HS Boys’ Basketball: Hurricanes rally past Colts in Division II play
Marian's Gregory Tirpak (14) prepares to fire a 3-pointer as Schuylkill Haven's Max Heim (middle), Alan Evans (Center) and Blake Rossi (right) look on (Photo by Eli Doyle).
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — It seems like a different scorer steps up each quarter for the Hurricanes this season, but Thursday night belonged to junior Alan Evans and senior Max Heim.
Evans and Heim helped Schuylkill Haven overcome a four-point deficit midway through the third quarter to secure a 54-47 Schuylkill League Division II boys’ basketball victory over Marian at the CACL Center.
The first half was a back-and-forth battle, with Justin Watcher scoring nine points and Brady Kelly adding eight in the opening two quarters to give the Hurricanes a slim 22-20 halftime lead.
Heading into the locker room, Schuylkill Haven coach Fran Murphy liked what he saw defensively, but knew improvement was needed elsewhere.
“In general, our team defense had a great first half — we only gave up 20 points,” Murphy said. “Eight turnovers in the first half is something I was not happy with. We want to keep that to 10 or less for the whole game. And going 2-for-12 from the 3-point line — we would’ve liked to run our offense and move the ball more.”
Marian came out with renewed intensity after halftime and briefly seized momentum in the third quarter. Yaniel Nunez drilled a key 3-pointer to put the Colts ahead by four with 3:30 remaining in the period.
That surge was short-lived.
Evans scored eight of his team-high 18 points after Marian took the lead, helping Haven close the third quarter ahead 38-36. The Evans-Heim combination carried into the fourth quarter, where the duo fueled a decisive 10-0 run that swung control back to the Hurricanes.
“Two things stick in my mind,” Murphy said. “I thought Max Heim’s rebounding in the first half was big. He got into some foul trouble, but we had two guys come off the bench who did a nice job for us. And then Alan and Max had a pretty good offensive second half.”
Marian struggled with turnovers down the stretch and couldn’t reclaim the lead. Schuylkill Haven controlled the glass throughout the night, out-rebounding the Colts 45-22 to close out the win.
Murphy said the balanced production has been a defining trait early in the season.
“We’ve had games where four guys finished with doubles, even a game with five guys in double digits,” he said. “Every night it seems like someone different is stepping up.”
Jacob De La Cruz led Marian with 15 points, while Jake Tom added 11 to keep the Colts within striking distance.
Marian will look to regroup at home Saturday against Salem Christian, while Schuylkill Haven aims to extend its winning streak Monday when it hosts Williams Valley.
“I think it’s great to win these games early because there’s going to be some adversity somewhere down the line,” Murphy said. “Piling up these wins helps us get through the inevitable tough stretch of the season.”
Game Summary
Schuylkill Haven 54, Marian 47
MARIAN (47) — Tirpak 2 0-0 5, Tom 7 3-4 11, Nunez 4 0-0 9,
Ju De La Cruz 0 0-0 0, Ja De La Cruz 7 0-0 15, Cannon 4 1-2
7, Paulino 0 0-0 0, Shigo 0 0-0 0, Knock 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 4-
7 47.
SCHUYLKILL HAVEN (54) — Kelly 5 2-4 9, Watcher 7 3-6
11, Heim 6 1-4 11, Diehl 2 0-0 5, Evans 11 5-10 18, Rossi 0 0-
0 0, Lucas 0 0-0 0. Totals 42 11-24 54.
|
Team |
1Q |
2Q |
3Q |
4Q |
Final |
|
Mar (2-2, 1-2) |
9 |
11 |
16 |
11 |
47 |
|
SH (6-0, 3-0) |
10 |
12 |
16 |
16 |
54 |
