Falcons can’t dig out of early hole in 47-34 loss to Lancers
Brownsville fell in an early hole and could never quite dig itself out in falling at Neshannock, 47-34, in a WPIAL Class AAA boys basketball first-round playoff game Friday night.
The seventh-seeded Lancers (18-4) jumped out to a 10-3 lead in the first quarter and held advantages of 21-11 at halftime and 29-19 after three quarters in fighting off the 10th-seeded Falcons (12-9).
“This was our first true playoff game since 2016,” said Brownsville coach Stewart Davis, whose team did play in last year’s WPIAL open tournament. “It was an experience for them. It took a good hour and 50 minutes to get there. It’s hard to remain focused for an almost two-hour bus ride.
“Then we pull up and they’ve got a packed house because they were holding a doubleheader there. The whole situation was a shock to the boys a little bit I think. Our fans did show up. We had a section behind us. But they had a full house.”
Michael Sopko led the Lancers with a game-high 20 points and Jack Giles had 12 points.
Damarion Brown was the Falcons’ leading scorer with nine points and Harlan Davis added eight points.
Davis credited Neshannock for scouting his team well.
“They watched film. They really studied us,” Davis said. “They switched on everything that we came out in. They played us man-to-man, they played a match-up zone.
“My boys are young. They’ve got to attack the gaps, attack the zone and look to kick. We were settling for jump shots here and there, but when we did start attacking we started to come back but then we got away from it again. We played in spurts.”
Davis thought his team hung in the game well.
“I never panicked because I thought we still had opportunities we just weren’t playing our best game,” Davis said. “We weren’t doing the things we needed to do.
“We were in the game but we just couldn’t get over that hump. We didn’t take advantage of opportunities. We were 10 of 21 from the free throw line and we didn’t shoot the ball well from the field either. We left some things on the table there.
“I thought defensively their strategy, we haven’t seen a team that switches everything all season. That was a little different for us and we didn’t make the adjustments that we should have.”
Davis didn’t feel the Falcons were outclassed.
“I don’t think that team was better than us,” Davis said. “I just thought their defensive strategy definitely rattled us a little bit.”
Davis shifted his focus with his players to the future afterwards.
“The conversation after the game was about the hunger,” Davis said. “Where does it leave you? Does it leave you feeling empty that you needed to do more?
“So this offseason, starting now, it’s weight room, getting to the gym, working on things we need to work on, and keeping that fire alive within them to want to do better.
“The culture has definitely changed. It’s nothing but up from here from what I see.”