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Wildcat boys advance to District 6 AAAAA final

MILL HALL — Led by Brody Baker’s 13 points, the Central Moun­tain Wildcats denied Bellefonte’s late attempt at a comeback as they knocked out the Red Raiders in the first round of the District 6 Class AAAAA playoffs, escaping with a 47-44 victory.

Baker’s biggest points were a late 3-pointer as the Wildcats took the lead for good at 45-44 after Bellefonte rallied to take a lead.

“My teammates crashed the defense and kicked me the ball, and I just knocked down the shot,” Brody baker said.

Central Mountain will face Hollidaysburg Saturday at Mt. Aloysius College at 8 for the title.

“In playoff time it’s not always pretty,” Central Mountain (16-8) head coach Scott Baker said. “The key is that you have to find a way to win so you can move on. We’re moving on and Bellefonte’s going home and that’s all that matters at this point.

“We were playing a team that pretty much likes to play at slow pace,” Baker added, “and Bellefonte did a pretty good job of it. In the second half in particular they got their way.”

Central Mountain jumped to an early 5-0 lead after Justin Neff converted a tip-in and Brody Baker drilled a three-pointer. The Wildcats ended the first quarter leading 10-5, and proceeded to tally another eight points to claim a 18-5 lead.

The Wildcats held Bellefonte scoreless for nearly seven minutes- until Bellefonte’s Caleb Rockey converted a layup, cutting the Red Raiders’ deficit 18-7 in the second quarter.

Bellefonte ended the quarter on a 4-0 run, but still entered halftime trailing 28-16. In the locker room, Red Raiders head coach Kris Glunt spoke to his team on the importance of trust and maintaining its confidence, despite what he called a lack luster performance by his team in the first half.

“Central Mountain’s experience and maturity was in their favor in the first half,” said Glunt. “Our youth and inexperience created some timidness, and I thought it led to some mistakes we wouldn’t typically make.”

Bellefonte played carefree basketball in the second half, and it showed as it began to crawl back into the game.

The Red Raiders nailed five three-pointers in the third period, three of them from hands of Ben Mcartney-who knocked down all of his nine points in the period. By the end of the quarter- Central Mountain saw its lead shrink to 39-35 and head coach Scott Baker was frustrated with his team’s lack of execution and numerous uncontested shots allowed in the period.

“We slacked off of a couple kids [Ben McCartney and Nathan Tice], who we knew could hit some threes and we talked to the guys about it,” Scott Baker said. “But we got a little lazy and slacked off of them and they knocked down I think four straight. That gives you a tight game pretty quick.”

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