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The 10-point lead.
The shooting touch.
And, finally, the game.
Hanover looked unbeatable... for five minutes. Then like a cold January breeze, swish it was gone.
The rest of the game belonged to York Catholic in the Irish's 48-35 victory at James Forjan Gymnasium.
"They outworked us and they outplayed us from the second quarter on," Hanover coach Nate Myers said.
The demise of the York Catholic boys' basketball program has been greatly exaggerated. Maybe the program won't challenge for a state title this season. But the Irish still have some game.
And the Irish showed signs that they may not be a pushover as the regular season winds down and the postseason begins. For one, they knocked off
"It's by far our biggest win," Irish coach Joe Keesey said after the game. "It's been a difficult year, but if it's anybody's fault -- it's mine. Our kids are playing hard. And they've been practicing well."
The Nighthawks displayed a magic touch in the first quarter. They had the game in the bag. Or so it would seem after a 12-2 run. Irish leading scorer Joe Falci didn't even attempt a shot in the first quarter. Hanover's Pete Yingst lived in Falci's grill.
"They did everything to keep me from shooting the ball," Falci said.
And then something odd happened, York Catholic's Mike Sperring knocked down a 3-pointer and the Irish took the ball into the paint. It wasn't pretty. It wasn't textbook dribble-drive stuff.
But it resulted in enough points to keep the Irish in the game.
Hanover shot 4-for-14 in the second quarter, and York Catholic made its move. In other words, Falci did his thing. Mid-range jumper. Jumper in the paint. Drive to the hoop. Another drive. Just like that, Falci had eight points in the second quarter and York Catholic had a halftime lead.
"I was doing just about whatever I could think of, running off screens and trying to create my own shots, to get open," Falci said.
He scored a game-high 16 points.
And York Catholic controlled the game in the third quarter. It went on a 10-3 run. It knocked down almost 50 percent of its shots (5-for-12 from the field), and it outrebounded Hanover (the Irish had a 9-6 advantage).
It helped the Irish cause that the Nighthawks went cold.
OK, cold might not tell the whole story. Think frostbite.
Hanover shot 1-for-10 from the floor in the third.
No Hanover player cracked double figures, and the Irish held Hanover's leading scorer -- Ben Connor and his 18 points per game average -- to four points. Brandon Wentz scored a team-high nine.
"The first time we played," Falci said, "we went up by nine points about midway through the third quarter. But they ended up winning. That was a motivating factor for us. We still want to make it to (the league) playoffs."
York Catholic's desire to close out the game became clear when the team continued to work under the boards in the fourth quarter. The Irish held a 32-19 rebounding edge.
"We've been working on that (rebounding) a ton," Falci said. "Nick Full (seven points, 11 boards) and Gary Laucks (13 points, six boards) did a great job tonight."
Fittingly, one of those gritty rebounders helped seal the win. Laucks knocked down a 3-pointer from the corner with 6:54 to play in the game. It provided the Irish with a 12-point lead. Hanover never recovered.
"The good teams we've been playing are exposing what we need to work on and what we need to fix," Myers said. "We didn't shoot the ball well, but you have to give all the credit to York Catholic."
jseip@ydr.com; 771-2025
