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Nearly every game is a grind these days. Loyalsock is smaller, younger and less experienced than in recent years.
Each opponent understands this and is coming after Loyalsock hard, eager to make a statement against the four-time defending District 4 Class AAA champions.
But Loyalsock keeps standing tall. The Lancers are bending but not breaking. There’s a long way to go but Loyalsock remains unbeaten at home and in the wide-open HAC-III. Loyalsock might not be blowing out teams like they have over the years but wins and don’t come with style points and they continue producing them.
Jaylen Andrews, Gage Patterson and Nate Bauman all scored in double figures and Loyalsock rallied from a third-quarter deficit to win a 54-51 thriller Wednesday against visiting Hughesville. Both teams overcame six-point deficits at different points and Loyalsock (7-3, 3-0) survived a late Spartan push to win its fifth straight when Cam Fetterman’s buzzer-beating 3-point attempt bounced off the rim.
“You don’t want to peak too soon in the season but on the other hand, I’d like to have a couple games where I’m in a comfort zone for a little bit. I guess I’m a little spoiled,” Loyalsock coach Ron Insinger said. “I’ve always felt as if when teams came in here to our gym, they were kind of a 10-point underdog before the scoreboard was lit up but that’s not the case this year. They know they have a legitimate shot at beating us and they’re going to give it everything they’ve got.”
Loyalsock has dug deep in its last two games, overcoming second half deficits against Warrior Run and Hughesville. Neither team was anywhere near its best Wednesday, but Loyalsock found a way to make plays at opportune times and do just enough to remind everyone that it has no intention of relinquishing its crown without a fight.
Josh Heiney (10 points, 4 assists) sank a 3-pointer which tied the game at 46 near the five-minute mark, but Loyalsock countered with an 8-1 run. Andrews produced a team-high 18 points and his putback, followed by steal and layup, put Loyalsock ahead to stay. A Nate Bauman runner and Andrews free throws made it 54-47 and victory appeared imminent.
Nothing, though, comes easy these days and Hughesville fought back. The Spartans held Loyalsock without a point over the final 2 minutes, 25 seconds and pulled within three following two Carter Cowburn free throws and a Heiney basket with 70 seconds remaining.
“We played pretty bad games lately and we’ve come out with wins,” Bauman said after scoring 12 points and dealing four assists. “It gives us the mindset that even in tough times, you have to do what you can and strive to win.”
That includes making pivotal defensive stops. Loyalsock fought off Hughesville’s first two opportunities at tying the game in the closing minute by forcing turnovers. After Hughesville called a timeout with 21 seconds left, Gage Patterson (13 points, 5 steals) channeled his inner-defensive back and intercepted a cross-court pass. When the ensuing free throw was missed, Jeff Fenstermacher (8 rebounds) grabbed the rebound and Hughesville had one last chance.
Fenstermacher found Fetterman at the top of the key and the senior point guard put up a shot which looked like it was going in before it bounced off the front end of the rim, toward the back and fell to the court as time expired.
Another opponent came close, but Loyalsock persevered and still has just one league loss over the last six years.
“With how much we lost I think people think we’re down and they just want to beat us,” Bauman said. “We have to know they’re always going to play for us, so we always have to be prepared to play hard.”
Hughesville (5-6, 1-2) played equally hard but came up just short in its quest to beat Loyalsock for the first time since 2017. Coming off an impressive 15-point win against St. John Neumann two nights earlier, the Spartans were their worst enemy and lost 19 turnovers. Despite that, the Spartans still had a shot at forcing overtime in the closing seconds.
If one is a glass half empty person, he or she might look at it as an opportunity missed. Looking at from a glass half full perspective, Hughesville played a sloppy game, still nearly won and can learn from mistakes made moving forward. That is the approach the Spartans are focusing on.
“All I said to them is we have to understand that we gave the game away in terms of turnovers, but we had chances to win the game. We didn’t make the most of them, but it’s about the next play and next game,” Hughesville coach Cam St. James said. “We’re not going to be, ‘Woe is Hughesville.’ We’re done with this game and it’s all about Bloomsburg on Saturday now. We have no time to dwell. It’s back to work and cleaning up some things and getting back to Spartan Basketball.”
Cowburn was a force for Hughesville, scoring a game-high 20 points, grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking five shots. He scored 14 points in the middle quarters as the Spartans turned a six-point second quarter deficit into an early third quarter lead. Dylan Bieber added 13 points and nine rebounds with his 3-pointer giving Hughesville its final lead, 33-32.
Bauman countered with a 3-pointer before finding key reserve Ethan Nagy for a basket as Loyalsock briefly went up four. The teams traded blows from there and it was tied 42-42 entering the fourth quarter.
“It wasn’t the prettiest game, but looking back, I’ve probably been a part of 200 wins or so where I could say we won an ugly kind of game,” Insinger said. “I should feel better about this game than I do because Hughesville is a good team and it’s a credit to them.”
While Cowburn had his way against the Lancers, they did hold him without a field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. Tyler Gee gave up height but little else and fought the Manhattan-bound baseball player hard, denying him entry passes down low. Gee also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Patterson scored 13 points and Nagy made some crucial plays off the bench.
Still, Loyalsock was not in a celebratory mood afterward. The Lancers are still winning, but they know in order to continue doing so, they need to improve.
“What we need to do is play harder in practice and focus,” Bauman said. “We’re not focused and where we need to be.”
HUGHESVILLE (51)
Carter Cowburn 7 5-9 20, Josh Heiney 4 0-0 10, Landen King 2 0-0 4, Dylan Bieber 4 2-2 13, Cam Fetterman 0 0-0 0, Luke Kaiser 1 0-0 2, Jeff Fenstermacher 1 0-0 2, Ethan Woolcock 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 7-11 51.
LOYALSOCK (54)
Jaylen Andrews 7 4-6 18, Gage Patterson 5 1-2 13, Nate Bauman 5 0-0 12, Tyler Gee 1 0-1 2, Tarik Abdul-Hakim 0 0-0 0, Ethan Nagy 3 0-1 6, Alec Kulp 1 0-0 2, Josh Bomboy 0 1-2 1, Krish Patel 0 0-0 0. Totals 22 6-12 54.
Hughesville 14 17 11 9-51
Loyalsock 17 12 13 12-54
3-pointers: Hughesville 6 (Bieber 3, Heiney 2, Cowburn); Loyalsock 4 (Patterson 2, Bauman 2).
Records: Loyalsock 6-3, 3-0 HAC-II. Hughesville 5-6, 1-2.