Ken Myers
By Ken Myers
Williamsport, PA-Another lethargic effort by the Millionaires proved costly as they lost to the Penn Wood Patriots 72-57 in the championship of the Best Western/WRAK Shootout at the Magic Dome last night at the Williamsport Area High School gymnasium in front of another near capacity crowd. The Patriots are now 8-0, while the Millionaires fall to 7-2 ending their 6 game winning streak.
Tournament MVP Tyree Johnson led the victorious Patriots with 20 points, while Duane Johnson added 14, Aaron Brown added 13, and Thomas White added 11. The Millionaires were led by Isaiah Twine with 13 points and Thomas James with 12.
The opening period was a close one similar to a heavyweight title fight with plenty of action. The Patriots opened up the scoring on a bucket by Thomas White 28 seconds into the game. Jadiah Lynch would tie the game up for the Millionaires 36 seconds later. Tyree Johnson put the Patriots back into the lead 45 seconds later. That started an all too familiar trend for the Millionaires and their faithful of many lead changes and ties before things were settled for good. After an opening stanza where neither team led by more than 3 points in the period, the Patriots led 15-14.
The second period was more of the same that took place in the opening period. Neither team could get a good run going due to missed shots and numerous turnovers. The lead would change hands several times, and at halftime, the Patriots led 30-29. The Millionaires were not out of it.
In the third period, the Millionaires would wake up for most of the period and lead for most of the time. Their biggest lead during the period was 4 points. The Patriots would regain the lead for good on a Shawn Oakman basket with 30.1 seconds left in the period. At the turn for home, the Patriots led 45-42.
The Millionaires would run out of gas in the final period being outscored by the Patriots 27-15. The biggest lead for the Patriots was the final margin of 15 points. There was a crazy 18 lead changes and 7 ties in the game before things were settled.
In the consolation hame, the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons beat the Owen J. Roberts Wildcats in a thrilling game 70-62. The Barons (5-3), coached by 1976 Williamsport graduate Steve Thompson, were led by Nate Koenig with 29 points, while Jerome Seagears added 16, and George Smith added 12. The Wildcats (8-2) were paced by David Vining with 19 and Seth McNaughton with 18.
There were no JV games played during the tournament. The next JV game for the Millionaires will be Friday, 1/2/09, when the Millionaires make the ride to Bradford County to play Wyalusing @ 6 pm. The next varsity game will be Saturday, 1/3/09, when the Millionaires make the ride to a familiar spot in Schuylkill County, Martz Hall on the campus of the DH Lengel Middle School in Pottsville, to play the Pocono Mountain East Cardinals from Swiftwater in Monroe County. The game is scheduled to start @ 7 pm. There will be no JV game Saturday.
Linescore of consolation game:
Bethesda-Chevy Chase: 18-14-15-23= 70
Owen J. Roberts: 15-9-22-16=62
Linescore of championship game:
Penn Wood: 15-15-15-27=72
Williamsport: 14-15-13-15=57
All tournament team:
Dontahe Jordan-Williamsport
Thomas James-Williamsport
Duane Johnson-Penn Wood
Nate Koenig-Bethesda-Chevy Chase
David Vining-Owen J. Roberts
Sportsmanship award-Isaiah Twine-Williamsport
MVP-Tyree Johnson-Penn Wood
Filed under: Sports , Williamsport High School
