0 7, Franz 2 1-2 6, Dixon 1 0-2 3, Sarnoski 1 0-0 2, Ward 1 0-0 2, Piscitelli 0 2-2 2, Liners 0 1-4 1, A. Gleason 0 1-2 1. Totals: 12 5-12 33
Coudersport 10 30 47 62
Bradford 7 16 31 33
Three-point goals: Coudy 6 (Easton 4, Kightlinger Kellert), Bradford 4 (Austin, Wilmoth, Dixon, Franz); Total fouls: Coudy 12, Bradford 17; fouled out: None
JV: Bradford won 44-24
