Bellefonte boys’ basketball falls in epic OT battle against Greater Johnstown in district title game
It’ll be mighty hard to top Monday night’s District 6 Class 5A championship again this postseason — across any district, involving any team, in any game.
The Bellefonte boys’ basketball team fell in the end, 75-71 in overtime, to Greater Johnstown at Penn State-Altoona. But the game revealed just how far the Red Raiders have come as a program, and just how much neither team wanted to lose.
The underdog Raiders trailed by as many as 11 in the first half, then led by as many as eight in the second half. But the Trojans marched back, chipped away at the deficit and reclaimed a 60-53 lead with less than two minutes left in regulation — before the Raiders again rallied to force overtime.
“We got hit in the mouth early, but we anticipated that, and we just had to adjust to their speed,” Bellefonte coach Kris Glunt said. “We had to make some tough shots early; we hung in there and we fought. I was just really proud of our kids.”
Greater Johnstown will now move on to the state tournament, while Bellefonte watched its season come to an end. But the Raiders left the court with a lasting memory for the offseason.
With 1:53 left in the game, and trailing by seven, Bellefonte refused to give up. It tied the game at 60-60 with 36.4 seconds left in regulation. Thanks to free throws, Johnstown went up 63-60 with less than 10 seconds left — but Bellefonte’s Ben McCartney hit a buzzer-beating 3 to send the topsy-turvy game into overtime.
In the extra period, the two teams traded free throws as Bellefonte claimed the early lead, maintaining as much as a four-point advantage — right up until 16.2 seconds left in the game. That’s when Greater Johnstown took its first overtime lead after an and-one that gave it a 73-71 advantage.
Bellefonte missed its last meaningful shot, Greater Johnstown grabbed the rebound and the Raiders fouled. Johnstown hit both free throws with 4.4 seconds left, and the breathless crowd was finally able to catch its breath and head for the exits.
“I have so much pride and respect for the work they’ve put in,” Glunt said. “It’s shootouts; it’s early morning workouts and open gyms. It’s been so much dedication in the sport and to their teammates. They’ve rebuilt our program.”
McCartney finished with a game-high 27 points, while Nate Tice added 21 for Bellefonte. Noah Badger, Caleb Rockey and Nick Fisher had six points apiece.
“It was one of those games nobody deserved to lose,” Glunt added.