Conestoga boys basketball team’s defense shines in win against Great Valley

By Peter DiGiovanni

pdgiovanni07@gmail.com

TREDYFFRIN – On a day where their offense was not optimal, the Conestoga High School boys basketball team relied on their defense to grind out a tough 46-38 win over visiting Great Valley Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers (9-1) won their eighth game in  a row and harassed the Patriots (9-4) into a 12-for-46 shooting performance from the field.

“Our defense has sort of been our staple this season,” Conestoga head coach Sean Forcine said. “We pride ourselves on good positioning and effort on the defensive end. We only shot 2-for-11 from three-point range in the second half and games like that are going to happen.

“But, defense is something that can be a constant for your team. We did a good job in the second half today on that end.”

Conestoga never trailed in the tight contest, but when Great Valley’s Henry Person drained a 3-pointer, it tied the score at 33-33 with 5:45 to play.

The Pioneers came down the floor and Rowan Miller fed Cory Hogan in tight for a basket and a 35-33 Pioneers lead. Hogan scored eight points to go along with eight rebounds. Ben Robinson led the Pioneers with 10 points.

Hogan hit one of two free throws with 2:53 to play to give the Pioneers a 39-38 lead. Great Valley came down the court and got a good look inside but Person’s shot rolled off the rim.

Conestoga came down the floor and Shane O’Brien missed on a runner. Great Valley’s Chris Woodard rebounded the ball but the Patriots were called for an offensive foul as they brought the ball up the floor with 1:46 to play.

Robinson was fouled and he hit one of two from the foul line for a 40-38 Pioneers lead with 1:30 to play. Person then missed on a 3-point chance and Hogan grabbed the rebound. The Pioneers then got a layup from Miller to make it a 42-38 lead with 56 seconds to play. Great Valley then was called for another offensive foul with 48.3 seconds to play.

Conestoga then scored their next four points from the free throw line and ended the game on a 8-0 run as the Patriots missed four shots from the field in the last two minutes to go along with being called for two offensive fouls.

Woodard and Person both had a team high 13 points for the Patriots. Woodard added six rebounds.

“We have a good offensive team but today we were off a little bit,” Hogan said. “We have a lot of guys that can score but our key is defense. We made a point this year to be physical and go hard on the boards. We have a lot of guys willing to play hard and give everything they have and sell out on the defensive end of the floor.”

For the Patriots, it was their second loss in a row and Great Valley coach C.J. Savage talked about missed opportunities.

“We had the game right in front of us but we could not make shots when we needed to,” said Savage. “You have to make shots at some point to win games and we did not do that today.”

Conestoga 46, Great Valley 38

GREAT VALLEY (38) Woodard 4 3-3 13, Markowski 1 0-0 2, Mack 0 0-0 0, Person 4 3-4 13, Metrick 1 1-2 3, Weikert 1 1-2 4, Levine 1 0-0 3, Alexander 0 0-0 0, Sharma 0 0-0 0, Benson 0 0-0 0. Totals 12 8-11 38.

CONESTOGA (46) Gibbs  30-0 8, Robinson 3 3-4 10, Miller 1 5-8 7, O’Brien 2 0-0 6, Hogan 3 2-5 8, Tummala 2 0-0 5, Hunter 1 0-0 2, Bertolotti 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 10-17 46.

Great Valley  11 9 10 8-38Conestoga    17 9 7 13-463-point goals: Great Valley – Woodard 2, Person 2, Weikert, Levine. Conestoga – Gibbs 2, Robinson, O’Brien 2, Tummala.