LEMONT FURNACE, Pa. - The Penn State New Kensington men's basketball team defeated Penn State Fayette on the road on Tuesday after a long week of winning and a revamped game coherence.
New Kensington and Fayette came into Tuesday night's game with the same record of 9-11. Within the first five minutes, it was evident that these two teams had a similar tenacity. They played each other close from the opening minutes, but it was New Kensington's mode that gave them the advantage.
It would be unfair to say that New Kensington was playing slower than usual when they were truly trying out a new offensive approach. Shyheim Flanagan (St. Martinville, La. / Westside), who usually drives down the floor from the right, took the ball inside from the left. This opened a new hole in the paint wherein Benjamin Cunningham (Woodbridge, Va. / Christ Chapel Academy) and Jovan Kojic (Subotica, Serbia / Canterbury) could find the hoop for the layup.
The game was in a deadlock for the better part of three minutes when the scoring for both New Kensington and Fayette dropped off. This was a result of New Kensington visibly converting their attention to defense to further prevent scoring from a methodical Fayette offense.
One thing to note concerning these two teams is not only their equal records but their vastly different styles of play. There was not much passing on behalf of Penn State Fayette, only long stridden drives down court that would catch New Kensington off guard from time to time.
New Kensington on the other hand was all passing. This worked to their advantage after 10 minutes with New Kensington leading 25-18. It was not long after this that Fayette began to take off offensively bringing the game within one point and even taking the lead.
New Kensington quickly responded when Aubrey Feaster II (Buffalo, N.Y. / William B. Travis) went on a scoring spree in the final three minutes of the half, putting Penn State New Kensington ahead 46-34. Joseph Dusabe (Toronto, Ont. / Fox Chapel) also did his part in contributing to the lead of New Kensington at the half.
Joseph Dusabe and Jovan Kojic ruled the scoring for New Kensington in the second half. The game remained close through the first 10 minutes of the second half due to the increased passing rate of Penn State Fayette. Fouls on the part of both teams hindered New Kensington from running the smooth offense they are comfortable in. Nonetheless, Jovan Kojic managed to sneak in a few layups with the support of Evan Clarke (Aston, Pa. / Garnet Valley) and the repeated fastbreaks.
A concentrated offensive effort by Flanagan and Kojic put New Kensington ahead 81-73 with three minutes left in the game. Clarke and Feaster II gave New Kensington some breathing room with 2:25 left in the game, New Kensington leading 85-73.
The scoring was back and forth in the last minute until New Kensington pulled away for the win 97-82. The game's scoring leaders include Aubrey Feaster II with 23 points, Jovan Kojic with 21, and Evan Clarke with 20. The men also managed 57.8% of shots from the field, 21 points off of turnovers, and 34 total rebounds.
Over the last week, the men have had a sequence of encouraging performances on and off the court. Their practices are as intense as ever and the players are motivated to ensure Penn State New Kensington that they are just getting started.
One very extravagant highlight of the men's succession of wins is their ability to rush their fast breaks. Much of the men's scoring, especially over this past weekend was a result of the breakaway layups and dunks. The offense is more efficient than ever, handily defeating Penn State Scranton on Saturday night. The men now construct their game pace and it is exceptionally difficult for their opponents to keep up.
"A lot of times we do run drills like a three on two, two on one fastbreak," said Jared Sidwell (Apollo, Pa. / Harvest Baptist Academy) during Friday's practice. "But a lot of times you can't simulate a fast pace of the game. A lot of times in games the fastbreaks everyone is nervous jittery so we can practice it to an extent but it's something that just comes with the flow of the game."
Just when one thinks that the men's offense cannot improve anymore, they do. Not only that, they confound their ever upgrading offense with a refined and consistent defensive game. "Earlier in the season defense was one of our struggles for sure," said Sidwell. "A lot of times we would start out hot and then we would struggle to finish out the game. So the coach has really been preaching defense, especially over the past five or six games I think we've definitely done a better job of locking teams down especially in the second half."
The men have been working out the kinks in the defense in the last two weeks. Since then they have gone on a three-game win streak and contested a tough battle with Penn State Wilkes-Barre, one of the best teams in the conference.
"The defense has improved a lot since the beginning of the season," said Sammy Carey (Springdale, Pa. / Springdale) during Friday's practice. "I would say we played more games with each other so we're a lot more comfortable talking to each other and we just know how everyone likes to play and we kind of know where they're going to be at before they get there."
All of the men can agree that the more experience they have with one another is what gives them their new edge. As the season comes to a close, the men have always understood that this time of year would be special. "We're playing a lot better the second semester because we're all getting used to each other and how everybody plays so we're really starting to gel as a team," said Carey.
His teammates agree. As it turns out, this has been the plan all along. "Coach Mack said at the beginning of the season he thought we were going to gel mid-January and this is mid-January," said Evan Clarke during Friday's practice.
The men look to pick up their win streak again this weekend in a contest at Penn State Mont Alto on Saturday, February 5, at 4:00 p.m.
Written by Matt Heavner, PSNK Athletics Communications Intern
