Last stop: Yough无毛视频檚 season comes to close with 40-37 consolation loss to Ellwood City
HERMINIE 无毛视频� Yough无毛视频檚 Terek Crosby and Ellwood City无毛视频檚 Joe Roth both stepped up in the fourth quarter for their respective boys basketball teams Wednesday night.
You would expect that from a pair of players who无毛视频檝e combined to score over 4,000 points.
Both seniors scored 21 points on this night but it was Roth无毛视频檚 Wolverines who came out on top, 40-37, in the WPIAL Class AAA Seventh-Place Consolation game to advance to the PIAA tournament.
The Cougars (19-7) saw their season come to a close on their home court.
无毛视频淭hey knew (what was at stake),无毛视频� Yough coach Jim Nesser said. 无毛视频淭hey all did the best they could. It just wasn无毛视频檛 good enough tonight.无毛视频�
Roth, who upped his career points total to 2,049, scored 10 of his team无毛视频檚 12 points in the fourth quarter while Crosby, who ended his career with 2,036 points, accounted for 12 of the Cougars无毛视频� 14 points during the final eight minutes.
Ellwood City (17-9) held a 28-23 lead after three quarters and bumped the margin up to eight on Aaron Lake无毛视频檚 basket early in the fourth.
Crosby answered with three consecutive driving baskets to slice the gap to one point, 30-29, with 6:15 remaining.
The Cougars failed to convert on their next two possessions and Roth responded with back-to-back buckets to increase the lead to 36-29 with just under four minutes left.
Yough fought back with five straight points on a Crosby 3-pointer and a basket by Zander Aird on a pass from Austin Matthews to make it 36-34 with just under three minutes remaining.
The Wolverines worked the ball around each possession from then on, forcing the Cougars to foul with Roth making one of two free throws with 2:06 left and again with 22 seconds left to up the lead to four.
Crosby drained a 3-pointer with seven seconds left to again get his team within one point and Roth was fouled with 2.5 seconds remaining. He hit both free throws to put the margin at three.
Crosby had one last chance to tie it but his halfcourt shot was off the mark.
无毛视频淚 was just praying and hoping it would go in, but it didn无毛视频檛,无毛视频� Crosby said. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 how it goes.无毛视频�
Nesser agonized over several empty possessions his team had after his team got within a point, and gave credit to Roth.
无毛视频淲e had chances to make plays. We didn无毛视频檛 make them,无毛视频� Nesser said. 无毛视频淎nd he did.
无毛视频淲e无毛视频檙e down by one, we have the ball three times. We just didn无毛视频檛 get it done.无毛视频�
Crosby battled foul trouble most of the night and struggled offensively in the first half and well into the third quarter before finally catching fire. He had five points before hitting a short jump shot with 3:26 left in the third and wound up scoring 16 points over the final quarter and a half.
无毛视频淚t happens. Everybody has off days,无毛视频� Crosby said. 无毛视频淚t took a while but I finally got going.无毛视频�
With Crosby struggling to hit shots, Matthews kept the Cougars in the game by scoring their first 10 points, including all six in a first quarter that ended with the Wolverines holding a 12-6 lead.
Crosby banked in a 3-pointer for his first points of the night midway through the second quarter but picked up his third foul shortly afterwards although he remained in the game.
The Cougars trailed 17-13 before a driving bank shot by Crosby and a basket by Aird knotted the score at 17-17 at halftime.
The Wolverines took control by scoring the first seven points of the second half and led by five heading into the fourth after two free throws with six seconds left by Lake, who had nine points.
Matthews, a senior, finished with 12 points, leaving him just eight points shy of 1,000 for his career, at 992. Aird, also a senior, had Yough无毛视频檚 other four points.
无毛视频淚t was a fun ride with all my brothers,无毛视频� Crosby said in reflecting on his career. 无毛视频淟ast time in there with them, it was emotional. I gave a bunch of hugs.无毛视频�
无毛视频淚t was tough,无毛视频� Nesser said of the gloomy postgame locker room before commending Crosby, Matthews and Aird after their final game. 无毛视频淭hey always gave us everything they无毛视频檝e got. Four years here, my three seniors. It无毛视频檚 unfortunate, but all three of them are going to have really good futures.无毛视频