Remember When?: Ringgold loses overtime thriller

By Brian Herman

Sports Editor
PIAA Class AAAA
championship

HERSHEY – Yancey Taylor, Ringgold High’s all-time leading scorer, didn’t have a point for the first time in his career.

Brian Miller, the Rams’ No. 2 scorer, picked up two quick fouls in the opening three minutes and sat out about five minutes of the first half.

With the game not even 10 minutes old, heavily favored Glen Mills led Ringgold by 13 points (24-11).

Sounds like the Rams were no match for the Battling Bulls in the PIAA Class AAAA championship game at Hersheypark Arena Saturday night, right?

Wrong.

Glen Mills needed a basket by 6-7 Charles Robinson underneath at the buzzer of the first overtime to edge the Rams, 76-74, and give the East the state titlist for the sixth straight year since the PIAA went to (four classes).

“They beat us on their size,” said a tearful Ringgold coach Phil Pergola. “We just couldn’t keep it out of the big people’s hands. They just pounded it in, pounded it in.”

To read the rest of this story, please see a copy of Wednesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.Doing most of the pounding against the Rams, whose tallest player is 6-5 Clay Wyne, were Robinson, 6-7 Jay Thompson and 6-8 Alonzo Goldston.

Robinson finished with a game-high 24 points and seven rebounds while Thompson went 7 of 8 from the floor and tallied 15 points with a game-high 10 rebounds and Goldston came off the bench to contribute seven points and eight rebounds.

Taylor, meanwhile, bounced back from his miserable first half when he went 0 of 3 from the floor and missed a free throw to score 18 points with 16 in the second half. Miller closed with a team-high 19 points, including nine in the second quarter.

Ryan Cook had a career-high 18 points including seven in the second half when the Rams rallied to trim the margin to 36-29 at intermission. He scored four of Ringgold’s nine overtime points. He also had seven rebounds to share team honors with Taylor.

“Cook was outstanding,” noted Pergola.

To read the rest of this story, please see a copy of Wednesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at https://e.monvalleyindependent.com.