Sharp-shooting Lower Moreland punches ticket to PIAA-4A semifinals
BETHLEHEM >> Lower Moreland is heading to the Final Four.
The Lions punched their ticket with a 65-58 win over Scranton Prep in the PIAA Class 4A quarterfinals Friday night at Freedom High School.
“I’m not a Lower Moreland aficionado,” eighth-year head coach Seth Baron said, “but to my knowledge I think this might be the first time we’re in the Final Four.
“We’ve been to the Final Eight four years ago. I had a special group back then as well. These guys — they’ve created a legacy that is going to stand forever. It’s pretty awesome. It’s a great ride.”
The Lions got the job done with a lights-out shooting performance. As a team, they were 7-for-10 from three-point range.
“We grew up playing (Scranton Prep’s) press,” guard Shane Cohen said. “We pretty much had that in the back pocket on where to go and how to beat it. (Thursday) in practice — that was the whole practice. Beat their press and we’re going to win this game.
“That’s exactly what the coaches wanted us to do — ball-fake, ball-fake, get it in the middle, open three on two. That’s exactly what we did and we executed really well. We were making shots left and right.”
Joey Cerruti hit three three-pointers, Andrew Finnegan two and Cohen and Jake Himmelstein each had one.
“I’m lucky to have five guys on the floor who are all a threat,” Baron said. “I don’t even know if Jordan (Zoubroulis) had a three. He’s been a great three-point threat for us this year. I don’t know if Forrest (Keys) had one. Joey (Cerruti) is one of the best three-point shooters I’ve ever been lucky enough to have.”
The District 1 champion Lions used the dominant shooting night to build a comfortable 14-point lead in the fourth quarter. The game got a little dicey as they went 10-for-18 from the free-throw line in the final eight minutes while Scranton Prep put together a 20-point quarter. The lead was trimmed to six, but the Lions hit enough free throws to maintain a comfortable, two-possession lead until the final buzzer.
“Coaches were getting on me saying keep everyone poised,” Cohen said. “We had a few bad turnovers towards crunch time, but it happens. We’re in high school. We’re all seniors. Turnovers are going to happen but it’s how we react to those turnovers and get back on defense and we had one stop at a time. Even though we had a turnover we came back and executed on defense and we got a stop. That was a big part of our success tonight.”
Lower Moreland got off to a fast start. In the first 10 seconds of the game Zoubroulis grabbed a steal and layed it in at the other end for a 2-0 lead. He scored six of the Lions first eight points and added three assists in the first quarter to help build a 20-12 lead after eight minutes.
The District 2 champion Cavaliers responded in the second quarter, rattling off a 14-4 run to tie the game at 24.
Cerruti went 1-for-2 from the foul line in the final minute of the first half to give the Lions the lead for good and Cohen made a layup at the buzzer to send them to intermission ahead, 27-24.
Cohen dominated the third quarter to add to the lead. He scored eight of his team-high 21 points in the third while Cerutti hit two three-pointers. The Lions took a 48-38 lead to the fourth.
Lower Moreland’s defense had its hands full with Scranton Prep senior Leo O’Boyle. The 6-foot-8 small forward finished with a game-high 31 points.
Lions forward Keys was tasked with stopping O’Boyle. In the second half he held the Lafayette commit scoreless for much of the third quarter. When Keys came off the floor late in the third, O’Boyle immediately converted a three-point play and followed with a three-pointer. In the fourth, O’Boyle was held scoreless for six minutes before scoring eight in the final two minutes during a frantic comeback attempt.
“The second half was much better,” Baron said. “I thought (O’Boyle) had to work harder for his shots. I think he still probably shot a pretty good percentage, but Forrest is one of the best defensive players I’ve ever had and there’s no one else I want on that kid. If this kid is going to beat us single-handedly with Forrest covering him, then God bless him. That wasn’t the was it went down tonight. Forrest worked his butt off and did a great job on that kid chasing him all over the place and denying him.”
“O’Boyle — super tough player,” Cohen added. “We were watching film on him and we knew it was going to be trouble guarding him and everything. We executed the gameplan exactly as we wanted to.”
Lower Moreland will face Bonner-Prendergast in the semifinals Monday at a site and time to be determined.
