Ford City Basketball Loses to Ranked Opponent

by Jonathan Weaver

The good news was that the Ford City Varsity Sabers basketball team hung with a region-wide ranked for a short time in front of the hometown fans.

The bad news is that it wasn’t long enough, and the team struggled trying to catch up in the second half – eventually losing to Neshannock, 87-45.

With a 7-0 run in the beginning of the second quarter, Ford City – who is in first place within the AA Section 1 conference – erased an early deficit and tied the game at 18.

But, the Lancers – ranked No. 4 in Class AA within the Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League - went on a streak of their own and posted a 22-point lead by halftime.

Ford City Coach Greg Hutcherson told his team to keep fighting through the obstacle.

“I thought we played a decent first half, and in the (third quarter) they outscored us 31-10 and went on a huge run. I don’t think they made any halftime adjustments – they just came out and hit a couple shots that gave them confidence and momentum and didn’t look back from there,” Hutcherson said.

Hutcherson said at halftime, the Sabers attempted to try and execute better on offense and limit their turnovers, but committed several as the game slipped away.

“That’s a basketball team we just played (last night) that has a legitimate shot at winning AA. And we helped them a little bit by turning the ball over – they responded by turning those turnovers into points clearly,” Hutcherson said.

Senior Starting Guard Jesse Sequeira (who tied Blake Bowser with 11 points in the contest) committed his four turnovers during the fourth quarter in his valiant effort to keep the game in check.

Senior Forward Cody Peppler said the team has to put this game behind them going into a Freeport Christmas Tournament that begins this weekend, and that two days off should help them.

“We knew they were a tough team. They came out and played and we just couldn’t handle,” Peppler said.

Practice resumes Thursday morning at 10AM.

This weekend, Ford City is set to play Knoch and Freeport – teams also in Class AAA – and West Shamokin – a conference opponent Ford City will play in January during a stretch of five conference matchups that Hutcherson said would be another good test for the Sabers.

“In our section, anyone can be anyone – it’s not like there’s one team that’s so farther above somebody else. Every game’s going to be a tough game,” Hutcherson said.

Neshannock – led by Ernie Burks has only one loss this season – to No. 1 ranked Central Valley in Class AAA.