Power Surge
KARNS CITY — It wasn't the start Chris Bellis was hoping for, but Karns City's boys basketball team spent the rest of the game making up for it.
The Gremlins did not score in the first five minutes of Wednesday's PIAA Class 2A first-round playoff game against District 5 champion Conemaugh Township.
Chase Beighley's basket finally broke the ice for KC. It also served in flipping the switch.
The Gremlins were off and running, dropping an 18-4 run on the Indians in the final five minutes of the first half en route to a dominating 72-46 victory.
The Gremlins (23-2) will travel to unbeaten Our Lady of the Sacred Heart for a quarterfinal playoff Saturday.
“I'd like a quicker start, but we hit a few baskets and that got us going,” said Gremlins' coach Chris Bellis.
KC's length put an end to a number of Conemaugh's possessions during the run. Forwards Nathan Waltman and Micah Rupp, who stand 6-foot-5 and 6-3, respectively, got their hands on a number of passes and totaled five blocked shots in the period. Rupp had two blocks on one possession and ended the game with six.
“That's one of Micah's strengths. He's always getting his hands in there to tip passes or block shots,” Bellis said. “We trapped some on defense, but most of his blocks came when we were in man-to-man.”
Rupp was tasked with guarding Tyler Poznanski, Conemaugh's leading scorer this season at 21.6 points per game.Poznanski finished the game with 12 points, just five coming in the first three quarters.“He played Tyler very tough, took him out of his game,” Conemaugh coach Chuck Lesko said of Rupp. “That's what great players do.”Trailing 33-14 at halftime, the Indians (14-6) needed a spark and junior guard Jackson Byer provided it.He scored 13 points in the third quarter alone, including a pair of treys, the second one bringing the Indians to within 34-22 with 6:20 left in the third.But the momentum gained at the offensive end was quickly extinguished on defense.In the span of just over a minute, Beighley drained three treys of his own. For all of the progress Conemaugh had made on offense, its deficit was still a daunting one at 50-31 after three quarters.“We tried to scratch back, but just didn't have it tonight,” Lesko said.“I would have liked to see us play better defense in the second half,” said Bellis, “but it's good to be challenged and respond to it at the other end.”Beighley finished with 26 points and five 3-pointers.“One guy hits a shot for us and everyone wants to match it,” said Beighley. “Once I hit a 3, I feel like I can make the next 12.”KC freshman Luke Cramer had 16 for the Gremlins (23-2) and Rupp added 10 points to go with 10 rebounds.Byer scored 20 for Conemaugh, which earned its first District 5 title in seven seasons last week.<b>CONEMAUGH TOWNSHIP 46</b>Tyler Poznanski 3 6-9 12, Cam Stumpf 3 2-2 8, AJ Smolen 1 0-0 2, Jackson Byer 7 4-5 20, Tanner Shirley 0 2-4 2, Connor Osbourne 1 0-0 2, Ethan Black 0 0-0 0, Connor Szapka 0 0-0 0, Alex Gregory 0 0-0 0, Trent Brenneman 0 0-0 0, Michael Shonko 0 0-2 0, Dylan Dietz 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 14-22 46.<b>KARNS CITY 72</b>Eric Booher 2 0-0 6, Micah Rupp 4 2-4 10, Chase Beighley 10 1-1 26, Luke Cramer 7 1-1 16, Jacob Callihan 1 1-1 3, Luke Garing 1 0-0 2, Nathan Waltman 3 0-0 6, Braden Grossman 1 0-0 3, Cole Sherwin 0 0-0 0, Taite Beighley 0 0-0 0. Totals: 29 5-7 72.Conemaugh Twp. 4 10 17 15 — 46Karns City 11 22 17 22 — 723-point goals: Conemaugh Township 2 (Byer 2); Karns City 9 (C. Beighley 5, Booher 2, Cramer, Grossman)Saturday: Karns City at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, PIAA Class 2A quarterfinal, 1 p.m.
