On Monday, Dec. 8, the State College Little Lions took on the Hempfield Black Knights at the North Gym in their home opener. The Little Lions entered 0-1 after a season-opening loss to Red Lion.
State College bounced back, jumping out to a quick start. After giving up the first points, State College took momentum and never gave it back en route to a 58-31 victory.
State College held Hempfield to five points in the first quarter while putting up 14. The starters, including seniors Michael Powell and Parker Thurley, did a great job of spreading the ball around as everyone had a shooting opportunity in the first.
The team’s quick and decisive game plan worked to full effect as they carried even more momentum into the second quarter.
“I mean, an emphasis all week was about again, kind of establishing the tone early, because in our first game, I thought we were the reactionary team versus the team dictating. So we made it an emphasis all week to make sure that we were the ones kind of dictating the flow of the game. I thought the guys responded to that really well, because if you’re the team dictating, you don’t have to work as hard,” Head Coach Brian Scholly said.
The Little Lions held a 16-point lead at half, and sophomore Micah James was an important part of that lead.
“It’s really important for us to keep the same energy throughout the game, like we can’t let off the brakes, because, I mean, that team that we just played, they came back from down to 15 on Saturday. So, it was really important, especially at half, for us, to just keep it on,” James said.
The Black Knights never came close to building a comeback this time, as State College stretched its lead as large as 28 points in the fourth quarter.
After some student section chanting, juniors Kellen Williams and Keen Furmanek helped the team close out a 58-31 win.
Scholly was adamant about the defensive game plan, and it showed. The defense was impressive throughout the game, with multiple turnovers forced in each quarter.
“The only thing that can score is the ball. So when things get a little chaotic, human nature is to run to my man, but all that does is just spread the floor out for the ball to be able to attack the rim. So we constantly, constantly emphasize putting our focus onto the ball and making sure we’re not too far away from the ball and make sure it’s five defenders versus one basketball,” Scholly said.
The Little Lions’ offense was also on point. While they lack size compared to other teams, their speed and agility were on full display against the Black Knights.
“Especially since we’re a smaller team, we’re really focused on being physical and just being in the right places…in practice, we get a lot of full court drills, like passing the ball up the floor, doing a whole lot of running,” James said.
State College evened up its record to 1-1 on the season, then destroyed Altoona 73-29 on Dec. 10 to improve to 2-1, and will be back home at the North Gym on Dec. 12 against Harrisburg.
