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Hughesville: ‘Been There, Done That’

By Staff | Mar 11, 2009

It won’t go down as the prettiest shot that Rezin Davis has ever made, but it could be the most important.

With his team trailing by two with 30 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Davis launched an unbalanced jumper that banked in and tied the Spartans’ PIAA Class AA first-round collision with Holy Cross.

Carrying that momentum into overtime, Davis and Brian Gerney pushed Hughesville to a 59-56 win at Scranton High School on Saturday afternoon.

Hughesville celebrated wildly at center court after converting its opportunities as Gerney, who had a big fourth quarter, finished with four of his 18 points in the extra time.

A roughly played, physical battle had a wild finish that sent the game into overtime.

It appeared that Holy Cross had seized the momentum on a 3-pointer from Louis Cipriano, that gave it a 51-48 lead with 1:21 remaining.

Gerney responded with two free throws to cut it to 51-50.

Then, Holy Cross’ Brett Podhyski made one of two to make it 52-50 with 51 seconds left, setting up Davis’ awkward shot that banked in to tie the game.

Working for the last shot, Gerney blocked a Podhyski shot sending the game into overtime.

“I knew this was going to come down to the wire,” Hughesville coach Nick Tagliaferri said. “We mirror each other so much. “We made the plays at the end thankfully.”

Holy Cross used a couple of runs to stay with Hughesville, which came out and threatened to break the game open on several occasions.

In the first, fueled by five points from Rezin and four from Gerney, Hughesville built a 10-3 advantage.

Hughesville, again, knocked down Holy Cross shots as Greg Taggart and Gerney hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the second that capped an 8-0 surge. That gave the Spartans a 22-15 lead.

Holy Cross built its largest lead during a 13-2 run in the third with a 35-30 lead.

But Hughesville never wavered and responded with four points to close the quarter including an offensive put back from Bryce Pardoe.

Staying within striking distance, Davis and Gerney combined for 13 points in the fourth quarter for Hughesville.

Seniors like Davis and point guard Bryan Hoover have helped the Spartans win 86 games over the last four years, but all they care about right now is the next game.

The Spartans know they have to build on that effort when they play Wednesday against West Catholic, 7:30 p.m. at Hershey High School.

Hughesville (21-5)

Hoover 0 2-2 2, Laychur 0 1-2 1, Davis 7 4-6 19, Hanford 1 2-2 4, Gerney 5 7-10 18, Holmes 2 0-0 5, Taggart 3 1-3 8, Pardoe 1 0-2 2, Eiswerth 0 0-0 0. Totals: 19 17-27 59.

Holy Cross (24-3)

Bevacqua 5 2-6 12, Cipriano 5 6-7 18, Podhyski 3 10-14 16, Gaughan 1 0-0 2, Weber 2 3-4 8, O’Hora 0 0-3 0, Rosencrance 0 0-0 0, Purcell 0 0-0 0. Totals: 16 21-34 56.

Hughesville 14 10 10 18 7 – 59

Holy Cross 11 8 16 17 4 – 56

3-point goals: Davis, Gerney, Holmes, Taggart. Cipriano 2, Weber.