CLARION, Pa. (D9Sports) – A very physical Brockway squad outscored Keystone 18-4 in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 46-28 win over the higher-seeded Panthers in the District 9 Class 2A quarterfinals Wednesday night at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.
(Photo: Jarrett Esposito of Brockway (center) battles Corey Rapp (left) and Nate Wingard (right) of Keystone for rebounding position during Wednesday night’s game. Esposito finished with 14 points and 17 rebounds in the Rovers win)
In a game that featured poor shooting by both squads most of the night, Brockway got hot when it counted the most hitting on 5 of 6 fourth-quarter shots after entering the frame up four, 28-24.
Prior to the fourth quarter, the sixth-seeded Rovers (15-9) were just 10 of 33 (30.3 percent) from the floor and even with the hot fourth quarter finished at 38.5 percent (15 of 39) on the night.
But that was good enough because third-seeded Keystone (19-5) was worse. The Panthers were just 10 of 36 (27.7 percent) shooting and turned the ball over 16 times.
“We missed some pretty critical layups,” Keystone head coach Greg Heath said. “They were point-blank shots that didn’t go for us. It was just a bad night to not be clicking on the offensive end, and we certainly were not.”
Despite the offensive woes, Keystone was right in the game through three quarters because of its defense.
The Panthers trailed by just one, 15-14, at halftime despite going 1 of 5 from the floor in the second quarter and scoring just three second-quarter points.
But Brockway was no better connecting on 1 of 8 in the quarter and also netting three tallies, none in the final 5:15 of the first half.
The Rovers started to pick things up in the later half of the third quarter after Keystone grabbed a 20-19 lead on an Austin Ion basket, Ion’s only points of the game.
Jake Wineberg, the Hager Paving Player of the Game, started a 9-4 run with a baseline drive with 4:49 left in the third and then gave the Rovers the lead for good, 26-24, on a 3-pointer with 2:39 left in the quarter.
Wineberg continued his hot streak in the fourth quarter scoring five of Brockway’s first seven points of the frame to help the Rovers go on an 11-2 run in the first 5:50 of the quarter to put the contest away.
Wineberg, who scored all 11 of his points after halftime, talked about the victory.
Jarrett Esposito also played a large role in the victory netting a solid double-double with 14 points and 17 rebounds including 10 offensive boards. Esposito was a man on a mission in the first quarter with eight points and eight rebounds with six offensive rebounds and seven second-chance points in the quarter. His desperation three from the far left corner in front of the Keystone students at the horn gave Brockway a 12-11 lead at the end of the quarter.
“He is a presence,” Heath said. “He is a big, strapping lad. He is tough down there.
“They are physical. There is no doubt about that. They’re big, and I don’t just mean tall. They are physically strong, and they are athletic. They use that to their advantage. They are tough. That’s a tough team.”
Carter Adams chipped in 10 points for Brockway, while Tanner Wilson paced Keystone with 14, including eight in the first quarter. Nate Wingard had 10 points for the Panthers.
Brockway faces second-seeded Ridgway in the semifinals at a date, time and location to be determined.
BROCKWAY 46, KEYSTONE 28
Score by Quarters
Brockway 12 3 13 18 – 46
Keystone 11 3 10 4 – 28
BROCKWAY – 46
Jarrett Esposito 6 1-2 14, Zane Puhala 0 1-2 1, Hunter Miller 1 0-0 2, Quade Lundberg 0 3-4 3, Carter Adams 3 3-5 10, Jake Wineberg 4 1-2 11, Quenton Jackson 1 3-4 5, Hunter Antonuccio 0 0-0 0, Noah Vokes 0 0-0 0, Tim Brosky 0 0-0 0, Jesse Johnson 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 12-19 46.
KEYSTONE – 28
Corey Rapp 0 0-1 0, Dalton Jones 0 0-0 0, Austin Ion 1 0-0 2, Nate Wingard 4 2-3 10, Ian Henry 1 0-0 2, Tanner Wilson 4 4-6 14, Brooks LaVan 0 0-0 0, Luke Hurrelbrink 0 0-0 0, Isaak Jones 0 0-0 0, Kobe Cochran 0 0-1 0, Conner Exley 0 0-0 0, Max Thompson 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 6-11 28.
Three-pointers: Brockway 4 (Wineberg 2, Esposito, Adams). Keystone 2 (Wilson 2).
Rebounding Leaders: Brockway 33 total rebounds (Esposito 1). Keystone 22 totals rebounds (Rapp 7).
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