DUBOIS — The Coudersport Falcons had one of the biggest — and most exciting — victories in school history on Saturday night in the PIAA playoffs when Owen Chambers sank a 3-pointer as time expired to save his team front the brink of elimination.
But the Falcons’ have had to quickly go from celebration to preparation in anticipation of tonight’s PIAA second round matchup at 7:30 p.m. at DuBois High School.
Coudersport (23-2) faces an opponent in Bishop Guilfoyle (24-2) that boasts one of the top scoring offenses in all of Pennsylvania and just put up 100 points in its first round PIAA game.
But just like every other game that Chambers has donned Falcon purple over the last four seasons, Coudersport always has a chance with one of the top players in the state on its side.
“This time of year you are going to play good teams,” Coudersport coach Brian Furman said. “Hopefully we can get out there and match their intensity and maybe come out with a win.”
The key to a Falcon upset will start on the defensive end and their ability to contain Bishop Guilfoyle’s hot perimeter shooting.
The Marauders, which knocked off Sto-Rox 100-68 on Saturday, sank 17 3-pointers in that game and pulled away with a 59-point first half.
Coudersport gave up 12 3-pointers in their first round victory over South Side Beaver, and have emphasized better coverage on the 3-point line this week in practice.
“We certainly talked about that and worked hard on that (Monday),” Furman said. “They’re good offensively and get after it defensively. Looking at the scores, they are going to keep pressure on and not going to let up.”
The Marauders have scored over 80 points in four consecutive games.
Leading the way for BG all season has been Luke Ruggery, a D-I commit to Saint Francis University and the school’s all-time leading scorer.
“He’s a good shooter that plays point sometimes,” Furman said. “He plays off the ball too, he’s real quick and he sees the floor well.”
Ruggery had a team-high 34 on Saturday, but as Furman pointed out, the Marauders certainly aren’t one-dimensional and have a variety of weapons.
“The problem with them is that they shoot the ‘3’ well but they also do good job of getting penetration and kicking,” Furman said. “We have to be aware of both and try to keep people out of line and be able to close out and contest threes.”
Furman has led Coudersport to the PIAA second round for the fourth straight season, though the Falcons have been unable to advance to the quarterfinals since 2008.
A storyline just as big as the game itself, Owen Chambers now sits just 19 points shy of the District 9 all-time scoring mark of 2,257 tallies set by Johnsonburg’s Calvin Grumley in 2007.
Chambers, who has 2,239 career points, registered just eight tallies in the first half against South Side Beaver before exploding for 19 over the last 16 minutes.
But as Furman sees it, the key for the Falcons to win on Saturday — and to get Chambers that record — will be the shooting guard’s teammates.
“We have six guys outside of Owen that scored double-digits over the course of the year,” he said.
Against South Side Beaver, Kolby VanWhy had 16 points, Travis Gleason 13 and Hayden Keck 10.
“We have a lot of kids that can score the ball. The key is going to be taking care of it and not turning it over.”
Game notes:The winner plays either District 10 champion Farrell or WPIAL runner-up Serra Catholic Saturday (Coudy lost to Farrell in PIAA football playoffs in November)…. Ruggery and Chambers are the only two seniors in either team’s starting lineup….The Marauders are looking for their first quarterfinal appearance since 1997….Chambers has tallied 800 points so far this season, 303 more than any other player in D-9…. According to the Altoona Mirror, Saturday’s 36-point win for BG was the most lopsided in school history in a PIAA game.
