CLARION — Wonderful.
That’s how Coudersport head coach Brian Furman described the feeling after his undefeated Falcons (24-0) team claimed the school’s first district championship since 2008 Saturday night at Clarion University, beating Brockway, 67-61, for the District 9 Class AA crown.
“It just caps off a great season,” Furman said. “We win our league, we go undefeated in the regular season and then to cap it off with a district title is just wonderful.”
Coudersport used an astounding 19-of-27 effort from the foul line in the fourth quarter to wear down the Rovers and force them into foul trouble.
“We’ve talked about that all year long,” Furman said. “All year long we’ve talked about how there are going to be games where foul shooting is the difference, and it was tonight.”
Sophomore guard Owen Chambers hit on all six of his fourth quarter attempts from the line, while adding three 3s and three two-pointers to finish with a game-high 22 points.
For the sweet-shooting sophomore, Saturday night served as a bit of revenge. In last year’s Class A final against Elk Catholic, Coudersport narrowly lost to the Crusaders.
“It feels great knowing we came so close last year and got second place last year,” Chambers said. “It feels good this year to get the win.”
Chambers’ 3-pointer with 40 seconds left in the third quarter opened the game up to a nine-point, 45-36, advantage. Coudersport led by as many as 14 down the stretch, but Brockway could never close the gap, mostly due to the Falcons’ free-throw shooting.
Coudersport was playing without the services of senior guard Aaron Wolfinger, who was out Saturday after getting tossed from Tuesday’s semifinal against Clarion-Limestone. The Falcons also had to play without 1,000-point scorer Jared Green, who sat much of the third quarter and fouled out midway through the fourth.
In their places, guards Derek Keglovits (10 points) and Zach Layag (13 points) stepped up with ball-handling and rebounding.
The Falcons now advance to Saturday’s first round of the state tournament against the fourth-place team from District 6. Brockway (16-10), which was led in scoring by Jarrett Esposito’s 20 points, draws the third-place team from District 7.
At Clarion
Brockway (61)
Puhala 1 0-1 1, Miller 0 2-2 2, Jarrett Esposito 9 2-5 20, Adams 3 0-1 8, Lundgren 2 2-2 6, Quenton Jackson 4 0-0 11, Jake Winberg 4 1-2 12. Totals: 23 7-13 61.
Coudersport (67)
Zach Layag 4 5-10 13, Owen Chambers 6 7-7 22, Rigaws 1 4-4 7, Derek Keglovits 1 7-10 10, Green 3 1-1 7, Ricke 3 0-0 8. Totals: 18 25-33 67.
Brockway12 23 36 61
Coudersport 16 27 45 67
Three-point goals: Brockway 8 (Adams 2, Jackson 3, Wineberg 3); Coudersport 7 (Chambers 3, Rigas, Keglovits, Ricke 2).
Fouled out: Green (Coudersport), Esposito (Brockway)
