DISTRICT 4 BOYS BASKETBALL: BLOOMSBURG PUTS SAYRE AWAY, 65-50, IN FOURTH QUARTER (16 PHOTOS) (2020-02-22)
Valley Sports ReportM'VILLE "” Just two weeks ago, Bloomsburg handed Sayre a 28-point beating. On Saturday, the Redskins pushed them to the limit for three quarters before foul woes allowed the Panthers to pull away for a 65-50 win in the semifinals of the District 4, Class AA boys basketball playoffs.
"Having played them in the second-to-last game of the regular season, we had that experience against them and the film to be able to learn from our mistakes and tweaks a few things," said Sayre coach Devin Shaw.
"We came out strong in the first half and I'm not sure if maybe they took us a little lightly, because they beat us the first time, but we knocked them back at the start.
"(Bloomsburg) changed up defenses to pressure man-to-man in the second half, and we struggled against it," noted Shaw. "Credit to them, they are a strong team that plays well together, and they are well-coached. I think that was the difference-maker in the second half, and ultimately the game.
"We had a lot of fouls today and that leads to easy, free points at the line," added Shaw. "Right, wrong or indifferent, we can't put ourselves in a position to get fouls called on us."
Adam McGinley scored six points in the first quarter for Bloomsburg, and Cade Klinger added five to offset four points by senior Corbin Brown, and 3-pointers by juniors Zach Moore and Matt Lane. The Panthers led 13-10 after the first eight minutes.
Lane canned a trio of 3-pointers in the second quarter, and Brown added six points to fuel a 17-10 spurt that gave the Redskins a 27-23 lead at the half.
Klinger scored seven points in the third quarter, including five from the free-throw line, and McGinley and Jack Howell added five points apiece in a 17-8 run that put the Panthers ahead 40-35 heading into the final eight minutes.
McGinley scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, including a 5-for-6 effort at the free throw line. Bloomsburg made 12 of 16 free-throw attempts in the stanza in a 25-15 run that put the game away.
In all, Bloomsburg made 29 of 41 free-throw attempts, while Sayre connected on 3 of 5 attempts from the free-throw line.
Lane led Sayre with 19 points, including five 3-pointers, while Brown scored 16 points, and sophomore Dom Fabbri added 11 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
"I'm extremely proud of this team," said Shaw. "They played hard until the end, and we gave Bloomsburg a four-quarter fight.
"It was much different from the first game and it's all I can ask from them.
"One of my players was saying to me, "˜Bloomsburg is a good basketball team,' and I said "˜yes, they are and we played right with them,'" added Shaw. "We just need to believe in ourselves that we can be a good basketball team as well."
McGinley led Bloomsburg with 23 points, while Klinger added 18, including 12 from the free-throw one, and Howell added 16.
Sayre, now 12-12, will face Canton in the third-place game at a site, date, and time to be announced Sunday.
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IN PHOTO 1: Sayre's Matt Lane. ... PHOTOS BY MATT PATTON.
