Bellefonte boys’ basketball rides full-court press, 3-pointers past P-O

On four straight possessions in the third quarter, Bellefonte turned a five-point deficit into a six-point lead with a flurry of steals and 3-pointers.

The Red Raiders never looked back in the second half, riding that formula to a 48-39 win over Philipsburg-Osceola on Tuesday night. They made life miserable for the Mounties with their full-court press, and they turned those P-O turnovers into points to earn their second straight win.

“We pulled out a 10-point lead out of nowhere because of that press,” said Bellefonte’s Ben McCartney, who led his team with 15 points. “It just gave us a lot of energy and gets everyone involved.”

McCartney, Nick Fisher and Nate Tice combined to knock down seven 3-pointers for the Red Raiders (5-12). The trio drilled five shots from beyond the arc in the game-turning 3-pointer to push Bellefonte ahead by eight points heading into the fourth quarter. Bellefonte built a double-digit lead in the fourth, as the Mounties (3-15) couldn’t recover from the third quarter.

Bellefonte coach Kris Glunt felt his team came out flat in the first half, pointing out the Red Raiders were slow to rotate in their zone. They struggled to find their rhythm offensively, too, and went into halftime trailing 19-17.

But in the third quarter, Bellefonte cranked up the pressure and seized control.

With the Mounties ahead 23-18 early in the third, McCartney drilled a 3-pointer from the corner. The Red Raiders then generated a turnover and followed with a 3-pointer by Tice, giving Bellefonte a one-point lead. Another turnover followed by a 3-pointer by Fisher continued Bellefonte’s run.

And the Red Raiders didn’t let up the rest of the quarter.

“I think the energy just kind of picked up,” Fisher said. “And their energy went down.”

The Mounties couldn’t handle the pressure. P-O trailed 35-27 by the end of the third quarter and never threatened in the fourth.

“First half, we had seven turnovers — good half,” Mounties coach Matt Curtis said. “Second half, we had seven turnovers in three minutes.”

Glunt said the Red Raiders have had success forcing turnovers this season, but they haven’t capitalized on those opportunities often. It was a different story for Bellefonte on Tuesday night, thanks to the Red Raiders’ hot shooting performance from the perimeter. Fisher finished with 13 points, Caleb Rockey had nine, and Tice added eight to round out a balanced scoring effort.

Bellefonte played with confidence one night after knocking off Jersey Shore to open its four-game week.

“With the way things have kind of gone, I think it’s a good thing for us just to come out and play basketball,” Glunt said. “There’s no overthinking. We got a rhythm with our rotation. Different guys have stepped up on any given night, so I like where we’re at right now.”

That was on display during the decisive stretch in the third quarter. And the Mounties didn’t have an answer after their lead disappeared.

“That’s a quick turn of events, especially for a team that’s not used to winning right now,” Curtis said. “When you feel like you have control and someone pulls out the carpet from underneath you, it takes a while to catch your breath.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2018 at 11:14 PM with the headline "Bellefonte boys’ basketball rides full-court press, 3-pointers past P-O."