Peters, Beighley get it done for Karns City in 55-51 win
KARNS CITY — When the heat is on, Karns City doesn’t sweat.
The Gremlins got more of a fight Monday night than visiting Punxsutawney’s record suggested coming in, but made needed plays when it mattered most in a 55-51 win.
“That’s kind of been our mojo all year is to come out in the last couple minutes and seal the deal, and we continued to do that tonight,” Karns City coach Zach Kepple said. “Definitely not the way that I would like to do things, but I guess it keeps things exciting.”
Before junior Taite Beighley sunk a pair of free throws to put the contest out of the Chucks’ reach with three ticks left on the clock, the Gremlins (14-3) had only held one lead of more than three points the entire game — that being early in the second half after one of Shane Peters’ 10 buckets on the night.
The Gremlins’ pair combined for all but 13 of their side’s points.
Punxsy (4-17) built an eight-point advantage before two minutes had passed in the second frame, then failed to score for the four minutes that ensued.
“Watching them on film, I knew they were a good basketball team,” Kepple said. “They played Brookville twice, Oil City twice, Elk County Catholic twice — all these schools up north that are good basketball teams ... They’ve been playing really good defense against teams, holding them to low points, and they did that again tonight. It was kind of what we expected.”
“We’ve just been offensively challenged,” Chucks coach Randy Reitz said. “Tonight, we moved the ball very well and we got some good looks. The effort’s there, but we still didn’t get the W.”
Five nights earlier, Karns City needed an overtime period to get past Keystone in the same gym. The ability to pull out close triumphs begins with experience — senior Micah Rupp is a four-year starter and both Braden Grossman and Beighley have been openers for the Gremlins for two years.
This time around, it was Peters that had a big part in keeping them close. He’s been in and out the starting lineup this go-round, switching with junior guard Hobie Bartoe, who wasn’t available against Punxsy. Karns City has counted on the sophomore forward to stand tall on defense and get his hands up in the paint to pluck boards.
“I came in knowing tonight that I needed to hustle more,” Peters said. “I needed to work on my posts moves and stuff. I knew I was due for a big game ... It feels good. I’m glad to put that many points up for my team and I’m glad we came out with a win.”
“Shane did a good job of knocking down the shots,” Kepple said. “I think a lot of them were near the block, but he did knock down a couple jumpers there. I thought we moved the ball well. Taite did a good job of driving and that’s where he’d dish to Shane and other guys were dishing to Shane. It was good team basketball tonight, finding the open guy.
“And it just happened to be Pete tonight.”
The Chucks led by two going into the fourth and stretched their edge to four points with 5:40 to go. The hosts would tie it up twice before a Beighley and-one gave them a permanent hold. He and Peters notched 18 of the group’s 20 points in that eight minutes. The latter paced the Gremlins in points up until the former knocked down the matchup’s last two from the stripe.
“It shows we can win close games like that,” Peters said of the victory. “I think as a team we’ve been coming closer.”
PUNXSUTAWNEY 51
Noah Weaver 8 0-0 18, Noah Kengersky 3 2-2 11, Ryen Heigley 3 0-0 8, Beau Thomas 3 2-2 8, Zachary Presloid 1 0-2 2, Mason Nesbitt 0 2-2 2, James Neese 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18 6-8 51.
KARNS CITY 55
Taite Beighley 6 10-12 22, Shane Peters 10 0-3 20, Micah Rupp 3 0-0 6, Jacob Callihan 1 2-2 4, Braden Grossman 1 0-0 3. Totals: 21 12-17 55.
Punxsutawney 12 10 15 14 — 51
Karns City 10 13 12 20 — 55
3-point goals: Punxsutawney (Kengersky 3, Hegley 2, Weaver 2); Karns City 1 (Grossman)
Wednesday: Karns City at North Clarion
