Wildcat Basketball

By Chris Dougherty

MILTON — Friday night’s District 4 Class AAA final was one for the ages. It had everything you could ask for — physical play, big leads, comebacks and gutsy performances.
In the end it was Danville who came out on top of Mifflinburg, 61-58, in an unbelievable title game in The Jungle at Milton.
The way things began it looked as if Danville (18-6) would easily run away with the title. The Ironmen built a 19-12 lead after the first quarter and led 30-21 heading into the break, with Danville’s Ryan Reichard and Mifflinburg’s Zac Hoy traded buzzer-beating treys to end the first and second quarters, respectively.
After the third, Danville held a 40-28 advantage. Things looked to be on cruise control for those sporting orange and purple, as the Ironmen were red hot from everywhere on the court.

“It was a tale of shooting percentages,” Mifflinburg coach Eldon Hoy said. “We weren’t shooting well and they were.”
The tides turned, though, as the teams seemed to reverse roles. Danville went cold and Mifflinburg began to heat up.
The Wildcats (22-3) showed the true meaning of a team in the final three minutes of the game. Starting senior Kaleb Snyder fouled out, the deficit reached 17, and things were looking bleak.
But the team that relies so much on chemistry and unselfishness showed its true grit, putting together a 14-2 run to get within 53-49 with 90 seconds to play. Zac Hoy, Jim Sowers and Corey Murtha accounted for every basket during the stretch.
“They’ve been doing it all year, picking each other up,” Eldon Hoy said. “They’re emotional kids who never give up and really pulled it together after that deficit.”
Danville’s Reichard and Mikeal Owens-Wright would ruin their comback bid.
With Mifflinburg over the foul limit, Reichard hit 5 of 6 from the free-throw line in the final minute to keep Danville on top. His only miss left things at 58-55, giving the Wildcats another shot. However, Connor Pierce’s 3-point attempt was blocked with six seconds left, Owens-Wright sank his free throws and the game was over.
“We played excellent for three quarters,” Danville coach Dwayne Heeter said. “It’s pretty painful to watch a big lead slip away, but I think we did just enough down the stretch to hold on.”
The loss leaves Mifflinburg still in search of its first district title in the sport.
“When both teams play excellent basketball and one team hits more shots than the other, you’ve got to give them credit,” Eldon Hoy said. “It just wasn’t meant to be (for us) tonight.”
Reichard led all scorers with 26. Owens-Wright had 14 and Andrew Andreychik chipped in 12.
Zac Hoy led Mifflinburg with 23. Murtha added 14 and Sowers 13.
The season is not over for the Wildcats, though, as they qualified for the state tournament. They will play District 11 champion Pottsville at a time, date and place to be determined. Danville takes on District 11 runner-up Allentown Central Catholic at a time, date and place to be determined.
NOTES: Mifflinburg put up 30 points in the final frame…Snyder fouled out with 4:38 left…Travis Trutt fouled out with 1:17.

By Chris Dougherty

“As soon as I let it go I knew it was in,” Trutt said. “(Corey) Murtha set a great screen to get me open, and it just went in”
The win was a hard fought one for Mifflinburg, now 22-2. The Braves are the last team to beat the Wildcats, a 70-49 loss back on Jan. 30. That game was much different compared to the one on Tuesday.
Shikellamy (14-10) took its time on offense trying to break through the 2-3 zone given by Mifflinburg. The long possessions on defense made it difficult for the Wildcats’ run-and-gun offense to really get going.
“That is definitely not our tempo,” Mifflinburg coach Eldon Hoy said. “We had visions of holding them to 35 and putting up 45, but they’re a good defensive team. We told the kids to be patient and they just stayed cool and finished it.”
Things were even through nearly three quarters. In fact, no team lead by more than four until Trutt drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to set off an 8-2 Mifflinburg run into the early part of the fourth. Jim Sowers’ bucket capped the run and made it 28-21 with just over three minutes to play.
“Those possessions really hurt us,” Shikellamy coach Tim Foor said.
The Braves would not go quietly, though, answering with a 7-0 run of their own. Omar Berry’s putback off an Adam Sees miss tied the game at 28 with 1:11 left.
“We had a nice run there to put ourselves in position to win,” said Foor.
Mifflinburg held out for the final shot, calling two timeouts in the meantime. During the second one, coming with 9 seconds left, Eldon Hoy drew up a play the Wildcats never ran before.
“They ran it to perfection” Eldon Hoy said. “We told Travis to go off the screen and to see what he could get. He gets to the hole really well so we were thinking maybe he could get fouled. Having him hit that is a bonus.”
Trutt’s trey at the end of the third and the game-winner were his only points of the game. Talk about clutch
Mifflinburg will get a chance to win the first district championship in school history.
“It’s so sweet, I don’t even know how to explain it,” Trutt said.
“It’s hard to believe,” added Zac Hoy, who led the Wildcats with 10 points. “It’s half a dream. The other half is winning it.”
NOTES: No team scored more than nine points in a quarter…The largest lead was 28-21 by Mifflinburg…Murtha had seven while Jim Sowers added six for the Wildcats. Berry led the Braves with 10.

