×

Unbeaten Knights get some different help in win

St. John Neumann's Kevin Anderson (1) blocks the shot on a fastbreak of Lewisburg's Aaron Hoover (2) in the first quarter Thursday at Neumann.

As Lewisburg defenders swarmed Kevin Anderson, Andrew Fish looped around and lurked outside the 3-point arc. One Anderson found him, Fish pounced and delivered dagger-like blows.

Fish might have only scored six points and hit two 3-pointers, but it was when he hit them that was so crucial Thursday night at the Terry Gramling Gymnasium. Fish first ended a Lewisburg run with his third-quarter 3-pointer then drained another big shot on the fourth-quarter’s first possession. Each thwarted Lewisburg charges and sparked St. John Neumann as it won its 78th straight regular-season game, 63-57 in front of an overflowing crowd.

Anderson was his usual marvelous self and recorded his fourth double-double, but Fish is another Neumann player who continues making big shots and big plays. He came up big in Tuesday’s win against previously undefeated Millville and did so again in a playoff-like atmosphere last night. Take away his 3-pointers and one has a tie game.

“He was absolutely huge. He’s money,” Neumann coach Mike Kirby said. “He can shoot it. That’s what he does and he now looks forward to doing what he does.”

“They focus on Kevin usually so if they double I’ll look for that shot but I’m not going to force it,” Fish said. “I got some open looks and took advantage of them. I really like that spot. I look for the opportunity.”

He usually delivers when the opportunity presents itself. Fish has been outstanding in Neumann’s biggest games this year against North Penn-Mansfield, Millville and Lewisburg. He has averaged eight points in those games while hitting seven 3-pointers. Fish drained three 3-pointers against Millville on a night Anderson did not play and scored 11 points in Tuesday’s win.

Neumann (11-0) stormed out to a 17-3 lead midway through the first quarter, but Lewisburg rallied and pulled within seven midway through the third. That was when Fish struck and hit his first 3-pointer. Lewisburg (9-4) again rallied and trailed just 48-43 entering the fourth quarter. Again, Fish stymied the surge and started the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer. The Dragons continued fighting but did not make it a six-point game until just 3.4 seconds remained as Neumann unveiled yet another weapon.

“In junior high I came here and that (shooting) was one of my strengths and I kept working at it,” Fish said. “It was an awesome experience tonight. Playing on TV and with the crowd here, it was just a great time.”

“They were starting to load up on Kevin so we have confidence he can make that shot and that’s what happened,” Kirby said. “That’s a real challenge then for the other team. You can get it out of Kevin’s hands but someone’s going to hurt you.”

And Anderson almost always is going to find that person. The Delaware-bound senior again dazzled, scoring a game-high 26 points, dealing 11 assists and grabbing 10 rebounds. Anderson immediately set the tone and had a hand in the game’s first nine points as Neumann appeared poised to blow out a strong opponent like it did against Mansfield earlier this season. But Lewisburg cut the deficit to five by the end of the first quarter and both teams traded heavyweight-like blows from there.

Anderson is working on a third straight all-state season but his teammates continue playing strong as well. Jaiden Lynch had 14 points and hit three straight shots in the third quarter. Jaiden Cioffi played excellent defense and grabbed five rebounds while Noah Persun had nine points and four rebounds.

Lewisburg challenged Neumann more than any other team has this season but the Knights repeatedly responded and defeated another high-caliber opponent.

“We just love playing together,” Fish said. “We’re really playing well as a team and it’s going to help us in crucial games in playoffs that come down to the wire.”

Lewisburg lost for the first time in eight games, but last night’s game should help it moving forward in a loaded Class AAAA field. The Dragons never backed down any time Neumann looked like it might pull away. Lewisburg trailed by 10 in the third quarter but Sal Brown scored five straight points and hit a last-second 3-pointer making it 48-43 entering the fourth.

Lewisburg sophomore Dylan Farronato, averaging 15 points per game, symbolized Lewisburg’s toughness playing despite battling an illness for a third straight day. He missed the last two days of school, but fought on against Neumann as the Dragons continued doing good things a year after losing two 1,000-point scorers.

“I told the guys you always hate to lose but you can except losing when you play that hard and you do some good stuff,” Lewis­burg coach John Vaji said. “It was a moral victory maybe. Over the last 28 minutes we beat them by eight so you have to take that and just build on that. I was happy with the way my team battled and rose to the challenge. It was just two good teams battling it out.”

Brown was terrific off the bench and changed the game’s complexion in the first quarter with two thunderous blocks of potential layups. He finished with 18 points and six rebounds.

Nate Liscum carried Lewisburg early, scoring 16 of the team’s first 22 points. Liscum relentlessly competed last night and finished with 25 points, nine rebounds, three assists and five 3-pointers. Liscum drove inside to make it 60-53 with 50 seconds remaining, but Anderson hit three foul shots in the final 46 seconds that clinched another Neumann win.

“When Nate zones in he can shoot it with the best around,” Vaji said. “He came out focused and was able to attack the rim a little bit. He’s awfully athletic so he was able to do a lot of good stuff.”

LEWISBURG (57)

Sal Brown 7 1-3 18, Dylan Farronato 2 0-2 4, Nate Liscum 9 2-2 25, Aaron Hoover 2 0-0 4, Adam Cole 0 0-0 0, Nick Shedleski 3 0-0 6, Sam Miller 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 3-7 57.

NEUMANN (63)

Kevin Anderson 10 4-6 26, Jaiden Lynch 7 0-1 14, Jaiden Cioffi 2 2-2 6, Noah Persun 4 1-2 9, Anthony Marrazzo 1 0-0 2, Andrew Fish 2 0-0 6, Dalton Gough 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 7-11 63.

Lewisburg    14 11 18 14–57

Neumann    19 14 15 15–63

3-pointers: Lewisburg 8 (Liscum 5, Brown 3); Neumann 4 (Anderson 2, Fish).

Records: Neumann 11-0. Lewisburg 9-4.

JV Score: Lewisburg, 53-38.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.62/week.

Subscribe Today