On Friday night, the Connellsville boys basketball team put up a spirited effort against playoff-bound Albert Gallatin. But the Falcons simply couldn't overcome the massive height advantage enjoyed by the visiting Colonials, and Albert Gallatin cruised to a 68-50 Section 1-AAAA victory.
"Albert Gallatin is so difficult to play against because they are so big and athletic," Connellsville coach Nick Bosnic said.
But the Falcons (5-17, 3-11) did manage to hang with the Colonials through the first half. In the first quarter, Albert Gallatin's Jawaan Alston made four baskets as part of his game-high 15 points. But the Falcons countered with scoring from Johnny Dilworth (14 points) and Trent Hurley to send the game into the second quarter tied, 16-16.
Connellsville stayed close in the second quarter, but a 7-0 run by the Colonials (18-6, 10-4) helped them take a 30-27 lead into the half.
"I don't think we played our best basketball in the first half," Bosnic said. "We played good defensively, but we didn't capitalize on some of our opportunities."
Those missed opportunities proved costly in the second half, as Albert Gallatin began to pull away thanks to a tremendous defensive effort from Marc Marshall. On three straight Connellsville possessions, Marshall made three straight steals and scored three straight baskets to give the Colonials a 46-34 lead. Marshall finished with 12 points.
"He had three steals in a row and that's what broke the game open," Albert Gallatin coach Dan Andria said. "He does a great job and he gets in the passing lanes."
Marshall was complemented by a strong offensive effort from Nate Turner (14) as he poured in eight points in the third quarter.
Robbie Egan (14) scored 10 points in the second half for Connellsville, but Albert Gallatin's Jake Magerko (10) added a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth to help seal the win.
The victory didn't do much in terms of the standings for the Colonials, but Andria is hoping that it registers as a big win in the eyes of the members of the WPIAL steering committee.
"I really thought it did mean something," Andria said. "If I'm the steering committee, I'd look and see that Albert Gallatin has only lost two games since Christmas and they were both to Norwin."
The Colonials, winners of 13 of their last 15 games, will await their playoff seeding, which will be announced on Tuesday. For the Falcons, the season wraps up with a pair of road games. Connellsville will try to snap a four-game losing streak when it visits Uniontown tonight before closing it out at Laurel Highlands on Monday.
