Dec 21, 2013 By Mike Dudurich for The 3 min read

FORT ALLEN — It was basically over by the time Hempfield’s Logan Hunter hit a pair of 3-point jumpers to give the Spartans a 53-40 over Connellsville at the Spartan Field House.

But, if there was even a tiny bit of hope that it wasn’t, Kazon Harrell quickly dashed that. After the Falcons’ Jimmy Leichliter hit a jumper to open the final-period scoring, the super-talented Harrell scored the next 10 points, including a dunk off a steal. The scoreboard read 63-42 at that point and would become a final of 71-55.

Hempfield (3-1) improved to 2-0 in Section 1-AAAA, while Connellsville drops to 1-1 in the section and 4-2 overall.

“He penetrated our zone and got some open looks,” Connellsville coach Dan Bosnic said. “He’s a really good player and during that stretch, he got out in transition and you can definitely say the difference was that stretch of time.”

You could say it was that stretch of time or maybe it was those chunks of time when the Falcons’ offense lost its way or when it suffered through a tough night at the free throw line, points that could have made a big difference.

“Those are all things we need to take from this game, work on them over the holiday break and hope to get better as a result of this experience,” Bosnic said after his team’s three-game winning streak came to an end.

The game was close throughout the first period as the Falcons trailed, 17-14. Connellsville battled hard in the second, closing to within a bucket at 28-26, but Hempfield finished the half with a 6-2 spurt and led, 38-34.

The third quarter was very similar to the second as Hempfield extended its lead to 39-30, but the Falcons kept pecking away. Buckets by Caleb Pittsment, Leichliter and a pair by 6-10 Trent Bauer closed that gap to a point. But, in the final four minutes of the quarter, Hempfield outscored the visitors, 14-2.

“We played without our big guy for most of the first half (because of a pair quick fouls) but hung in there,” Bosnic said. “We just couldn’t find a way to get the ball in the hole enough. We have to give ourselves more opportunities in the open court, like Hempfield did.”

Converting a few more in-close chances would help the cause, too.

Leichliter led the Falcons in scoring with 20 and was the only Connellsville player in double figures.

Hempfield was led by Harrell’s 27 and Hunter’s 19.

 

 

Section 1-AAAA

Connellsville     17-11-12-15 — 55

Hempfield          14-20-19-18 — 71

Connellsville: Jimmy Leichliter 20. Hempfield: Kazon Harrell 27, Logan Hunter 19.