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Complete
Box Score
EDINBORO, PA – Until Saturday, the last
time anyone had won back-to-back Pennsylvania State Athletic
Conference men’s basketball championships was 1983. And
Edinboro head coach Greg Walcavich will never be mistaken for
Temple’s John Chaney.
But thanks to a pulsating 52-51 win over
19th-ranked Shippensburg at West Chester University, the
comparison can be made. Edinboro became the first team to win
back-to-back crowns since Cheyney did so in 1982 and ’83. And
no coach had led his teams to back-to-back titles since Chaney did
so at Cheyney, winning five straight titles from 1976-80.
Walcavich can thank Curtis Ingram
(Youngstown, OH/Cardinal Mooney) for the similarity to Chaney.
The junior, who played two seasons at Wofford before joining the
Fighting Scots this season, was fouled with no time remaining on
the clock. The 6’3” guard missed the first free throw,
but the second one went through the nets for the winning point.
That gave Edinboro, the second out of the
Western Division, a 21-9 record and the PSAC’s automatic bid
to the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Shippensburg, the top seed in
the West and the winner of two regular season contests vs.
Edinboro, falls to 24-6. The Red Raiders were ranked fifth in the
East Region coming into the game, and have no doubt secured an
NCAA playoff berth.
In a game which featured eight lead changes and
an 11-point Edinboro lead in the second half at 34-23 with 15:56
remaining, the Fighting Scots needed to battle back from a
three-point deficit with just over a minute to play. With Chuck
Davis scoring Shippensburg’s final 11 points of the game, the
Red Raiders pulled ahead on a Davis free throw at 49-48 with 2:44
to play. Davis added two more free throws at the 1:15 mark, giving
Ship a 51-48 lead.
Edinboro answered with a three-pointer by Chris
Ravello (Odenton, MD/Archbishop Spalding) at the 1:03 mark,
knotting the score at 51-51. Todd Johnson missed a shot for the
Red Raiders, but Torry Mitchell’s (Erie, PA/Central)
layup was no good with 22 seconds remaining. Jamal Williams failed
on a layup attempt with five seconds to go, with Justin Moore
(Canonsburg, PA/Canon-McMillan) grabbing his 11th rebound of
the night to set up the winning free throw.
The defensive struggle saw neither team shoot
well from the floor, with Edinboro hitting at 31.3 percent and
Shippensburg at 31.0 percent. However, the Fighting Scots used a
52-36 advantage on the glass to good measure. Oddly enough,
Edinboro went just 5 of 7 from the line for the game, while
Shippensburg was 11 of 13.
Ravello paced the Fighting Scots with 14
points, while Daren Tielsch (McKees Rocks, PA/Montour) had 12
points and nine rebounds before fouling out with just under five
minutes to play in the game. Tielsch was named the tournament’s
Most Valuable Player. Mitchell was also in double
CURTIS INGRAM’S FREE THROW WITH NO
TIME REMAINING GIVE EDINBORO PSAC TITLE – add 111
digits with 10 points. While only scoring six
points, Moore capped a big defensive weekend with his 11 boards,
giving him 21 in the two games. The 6’6” senior blocked
a potential game-winning shot by West Chester in yesterday’s
semifinal.
Davis paced Shippensburg with 21 points. Greg
Wojdowski was the only other Red Raider in double figures, ending
the night with 11 markers.
The NCAA Division II playoff field will be
announced on Sunday evening, with Edinboro making its fifth
appearance under Walcavich. |
