United they stand
RIMERSBURG — Karen Davis hugged her son and point guard, Austin, tightly and then embraced Brody Pollock.
The Union boys basketball coach threw her arms around her players one by one in an outpouring of emotion.
Davis could hardly contain her excitement. Who could blame her after the Golden Knights knocked off Johnsonburg 49-46 in the District 9 Class A playoffs at Union High Friday night?
The win guaranteed the Golden Knights their first trip to the PIAA playoffs since 1994.
“Yes. We're over the hump,” Davis said. “Finally.”
But it's been a long and arduous road for the program. Davis herself has felt the sting of close calls and near misses since she took the reins eight years ago.
The last three seasons have ended with bitter losses early in the district playoffs.
But not this year. Not this team.
Johnsonburg, though, didn't make things easy for Davis or the Knights.
The Rams had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer, but a 3-point attempt by Joe Holmberg rolled in and out.
Union (19-6) started the game in a shooting funk, missing its first seven shots, and fell behind by four points. But the Knights surged ahead with an 11-0 run and seemed poised to put the Rams away early.
But Johnsonburg (13-12) roared back. Each time it looked like Union was set to take a comfortable lead, the Rams answered,
“We knew going in that Union, especially on their home court, would make some runs and we would have to weather them,” said Johnsonburg coach Bill Shuey. “I thought we did a nice job with that.”
Union had two seven-point leads and a five-point advantage quickly erased by the Rams.
But Pollock made sure Johnsonburg never regained the lead after the first minute of the second half.
With the score tied at 33, Pollock hit a 3-pointer and was fouled. He completed the four-point play and the Rams never tied the score again.
Pollock finished with 24 points.
“It was heart and Brody that got us this win,” said Union senior forward Trent Corle. “Brody put this team on his back and he did it. He was the game-changer in this one.”
Pollock was at his best in the clutch.
All four of his 3-pointers came when Johnsonburg was threatening to take over the momentum. The junior guard also hit 6 of 7 from the free throw line.
Pollock said his clutch play didn't come by accident. It came out of extreme disappointment as a freshman.“I was 1-of-3 from the foul line late in the game against Keystone my freshman year and we lost in overtime,” Pollock said. “From that point on, I was determined to not let the team down again.”Pollock hit two big free throws with Union up by a point with 24 seconds remaining.Johnsonburg set up a final play, but didn't execute it well, Shuey said.“The final play was supposed to go to Louie (Imbrogno),” Shuey said of his senior, who had drained three 3-pointers in the game.Instead Holmberg, who led the Rams with 16 points, took the shot. He almost made it.Instead, Davis finally has done what she set out to do eight years ago.“I sat in the bleachers and watched for a year when I gave up the girls coaching job (at Union) because I had boys of my own,” Davis said. “My thing was, do I sit here for the next nine years and complain about the coach — because that's what us parents do? Or do I step in and try to change things and try to turn things around?”Davis chose the latter and now Union will square off against either Venango Catholic or North Clarion in the semifinals Wednesday at a site and time to be determined.<B>JOHNSONBURG 46</B>Cam Grumbley 3-5 0-0 6, Quinn Luhr 0-1 0-0 0, Cole Peterson 4-7 3-3 11, Joe Holmberg 7-13 1-2 16, Mitch Holmberg 2-5 0-0 4, Mike Shuey 0-2 0-0 0, Louie Imbrogno 3-8 0-0 9. <B>Totals:</B> 19-41 4-5 46.<B>UNION 49</B>Taylor Smith 2-7 0-0 4, Brody Pollock 7-11 6-7 24, Shawn Booth 3-9 0-0 6, Trent Corle 3-7 2-4 8, Aaron Graham 0-0 2-2 2, Derek Shirey 1-1 0-0 2, Austin Davis 1-3 1-3 3. <B>Totals:</B> 17-38 11-16 49.<B>Johnsonburg 9 12 14 11—46Union 13 9 15 12—493-point goals:</B> Johnsonburg 4 (J. Holberg, Imbrogno 3); Union 4 (Pollock 4).<B>Wednesday:</B> Union vs. Venango Catholic-North Clarion winner at site and time TBD
