JOHNSONBURG 53, NORTH CLARION 45, OT

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Feb. 25, 2009 - District 9 Class A Boys' Semifinals

By Chris Rossetti

CLARION – Johnsonburg outscored North Clarion 9-1 in overtime to get a 53-45 win over the Wolves in the District 9 Class A boys’ semifinals Wednesday night at Clarion University’s Tippin Gym.

“We felt we had the momentum in overtime,” Johnsonburg head coach Bill Shuey said. “Momentum is just a mindset, and the kids knew they had to go out and get the easy buckets. We had some nice looks in the overtime. We had some nice drives and so forth.”

Fifth-seeded Johnsonburg (21-6) had taken a 44-43 lead on a Joe Holmberg free throw with 15 seconds left in regulation, but the Rams Aaron Patrick inexplicably fouled North Clarion’s Jeremy Schmader 52-feet from the basket as Schmader was brining the ball up court with 12 seconds to play. But the North Clarion sophomore missed the first free throw before hitting the second one to tie the game.

“Jeremy really looked tired tonight,” North Clarion head coach Glenn Bobak said. “He played a hard game. It’s a big game for young players.”

Johnsonburg had one final chance to win in regulation, but Seth Streich stepped out of bounds with just under two seconds to play underneath the hoop. Top-seeded North Clarion (20-5) then got the ball in bounds to Zach Weaver, but Weaver’s desperation 3-point attempt from across halfcourt was well short on a play that involved a ton of contact but no foul called either direction.

The in overtime, Johnsonburg won the tip, and Patrick put the Rams ahead for good on a layup five seconds into the extra session. The Rams then got two free throws from Streich to make it 48-44 with 2:40 to play before Steven Hargenrader hit one of two free throws with 2:12 left to brining North Clarion back within three at 48-45. But Johnsonburg ended the overtime on a 5-0 run, as North Clarion threw up desperation three after desperation three in the final minute to no avail.

North Clarion led by 13, 28-15, with under 10 seconds to play in the first half and had the ball. But Johnsonburg’s Matt Shuey came away with a steal in the final few seconds and found an open Patrick, whose layup as the horn sounded got the Rams to within 11, 28-17, at halftime.

After the teams traded two points apiece to start the second half leaving North Clarion ahead 30-19 a minute into the half, Johnsonburg went on an 11-0 run to tie the game on a Streich layup with 59 seconds left in the third quarter.

“We may have come out a little slower than I wanted to,” North Clarion head coach Glenn Bobak said. “We had a few different players we were subbing in that time. Sometimes that seems to throw you off. It’s always the coach’s call to use the bench. When you bring somebody off the bench, they aren’t always warmed up and tuned into the pace that the game is going. That was a fast-moving game.”

North Clarion seemed to steam the loss of momentum when Kyle Gilbert hit a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the quarter to put the Wolves up 33-30 going to the final eight minutes.

The Wolves then expanded that lead to four, 37-33, on a Bryan Burkhardt layup with 5:50 left in regulation, but Johnsonburg went on an 8-0 run that was fueled by four points from Streich to take its first lead of the game 41-37 with 3:10 left in regulation.

“At halftime I told (our players) that they looked a little shell shocked and they needed to come out and play the game like they know they can,” Shuey said. “They came out and played a little harder (in the second half).”

But North Clarion answered with a 6-2 run of its own to tie the game at 43 on a John Bobak layup with 25 seconds to go in regulation. Five missed free throws by Johnsonburg, including three straight by Streich, who was so good in overtime in the quarterfinals from the line, helped the Wolves tie the game.

“Seth Streich usually doesn’t miss those,” Shuey said. “He’s a money guy at the end of the game. But he did enough to keep us in it and force overtime.”

Patrick led Johnsonburg with 17 points, while Streich had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Bobak was the lone North Clarion player in double figures with 11 points, while Chad Wolbert added nine, all on three 3-pointers in the first quarter. Schmader, who was averaging over 20 points per game, was held to seven points. Kyle Gilbert had eight rebounds for the Wolves, who were outrebounded 36-28.

Johnsonburg will now take on Elk County Catholic, a 37-36 overtime winner over Keystone in the first semifinal of the night, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in the District 9 Class A Title Game at Tippin Gym. It’s Johnsonburg’s first appearance in the title game since losing to ECC 56-49 in 2004. The Rams are looking for their first district title since winning the Class A title in 1983.

North Clarion will take on rival Keystone in the consolation game at Noon Saturday at Tippin Gym. It will be the third meeting since Feb. 11 between the two teams with Keystone having won the first two including the KSAC Title Game Feb. 14.

NOTES – Johnsonburg shot 42.2 percent in the game, while North Clarion shot 35.6 percent including 20.8 percent (5 of 24) in the second half and overtime. The Wolves shot 11 of 21 (52.4 percent) in the first half … Both teams had 19 turnovers and both teams turned those turnovers into 18 points … Johnsonburg outscored North Clarion 30-20 in the paint, and the Wolves were just 5 of 21 from 3-point range including 5 of 15 in regulation … North Clarion went the final 4:25 without a field goal … Johnsonburg was 13 of 21 from the free-throw line while North Clarion was 8 of 16.

JOHNSONBURG 53, NORTH CLARION 45, overtime

Score by Quarters

Johnsonburg 7 10 13 14 9 – 53

North Clarion 16 12 5 11 1 – 45

Johnsonburg – 53

Ren Yonker 2 2-2 7, Aaron Patrick 8 0-1 17, Seth Streich 5 6-10 16, Joe Holmberg 0 1-2 1, Matt Shuey 3 1-2 7, Steve Carnessali 1 0-0 2, Louis Imbrogno 0 3-4 3. Totals 19-45 13-21 53.

North Clarion – 45

Jeremy Schmader 2 3-4 7, John Bobak 5 1-5 11, Zach Weaver 2 1-2 6, Chad Wolbert 3 0-0 9, Kyle Gilbert 1 2-2 5, Bryan Burkhardt 1 0-0 2, Steven Hargenrader 2 1-3 5. Totals 16 8-16 45.

Three-pointers – Johnsonburg 2 (Yonker, Patrick). North Clarion 5 (Wolbert 3, Gilbert, Weaver).