Albert Gallatin falls to Penn Trafford
HARRISON CITY – In an all too familiar scenario, Albert Gallatin’s boys’ basketball jumped out to an early lead at Penn Trafford Friday night, but a combination of foul trouble, indecisiveness, and an all-of-a-sudden and most inopportune cold streak at the foul line saw the Colonials drop their fourth consecutive Section 1-AAAA game, falling to the Warriors, 62-55. Leading scorer Aaron Cromwell had the Colonials off-and-running early in the first quarter with a fall-away 12-footer and three-point field goal from the right corner as AG jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead before a Penn Trafford time out. After regrouping, the Warriors scored the final four points of the quarter while holding the Colonials scoreless for more than three minutes.
AG led, 10-6, after one period.
Midway through the second quarter Cromwell picked up his third personal foul and watched the remainder of the seesaw quarter from the bench. Cromwell had nine points at the midway point as AG trailed, 28-26.
“We’re close but not there yet,” first year AG coach Warare Gladman said. “This has been a rebuilding project this season. This team plays hard every night, and these kids have responded. They bought into our system. I could never have predicted any number of wins and losses at the beginning of the season, but I keep telling them that hard work pays off. We build on the positives, and are working on the negatives.”
Back in the lineup in the third quarter, Cromwell – AG’s leading scorer this season with an 18 points per game average – gave the Colonials a 36-35 lead after pulling down a rebound and soft-touching a five-footer off the glass at the 3:39 mark of the period. But a 9-2 PT run the remainder of the quarter had the Warriors in front 47-38 with eight minutes left in the game.
“Aaron is not only strong offensively and our most experienced player, but he is a smart athlete, and we missed his leadership when he was out with the fouls,” Gladman said. “He’s our go-to guy and our players look to him for the experience and leadership he brings to the court.”
Trailing 49-47 at 4:56 of the final period, AG stepped to the line for five free throws during one possession, but misfired on each occasion. A minute later Cromwell drove the baseline for a lay-up to tie the game at 49, but a 7-0 PT run was too much to overcome.
However, Cromwell’s leadership and take-charge play pulled the Colonials to within three points at 58-55 with 1:01 remaining in the game when he hit consecutive three-point field goals. Four free throws, however, iced the game for Penn Trafford, which improved to 6-12, 3-7, while the Colonials fell to 2-15, 1-9.
“We’re trying hard, but we’re indecisive at times,” Gladman added. “We hustle and we fight, but at times we aren’t patient. We seemed to let this game get away from us tonight. At times it seems like we’re ready to put everything together, then we make the same mistakes.”
But with two juniors and a sophomore in the starting lineup, Gladman is sure the experience will pay off.
“To see the players execute what we have been teaching is proof that they understand what we’re trying to accomplish,” he said. “We may not see it in the win column, at least this year, but we’ll see it soon.”
Supporting Cromwell, who also had a team-high nine rebounds, were sophomore Aaron King and junior Anthony Stevenson with 13 and nine points, respectively, while Taylor Barnickel came off the bench to score nine points.
Justin Edwards led the Warriors with a game-high 23 points, including 15 in the second half. However, for Penn Trafford, it was a benchmark game, as the Warriors bench accounted for 33 points. Leading the way off the bench was Ryan Hyland with 10 points.