Feb 17, 2018 By Stephen Flinn for The 3 min read

WHITEHALL — Geibel Catholic found out first hand in Friday night’s first round game why Eden Christian’s defense gave up the least amount of points in Class A this season.

The eleventh-seeded Gators were no match for the sixth-seeded Warriors as Geibel dropped a 66-39 loss at Baldwin High School in the WPIAL playoffs.

“We knew going in that this game wasn’t going to be easy. Eden Christian came in with a very good defense,” Geibel head coach Brian Henckel said. “Eden Christian is a fundamentally sound basketball team. They’re a senior-laden group that starts three or four seniors. They just took it away from us.”

The first quarter was Geibel’s best of the game as it was tied 8-8 midway through and the Gators were only down 13-11 after one.

Enzo Fetko scored five points in the first quarter and started the second quarter with a 3-pointer. He led the Gators with 16 points overall, including two 3-point plays, and Cole Kendall added 11, but their guards were outmatched by the quicker Warriors.

Geibel tried to avoid the Warriors’ traps, but were sped up in the process, and committed too many turnovers.

“Enzo had a solid game. He’s that way most of the time,” Henckel said. “We wish we got a little bit better guard play but (Eden Christian’s) defense is very stingy, to say the least. We knew they were a good trapping defense.”

The Warriors started the second quarter with a 6-0 run and never looked back. They outscored the Gators, 20-7, in the second quarter and led 33-18 at the break. It was the only quarter Geibel did not score double figures.

“We had to be on. We had to make three’s. We had to shoot really well to be in this game, and we just didn’t do that,” Henckel said. “Our defense wasn’t up to speed, either, so everything put together was a bad combination.”

After a dismal second quarter, Geibel picked up the effort in the third, but by that time the Gators were behind 52-29. Eden Christian guard Chris Haring scored 7 of the Warrior’s 14 points in the fourth quarter to help seal the win. He led all scorers with 24 points.

“Our kids never gave up. That’s the key,” Henckel said. “I was pleased with our effort, but we just couldn’t get anything going on the offensive side.”

Henckel is looking forward to making another run for the playoffs next season. He is a second-year coach and the Gators have made the playoffs both years.

“Overall, the season was a little frustrating. Yeah, we got into the playoffs, but it wasn’t the exact way of how we wanted to come into the playoffs,” Henckel said. “This was a good experience for the kids. We were happy to get into the playoffs the last two years. Ultimately, we need to get stronger, and better defensively.”