STATE COLLEGE — The first time Matt Beattie surged toward the basket in Saturday’s fourth quarter against Hershey, he drew a foul.
He then stepped to the line and calmly drained two free throws.
Beattie plunged forward again. Hershey’s defense surrounded the senior guard, and Beattie tossed the ball to Connor Nodell for an open 3-pointer.
Less than two minutes later, Beattie dropped his shoulders and plowed forward again. Hershey’s defense collapsed again, and Tim Scholly hit an open 3-pointer.
By mixing assertive moves with skilled shooting, State College stymied one of the state’s last remaining undefeated teams.
The Little Lions made a slew of open shots in the fourth quarter, including 21 of 22 foul shots, on their way to a 61-52 victory at the raucous North Gym.
State (15-3) College outscored Hershey 31-16 in the final quarter to post its seventh straight victory. The Little Lions started the quarter by hitting 13 straight foul shots. The shooting deflated a Hershey team trying to complete a perfect regular season. The loss dropped the Trojans to 20-1.
“We have some great shooters,” Beattie said. “To open up your offense, you definitely need to collapse the defense. If I have a little bit of room, I will do that because I know I have shooters behind me and I have rebounders behind me.”
State College won despite making just 11 two-point baskets. Five 3-pointers from five different players and a 24 of 26 performance from the foul line proved that layups and mid-range jumpers aren’t the only paths to a big victory.
“They have an outstanding understanding of the game for players this age,” State College coach Drew Frank said. “The best offense you can run is getting to the free-throw line. It doesn’t matter if it’s first quarter or fourth.”
Four Little Lions scored in double figures. Kyle Kanaskie went 8 of 8 from the foul line in the fourth and had a team-high 13 points. Bryan Sekunda went 4 of 4 from the line in the fourth and scored 12 points. Beattie went 6 of 6 from the line in the fourth and added 11. Kanaskie, Sekunda and Beattie joined Nodell and Scholly by sinking 3-pointers.
“All year long, we have done a pretty good job of defending the three,” Hershey assistant coach Jim Grier said. “Today, we played a team that has the most 3-point shooters that we have played. They had three or four on the floor almost all the time.”
Hershey head coach Paul Blackburn missed the game because of pneumonia. Grier liked what he saw through three quarters and one possession. The fourth started with powerful 6-foot-2 senior Harold Brantley flipping the ball to Jim Brier for an open layup to give Hershey a 38-30 lead.
Brantley, who signed with Missouri’s football program as a defensive lineman, caused significant problems for the State College, scoring eight of his 12 points in the first half. Brantley is nimble for a 260-pounder, and Hershey quickly turned his three first-half steals into six points.
To counter Brantley’s beefy presence, Frank turned to 6-foot-10 senior Hunter Dick, whose minutes are increasing as the season progresses. Dick scored a season-high 10 points and used his long arms to disrupt a Hershey offense also featuring 6-foot-8 senior forward Matt Banas.
Dick’s presence helped slow Brantley in the second half. Brantley had just one field goal and went 2-of-7 from the line in the half.
“We thought if we could put a player in with a little more height we could occupy him more,” Frank said.
Dick also played a part in State College’s foul-shooting barrage. His free throw with 45.8 seconds left was State College’s 13th straight.
