SPRINGFIELD – Chris Dolan is, admittedly, a reluctant shooter. Part of that is the Springfield guard’s sense of awareness, knowing the strengths around him and the patience powering the offense. Part of it is being able to impact games without scoring.
But Thursday, he showed he can make a difference on both ends of the court.
Dolan hit a pair of second-half 3-pointers to go with three steals, his steadfast defense keying a 46-43 win over Penncrest that is vital for Springfield’s district playoff hopes.
Dolan passed up plenty of good looks early on, deferring to the Cougars’ more proficient scorers. But in rhythm in the third, he let fly on a triple to put Springfield up 30-29, one of 11 lead changes. He added a trifecta to make it 41-36 early in the fourth, scoring eight points while attempting just two field goals.
“We came in at halftime and your teammates give you a lot of confidence,” Dolan said. “And they yell at you if you don’t shoot the ball. So I wanted to help them out by shooting the ball.”
Dolan contributed to 14 Penncrest turnovers, including five in the fourth. He and Patrick Flaherty pocketed three steals each, supplying easy buckets in a bruising affair in which they were in short supply.
Flaherty scored all eight of his points in the second half, his 3-pointer to cap the third the 11th and final lead change. Colin Treude added 11 points and six rebounds. Jake Adams was quiet with nine points, while Ryan Johnston added eight points.
The win helps Springfield (11-9, 9-6 Central) bolster its case for a District 1 Class 6A playoff spot. It entered ranked 23rd for a 24-team field with two games left. It swept the season series against Penncrest (13-8, 7-8), the Lions vying for a top-eight spot and opening-round home game in Class 5A.
Treude’s putback of an Adams miss with less than a minute left put Springfield up for good, 45-43, part of a 23-14 rebounding edge.
“We just play really hard,” Penncrest guard Theo Gladue, one of four contributing sophomores, said. “It sucks because we’re young. I’m weak. In the offseason, we’ve just got to put muscle on and get tougher, because it’s the only time we struggle.”
Both teams alternated stretches of crisp execution with utter futility in an engrossing spin art canvas of a game. Penncrest led 18-6 in the second quarter, Springfield needing 6:34 to hit a basket. Adams had eight points on a 13-0 run for the night’s first lead change in the second, the Cougars up one at half.
Penncrest led 34-31 after a Will Stanton deuce, the last of his game-high 14 points before fouling out early in the fourth. Without him, and with double-double threat Mikey Mita limited to eight first-half points, the Lions took 3:05 of the final frame to score. Their first three possessions ended in steals, though Springfield’s 15 turnovers kept Penncrest in touch.
“Defense is always there,” Dolan said. “Shots won’t always fall, but defense goes everywhere. We love that.”
Yet still, Penncrest managed to get even when Gladue hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game from the right wing with 1:22 remaining.
“My teammates and my coach set all those shots up for me with great passes off the flares and all that stuff,” he said. “It got me wide open.”
After Treude’s bucket, Penncrest turned the ball over, then Flaherty hit one of two at the line with 7.1 seconds left. Springfield took its fouls to give until Connor Cahill forced an off-balance 3-pointer off an inbounds with 3.1 seconds left that never had a chance, letting the more seasoned Cougars pull out a win.
“It’s fun to play in,” Dolan said. “It gets the adrenaline going and makes games fun. And I think we play really well in those situations.”
