MARCH 22
PIAA CLASS A PLAYOFF, FINAL
Constitution 61, Seton La Salle 59
(At Hershey's Giant Center)
  One minute, an unexpected three-point shot, from WAY deep, splashed down through the net and everyone exclaimed some variation of, "Oh, my goodness!" The trey was launched by inside player Levi Masua from almost in front of Seton's bench and it created a 59-59 tie with 1:03 remaining. Almost exactly a minute later, there was another surprise. Seton's most dangerous player, a frisky lefthanded guard named Dale Clancy, had the ball out front with his team down by one. Almost everybody knew he'd shoot, right? Wrong. Clancy whipped a pass to the right wing and into the hands of -- you got it -- Levi Masua. He was much closer to the arc this time -- a step behind it, with jr. G Akeem King leaping right along with him -- and as the ball soared toward the basket, it did have a might-find-cotton look. The Generals, however, were not about to be introduced to lifelong heartache. The ball dinged against the rim (I won't say "clanged" because it did come close), Constitution's subs, coaches and cheerleaders exploded onto the floor and the celebration lasted a mighty long time. Generals hysteria! Before we get back to, ahem, general stuff, major props to Constitution's student fans. The school brought them here in four buses (I passed two on the turnpike; they were going slowly, I wasn't speeding -- wink) and they provided energized, game-long support. Also, Tom Davidson, the principal, was especially proud that a security guard mentioned how well the team behaved. Very nice! In the first half, the Generals were not completely in sync. They missed some should-gave-gone-in shots while also not offering in-tight passes that should have been made. I'm not saying guys were flat-out selfish, but occasionally there were times when players seemed to be thinking, "Hey, I need two points right now." There were a few strong defensive moments and jr. G Kimar Williams had the best. He forced a 5-second call in the hardest way possible, stalking the guy as he dribbled and dribbled in one direction in an attempt to get away. Vintage! At the end of three, the score was 43-43. The Generals came out onto the court a shade early and sr. PF-C Raheem Liggins had an animated conversation with jr. G-F Ahmad Gilbert. Gilbert followed his own miss for a bucket to make it 45-43 and that apparently little moment turned out to be big. Owning the lead enabled coach Rob Moore to dictate how he wanted to handle things and his decision was to spread the floor and make sure the Rebels had to guard a large area. That led to penetration and the Generals became visibly more juiced, and their fans even turned up the dial. As the quarter proceeded, they did miss five free throws, including two front ends, but field goals were also mixed in and one was a right-wing trey by Gilbert that provided a looks-mighty-good lead at 54-45 with 5:06 left. The efforts of Clancy, Masua and Ryan Norkus helped the Rebels creep back into that aforementioned 59-59 tie. Nowhere in the constitution is it written that coaches are not allowed to take an occasional gamble, and Moore opted for a huge one with 17.3 seconds left. Onto the floor he sent Gilbert and four little guys, with the hope of keeping Clancy bottled up. Clancy found himself being blanketed, but he was able to tough out a left-side drive and get an opportunity for a decent layup. It missed and the ball bounced over the baseline with possession going to ConHigh. Phew! Immediately the buzzer sounded and height returned to the floor. Williams then hit the first part of a double-bonus to make it 61-59, but leave the door slightly ajar. Luckily, Seton was unable to storm through and the Generals, who did so at the Class A level in 2012, boasted another championship. Gilbert totaled 19 points and 14 rebounds. Williams had 14 points and five assists. Early sub Chad Andrews-Fulton, a jr. F-C, was effective (especially in the first half) with eight points and nine boards. The other early sub, jr. G Haneef Vaughn, scrapped for two steals. Congrats to the Generals on securing a win that did NOT come easily. Those ARE the most satisfying, right?