Colonials come up short against Moon, 59-44
Edward K.Thompson
Albert Gallatin’s Nate English (2) looks to dribble past the defensive pressure from Moon’s Zach Hurley during Tuesday’s WPIAL Class AAAAA first round playoff game at Baldwin High School.
Albert Gallatin's Colby Uphold blows by Jioni Smith into the front court near the end of the first half during Tuesday's WPIAL Class AAAAA first round playoff game at Baldwin High School.
Edward K.Thompson
Albert Gallatin’s Matt Rankin scores in on layup in second quarter of Tuesday’s WPIAL Class AAAAA first-round playoff game against Moon at Baldwin High School.
WHITEHALL — Lighting didn’t strike twice for the Albert Gallatin boys basketball team Tuesday night, as the Colonials’ upset bid of Moon fell short in a 59-44 loss in the WPIAL Class AAAAAA first round game at Baldwin High School.
The last time Albert Gallatin played in the playoffs was 2007, and that postseason the Colonials made an incredible run. In the quarterfinals, AG defeated top-seeded Moon, 80-73.
The Colonials then defeated Pine-Richland in the semifinals, before they lost to Bethel Park in the finals.
This time around, some untimely turnovers and an injury to one of their starters in the fourth quarter was the 11th-seeded Colonials’ downfall.
“We changed some things up entering tonight’s game and I think we caught them off guard a little,” Albert Gallatin coach Shea Fleenor said. “They were able to make some adjustments and they were able to break down our defense. They are a really good shooting team with a lot of experience.”
The sixth-seeded Tigers (13-9) will now play third-seeded Franklin Regional (18-4) in the quarterfinals on Friday with a site and time to be determined.
Moon, who is the defending 5-A champion and has won a total of four WPIAL titles since 2004, was led by the trio of Austin Ryan (16), Connor Ryan (15) and Brady Sunday (12).
Nate English was the high scorer for the Colonials (12-11) with 11 points, while Colby Uphold and James Peggues chipped in with nine points apiece.
Trailing 32-22 at halftime, Albert Gallatin started the third quarter with a 12-6 run that was capped off by an inside bucket by Matt Rankin.
After three points by the Tigers, the Colonials ended the quarter with a 6-3 rally and trailed 44-40 going into the final eight minutes of regulation.
The tide turned against the Colonials just seven seconds into the fourth quarter when English sustained a lower-body injury while defending a Moon player.
English was helped off the court and was surrounded by trainers for several minutes. The freshman guard did return with 3:03 left in the contest, but it was too late as Moon carried a 15-4 scoring edge in the final quarter to hold onto the first-round triumph.
“Some little things really killed us throughout the game,” Fleenor said. “We turned the ball over at times while in transition. We would miss some inside shots, too. You can’t do that in the playoffs against good teams. Having Nate go down early in the fourth hurt us, too. I liked our third quarter, but losing Nate was obviously a turning point in the game.”
In the opening eight minutes of play, Albert Gallatin’s 3-2 zone was aggressive and slowed down the Tigers’ offense. The Colonials held an 11-8 lead at the end of one after a 3-pointer by English.
“We had good energy on defense in the first quarter,” Fleenor said. “We didn’t have any playoff jitters and I think our zone defense really dictated things to start the game. We were able to contest their shots and force things to the outside.”
Albert Gallatin stretched its lead to 14-8 after a 3-pointer by Zach Knox in the opening minute of the second period, but Moon responded with a 23-4 run to regain the lead and the momentum.
In the run, Ryan and Austin Connor recorded nine points each for Moon.
Sandwiched around a free throw by the Tigers was four points for AG, as the Colonials was down 32-22 at halftime.
Despite a number of younger players making an impact for Albert Gallatin this year, the Colonials will miss several key seniors for next year that started the turnaround under coach Fleenor.
“When I took this job a couple of years ago we had one of the longest losing streaks in the state,” Fleenor said. “That first class got us off that losing streak and really turned things around for this program. They set the stage for things to come. This group got us over the hump and these seniors have worked extremely hard. They are going to be hard to replace.”