By Marion Valanoski
For The Daily Item

SELINSGROVE — With Mifflinburg going through a stretch of foul problems in the first half, Selinsgrove coach Ray Moyer knew his squad had to take advantage of the situation in order to stay within striking distance in order to pull off the upset.

The Seals battled and went into halftime trailing by only five points (32-27). Unfortunately for the Seals, they still had to play another two quarters.

Jim Sowers collected 11 of his 19 points in the second half and dominated the boards on the offensive end as the Wildcats used a solid defensive effort in the fourth quarter to break away from Selinsgrove, 62-44, Wednesday in Heartland Conference Division I action.

“We were able to make a run with (Zac) Hoy on the bench just to stay close in the first half,” Moyer said. “Unfortunately, in the second half they turned up the defensive pressure and we didn’t have anyone step up offensively, especially in the fourth quarter when the final outcome was still not determined.”

Travis Trutt displayed his offensive capability in the opening period with seven points to help the Wildcats (19-2, 12-1 HAC-I) jump out to a 17-11 lead. The Seals trailed by as many as 14 points in the next stanza (30-16), but were able to make a slight run with Mifflinburg’s guards sitting on the bench with foul problems.

Selinsgrove used a six-point outburst by Justin Keiser and four consecutive points by Spencer Hotaling to trim its deficit to 32-27 by the half.

“I thought we exhibited high intensity early but the foul problems hurt us,” Wildcats’ mentor Eldon Hoy said. “We had some inexperienced people in there and Selinsgrove took advantage to force some mistakes.”

The Seals got within three (32-29) on Alex Knitter’s basket, only to have Corey Murtha answer with a trey for the Wildcats that doubled the lead for the visitors to 35-29. Trutt contributed a five-point outburst and Hoy scored on a driving layup just before the buzzer that put the advantage at double digits, 48-38, heading into the last eight minutes.

Any hopes of making senior night a happy celebration ended with Sowers scoring three straight points and the defense clamping down on the Seals’ shooters to finish the quarter with a 14-6 advantage that secured the victory.

“Trutt hurt us early and Sowers quietly came through with a solid four-quarter performance,” Moyer said. “The key to the outcome was their defense down the stretch and Sowers on the boards and in the paint.”

Trutt contributed 15 points to the winning effort and added seven rebounds while Sowers chipped in with 12 boards as the Wildcats held a 31-19 advantage on the glass while forcing 14 turnovers.

Justin Keiser paced the Seals with eight points while Ryan Keiser, Dan Ryan and Hotaling all pitched in with seven.

By the Standard Journal

Mifflinburg 68
Milton 36

MILTON — Jim Sowers poured in 16 points, Corey Murtha added 14 and Connor Pierce came off the bench for 11 as Mifflinburg downed Milton Monday to claim the Heartland Athletic Conference-I title.

The Wildcats improved to 18-2, 11-1 in league play with the win. Mifflinburg wins the league with two games remaining.

Mifflinburg ran out to an early lead and cruised to the victory. Travis Trutt added eight and Zac Hoy finished with seven.

Milton (2-18, 0-13) was paced by Domair Anderson’s 10-point night. Ike Yost finished with seven.

Both teams are back in action on Wednesday. Mifflinburg will travel to Selinsgrove, while Milton is at Montoursville.

