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Central Mountain Wildcats downed by Danville Ironmen, 65-51, at home

Central Mountain’s Conner Soo attempts a layup in Wednesday’s home contest versus the Danville Ironmen. Soo scored 14 points but the Wildcats fell to Danville, 65-51.

By AARON JAMES

ajames@lockhaven.com

MILL HALL- Central Mountain has had about as much of a roller coaster season as you can imagine, and Wednesday night’s matchup with conference-leader Danville was no different.

Nothing about the Wildcats’ play and effort through four quarters would lead you to expect a 14 point loss to Danville, although that is exactly what happened Wednesday night as Central Mountain fell, 65-51.

From the tip-off the fans were loud, the players were energetic and the desire to take down the conference leading Ironmen was evident. After trailing 10-2 to begin the contest, Collin Jones led his senior-laden Wildcat team back to claim a two-point lead to start the second quarter, and a one-point deficit end the half.

Danville and Central Mountain went blow-for-blow with eight lead changes in the second quarter. Central Mountain is no stranger to roller coaster games as a team that started out 0-5 with a few heartbreaking losses, before bouncing between wins and losses entering today’s game.

“It’s difficult, there’s no doubt about it, especially with the caliber of teams we’ve had to play. It’s a major challenge to our mental. We continue to see good teams and continue to rise and meet challenges. We keep working, knowing at some point this is gonna click and hopefully it’s not too late,” head coach Tyler Bardo said speaking of his team’s mental state.

In the third quarter Danville began to pull away before getting whistled for two technical fouls, which livened up the gym and allowed Collin Jones to step to the line and get the Wildcats back within two possessions. In the fourth quarter the 10-2 Ironmen just found their groove and were able to pass through an exhausted Central Mountain defense.

Connor Soo was a machine up-and-down the court for the Wildcats, as well as JT Pentz, who did everything he could to guard 6-foot-5 Dyson Harward. Collin Jones led the way for the Wildcats with 20 points, seven rebounds, and three crucial blocks to change momentum throughout the contest.

Bardo, speaking on his senior leadership, said “They’re in a new situation. It’s four new starters and they’re growing to take on this leadership role. You’ll see them grow and their willingness to learn continue through the season.”

Central Mountain falls to 3-8 on the season, and as weird as it may be, they still seem to be on the verge of a serious run to give them a chance at playoff contention.

“With this team it’s just gonna take consistency with practice. Making sure that we practice that way. It’s been the expectation all year long and tonight they showed it much more consistent than they did in the first 10 games. I just told them, ‘no steps back now,'” Bardo added about playing as good as they’re capable of for four quarters.

Central Mountain hosts Shamokin next this Friday.

DANVILLE 65

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN 51

Central Mountain Scoring: Collin Jones 6 8-11 20, Connor Soo 4 4-6 14, JT Pentz 4 0-1 8, Tanner Lavelle 2 0-0 4, Nick Long 1 1-1 3, Zane Probst 1 0-3 2.

Team Three Pointers

Central Mountain 2( Connor Soo 2)

Danville 1 (Riley 1)

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