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SHANKSVILLE — Blame it on the cold weather. Blame it on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in which there was no school. Blame it on whatever you will — neither Conemaugh Township nor Shanksville played their best games of the season Monday.
The Indians shook off poor shooting in the first and poor foul shooting late to claim a 42-39 win over the Vikings.
Conemaugh Township, the WestPAC North leader with an 11-2 overall and 7-0 conference record, used a strong defensive effort to hold Shanksville in check most of the game.
"The kids weren't in their normal routine and I kind of expected the sluggish start," head coach Chuck Lesko said. "But defensively, even when you're not stroking it offensively, defensively you can keep yourself in a game and hope you break the ice offensively. Luckily we got up five or seven in the second half. Shanksville battled back. We expected that, because we knew it would be a tough game. They are well-coached and a very good team."
The Vikings, the WestPAC South leader with a matching 11-2 overall and 7-0 conference record, turned the ball over 12 times in the first half and 20 times total in the loss.
Shanksville held a 5-4 lead after one quarter but trailed 16-13 at the half.
The Vikings went up 17-16 and 20-18 to open the third quarter before the Indians went on an 11-2 run to go up 29-22. The run was set up by a pair of steals and layups from senior Dillon Boyer.
"Defensively I thought both teams played well, Shanksville head coach Bob Snyder said. "Offensively I think we let their defense dictate what we were trying to do instead of us creating what we wanted to accomplish."
Shanksville pulled to within three, 29-26, before the end of the quarter. Conemaugh Township went right back up 33-26 to start the fourth.
Carter Slade and Jordan Wilt made back-to-back buckets to pull the Vikings within two points, 33-31 with 5:55 left in the game. The Indians took a timeout, but the Vikings had momentum and tied the game on their next possession.
