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NTL BOYS' BASKETBALL: SEELEY'S GAME WINNER PROPELS NEB PAST NP-MANSFIELD (2021-02-23)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Northern Tier Sports Report
ROME — When it rains, it pours, but when the sun comes out, team’s can heat up quickly, and stay that way.

That’s how it’s been for the Northeast Bradford boys’ basketball team this year. After starting the season 0-3 they’ve gone on a 9-4 run, with several buzzer-beating victories.


Add one more to that list as a Dan Seeley turn-around jumper with 4.4 seconds left propelled the Panthers to a 40-39 win over NP-Mansfield in NTL boys’ basketball action Tuesday.


“We have four game-winners by four different players,” said NEB coach Paul Burgert. “It’s unreal. You can go a whole season and not have one game-winner, and we have four from four different players. It’s unbelievable.”


As for Seeley, he was nearly speechless about the game winner.


“It’s just crazy,” he said. “It still hasn’t kicked in to be honest.”


The Panthers had an out of bounds play from behind the Tigers’ basket. Seeley was posting up with Crown finding him in the paint.


“My initial thought was to get Sam (Abell) in the corner for a three,” explained Seeley. 


However, that wasn’t available to Seeley, who then went to work.


“Lucas got a great pass to me and… I don’t know,” he said with a smile.


It wasn’t the prettiest game for either team. NEB struggled with lay-ups and turnovers, while NP-Mansfield was coming off an overtime loss to their rivals Wellsboro on Monday night.


The Tigers led for most of the game, thanks to a 13-0 run at the end of the first quarter, start of the second, and kept them at arm’s length until the fourth, when NEB went on a 10-5 run to tie things up.


Despite all the miscues, Burgert was glad to see his team gut it out.


“It’s huge us, that’s been the difference between the beginning of the year until,” he said. “In the beginning of the year, when shots weren’t going, we tended to kind of roll over and fall apart, and be down by 20 points in the first quarter, or the first half. Now we’ve learned that if we keep fighting, keep battling, good things will happen sooner or later.”


Nick Beers led the team with 11 points, eight boards and two steals, while Ethan Finch finished with nine points - all on 3-pointers - to go with three boards.


Lucas Crown had six points, five boards, four assists and two steals with Sam Abell netting six points to go with four boards and three assists.


Seeley finished with four points and six rebounds as Dan Williams had six points as well, to go with seven boards and two assists.


Alex Stein led NPM with 12 points as Karson Dominick finished with 11. Curtis Craig added eight points, Brody Burleigh netted six and Sam Lawrence finished with two points.


After trading lay-ups to start the game Beers brought the fans to their feet with a steal and dunk, putting the Panthers up 4-2. 


That was short lived as Dominick hit a 3-ball to make it 5-4 Tigers. Crown hit a driving lay-up to put NEB back up  but back to back buckets by Craig gave NPM a 9-6 first quarter lead.


Stein had back to back baskets, including a 3-ball, to open the second quarter for the Tigers, giving them a 14-6 advantage. A Burleigh lay-up, followed by a Dominick put back extended the lead to 18-6, before a Crown lay-up stopped the bleeding. Finch then hit a 3-pointer to make it 18-11.


The two teams would trade baskets, as another Dominick 3-pointer gave the Tigers a 23-14 advantage late.


However, in the final minute, Beers had a lay-up, followed by Finch hitting his third 3-pointer of the quarter, to cut it to 23-19 at the half.


There was little offense in the third quarter as the two teams combined to score 11 points.


After a Burleigh free throw Crown had a put back to cut it to 24-21 halfway through the quarter. A Stein jumper made it 26-21. Competing 3-pointers from Abell and Dominick kept it a 5-point difference, now 29-24, and that’s how the quarter ended.


Beers started the fourth with a jumper to cut it to 29-26 10 seconds in. Burleigh came back with an old fashion 3-point play, extending the lead to six. Beers matched him at the other end, and with 4:54 left to play the deficit was 3-points again.


A Williams put back 34 seconds later cut it to a 1-point game, but a pair of Craig freebies made it 34-31 with 3:47 to play.


Abell tied the game up with 2:53 left, hitting a 3-pointer off a Crown assist. After a Tiger miss Seeley got his first points of the game on a free throw line jumper, the ball hit every part of the rim before easing on down.


With 1:20 left Stein came up big for NPM as he hit a floater in the lane. Then, with under a minute to play, Williams scooped up a loose ball in Mansfield’s paint, missed his lay-up attempt, but got the rebound and put it back to give NEB a 38-36 lead.


At the other NP-Mansfield was patient, and ran the clock down. With about 15 seconds left they got inside to Burleigh, who kicked it out to Stein. The senior buried the 3-pointer to put the Tigers up 39-38 with 10 seconds to play.


The Panthers called time-out, but struggled to inbounds the ball. They got it to Beers, who looked to step out of bounds, but Burgert yelled ‘time-out’ just before.


NEB then got the ball to Beers on their next out of bounds play along the baseline, where he was fouled on the floor. Taking it out behind the basket, Crown found Seeley, who’s shot didn’t hit the rim this time as it flowed through.


For the Panthers, this was just another close win during a 6-2 where their only losses have been to Wyalusing. Four of those wins came at the buzzer.


“It’s been crazy,” said Seeley. “Our momentum after probably Wellsboro, when Sam hit that game winner, all these have been crazy close, and fun to play.”


The Panthers travel to CV and Sayre later this week, and still need to make-up their game home game against NP-Liberty, but after that will be the District IV playoffs. And they’ve done all this without a practice in the last week and a half due to being remote last week.


“We haven’t had a practice since the Friday before the Wellsboro game,” said Seeley. “We didn’t have a great shooting performance, hopefully we can get on that.”


Right now they’re battling Canton for the third seed in the Class AA standings, but hope to have at least one more home game this season.


“We can’t get into the top two, so we at least want to host the first one, and as long as we stay in the top four, we’ll be great,” said Burgert. “Just keep getting better, that’s all we can try to do.”


CUTLINE: NEB players mob Dan Seeley after he hit the game winner against NP-Mansfield Wednesday…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING.




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