The Warrior boys basketball team had a rough start to their winter season; with a record of 4-6, the team has come up short against tough competition such as the Spring Grove Rockets and the Hanover Nighthawks.
Susquehannock came out with two tough losses in the Northeastern Tip-Off Tournament on Dec. 6 and 7, falling short to both Red Lion and Palmyra. The Warriors lost to Red Lion in the opening game 65-40. Senior Dan Ferraro finished with 15 points, senior Jay Hughes with 11 points, and sophomore Quinlan Kauffman finished with 6 points. The team finished fourth overall in the tournament, losing to Palmyra in the consolation game 56-47; Ferraro was the only player to receive the award for All-Tournament Team for the Warriors.
“Red Lion was a really tough team to open our season with, but we played hard and took a lot away from that game,” said Ferraro. “We had a good chance against Palmyra in the consolation game and put ourselves into position to win, but they hit some clutch three-pointers and we forced some shots in the fourth quarter.
Although the Warriors came out to a rough start, they caught big momentum to put up big wins against Fairfield and Biglerville. On Dec. 12 Susquehannock beat Fairfield 70-42. Ferraro finished with 22 points, senior Dan Isang had 8 pts, sophomore Aaron Portner had 9 point-ts, sophomore Josh Stoneberg had 6 points, and junior Alex Palmer finished with 10 points overall. On Dec. 17 they powered past Biglerville to win 69-51; Ferraro finished with a career-high 30 points. Hughes finished with 15 points, Portner 5 points, and sophomore Luke Thomas finished with 9 points, all stats being recorded by gametimepa.com.
“At first it was really nerve-wracking to be the point guard on the starting squad,” said Thomas. “I would always try to push the ball up the court quickly and pass right away, but as time progressed I got a lot more comfortable. I’m proud to be a sophomore on varsity and I work really hard each practice to keep that position.”
On Dec. 13, the Warriors fell to a tough loss against the visiting Hanover Nighthawks, 55-42. Susquehannock also tallied another loss, losing to division powerhouse Bermudian Springs, 44-35. Ferraro finished with a game-high 22 points, and Thomas finished with 6 points overall.
On Dec. 21 the team traveled to Spring Grove to take on the Rockets in a double-header with the girls basketball team. Coming out to a rough start, the Warriors powered back in the second half to eventually tie the game at 47. With 5 seconds left to go in the game, Ferraro hit a 3-pointer to put the Warriors up ahead by 1 point. Proving not enough to win the game, SG freshman Eli Brooks hit a game-winning lay-up with no time left on the clock to beat the Warriors 61-60. Ferraro shattered his career-high points with a 38 point game, went 10-for-10 at the free throw line, and even added a one-handed dunk in the third quarter to make the crowd go crazy.
“In the beginning of the game I started out 1-7 shooting, but I kept shooting the ball and staying aggressive out on the court during the last three quarters,” said Ferraro. “After I hit the three-pointer at the end of the game I was sure we had the win, but then we had some match-up issues and the freshman hit a tough shot at the end to win it. It felt pretty awful to lose by just that 1-point.”
In Susquehannock’s own Holiday Tournament, the Warriors finished second overall, falling to Hanover once again in the tournament championship. The team passed through the Kennard Dale Rams first, 58-50 on Dec. 26, senior Bryan Kerr finished with 12 points, while Ferraro added his own 25 points. The two seniors also contributed in the championship game, Kerr with 8 points and Ferraro with 12 points, finishing with a final score of 61-41. Both seniors were named players on the All-Tournament Team.
