ALTOONA – It was a failure to launch for the Southern Fulton
Indians as Elk County Catholic advanced to the PIAA Class A
quarterfinals with a dominating 77-53 victory at Altoona High
School on Tuesday.

The contest was pretty much decided by the intermission as the
Crusaders forced 12 first-half turnovers and limited the District 5
champs to just 33 percent from the floor over the first two
periods.

“The objective is to move on and to play in the next round,”
said Aaron Straub, ECC head coach. “We accomplished that objective
and we need to take care of business Friday night.”

The second-ranked team in the state shot 52 percent from the
field and will now face Kennedy Catholic (22-6) on Friday at a site
and time to be announced.

“We have a resilient group of kids and you’re going to see a
very energetic and excited group this Friday,” Straub remarked.

The second-round affair was tied at 4-4 when Dan Scutella and
Kevin Genevro nailed consecutive three-pointers, and Kyle Mahoney
followed with two free throws for a 12-4 ECC advantage midway
through the first quarter.

After a trifecta by P.J. Hixon cut the Indians’ deficit to 12-7,
Josh Salter blistered the nets with a pair of triples and Brad
Meholic added another bomb for a 23-9 cushion after one.

Hixon had scored 13 of his squad’s 15 points in a 28-15
disparity when ECC’s Jesse Bosnik registered four assists and one
bucket to fuel a 10-0 run for a 38-15 bulge with 3:45 left in the
half.

“Jesse (Bosnik) is seeing the floor well and he is an important
component of what we are trying to do,” Straub declared.

It was 39-20 when a basket in the paint by Tony Lecker at the
45-second juncture and a driving layup from Bosnik just before the
buzzer gave the Crusaders a commanding 43-20 lead at the break.

Any chance of an Indian uprising in the second half was quickly
subdued by four straight points from Mahoney to start the third
quarter.

The Crusaders’ lead wavered between 22 and 25 points the entire
third stanza and then mushroomed to 65-37 when Bosnik commenced the
final quarter with four consecutive points.

Then with 4:10 remaining, a trifecta from the left wing by
Bosnik presented ECC with its biggest lead of the night at
73-44.

The Indians then made a harmless run down the stretch and were
outscored in the second half by just one point by shooting 52
percent from the field.

“I’m not concerned of how well they (Indians) shot it,” Straub
stated. “I’m more concerned that we didn’t guard very well and
that’s something we need to improve upon. We also need to do a
better job offensively. I thought we shot it too quickly. We got
some transition baskets and our defense looked good at times, but
we didn’t look fluid on the offensive end.”

Bosnik led ECC with 23 points and eight assists, Lecker
registered 12 rebounds and Meholic contributed four steals. Hixon
led Southern Fulton (23-6) with 28 points on 11-for-17 from the
field.

“Hixon hurt us the whole game,” Straub confessed. “I can’t
remember the last time a player got 28 points on us.”

The Crusaders are now 30-0, but that lofty record means nothing
to coach Straub and his players.

“If we go into that game Friday thinking we are 30-0, we’ll be
in a lot of trouble,” Straub admitted. “We’ve maintained all year
we are 0-0 and on Friday we are looking for our first win.”