D-11 Boys’ Basketball: East Stroudsburg North downs Blue Mountain in physical contest
Blue Mountain boys' basketball huddles during a timeout against East Stroudsburg North in a District 11 Class 5A quarterfinals game Friday at Northwestern Lehigh High School. The Timberwolves defeated the Eagles 71-61 (Photo by Eli Doyle).
NEW TRIPOLI — East Stroudsburg North’s intense defense and physicality was too much for Blue Mountain.
Ozias Washington netted a game-high 19 points and paced a trio of double-digit scorers as East Stroudsburg North defeated Blue Mountain 71-61 in a District 11 Class 5A boys’ basketball quarterfinals playoff game Friday at Northwestern Lehigh High School.
“To (the Timberwolves) credit, they made everything difficult for us for 90 feet, nothing was easy,” Eagles head coach Dustin Werdt said. “They came out and shot the lights out.”
Curtis Samuels and Piotr Drozd each nailed a 3-pointer for the Spartans in the first quarter, Samuels totaled seven in the frame. Blue Mountain led early after Aidan Grace and Tyeirre Meade each countered with a 3-point field goal of their own. East Stroudsburg North (6-17) went on a 7-point scoring run to end the first quarter and led 16-14.
The Eagles (12-11) took a brief lead, 21-19, with 4:56 in the second quarter as Cohen Kirby pump faked under the rim before getting a bucket and a adding free throw for a 3-point-play. Kirby added on during Blue Mountain’s next possession. His up-and-under layup fell as the Eagles tried to build momentum. Leaning back into a full court press defense, the Timberwolves cut the deficit to one following a basket by Bernard Bowen.
After a scoreless stretch from both squads, East Stroudsburg North took the lead heading into the into halftime 31-26 following two 3’s by Bowen, another from Carlos Delgado and a layup from Brandon Jeffers. Grace netted two free throw and Kirby split a pair for Blue Mountain.
“I thought our kids played hard,” Werdt said. “I thought East Stroudsburg North sped us up a little and got us out of our rythym a little bit on the offensive end. But we just couldn’t get those stops on the defensive end when we needed them.”
Meade tried to spark the Eagles offensively following the halftime. Meade collected seven points throughout the third quarter as it felt like Blue Mountain was beginning to click.
“I knew it coming into the game, (Meade) is a player,” Timberwolves’ head coach Denzel Bunn-McKenzie said. “He’s a guy. I don’t know how many shots he had tonight, but it seemed like every time he shot the ball it was going in.”
“I warned my players, he plays very free and he can shoot the heck out of the ball. He almost single-handedly won the game for his guys. It was a great game.”
The Eagles got the better of the Timberwolves in a quarter that was back-and-forth early. Blue Mountain outscored East Stroudsburg North 25-18 in the third, but turnovers and empty offensive possessions plagued the Eagles down the stretch. With under 2:00 in the frame, Blue Mountain turned the ball over twice and came up empty offensively on three scoring opportunities.
Tied at 49-49 entering the fourth quarter, the stakes were at a high. Win and you guarantee your squad at least two more games, because District 11 Class 5A holds three spots in the PIAA Class 5A tournament, or lose and go home for the season.
Neither team was willing to give an inch early in the fourth as each team seemingly matched the other. Samuels fouled out for the Timberwolves with 4:59 on the clock as the intensity, physicality and foul numbers went up. Washington nailed a 3 for East Stroudsburg North before Drozd added a steal and went coast-to-coast as the Spartans led 59-54 with around 4:00 to play.
Grace added another 3 for the Eagles to cut the deficit to two, but East Stroudsburg kept pounding away. Chase Baldwin fouled out for Blue Mountain with just a hair under 2:00 on the clock. The Spartans capitalized on bonus foul shots and their quick transition offense to roll to a 71-61 victory over the Eagles. Bowen and Drozd each finished with 15 points for East Stroudsburg North.
