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Central Mountain boys surge late and defeat Loyalsock in HAC Tournament semifinals

By Chris Masse 7 min read

SUNBURY–Just when it seemed like everything was falling apart, Central Mountain forward Hayden Pardoe remembered all the work he and his teammates produced last offseason. That grind was exactly for these moments.

And when those moments came Wednesday in the Heartland Conference Tournament Semifinals, senior leaders Pardoe and Jack Hanna made sure Central Mountain owned them.

After Loyalsock came roaring back from 21 points down and pulled within three at the 5 minute, 41-second mark, Pardoe and Hanna helped Central Mountain put all the pieces back together. Those two combined to score the next nine points and the Wildcats pulled away, allowing just five more points to dethrone the defending champions and win, 69-58 at the Shikellamy Field House. Hanna scored his 1,000th career point and Central Mountain (21-2) reached the HAC Tournament championship for the first time.

Central Mountain will play HAC-I rival Shamokin for the championship back at the Field House Friday night.

“This is what I work all offseason for, to be able to perform in the big games,” Pardoe said. “I think it shows with the whole team coming through, that hard work pays off.”

It certainly did down the stretch as Central Mountain produced a gutsy win less than 24 hours after playing at a furious pace against Williamsport. Pardoe (27 points) and Hanna (21) played well the entire game but were at their best when it was needed most. The team’s most experienced players revealed their talent, experience and leadership, helping Central Mountain score on four straight possessions and six of its next seven after Loyalsock (13-10) had clawed within 56-53.

Hanna becoming the program’s third player to reach 1,000 points was a big highlight. He needed 16 points to reach that milestone and did in the third quarter. It was the type of play he created late, however, which meant the most on this night. Hanna made a pretty spin move to elude two defenders, put Central Mountain up 60-53 and helped fan the flames which ultimately engulfed Loyalsock.

“I knew I had a long way to go at the start of the season. Coming in, I just kind of put that to the side,” Hanna said. “It was a goal of mine and I’m happy to get it, but getting the win was the most important thing.”

When Hanna scored his 1,000th career point, doing so on a runner in the lane, it put Central Mountain ahead, 45-25 midway through the third quarter. Victory felt safe at that point, but Loyalsock furiously rallied. It pulled within nine by the quarter’s conclusion before rattling off seven points in 56 seconds to make it a three-point game.

Suddenly, it felt like this was Loyalsock’s night. The Lancers had the momentum and Central Mountain seemed ripe for the taking after playing in Tuesday’s hard-fought game. Instead, Pardoe and Hanna took over.

After Tyler Gee’s two free throws made it 56-53, Essex Taylor (four assists) found Pardoe inside for a run-stopping basket. Hanna followed with his deft move a possession later. Pardoe then converted a 3-point play before hitting a short jumper. Just like that, Central Mountain scored nine straight points, went up 65-53 and resumed control. Equally impressive, the flurry took just a little more than two minutes.

“I think we both recognize when it’s time to go. They made a little of a run, so we just had to answer,” Hanna said. “He knows that; I know that. The young guys kind of look to us in those moments, so we just had to play our game and come through.”

“It’s what we’ve come to expect from players that have been on the varsity floor for as long as they have,” Central Mountain coach Tyler Bardo said. “They did a good job, and the other guys did a good job getting the ball to them in certain spots and they just were doing what they’ve been doing the last four years for us.”

A year after capturing the District 6 Class AAAAA championship, Central Mountain is a win from matching the program record for wins in a season. Pardoe and Hanna have been the engine powering this machine, but their teammates have made sure all the pistons have fired well, consistently producing on both ends. That remained the case against Loyalsock with each player Bardo used making key plays at different times.

Taylor’s assist to Pardoe sparked the game-clinching run. Levi Schlesinger grabbed seven rebounds and Hunter Hoy five, while scoring eight points. Brady Myers provided a big lift off the bench, scoring five points in the second quarter when Central Mountain outscored Loyalsock 24-7 and Xavier Persun hit a deep 3-pointer to help Central Mountain take its biggest lead in the third.

“Everyone on our team plays well, so if Jack and I aren’t able to have strong games we have other guys stepping up. Those guys help us a lot,” Pardoe said. “Thankfully, we had experience from a couple of games earlier this season where we know where we are, and we know what to do. We went through a rough stretch, but we were able to figure it out, work as a team and get the win.”

Loyalsock had not played since last Saturday, so it seemed like it would be the fresher team entering the game. It looked just the opposite, though, throughout the first half. The Wildcats carved up Loyalsock in transition, made 11 of 16 shots in the second quarter and went up, 37-18 at halftime. Not much changed early in the third, but Hanna’s milestone basket seemed to ignite something in the Lancers who came storming back.

After making just 1 of 14 second-quarter shots, Loyalsock made 10 of 15 in the third. Hanna made a steal and converted a 3-point play to put Central Mountain up 10 early in the fourth quarter, but again the Lancers displayed their mettle and came back. Jaylen Andrews scored off a putback and converted the ensuing free throw, Nate Bauman made a steal and layup seconds later and Gee’s steal led to free throws as Loyalsock made it a three-point game in the blink of an eye.

At that point, the physical and mental toll of playing two tradition-laden teams in less than 24 hours could have taken its toll. Instead, Central Mountain showed it has the heart to match its talent. The Wildcats scored on six of their final seven possessions before dribbling out the clock and closed the game on a 13-5 run.

“Williamsport showed us some things we haven’t seen all season and having that experience was good for us and good for (Wednesday’s game),” Hanna said. “When they cut it to three, we were ready. We felt like we could do what was needed to win.”

“At the end of the day we had to play those games back-to-back,” Bardo said. “Sock is a wonderful program, so we knew we just had to keep working.”

Gage Patterson worked hard all night for Loyalsock and produced a double-double, going for 19 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. Bauman also played well and scored 16 points, while making three steals. Andrews had 12 points and Gee went for six points, five rebounds and two steals.

Loyalsock will next play in the District 4 Class AAA quarterfinals either next Thursday or Friday at home. The four-time defending champions are the No. 4 seed and have a tough quarterfinal against rival Southern Columbia. Those two split two regular-season games with the road team winning each time.

Central Mountain and Shamokin also split their two games. Shamokin was the only HAC team to defeat Central Mountain before the Wildcats won the rematch to edge out Shamokin for the HAC-I crown.

LOYALSOCK (58)

Jaylen Andrews 5 0-1 12, Gage Patterson 7 4-5 19, Nate Bauman 5 5-6 16, Tyler Gee 2 2-3 6, Tarik Abdul-Hakim 0 0-0 0, Alec Kulp 1 1-2 3, Isiah Jennings 0 0-0 0, Josh Bomboy 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 12-17 58.

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (69)

Hayden Pardoe 11 3-3 27, Jack Hanna 9 3-3 21, Essex Taylor 2 1-2 5, Hunter Hoy 4 0-0 8, Levi Schlesinger 0 0-0 0, Xavier Persun 1 0-0 3, Brady Myers 2 0-0 5, Dom Longworth 0 0-0 0. Totals 29 7-8 69.

Loyalsock 11 7 26 14ä58

C. Mountain 13 24 16 16ä69

3-pointers: Loyalsock 4 (Andrews, Patterson, Bauman); Central Mountain 4 (Pardoe 2, Persun, Myers).

Records: Central Mountain 21-2. Loyalsock 13-10.

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