Penns Valley boys' basketball stifles Juniata in district playoff win

Unlike the Lady Rams’ game beforehand, there wasn’t too much for fans to go crazy over while the Penns Valley boys were on the floor.

No pivotal field goals, crucial free throws or late drama.

Save for a few slick passes and a 3-pointer or two, the crowd at Tyrone High School was tame.

Why? Because the Penns Valley boys’ basketball team sucked the life out of Juniata.

The Rams (18-4) advanced in the District 6 Class AA playoffs on Friday night, stifling the Indians (15-7) in a 53-31 leveling. Penns Valley faces West Branch, a 50-39 winner over Westmont Hilltop, on Tuesday in the semifinals.

The Rams were led offensively by guards Logan Pearce and Chase Collison, who scored 15 points each. Fellow senior Ben Alexander chipped in 12.

But the offense wasn’t Penns Valley’s calling card against Juniata.

That distinction belonged to its airtight 2-3 zone defense.

With Pearce and Collison pressuring around the perimeter and 6-foot-7 center Zach Engle dominating the paint, there really wasn’t anywhere for the Indians to go — and it showed on the scoreboard.

In halftime, Engle had more blocks (five) than Juniata had field goals (two), and Penns Valley owned a 26-7 advantage, recording its best first-half defensive effort of the season.

“We’ve been playing it well all year, and we’ve gotten better and better at it,” Penns Valley coach Terry Glunt said of the 2-3 zone. “Guys are making good reads. They’re identifying people. ... I thought it was an incredible defensive performance.”

Pearce said it all came together defensively, and after keeping Juniata at bay in the first two quarters, he and his teammates were somewhat surprised to give up a few buckets in the third quarter.

“When they scored, you’re just like, ‘What just happened? Why? Why? Why did they just score?’” the guard said.

It was nothing to worry about, though. The Rams led 40-15 after the third quarter, and Glunt was pleased he could get younger guys some minutes in the fourth quarter.

“I also like that my seniors get to continue on this road,” the coach said.

In last year’s District 6 tournament, the Rams lost to Bishop McCort in the first round.

“We know what it was like to lose early,” Glunt said. “That leaves a really, really bad taste in your mouth.”

Fortunately for the Rams, they left Tyrone with no such feeling.

Note: Collison scored 15 points to mark the first time all year the senior has reached double digits. Glunt was happy for the ballhandler. “He does so many other things, that we don’t need Chase to be scoring double figures,” the coach said. “But hey, it was nice.”

This story was originally published February 19, 2016 at 9:37 PM with the headline "Penns Valley boys' basketball stifles Juniata in district playoff win."