Red Raiders survive scare from PO

By Kenny Varner
BELLEFONTE – A win is a win.
Despite coming in with just two wins on the season, somebody forgot to tell Philipsburg-Osceola as they went up against a very tough Bellefonte team who was looking to add another win to its Mountain League record.
For almost four quarters, the Mounties were eyeing up the upset as it kept to within striking distance.
However, the Red Raiders weren’t going to let the Mounties pick up its third win as they were clutch down the wire, surviving a 49-42 contest.
Ben McCartney came up with some clutch baskets, scoring eight of her 14 points in the final eight minutes to help cement the victory.
Both McCartney and teammate Caleb Rockey finished the contest with a team-high 14 points each. Rockey finished with a double-double as he brought down 10 boards in the win.
Leading the way for the Mounties was Josiah Davis who was hitting from all over the court, posting a 17-point effort. He hit two triples in the effort.
“I thought we did enough to get the win and I feel good about that but I think we saw some young guys make some very young guy mistakes out there tonight. At the end of the day good teams find a way to win and that’s the direction that were trying to go,” Bellefonte coach Kris Glunt said. “We are real proud of our guys for doing what it takes and ultimately pulling out the win tonight.”
Things were knick and tuck and back in fourth as the final stanza got underway.
Bellefonte used a successful 15-point third quarter to going into the fourth with a 35-29 advantage.
Nate Tice got the scoring started for the Red Raiders hitting 2-of-2 from the foul line to up their lead to eight.
On the Mounties first possession of the quarter, PO lost the ball on a Bellefonte steal. McCartney finished off the play with a hard run at the basket, upping it to 39-29.
Like he did all game, Mountie guard Michael Durlin went right to the heart of the basket and hit the runner in the lane.
After the bucket, McCartney would take his turn in the Philipsburg end and was fouled. He hit 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to lift the lead to nine with 5:41 left.
From there, Davis willed his team back in to the ball game,doing it both on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor which resulted in a personal 6-0 run of his own, bringing PO back into the ball game trailing 40-37 as the clock dipped below four minutes.
It looked as if the Mounties were going to catch the Red Raiders but McCartney stole back the momentum by picking off a Philipsburg pass and taking it all the way in for the lay up, extending the lead back to five.
Minutes later Durlin would bring the game back to within three once again on another strong runner in the paint.
But from there, the Bellefonte defense clamped down and the offense got points from the line from Tice and Tyler Kreger and was able to hold onto for the victory.
The Mounties showed their character as a “never say die” team as Payton Guelich launched a last second triple to cut the end score from a 10-point to a seven-point loss.
“Phillipsburg is a talented team, they work hard,” Glunt said. “honestly I thought they all played us in the first half.”
In the first quarter, the Red Raiders got off to the fast start outscoring the Mounties 15 to 10.
The team was led by the inside presence of Rockey who tallied seven points in the period.
However, the Mounties rallied back in the second quarter as his defense held the red Bellefonte to just five points while scoring 10.
But the night belonged to the Red Raiders as they went on for the victory.
In the Jv contest, Bellefonte also picked up the win downing the Mounties 47-40.