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Mikes’ rally comes up short in 62-50 setback to Riverview

By Jonathan Guth jguth@heraldstandard.Com 3 min read
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Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

Carmichaels head coach Ian McCombs watches the action in Friday’s game against Riverview in the Geibel Catholic Tip-off Tournament. McCombs, who is a Carmichaels graduate, was making his head coaching debut.

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Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

Carmichaels’ Al Cree fights for position underneath during Friday’s game against Riverview in the Geibel Catholic Tip-off Tournament.

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Carmichaels’ Drake Long fights through the defense of Riverview’s Nate Black before scoring a layup during Friday’s game in the Geibel Catholic Tip-off Tournament. (Photo by Jonathan Guth)

CONNELLSVILLE TWP. — Carmichaels switched to a full-court trap in the fourth quarter, but Riverview hung on for a 62-50 victory on Friday in the Geibel Catholic Tip-off Classic.

The Mikes had a head coach not named Don Williams roaming the sidelines for the first time in over 40 years, as Ian McCombs has taken over at his alma mater for his former head coach, who has retired.

“I have nothing but the greatest respect for Mr. Williams, and it’s an honor to be coaching here,” McCombs said. “One of the things that I loved most about Mr. Williams is that he got everything out of the team he had, and if I can do anything, I want to be able to do that, and leave it all out on the court.”

Carmichaels trailed by 19 entering the fourth, but used a 13-6 run to cut its deficit to 12 at 48-36 with 4:47 remaining.

The Mikes got within single digits when Chris Barrish nailed a 3-pointer for a 56-48 Raiders’ lead with two minutes left.

“We were just giving them a couple of different full-court looks in the fourth quarter,” McCombs said. “We knew that we had to add pressure in order to get back into the game. We had to gamble a little bit, so to speak. We had to force turnovers, and that’s what we started to do. We still have to figure out what is going to work for us.”

The Raiders’ Aiden Sebastian closed the game out at the foul line in the final period, as he was 9 for 10. He connected on a field goal in the first quarter for 11 points.

Riverview scored the first seven points that prompted McCombs to take a timeout with 4:58 left in the first quarter.

The Raiders held a 13-7 advantage heading into the second. Riverview outscored Carmichaels, 17-8, in the second to increase its lead to 30-15 at halftime.

“I think it was a game of two halves for us,” McCombs said. “When we go back and watch the film on this game, then we will see that. The guys and myself won’t want to watch the first half, but that is where we are going to learn. We are proud of the way we fought back in the second half. It is easy to look up at the scoreboard when you are down 20 and start feeling bad for yourself, but our guys never thought that.”

Al Cree led the Mikes in scoring with 14 points on five field goals and was 4 of 7 at the line. Barrish added 13 on five field goals, including three 3-pointers. Teammate Drake Long scored 11 on five field goals (one 3-pointer).

The Raiders’ Gideon Deasy was the game’s leading scorer with 15 points on six field goals, and he was 3 of 4 at the line. Teammates Thanny and Nate Black had 12 and 11 points.

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