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Josh Burger scores at buzzer to lift Montoursville over Central Mountain boys

MILL HALL – Dillion Young’s go-ahead layup in the final seconds was no good for Montoursville. Fortunately for the Warriors, Josh Burger gathered Young’s miss and beat the buzzer on a layup to give Montoursville the 51-50 victory over Central Mountain on Saturday night.

The second quarter made all the difference.

Montoursville embarked on a 16-0 run midway through the second to take a double-digit lead into halftime. Senior forward Landon Reeder tallied a team-high 13 points for the Warriors.

“We did some foolish things. We got a rebound and they missed a second foul shot and we got a timeout, and we were able to set something up, and over five seconds is enough time to get down the floor full speed,” Montoursville coach Mike Mussina said. “Dylan did that and got the ball up and Burger tipped it in. We’re very fortunate that we won, and they didn’t because they certainly deserved it. They played a great basketball game. It was a night that maybe we shouldn’t have won but we found a way.”

Mussina mentioned the Wildcats looked as if they were a different team in comparison to the first time the two squads met.

“It’s been a week since we played — we had a game canceled earlier in the week — I thought we’d be a little rusty. We played tough and we had things go against us a couple times. We had a nice run at the end of the first half,” Mussina said. “Second half we just didn’t play very well. We didn’t shoot the ball very well. We got very fortunate, I think. It’s just one of those basketball games, you go on the road and it’s a lot different than at home. We beat these guys pretty handily the first time and we knew it wasn’t going to be the same up here. They’re a better basketball team and they certainly proved that.”

The Wildcats, who were led by Jack Hanna’s 17 points on five 3s made, battled back from a double-digit deficit to make it competitive. Central Mountain outscored Montoursville, 29-20, in the second half.

Central Mountain coach Tyler Bardo said his team knew they had the ability to close the gap. The loss for the Wildcats marked their third consecutive single-digit defeat.

“We said at halftime we knew we were going to be there. We’ve turned a certain corner so we can make sure we’re in these games,” Bardo said. “It’s now three straight games when we were in a position to win. I don’t think any were as close as tonight. All you can do is continue to take the tough lessons.”

Trevor Adair was solid for the Wildcats despite the loss. The senior ended the night with 16 points and came up big when Central Mountain needed him most. Adair accounted for six of Central Mountain’s last eight points in the final minute of the game, including a go-ahead free throw to give the Wildcats the lead prior to Burger’s game-winner.

Montoursville 51, Central Mountain 50

MONTOURSVILLE (51)

Dillion Young 5 0-0 11, Isaiah Fenner 4 0-0 9, Landon Reeder 4 4-5 13, Nolan Kutney 3 0-5 6, Peyton Mussina 3 0-0 6, Josh Burger 2 2-2 6. Totals: 15 6-12 51.

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (50)

Trevor Adair 5 3-3 16, Jack Hanna 6 0-0 17, Aidan Major 4 2-3 11, Cayde McCloskey 1 0-0 2, Nick Long 1 0-0 2, Brett Gerlach 1 0-1 2. Totals:18 5-7 50.

Montoursville 13 18 6 14–51

Central Mountain 11 10 12 17–50

3-point goals: Montoursville 3 (Reeder 1, Young 1, Fenner 1), Central Mountain 7 (Hanna 5, Adair 1, Major 1).

Records: Montoursville (12-4), Central Mountain (4-11).

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