Gremlins collar Bulldogs
KARNS CITY — A trapped Gremlin is a dangerous Gremlin.
The Karns City boys basketball team has proven that all season.
Down 40-32 to Redbank Valley with a little more than three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Gremlins coach Steve Andreassi called a timeout.
He sat on the bench and told his players they were on their own until they displayed some intensity.
Karns City responded — big time.
The Gremlins finally showed their fangs and sunk them deep into the Bulldogs to the tune of a 19-0 run that turned what looked like a disappointing home loss into a rousing 54-44 win Tuesday night.
"We've had a lot of those this season," Andreassi said. "I guess it is a tribute to the seniors that they were able to turn it on. They were able to turn it on and maintain it."
Senior Cameron Turner was the one who flicked the switch in the second half for Karns City (16-7 overall, 14-4 in the Keystone Shortway Athletic Conference), scoring 18 of his game-high 27 points in the final two quarters.
It also helped that Redbank Valley turned ice cold from the field, failing to score a point for an eight-minute stretch in the second half.
It turned what looked to be a pleasant homecoming for former Karns City star and current Redbank Valley coach Patrick Craig into a nightmare.
Craig could only watch helplessly as his top player, Ryan Radaker, fouled out with less than a second remaining in the third quarter. The Bulldogs scored only 13 points in the second half.
"We couldn't put the ball in the hoop," Craig said. "Offensively, we just went stagnant. No one was stepping up and wanting the ball."
Craig was kicking himself for not removing Radaker when he picked up his fourth foul with 10 seconds remaining in the third quarter. But the Bulldogs had possession and were holding for a final shot.
A turnover set the stage for Radaker's fifth foul. Radaker finished with a team-high 12 points."It was real quick, bang, bang," Craig said. "Looking back, I should have made a move. But I didn't."Redbank made its biggest move in the second quarter.Karns City jumped out to a quick 15-6 lead, but the Bulldogs fired back and led 30-24 at halftime.That lead got as big as eight points before disaster struck."That's been the story of our year," said Craig, who was introduced before the game and got a rousing ovation in his return to his alma mater."It was fun coming back here," Craig said. "I saw a lot of familiar faces — family, friends. It was just really neat to be able to come back and do that."The next return for Karns City is a return to the playoffs, as the Gremlins are positioning themselves for a top seed in Class AA.No matter what the seed, Andreassi said his team needs to play from the start as if they are backed into a corner."That's definitely something we are going to work on," the coach said.<B>REDBANK VALLEY 44Doug Bish 3-7 5-6 11, Kevin Doverspike 2-9 2-2 6, Trevor Reed 5-9 0-0 10, Giovanni Monteleone 1-5 1-3 3, Ryan Radaker 3-8 5-10 12, Mike Dawson 0-1 2-4 2, Chris Clemens 0-0 0-0 0. </B>Totals: 14-39 15-25 44<B>KARNS CITY 54Cody Terwilliger 2-11 2-2 7, Mike McConnell 3-4 0-0 6, Cameron Turner 8-21 10-15 27, Matt McConnell 2-9 5-6 11, BrandonCollier 0-4 1-2 1, EvanOlszak 0-0 0-0 0, Markus LaVan 0-0 0-0 0, Dan Everetts 1-3 0-0 2, Chris Harmon 0-1 0-0 0, Brad Fuhrer 0-0 0-0 0, Jarrett LaVan 0-0 0-0 0.</B> Totals: 16-53 18-25 54<B>Redbank Valley 13 18 9 4—44Karns City 17 7 18 12—543-point goals:</B> Radaker; Terwilliger, Turner, Matt McConnell 2<B>JV:</B> Karns City 56-35<B>Thursday:</B> Karns City at Clarion
