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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Simmons Sparks Becahi to 76-56 Victory Over York Catholic

Freddie Simmons scored just ten points in Bethlehem Catholic's convincing 76-56 victory over York Catholic during the Robert H. Griffith Holiday Classic on December 30. But the aggressive defense provided by the team's only senior was just the spark needed to galvanize the rest of the team to start putting points on the board. A team that just one night before seemed hopelessly adrift, has suddenly seemed to find itself. What was just a group of individual players players is now suddenly a team.

During a team meeting after a disappointing loss to Danville, Becahi's sole Senior challenged the younger players to come together, and they did.

Every time that York Catholic Point Guard Tanner Yannick came down the court, he was greeted by the Simmons stone wall, while DeAndre Tillett and Chance Neilly guarded all around the perimeter. This prevented penetration and resulted in turnover after turnover, upon which the Hawks quickly capitalized. Junior Chance Neilly, who finished the game with a team-high 17 points, scored 13 of them in just the first quarter.

In the second quarter, it was another junior, Nick Maff, who connected on four 3-point field goals in a row. He managed to do this while guarding the Fighting Irish's most dangerous scorer, Chris Martello. Maff finished the game with 14 points.

Andrew Posch, Becahi's most solid player, added another 12 points.

Two younger players, Freshman Dat Lambert and Sophomore Nick Petros, were able to keep the pressure going when the starters were given breathers. Lambert scored nine points, including a three pointer. Petros sunk 5 out of 6 free throws, finishing with seven points.

3 comments:

Bill Coker said...

Bernie,

Know you are proud of Dat and have every right to be. He's really coming on and taking advantage of his chances. What a bright future. On top of that I have no doubt he is a great student.

Bernie O'Hare said...

Bill, Dat has exams next week, and that has to be his first priority. I know he does his homework, which is more than I did at his age. I also know he loves Becahi, and is where he wants to be. I am very proud of him and his commitment.

On Monday night, the team was slaughtered in a game they should have won. Freddie Simmons, the team's only senior, had a sit down with them. He knows what it is liked to be picked on as an underclassman bc it happened to him. He turned those kids around and they were a completely different team last night from the one that had been playing all season. I am proud of the way they all handled adversity and came roaring back. Of course, they are still going to have a tough season, but Freddie gave them something they didn't have before - pride.

Anonymous said...

Go Dat