Morning Call senior sports writer Keith Groller is a lucky man. He was at this year's Super Bowl, and had a series of great stories that made me feel like I was there. But he's #alwayswatching. He somehow managed to keep on eye on things here. Tonight, he covered the EPC quarter final between Northampton and Allentown Central Catholic, which was played at Rockne Hall. His excellent story is here, and I am supplementing it with a box score.
It didn't hit me until about an hour after the game was over that I had just watched my grandson play his last game at Rockne Hall.The team will go on to play in the EPC tournament semifinal on Wednesday. Then there will be districts and possibly even states. But this was the last time that Dat, Jay Vaughan, Jordan McChristian, Dennis Csentsis and Keeshawn Kellman played together at Rockne. Kevin Kern, who injured his ankle earlier in the season, was cleared today and suited up. It was too early for him to play, but it was nice to see him ready to go. These guys are selfless, something that is increasingly rare in high school basketball. But it works.
Having said that, I want to congratulate Northampton's coaching staff, for what its worth. In their last game of the season,one of their players committed a technical foul. The coaches could have played him against Central. No rule prevented it. But the coaches decided to make the player sit out the game.
In the opening prayer at Central home games, we are reminded that the gym is really a classroom where good sportsmanship is taught.
Northampton's coaches would rather teach a young man a lesson than win a game.
That's class.
On Wednesday, Allentown Central Catholic will face East Stroudsburg South while Bethlehem Catholic will take on the Allen Canaries. At this point, the team is tentatively scheduled to play at Liberty High Schoolat 7:30 pm, following the girls' game.
Box Score
ACCHS - 64, Northampton - 48
Northampton -6-9-19-48
Central Catholic -18-20-15-64
Northampton (48)
Donte Rodriguez: 3 3FGs - 9
Aiden Ellwood: 4FGs, 4 3FGs, 0/2 FTs - 20
Cory Weisenberger: 1 FGs, 1 3FG, - 5
Zachary Gula: 2 3FG - 6
Michael Torres: 4 FGs, - 8
Central Catholic (64)
Jay Vaughan: 2/4 3FG, 2/4 FG, 2 steals, 10 assists, 4 rebounds - 10
Keeshawn Kellman: 6/8 FGs, 1/3 FTs, 8 rebounds, 1 block -12
Jordan McChristian: 3/4 3FGs, 1/1 FG, 3/4 FTs, 1 assists, 3 rebounds - 14
Dat Lambert: 3/6 3FG, 2/5 FGs, 5/5 FTs, 1 steal, 2 rebound - 18
Nick Filchner: 3/5 3FG, 0/1 FG, 5 assists, 32 rebounds.- 9.
Blogger's Note: You can see scores from other local schools on my left sidebar.