HARRISBURG – Frantic fourth quarters and overtime dramatics can and do fray the nerves of the best basketball teams. However, Central Dauphin head coach Wayne Fletcher has this edition of the Rams mentally and physically prepared for several pressure-cooker finishes they’ve already endured during the first half of this season.
The Rams faced another round of adversity Wednesday night on the road at Harrisburg’s Kimber Gym. Central Dauphin fell behind by 10 points at halftime, rallied for a slim lead, had an official’s call fall its way at the end of regulation and rode the overtime scoring of Ryan Smith and Rance Russo to an eventual 63-59 Mid-Penn Commonwealth victory over the Cougars.
“It was a gutty win. It’s just like our last two games. We practice this – the last four minutes of the game, the type of things we want to do and how we’re going to react. There’s no sense of dread with it. Again, I’m just glad we got it to this point," Fletcher said.
Central Dauphin (7-3 overall, 5-1 Commonwealth) hosts Mifflin County Friday night. Harrisburg (5-2, 3-2) travels to Central Dauphin East Friday night and hosts Chester Saturday.
THE STARS: Central Dauphin’s Smith found himself pinned to the bench with two early personal fouls and didn’t hit the score sheet in the first half. Smith more than made up for that in the second half, pouring in a game-high 21 points, including six consecutive free throws that help the Rams keep pace in the final minutes. Smith was 11-for-12 from the free throw line. Russo finished with 16 points and Devon Haggins added 9.
Davon Lee paced the Harrisburg attack with 17 points, including a 3-pointer in OT that kept the Cougars’ hope alive. Nahleigh Thompson pumped in 14 more for Harrisburg.
GAME DECIDING MOMENTS: Harrisburg inbounded the ball to Lee with 10.5 seconds remaining in regulation to work for a potential game-winning field goal. Justice Easter challenged Lee at the top of the key, the ball suddenly came loose and was fought for. Whistles sounded at the 0.5 mark. One official signaled a Central Dauphin foul and another a held ball. A quick conference ruled a held ball and Central Dauphin possession, which sent the game into the extra session.
Andrew Renaldi nailed a key 3-pointer, his only points of the game, midway through the overtime to give the Rams a lead they would never relinquish. A blocked shot by Haggins led to OT points. Russo scored five in the extra session, including three clutch free throws, to put the game away.
Smith and Russon basically erased a 21-11 halftime deficit on their own in the first two minutes of the second half, each coming out with 3-pointers blazing. Smith connected for 12 in the third and brought Central Dauphin within 37-35 after three quarters.
THEY SAID IT: “Of course it hurt to have Ryan out of the game. That’s a big part of our offense. But the guys stepped up when they had to in order to support each other, we worked hard defense and rebounded when we had to,” – Central Dauphin head coach Wayne Fletcher.
CENTRAL DAUPHIN 63, HARRISBURG 59 (OT)
CENTRAL DAUPHIN (63): Devon Haggins 3 3-4 9, Andrew Renaldi 1 0-0 3, Tyrese Fuller 0 0-0 0, Justice Easter 1 0-0 3, Max Mosey 0 0-0 0, Ryan Smith 5 11-12 21, Rance Russo 4 6-10 16, Keon Dockens 1 0-0 2, Donovan Hill 2 0-0 5, Darren Berrios 0 0-0 0. TOTALS 17 19-30 63.
HARRISBURG (59): Avery Cloud 1 1-3 3, John McNeil 4 4-8 11, Nateur Dennis 0 0-0 0, Nahleigh Thompson 4 7-10 17, Kyroll Williams 0 0-0 0, Ellyan Houston 3 0-0 6, Marquel Ford 4 0-0 8. TOTALS 18 16-25 59.
Central Dauphin – 09 05 21 17 11 – 63
Harrisburg – 07 14 16 15 07 – 59
Fouled out – None. 3-point goals – Central Dauphin: Renaldi, Smith, Hill, Russo (2); Harrisburg: McNeil, Lee (2). Rebounds – Central Dauphin: 29; Harrisburg 17.