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Michaels sets tone as Lewisburg defeats Bloomsburg in HAC Tournament semifinals

By Chris Masse 6 min read

SUNBURY--Sometimes Cam Michaels moves so fast, even he cannot stop himself. So, yes Michaels occasionally will turn the ball over as he accelerates at turbo speed.

But Lewisburg will take that trade because Michaels playing so quick and so relentless provides his team so much value. It sure did Thursday night in the Heartland Conference Semifinals against Bloomsburg.

This was an offense operating at peak efficiency and Michaels was the engine powering the machine. The junior point guard dealt 10 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds, headlining a well-rounded Lewisburg performance as the Green Dragons defeated Bloomsburg, 59-49. Lewisburg (19-4) plays Loyalsock Friday night back at the Shikellamy Field House for the championship.

"Cam is our spark plug. He’s so athletic. I just like for him at times to slow down, but I’d rather have him playing fast, then playing too conservative," Lewisburg coach John Vaji said. "He makes so many good things happen for us. He understands things so well. He knows where guys are at and that’s what you want in a point guard. He knows where everyone is at, and he gets that job done."

All the Dragons performed their jobs well against a strong Bloomsburg team which defeated Loyalsock 62-48 last Saturday. Jake Hernandez scored 24 points, Forrest Zelechoski 12 and Henry Harrison 12 off the bench. Joey Martin blocked two shots, Khashaun Akins provided tough defense and Lewisburg never trailed after midway through the first quarter.

Most impressive, Lewisburg brilliantly moved and shared the basketball against Bloomsburg’s aggressive zone defense. The Dragons had 22 assists on 24 field goals, driving home that point. And after Bloomsburg cut a nine-point deficit to four with three minutes remaining, it was Michaels’ passing which sealed victory.

Lewisburg worked the ball inside and outside following a timeout and Michaels capped the possession by finding Zelechoski on a backdoor cut. Michaels pulled down his 10th rebound and dealt his ninth assist, quickly finding Hernandez in transition. The three-year starter then produced an unconventional double-double (6 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists) when he found Harrison for a 3-pointer that made it 58-47.

Three assists, seven points ... game over.

"It’s always fun getting out and running. We’re better when we’re running," Michaels said. "We’ve been in these situations before where we’ve blown a lead and the other team came back and made it a game. We were like this time we just need to get them running. We have to get out running and move the ball."

Lewisburg did that well all night and it made the ultimate difference. In early January, Montoursville’s zone defense gave Lewisburg fits and helped end its six-game winning streak. The Dragons turned that negative into a positive, learned from their mistakes and carved up Montoursville in the rematch last week.

Then Lewisburg put an exclamation point on its progress, doing so against an excellent opponent which was coming off a series of big wins. The Dragons passed the ball inside, outside and kept moving. The ball and the players rarely stopped moving, helping Lewisburg go 12 of 22 from the field in the first half while building a 27-22 advantage.

Zelechoski’s putback had Lewisburg up nine early in the third quarter before Bloomsburg crept within two a few minutes later. The Panthers (18-5) kept coming back, but whenever they did, Lewisburg answered by playing unselfish, efficient basketball with players setting each other up for quality shots.

"We had experience going against the zone with Montoursville. We struggled the first time we played them and the next time we played them we figured it out," Michaels said. "We just have to move the ball a lot, so we moved it pretty well. We got it in the middle and once we did that everything was open."

"One of our best games we played the last couple weeks was against Montoursville and we executed that game. That game really helped us prepare for what we were going to see down the road," Vaji said. "It’s a credit to the boys for learning and understanding that we struggled at Montoursville against the zone, but now we’re starting to learn how to attack the zone and do a lot of good things against it."

Five players produced multiple assists, including Hernandez who had four to go with his 24 points, six rebounds and three steals. Lewisburg’s ability to get the ball to Hernandez inside early opened up the perimeter and Harrison’s marksmanship (three 3-pointers) helped Lewisburg closed the second quarter strong to take a lead it never relinquished.

Lewisburg has been especially effective late this season because it has developed a lot of threats. Hernandez is a 1,000-point scorer, but Martin and Michaels also are averaging more than eight points per game and Zelechoski has consistently been producing double digits as he did again Thursday. Harrison and Jack Blough have been dangerous off the bench and the options again were plenty against Bloomsburg.

"We have pretty balanced games this year and we really don’t care who scores," Michaels said. "If we get that win that’s all that really matters."

"We’ve been stressing to them about not depending on one guy. Tonight, everyone who was on the floor contributed for us and that’s what we’ve been preaching," Vaji said. "Be a team, get after it and get the job done and they’ve been doing that."

Bloomsburg started strong, making its first four shots and going up 9-4. Lewisburg quickly countered with an 11-1 run and opened a five-point lead entering the second. Bloomsburg tied it midway through the second, but consecutive Harrison 3-pointers helped Lewisburg again close the quarter strong as it pushed the lead back to five.

The rest of the game played it in a similar fashion with Bloomsburg chasing Lewisburg and nearly pulling even before the Dragons gained more separation. Now the clock has been turned back and Loyalsock and Lewisburg will renew a rivalry that may have been District 4’s best from 2012-2015.

Those teams met in the first HAC final in 2013 as well as in the playoffs three straight years from 2012-14. They also combined to win district championships each season during that stretch.

"I have so much respect for (Loyalsock coaches) Ron (Insinger) and Jeff (Everett) and what they do at Loyalsock," aji said. "I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do against them."

BLOOMSBURG (49)

Adam McGinley 6 2-2 14, Madden Locke 3 2-5 11, Nasir Heard 4 0-0 8, Dan Gusevich 0 1-2 1, Rae Grant 5 2-3 13, Jake Evans 0 0-0 0, Andru Williams 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 7-12 49.

LEWISBURG (59)

Jake Hernandez 11 2-6 24, Joey Martin 2 0-0 4, Cam Michaels 3 0-0 6, Forrest Zelechoski 6 0-0 12, Khashaun Akins 0 0-0 0, Henry Harrison 4 1-2 12, Jack Blough 0 1-2 1, Devin Bodden 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 4-10 59.

Bloomsburg 10 12 14 13--49

Lewisburg 15 12 14 18--59

3-pointers: Bloomsburg 4 (Locke 3, Grant); Lewisburg 3 (Harrison 3).

Records: Lewisburg 19-4. Bloomsburg 18-5.

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