By Jose Negron
Matt Loftis knows that ups and downs are both bound to be a part of any basketball season, whether it be at the high school level or in a summer league.
Loftis’ Howard Hanna Wilson Baum squad battled a bit of adversity Tuesday night, trailing by as many as nine points in the second half before finding a way to overcome in a 69-66 victory over Elite Physical Therapy in Mon Valley Independent Summer Basketball League action at Marx’s Court Time Sports Center.
“Our heads were not in it tonight and we didn’t have our best effort, especially in that first half and early in the second half,” Loftis said. “We had bickering on the sidelines and this, that and the other, just stuff we hadn’t been doing during the first half of this summer league. We butted heads tonight, but I really liked the way the guys dug in the last 10 minutes. They came together at the right time and I respect that.”
Howard Hanna (5-2), which led 35-34 at halftime, trailed by eight at 54-46 with just over eight and a half minutes to go in the second half before its defense began to create offense.
Laurel Highlands’ Keondre DeShields hit a jumper to kickstart a 6-0 spurt over the course of nearly a minute. Beth-Center’s Easton McDaniel laid one in to cut the EPT lead to 54-52 after Montour’s Isayah Mosley followed up a steal with a bucket inside.
South Allegheny’s Ayden Sloss pushed the EPT lead back to four with a layup, but a bucket by Mosley and a three-point play by Belle Vernon Area’s Daniel Gordon started a 13-2 run that made it 65-58 in favor of Howard Hanna with 2:57 to go.
Gordon added another layup during the surge, while DeShields (four) and Steel Valley’s Makhai Valentine combined to score the final six points.
“We really picked up the defensive intensity. You could just see it, everyone was a lot more engaged,” Loftis said of the second-half run. “We got a lot more steals on that back side after we were doubling the top.”
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