Fry helps Muncy boys top Sayre
MUNCY — Jeff Fry closed out the first half of Muncy’s 57-48 win over Sayre in the District 4 Class AA boys quarterfinals with a personal 11-0 run, capped by a 3-point buzzer-beater that gave the Indians a lead they would not relinquish.
Playing in front of a hyped-up home crowd, the Indians’ senior guard rallied his team from an early deficit with a 16-point outburst that gave the hosts a 32-29 lead at halftime, and grew the advantage to 37-29 less than two minutes into the second half.
“Jeffrey is the only one who has played in a playoff game, while the rest were very wide-eyed at the start,” said Muncy coach Jason Gresh. “Basketball is different because the players are on top of you, and hear everything and feel everything. … It took a little while for us to get going.”
Sayre started fast, building a 19-11 lead after one quarter behind senior forward Marcus Bauman (team-high 15 points). The speed and tenacity displayed by the fifth-seeded Redskins (10-13) in the first eight minutes was turned around in the second quarter behind the perimeter game of Fry (28 points) and teammate Noah Rymsza (15 points).
“Jeff started slow, then he did his thing,” Gresh said. “I though he did a nice job carrying us in the second quarter. Then he did the typical ‘Jeffery thing,’ he stepped back and supported guys like Noah, who I thought played huge.”
Fourth-seeded Muncy (12-11) limited Sayre to three third-quarter points, extending the advantage to 44-32 after three periods. Maintaining an 11-point cushion for most of the fourth quarter, coach Ben Gembrell’s team managed to climb back to 53-46 with a minute to play, but Muncy’s Fry knocked down four free throws put the game away.
Coming off the floor Sayre’s Bauman said, “We started fast by playing as a team and working hard. As the game went on we let up and let ourselves down.”
Bauman said the game plan was to play hard and play together, but as the game moved along, Muncy limited the fast-break chances, and did a better job rebounding at both ends of the floor.
“In the first half the heart was there, but we struggled in the second half,” said Bauman. “We wanted to spread the ball around, and our focus was to go inside more because we were taller. We tried to keep playing how we play, but No. 4 (Fry) had a really good game, and we had a tough time covering him.”
Muncy moves on to face top-seeded North Penn-Mansfield (19-5), which tied for the NTL-I crown and is chasing its first district championship since 2010.
SAYRE (48)
Chris Ray 1 0-2 2, Jordan Rockwell 2 1-1 6, Gage Carnrike 0 0-0 0, Ryan Murrelle 1 1-3 4, James Esposito 2 0-0 4, Marcus Bauman 6 1-3 15, Nate Sweet 5 3-4 11, Jalen Power 1 0-2 2, Tyler Belles 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-15 44.
MUNCY (57)
Nathan Paisley 1 0-0 2, Dylan Wilt 0 0-0 0, Noah Rymza 4 5-5 15, Jeff Fry 8 7-9 28, Peyton Hulyo 2 0-0 4, Matt Coyner 3 0-3 6, Nick Paternastro 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 12-17 57.
Sayre 19 10 3 16–48
Muncy 11 21 12 13–57
3-point goals: Sayre 4 (Rockwell 1, Murrelle 1, Bauman 1, Sweet 1); Muncy 7 (Fry 5, Rymza 2).
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