NTL BOYS' BASKETBALL: BURBAGE, TROY ROLL PAST WARRIOR RUN AND INTO DISTRICT FINALS (2023-03-01)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
MONTOURSVILLE — Despite giving up 6-inches Troy’s JB Burbage didn’t shy away from Warrior Run’s 6-7 center Aiden McKee. Even when McKee blocked a couple of Burbage’s shots early in the first quarter, Burbage still went after him. That relentlessness paid off, both for Burbage, and for Troy, as both had big nights during the Trojans’ 67-42 win over the Defenders during the District IV, Class AAA semifinals on Tuesday.

This is Troy’s second straight district final appearance, and it will be an all NTL one, as they’ll face NP-Mansfield, who defeated Loyalsock 66-62, at a time, place, and date to be determined.

Burbage was on fire most of the night, finishing with 24 points - including two 3-balls and a 6-for-7 performance from the free line - to go with eight rebounds and five steals.

McKee had a solid night - getting a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds - but the Trojans won that crucial battle in the paint.

“It feels really good because he’s way bigger than me,” explained Burbage. “I just kind of three-quarter fronted him, and not let him post me up.”

Troy also did a great job with their pressure defense, nabbing 17 steals on the night, and passing the ball, as they had 19 assists as a team.

“They seemed to get a little shook up,” Evan Woodward said about their pressure defense on Warrior Run. “And they looked like they wanted to slow down, but I feel like we just sped them up pretty well.”

Warrior Run upset Wellsboro last week in the quarterfinal game, which changed Troy’s game plan a little bit.

“That kind of changed the outlook,” said Evan. “Their different opponents.”

And, even though they’re the seventh seed, Troy coach Bob Woodward wasn’t taking anything for granted.

“Nothing’s easy when you get to this level,” he said. “We just said in the beginning, whoever we play we’re going to focus and do the best that we can.”

And that was pretty good on Tuesday as they raced out to a 22-5 lead early in the second quarter. Warrior Run, though, battled back late in the first half, going on a 15-6 run late to cut the deficit to 31-22 at the half on the backs of three 3-balls.

“We they’re going to make some shots,” said coach Woodward. “They have some great shooters, and that’s exactly what they did. And, at halftime, we focused on the next quarter ahead, and focusing on the defensive end to apply pressure, not just in the full court but in the half-court, and then try to get out and run.”

After some back and forth play in the third Troy put them away early in the fourth, going on a 10-1 run early to take a 57-35 lead and essentially put the game away.

“We were able to make some lay-ups in the second half,” coach Woodward remarked. “That was the focus, to get the ball in the paint. I don’t think in the first half we did a great job of finishing in the paint, and getting into the paint, but we were able to attack.”

Evan Woodward added 12 points, five steals, and three assists while senior Justice Chimics had 10 points, seven assists, and three steals to keep his final season going.

Lance Heasley chipped in with six points and seven boards, while Colin Loveland also had six points to go with three assists.

Lincoln Chimics added five points with two steals as Jackson Taylor had two points and three assists. Eason Teribury chipped in with two points, as well.

Mason Sheesley had 13 points for Warrior Run, with Carter Mair netting eight. Chase Beachel and James Keifer had three points apiece, with Cooper Wilkins and Landon Poleyn both scoring one.

Warrior Run couldn’t have asked for a better start as McKee got a dunk eight seconds into the game. After a Burbage freebie McKee got another lay-up to put the Defenders up 4-1.

It would be their last bucket until 5:22 left in the second quarter as Troy’s defense sunk in.

The Trojans quickly rallied as Taylor had a lay-up, followed by a Woodward put back plus the free throw to give them a 6-4 lead with 6:07 left to play in the first.

A Loveland put back saw Troy extend their lead to 8-4.

A Wilkins free throw cut it to 8-5 with 5:27 left in the in the quarter, but Troy would go on a 5-0 run late - beginning with a Burbage 3-ball, followed by a Heasley jumper - take a 13-5 lead at the first horn.

“We just had to play one play at a time, and then, eventually, we were able to switch the momentum to us,” said Evan.

Warrior Run struggled just getting the ball inbounds off Troy’s pressure defense, but the Trojans struggled to score on the length of Warrior Run’s interior defense, particularly McKee.

