Northern Lebanon's girls pull out a tight victory vs. Elco; Raider boys win handily
Elco and Northern Lebanon met for a boys-girls doubleheader in basketball for the second time this season.
And for the second time this season, the Raiders boys and the Vikings girls came away with victories.
Host Elco picked up a 71-40 victory in the boys' opener while the visiting Northern Lebanon girls picked up a much tighter 38-31 victory in the finale.
"One of the great things about sports is the sense of community it creates," Northern Lebanon girls head coach Ken Battistelli said. "But when you always play on the same nights and you never get to see each other, it's like you're missing out on a big part of that community. ... I love watching the boys cheer for us and get into it. That means a lot to me as a coach."
Those sentiments were shared by Elco boys head coach Brad Conners, "It's neat for our guys to sit down and relax and watch some of their classmates. They don't get to see too many of those games because we're always playing on the same night. They get to sit and watch and cheer on some of the girls, and it's neat for the girls to be able to do that, too."
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The girls' game was expected to be tight as Northern Lebanon escaped with a 38-33 victory on Jan. 2 in Fredericksburg. The Vikings improved to 16-2 overall and 6-1 in L-L Section 3 with the win, while the Raiders dropped below .500 at 8-9 overall, 3-4 in section play.
Northern Lebanon's toughness was on display throughout as it held Elco scoreless for a nearly 8-minute chunk of time spanning the waning moments of the second quarter and early third quarter. During that time the visitors went on a 7-0 run to build a 25-17 lead.
Despite that run, the Raiders cut the lead to 26-23 early in the fourth quarter before Olivia Shutter (12 points) scored five consecutive points on a drive and layup followed by a 3-pointer to restore the Northern Lebanon 8-point lead.
After a Shutter steal on the next possession, a Kasey Weimer layup gave the Vikings a 10-point lead, and they iced the game from there.
"Our kids are just so mentally tough," Battistelli said. "They show up, and they're mentally tough at the right time, and I'm so proud of them."
The victory was the 250th for Battistelli as head coach.
Raiders boys win
The Elco boys (9-8 overall, 5-3 L-L Section 3) led 37-26 at the half before they turned up the defensive intensity in the second half. The Raiders defense held Northern Lebanon (6-11 overall, 0-8 L-L 3) to just 14 second-half points.
Camden Marquette led the hosts with 18 points, while Micah Gray chipped in with 12 points. Marquette added three steals, two assists and six rebounds.
The Vikings were led by Brady Krall, who had 16 points and seven rebounds in the loss.
"We talked about the energy, the enthusiasm and the effort," Conners said. "Those three E's. You've gotta earn the right to win the game."
Gold Rush
The game served as Elco's "gold rush" game, or Raider thon. The gym was decked out in gold and the student section wore gold T-shirts. Money was collected throughout the night for the Four Diamonds.
Key plays
Trailing by one-point late in the first quarter, Hayley Sheroky was fouled and went to the free throw line and calmly sank both to put the Vikings back in front for good with one second left in the quarter.
At the end of the second quarter, Lilly Harris hit a jumper from the left side with one second left to put the visitors ahead by five heading into the locker room.
Unsung heroes
Dallas George is one of Elco's best players, and he finished with just six points. On top of that, though, he had six rebounds, four of them on the offensive end to continue possessions, five assists and a steal.
For the Northern Lebanon girls, Sheroky finished with eight points, but added 10 rebounds as she consistently pulled down boards on the defensive end for the Vikings.
They said it
"We brought the energy tonight. It's a big night, the gold rush game. We brought it right from the start." – Elco junior Micah Gray
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Elco, Northern Lebanon basketball split doubleheader