By Todd Hummel
For The Daily Item

MIFFLINBURG — The previous two seasons, Mifflinburg coach Eldon Hoy has fielded a young team that has taken its lumps at times.

That is not the case anymore and now the Wildcats have just one loss in the Heartland Athletic Conference Division I heading into the final week of the season. It was obvious Saturday night the lessons learned the last two seasons were huge in a showdown with second-place Danville.

“At halftime, I told them ‘You guys have played enough basketball now to know that there is a run coming (in the second half).’ It was matter of who was going to have the first run,” Hoy said.

Mifflinburg had that initial run, opening up an 11-point third-quarter lead. But it was his team’s reaction when Danville rallied to take a fourth-quarter lead that really got Hoy’s attention.

“I think I’m more happy with how we reacted when they took the lead. We didn’t get rattled at all,” he said. “It was a very physical game and we were mature enough to handle that.”

The Wildcats held the Ironmen scoreless for four minutes in the final period, scoring 11 points in a row to turn a two-point deficit into a nine-point lead in a 55-46 victory.

The victory clinches at least a share of the HAC-I title for Mifflinburg. The Wildcats (17-2, 10-1 HAC-I) now own a two-game lead in the loss column over the Ironmen and Shamokin with road trips to Selinsgrove and Jersey Shore remaining. Danville drops to 13-6, 9-3.

Mifflinburg led 22-19 to start the third quarter, but a 9-0 run midway through the third quarter gave them a 33-22 lead with 3:03 left on three foul shots by Zac Hoy. Jim Sowers had six points in the run.

However, a Danville team that had struggled with turnovers for most of the game, finally got its offensive clicking late in the third quarter. Ross Litz converted a three-point play to spark 13 consecutive Danville points. Ryan Reichard capped the run with a three-point play of his own with 6:29 left in the game to give the Ironmen a 35-33 advantage, its first lead of the contest.

“When we got the lead, we got impatient a little bit, it sort of went downhill,” Danville coach Lenny Smith said. “We wanted to get the ball inside and we went through stretches where we didn’t get a shot, because we kept turning the ball over.”

It looked like the Ironmen would add to their lead when point guard Andrew Andreychik stole the ball, but when he tried to save it out of bounds, it went right to Mifflinburg guard Travis Trutt, who was open for an easy layup to tie the game at 35-35. That broke a five-minute scoreless drought for the Wildcats.

“Trutt played very well for them. It seems they had the answers at the end of the game,” Smith said. “Zac did a real good job of breaking our pressure late.”

Trutt’s hoop started an 11-0 run for the Wildcats. His 3-pointer with 3:28 left in the game pushed the Mifflinburg lead to seven and then Corey Murtha added a driving layup 20 seconds later for a 44-35 Wildcats lead with 2:55 left.

Danville would get the lead to six, twice, but Mifflinburg hit 5-of-7 foul shots in the final minute to seal the game.

Trutt had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor. Zac Hoy added 14 points and Sowers had 12. Michael Rudy had 14 points to lead the Ironmen. Andreychik finished with 11 points.

By The Daily Item

BOYS BASKETBALL

MIFFLINBURG — A seven-point lead after the first quarter quickly grew to 20 at the break as Mifflinburg ran away for a 65-45 victory over Montoursville in a Heartland Athletic Conference Division I game on Saturday.

Jim Sowers once again was the sparkplug behind the offensive attack for Mifflinburg (16-2, 9-1 HAC-I). Sowers had a game-high 22 points in addition to the nine rebounds he pulled down.

Also for the Wildcats, Zac Hoy had 11 points and six assists, Corey Murtha had 12 points and Kaleb Snyder chipped in four points and six rebounds.

“Snyder and Sowers both rebounded very well, we had 13 assisted baskets and we played well as a team,” said Mifflinburg coach Eldon Hoy.

Ryan Hocker paced Montoursville with 15 points.

By Todd Stanford
The Daily Item

MIFFLINBURG — Offensive rebounding wasn’t Mifflinburg’s strong suit Wednesday night — until it mattered most.

Jim Sower s and Corey Murtha both had key offensive boards in overtime as the Wildcats rallied for a 53-50 win over Shamokin at the Cats’ Den.