That changed for Troy in the early going of the second quarter as they used their quickness to get cleaner looks at the rim, or started going for reverse lay-ups to use the rim as a guard against Warrior Run’s length.

The Trojans would open the frame with a 9-0 run starting with a pair of Burbage freebies. He followed that up with back to back buckets, while Woodward nailed a 3-pointer to give Troy a 22-5 lead with 5:50 left in the half.

Mair would get a basket to end the Defender drought, Woodward came back with another 3-ball for a 25-7 Trojan lead.

McKee started to work inside more, beginning with a hook shot, but at the other end Woodward scored a lay-up.

Mair would follow with a runner, but Justice Chimics came back with a bucket of his own, making it 29-11 with 2:50 left. The defenders followed with a Sheesley bucket for a 29-13 deficit.

That’s when the Defenders went on a 3-point shooting binge, going 3-for-4 over a minute span, to cut it to 29-22 with 30 seconds to play.

Troy got the final say, though, as Loveland hit a runner for the nine point halftime lead.

The Trojans came out of the half strong, beginning with a Burbage 3-ball, followed by Justice going 1-of-2 from the line to put them up 35-22. After Warrior Run failed to take advantage of two free throws Heasley added a jumper for a 15-point lead.

The Defenders would go on a 4-0 run off a McKee turnaround and a Mair runner, but Burbage responded with a runner of his own, and another Justice free throw for the 40-26 lead.

Mair would get a lay-up to cut it to 40-28 as Warrior Run tried to hang around, but a pair of Lincoln Chimics free throws kept Troy ahead.

Sheesley would follow with a lay-up, but Lincoln Chimics came back with an old-fashion 3-point play to make it a 15-point game again. Burbage then extended the lead to 17-points with a pair of free throws.

McKee would get a lay-up in the final seconds to cut it to 15-points, giving the Defenders some hope of coming back in the final frame.

A Sheesley turnaround jumper made it 47-34 a minute into the fourth, but that’s as close as it got.

The Trojans would answer with a back breaking 4-0 run in a 10 second spandexes, the first on a Justice Chimics lay-up. He then stole the inbounds pass, got it to Loveland, who found Burbage for the lay-up to put the Trojans up 51-34 with a six minute to play.

The Defenders had their chances early, but missed a few lay-ups, and saw a Sheesley 3-pointer go every which way but down. They also went 3-for-11 from the line in the quarter, hurting their comeback chances.

Troy took advantage as Burbage went on a 5-0 run, followed by a Woodward hitting a free throw to push their lead to 57-35 with 4:31 left.

Back to back buckets from Heasley and Justice Chimics made it 61-35, and it looked like the Trojans might be putting Warrior Run into the mercy rule.

McKee would hit a turn around to end their drought, but Justice Chimics came back with a pair of free throws.

After that Warrior Run went 2-for-4 from the line to cut it to 63-39. Loveland would get a lay-up, then Keifer nailed a three for the Defenders.

Troy’s Teribury then scored the final points of the game on a jumper for the 25-point win.

“It feel great,” Evan said about going back to another district finals. “I’m just glad we won.”

While most of Troy’s rotation was part of last year’s finals team this will be a first for Burbage.

“I’m never done something like that before,” he said. “Hopefully we win the week.”

And that’s been the theme for Troy this year, try and win every day. It hasn’t always worked out that way, but that foundation is what’s got them here.

“I’m proud of the way these guys are playing down the stretch, and, you know, they’ve earned it,” said coach Woodward. “Our kids play super hard, they play together, and they do it the right way. There’s not complaining and making excuses when we don’t do so well, but their effort is outstanding.”

Now they’ll get a chance at some revenge as they look to beat a NP-Mansfield team that edged them twice during the regular season. They’ll be no secrets out on the court, simply who can execute their game plan.

“Tomorrow, we’re going to focus on winning at practice,” said coach Woodward. “I know it sounds trivial and simple, but that’s what we’ve got to do. We’re going to be as prepared as possible and work as hard as we can.”

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PHOTO CAPTION: Troy’s JB Burbage goes up for a lay-up…PHOTOS BY LANCE LARCOM & CHRIS MANNING