Commodores’ season comes to an end
By JEREMY SELLEW
jsellew@yourmvi.com
A season that saw the Frazier boys win their first section title in 34 years came to a screeching halt Wednesday as the No. 6 Commodores were upset at home by No. 11 Fort Cherry, 54-49.
With the loss, a talented senior class saw their high school basketball careers come to an end.
All looked good for the Commodores (17-4) heading into the fourth quarter with a 36-35 lead.
But the Rangers (13-6) came out of the quarter break like gangbusters and rattled off a 12-0 run over the first five and a half minutes. Luke Santo got Frazier on the board with 2:30 to go in the game, cutting the Fort Cherry lead to nine.
“That run was tough to overcome,” Frazier head coach Zach Keefer said. “We couldn’t get anything to fall from anywhere on the floor and they were getting layups and a lot of good second-chance baskets during that late run.”
The other issue for the Commodores in the second half, specifically, was an excess of turnovers. Most were from deflected passes from too many attempts trying to force the ball into the high post.
“We did turn it over a lot in the second half, and those turnovers turned into points for them,” Keefer said. “We couldn’t get a rebound. You have to credit the way Fort Cherry came out and played, too.”
Frazier opened the game and was shooting lights out from beyond the arc. Kenny Fine hit a pair of 3-pointers and Owen Newcomer added another in the first quarter as the teams were tied 15-15 at the end of one.
The second quarter belonged to the Commodores, though, as Frazier outscored the Rangers, 12-6, to take a 27-21 lead into the half.
The Frazier defense cut off the lane and the Rangers had a hard time getting anything to fall when they couldn’t cut to the basket.
“That was the difference in the two halves,” Keefer said, “In the second half, I don’t think we were communicating very well and our help defense and our rotations were really late. They were getting an easy path to the basket it seemed like every possession.”
Dylan Rogers scored eight of the Rangers’ first 10 points in the third quarter. Rogers scored nine in the game.
In the fourth, the long Fort Cherry run was sparked by Lane Miller, who scored seven of the 12 points the Rangers opened up with. Freshman Derek Errett hit the Rangers’ only 3-pointer in the game and Maddox Truschel hit a pair of free throws.
Owen Norman finished with 14 points to lead Fort Cherry. Truschel added 13 and Miller 10 to give the Rangers the program’s first playoff win in 23 years.
Newcomer finished with a game-high 16 for the Commodores. Fine and Arison both had 11.
“This game was eerily similar to the game at their place to start the season,” Keefer said. “Fort Cherry gave a valiant effort. Coach (Eugene) Briggs threw a bunch of different defenses at us in this game.
“These kids are my family, though, and this one stings. They’ve been through a lot together and we’ve been through a lot together as a team. These seniors, if you don’t have leadership like they gave us in a season like this, we wouldn’t be where we were. If there’s one consolation, they’re going to get to look up at that section championship banner and always see that 2021 on there. They deserve that. They’ve brought a lot of pride to me, the coaches, their school, their teammates and this community and they’re always going to be remembered for that.”