The victory was Mifflinburg’s 14th in a row, and kept the ’Cats unbeaten in the Heartland Athletic Conference Division I this year at 8-0 (15-1 overall).

“It doesn’t get any better than that,” Mifflinburg coach Eldon Hoy said. “What a team effort. Our two leading scorers, Zac (Hoy) and (Sowers) have an off night. And Travis (Trutt) and Connor Pierce and Murtha stepped up. We told them in the locker room that that’s what makes a championship team.”

The Indians (9-6, 6-2) could have forged a first-place tie with the Wildcats had they pulled Wednesday’s game out.

But they couldn’t hold on to a six-point lead (50-44) with one minute left.

“At the end we had to make some plays and make some foul shots,” said Shamokin coach Joe Klebon, whose squad lost 76-61 last month in the teams’ first meeting. “We weren’t able to do that. It hurt us down the stretch.”

The Indians wasted a superb night from senior forward Brent Forbes, who scored his 1,000th career point with his first bucket of the night and finished with game-highs in points (26) and rebounds (15).

“Forbes was just terrific,” Eldon Hoy said.

The Wildcats had just one offensive rebound through the first four quarters, but they grabbed four in overtime. After Trutt converted a three-point play with 56.2 seconds left — pulling the Wildcats to within 50-47 — the Indians turned the ball over against Mifflinburg’s fullcourt press. Sowers then scored on a tip-in with 37 seconds left.

Trutt then quickly got a steal; he was fouled and went to the line with 30 seconds left, making one to tie the game at 50.

Shamokin’s Jake Phillips missed a three at the other end, and Sowers and Forbes both leaped for the rebound; they both tipped it back up in the air, and Sowers then grabbed it when it came down a second time.

“Forbes is a great rebounder,” Sowers said. “I just tried to get a body on him and get up a little higher.”

Sowers was fouled with 11.8 seconds to go, and he made one but missed the second. That’s when Murtha — who had a team-high 20 points — popped in for his offensive rebound.

Murtha, who finished the night with a perfect 7-for-7 effort at the foul line, buried both for the final deficit.

Phillips’ potential game-tying 3-pointer at the end of overtime fell short, and the Mifflinburg fans stormed the court to celebrate the victory.

“I was able to jump over the kid,” Murtha said when asked about his key offensive rebound.

“I came down and got the rebound, they fouled me, it was all good.”

There were 11 ties and three lead changes in the game. After going 0-for-7 from the floor in the first quarter, Mifflinburg trailed 10-5 after one. But the ’Cats used an 11-0 run late in the second quarter to take a 22- 17 lead into the locker room.

Murtha scored five points during the spurt.

In the second half, the Indians continued to pound the ball down low to Forbes. He scored on a three-point play late in the third and then Phillips made a baby hook in the lane as Shamokin tied it at 32 heading into the fourth.

It was 42-all late in regulation when Mifflinburg waited for one shot. After a series of timeouts, Hoy put up an awkward 3-pointer at the buzzer that was off.

The Wildcats now have a twogame lead in the HAC-I race with six to play, putting them in good position to claim their fourth league championship in the last nine years.

BY BARB KROHN

MIFFLINBURG — Mifflinburg closed out the first half of the Heartland Athletic Conference Division I Saturday night with what in the end was a convincing 76-60 win over Selinsgrove.

The win gave the Wildcats a perfect 7-0 record in league play and extended their winning streak to 13. Mifflinburg is now 14-1, suffering its only loss to Hughesville in the second game of the season.

It was perhaps significant that the close of the first half was a game with the Seals, a team that historically has given the Wildcats fits.

“They are so athletic,” said Mifflinburg coach Eldon Hoy.  “We knew it would be a tough game.”  And despite the final score, it was a war out on the court for the first three-and-a-half periods.  the teams traded baskets almost at will although Mifflinburg held a slight lead at the end of each quarter - 19-17, 31-30 and 48-47.

Defensively Seals senior Ryan Keiser, who finished with 20 points on the night, proved almost impossible to stop.  “Ryan Keiser was fantastic,” said the Wildcats coach.  “We threw good defenders at him, but as a team we didn’t handle it well.”  In a stroke of luck for the home team, Keiser fouled out in the middle of the fourth quarter.  Offensively Selinsgrove took Mifflinburg out of its usual game plan.  “Tonight was really different,” said Eldon Hoy.  “They forced us drive the ball.  It’s not the way we’ve been winning, but it was nice to see that we could.”

