It was fitting the mascots staged a smackdown at midcourt last night during a
rough-and-tumble DeSales-Hartley Central Catholic League game.
The only difference was the Stallion and Hawk faked it, to the delight of the
crowd.
The teams weren't fooling around, also to the delight of the fans in DeSales'
packed gym.
DeSales broke open a close game in the fourth quarter by shattering Hartley's
full-court press to come away with a 78-55 victory.
There were 34 fouls (21 on the Hawks), 30 turnovers (only 10 for the
Stallions) and enough elbows thrown for two games in every other conference.
That's typical CCL.
What was surprising was the play of 6-foot-5 senior center David Shelby in
his first game since suffering a fractured left elbow in the opener against
Whetstone. He scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in making
a tough team tougher.
"I just wanted to get after it," Shelby said. "It was terrible --
just awful -- sitting out. I came back as quickly as I could. I was pretty
excited to play, not worried about anything."
The Stallions needed Shelby and 6-6 Joe Schmall (10 points, eight rebounds)
because 6-2 forward Michael Rohrer went down with a sprained left ankle four
minutes into the first quarter.
DeSales coach Dan Garrick was sweating it even before tip-off.
"I was really concerned because I thought we were going to come out
flat," he said. "I had the captains go into the locker room to talk to
those guys without the coaches. Then Michael gets hurt and I was worried. He's
our spiritual leader. We feed off his energy."
There was plenty to worry about. Hartley (9-4, 3-4) boasts 10 seniors and
wall-to-wall athletes.
Every time the Stallions (11-3, 6-1) got breathing room with some spurts, the
Hawks answered. There were five ties and five lead changes until DeSales took a
27-22 lead with 2:45 left in the second quarter on a three-point play by Schmall.
With 2:20 remaining in the third quarter, Hartley made it 37-37 on a jumper
from the baseline by Geron Calloway.
By the fourth quarter, however, Hawks center Chris Jones had three fouls and
forward Darren Pore four.
The game turned for good when DeSales went on a 14-2 run that bumped the lead
to 51-39 with 6:48 left on a follow by Shelby.
Guard LaMarr Williams, who had 13 points, said the difference was tempo.
"We just started pushing the ball up and running our offense," he said.
"Not many teams can play with us full court. We also got back on defense.
You can't win if they beat you down the floor."