For at least a quarter, everything Oswayo Valley needed to hang around with Elk County Catholic happened.
As the game progressed, however, the Crusaders flexed their muscles and proved why they are one of the top teams in District 9, handily defeating the Green Wave 69-24 on Friday night to advance to the Class A semifinals next week.
ECC started the game on an 11-2 run, but Oswayo Valley picked up some momentum and outscored the Crusaders 5-3 to close the quarter. The Green Wave got stops on the defensive end, and took advantage of some of ECC’s defensive lapses on the other end. That little run at the end of the first would prove to be the last for OV, as ECC played two quarters of some of the most dominating basketball you’ll ever see.
Oswayo Valley was held to just one combined field goal in the second and third quarters, while the Crusaders put up a staggering 46 points in that span. At the end of three, the score was 60-15. As the game progressed and OV’s starters got tired, ECC’s bench players outscored the outmanned Green Wave 21-2 for the game.
“Good start to the playoffs. I think we were just a little bit stronger and quicker than Oswayo and that was the difference,” Elk County Catholic head coach Aaron Straub said. “I didn’t see our skill level being outstanding or us doing the little things tonight, but we shot and made easy layups because we forced turnovers.”
ECC had a 23-6 edge in transition points, and forced 22 turnovers unofficially. It was a balanced offensive attack for the Crusaders, with 12 players tallying at least two points. Senior Ryan Newton again led the offensive output for ECC, contributing a game-high 15 points — including seven to pace his team in the first quarter.
“We needed to get Ryan going again,” Straub said. “He carried us in the early part of the year, and if we are going to make a run, we have to get him the ball in a good scoring position. He’s doing some good things and impacting shots on defense, but we need to get him going offensively. Like I say, get him in a position where he can establish the game inside-out. If we are going to be successful we need to do that.”
The Crusaders also held Oswayo’s best player in check for the majority of the game. Theo Henry, who entered the game 30 points shy of 1,000 for his career, has been a nightmare for opposing defenses all season. On Friday, Straub and his Crusaders drew up a defensive game plan pregame, and were able to execute it.
“We had a lot of respect for him,” Straub said. “Anytime you’re closing in on 1,000 points for your career, that means that you’re working hard and putting a lot of time in. We put our best defender on him with the goal of trying to limit his touches. Our number one priority was trying to slow him down and I thought we did a nice job.”
Henry finished with 13 points in the game, but didn’t hit a field goal until the third quarter. Henry, who averages close to 19 points per game this season, will finish just 17 points shy of the 1,000-point mark in what has been a great career in a Green Wave uniform.
“I wish and I know he wishes that he had a few more games to get his 1,000th, because he certainly deserves it,” Straub added.
For the Crusaders, they’ll match up against three-seeded Cameron County in one of the Class A semifinal games next week at a time and place yet to be determined. The Red Raiders are fresh off of a 66-32 win against Austin on Thursday night, and it should make for a competitive game.
For Straub, who has guided ECC to a 76-7 mark over the past three seasons, it’s not all that surprising to learn that he saw plenty of areas that his team needs to work on from Friday night — even after outscoring OV by 45 points.
“I wish I could tell you that we out-executed them, I wish I could tell you that we out-played them and I wish I could tell you that our schemes were so great tonight,” Straub said. “It was just a case where we were step quicker and a little bit stronger with the ball and that was the difference in the game. Cameron County is a good team and we will need to tighten things up and come prepared against them.”
For a coach that has 36 seasons and 813 wins under his belt, you can bet that message will be heard loud and clear from his players.
AT BRADFORD
Oswayo Valley (24)
Theo Henry 2 9-12 13, Babcock 2 0-0 6, Karr 1 2-2 4, Waterman 0 2-3 2, Bryant 0 0-0 0. Totals: 5 13-17 24
Elk County Catholic (69)
Ryan Newton 7 1-1 15, Hoffman 5 0-0 11, Wehler 4 0-0 10, Breindel 1 3-3 6, Klawuhn 2 0-0 5, Gregory 2 0-0 4, Wortman 2 0-0 4, Uberti 1 1-2 4, O’Leary 1 0-0 2, Boland 1 0-0 2, Schneider 1 0-0 2, Lindenmuth 1 0-0 2. Totals: 25 5-7 69
OV 7 13 15 24
ECC 14 35 60 69
Three-point goals: ECC 6 (Wehler 2, Breindel 1, Hoffman 1, Klawuhn 1, Uberti 1), OV 2 (Babcock 2); Total fouls: ECC 17 , OV 11; fouled out: none