Junior Zac Hoy led the dribble penetrate attack racking up a game-high 27 points, 10 of them freebies earned via Seals fouls.  “(Coach) told me to start being more offensive,” said Zac Hoy.  “Jim (Sowers) set some nice picks, there were a lot of them from the whole team, and that opened up the driving lanes.”

Also coming up big was sophomore Connor Pierce who came off the bench to score 13.  “He had some big defensive plays too,” said the Mifflinburg coach.  “I tried to bring energy off the bench,” said Pierce.

Coach Hoy said Saturday’s game was an example of how the Wildcats are finding ways to win.  “Kids are starting to feel more poised and confident that if things don’t go well at first, it will later.  Or (as was the case Saturday night) we’ll just have to adjust and make it happen.”

Mifflinburg will have another challenge on Wednesday when it hosts Shamokin, sitting just behind the Wildcats in HAC-I with just one loss.  “We told them to enjoy (winning the HAC-I) first half,” said Eldon Hoy.  “But we have a team one game behind us on Wednesday.”

Sowers pours in 24 for Mifflinburg

By Chris Dougherty

The Wildcats dominated the first three quarters of play, finishing with leads of 10 or more after the second and third. A fourth quarter rally by Danville would erase any hopes Mifflinburg had of making it a blowout.

Leading 40-29 to start the final period, the Wildcats allowed the Ironmen back into the game with turnovers and careless mistakes. Danville senior center Michael Rudy put his team on his back, rattling off eight points during a 12-3 run that brought the Ironmen to within three at 43-41 with 2:23 left.
“We didn’t take care of the ball real well at times,” Hoy said. “We tried to dribble too much instead of pass and got a little careless late in the game.”
Jim Sowers would convert a three-point play to extend the lead back to five. Sowers finished with a game-high 24 points.
A bucket by Andrew Andreychik brought Danville back within four with just over a minute to play. With the Ironmen denying Mifflinburg point guard Zac Hoy, the inbound passes went to Kaleb Snyder and Travis Trutt, who both broke through the Ironmen press well. Trutt would find Sowers for two layups with under 30 seconds to preserve the win.
“Getting a road win against a tough team is a huge thing,” Sowers said.
On a team that is filled with players capable of scoring in double digits each night, Sowers was Tuesday’s beneficiary.
“It’s a team concept with us, and I think Jimmy would be the first one to tell you that,” Hoy said. “He got points when he was where he was supposed to be and when people found him.
“Tonight he was able to finish and he mixed his game up, which is something he’s gotten better at as the season has gone on.”
Hoy thought Sowers did his best work on the defensive end, despite the 24 points.
“I thought Jimmy did a great job on Michael Rudy,” he said. “Rudy had a lot of buckets, but they were all very well contested and then he was boxed out.”
Rudy finished with 18 points to lead Danville. The majority of his buckets were jumpers away from the basket.
“It was a good battle between me and Rudy,” Sowers said. “He hit quite a few 18-footers, but I was excited to play against him and prepared myself pretty well.”
Zac Hoy added 13 points for Mifflinburg, with three 3-pointers. Trutt chipped in eight.
Mifflinburg will go for a complete sweep through the first wave of HAC-I games when they host Selinsgrove on Saturday.
“We can celebrate this, but we have to come back out and do it again on Saturday,” Hoy said. “One game at a time.”

BY STANDARD JOURNAL

Boys basketball
Mifflinburg 69
Jersey Shore 50

MIFFLINBURG — The Wildcats pulled away in the second half for the Heartland Athletic Conference Division I win.

Jersey Shore kept it close in the first three stanza finishing the third quarter trailing by just seven, but Mifflinburg turned it on in the fourth outscoring the Bulldogs 23-9.

Jim Sowers led all scorers with 23 points and Zac Hoy had 20. Also finishing in double figures was Travis Trutt who chipped in 10.

The Wildcats improve to 12-1, 5-0 HAC-I while the Bulldogs fall to 5-5, 2-3.

Mifflinburg takes to the road Tuesday for another HAC-I matchup against Danville.