Church Farm lets 11-point fourth-quarter lead slip away in loss to Parkway Center City
PROSPECT PARK >> The motto of the Church Farm basketball team is “Love the Struggle.”
Saturday afternoon at Interboro High School, the Griffins’ fourth-quarter struggles spelled the end of their impressive season.
Church Farm got quite a struggle from Parkway Center City in the opening round of the PIAA Class AA playoffs Saturday, but watched an 11-point fourth-quarter lead slip away in a 39-38 loss.
The win sends the Bulldogs into Wednesday night’s second round around Trinity, a 60-43 winner over Holy Cross.
“We played them in the summer league and we did not run any sets and we only lost by one point,” said Parkway guard Tymir Cooper. “We gameplanned all week to keep the ball away from their big man and we did that. And in the fourth period we sped the game up and we feel our guards are better than theirs and we beat them. It is a great feeling to win a state game.”
Parkway was behind 34-23 after three periods after trailing just 23-22 at halftime. The Bulldogs (13-12) scored just two points in the the third period on a one for nine shooting effort. Church Farm (21-5) outscored the Bulldogs, 12-2, in the third and caused seven Parkway turnovers. It was a typical defensive gem from the Griffins man-to-man pressure that fueled their success this season.
The Griffins got six points in the third quarter from Faustus Kulbickus, who led all scorers with 15 points, including four 3-pointers. But, the Griffins had a very hard time getting the ball into the post to 6-foot-11 Fred Odihmabo. Odihambo scored just seven points and grabbed just seven rebounds.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs starting hitting shots. Parkway came out firing in the fourth and got the Griffins lead down to 34-29 when William McNair hit on a follow. But Odihambo came back and scored in tight to push the lead back to seven. But Cooper, who led the Bulldogs with 12 points, scored on a runner and energized the Parkway crowd. From that point on, the Griffins looked uncomfortable in the fast-paced contest.
Church Farm turned the ball over six times in the final quarter and shot just two for 10, being outscored 16-4.
“We wanted to speed up the game and depend on our guards,” Parkway coach Terrance Puckett said. “And we gameplanned all week to deny their big man the ball and play the wings where they have the shooters.”
Church Farm turned the ball over six times in the fourth period and one of those turnovers led to a Cooper layup that made the score 38-35 with 1:55 left. After a Veniukevicius miss, Copper drove the lane and dished to Jemal Sheppard who was fouled. Sheppard hit both free throws to make it a 38-37 game with 1:27 to play.
Church Farm came down the floor and turned the ball over again, and the Bulldogs had the ball, down one point with 56 seconds to play. Parkway put the ball into Cooper’s hands again and he drained a jumper to give the Bulldogs a 39-38 lead, their first of the game with 35 seconds to play.
“We knew coming into the season that we were young at the guard spot,” said Church Farm coach Marc Turner. “And it hurt us a little today. But let’s give Parkway credit. They played real well in the fourth period and we got into the running game and we did not do a good enough job today.”
Down one, Church Farm inbounded the ball, James Lawton drove the lane and got fouled. But, Lawton missed the front end of the one and one and Parkway grabbed the rebound and with 6.4 seconds left.
After a quick foul, Parkway’s Watson missed the front end of the one and one and the Griffins had a last chance drive down the floor. But Venikecuis missed on a 3-point attempt at the buzzer and Church Farm’s season came to a screeching halt.
“They did a real good job denying Fred the ball,” Turner said. “And give Parkway credit. They are big and they are long and they did a good job definitely today. But we will regroup and hopefully be back here next year.”
