The Solanco boys basketball team battled back to defeat Avon Grove 56-53 Saturday to finish third in the Oxford Tip-Off Tournament. The Mules trailed 40-29 before ending the third quarter on an 11-0 run. Solanco led by one with a minute left before Avon Grove drained a three-pointer. Shane Belczyk then hit a clutch three-pointer to put the Mules back up by a point with 20 seconds left. Avon Grove missed a shot in the final seconds and Solanco's Zack Leonard grabbed the rebound, was fouled, and made both free throws with 1.1 seconds left to ice the victory. "It was a good win for us," Solanco coach Bill Moore said. "When we got down everybody played together."
Matt Gote was an unsung hero for the Mules, entering the game to guard Avon Grove's 6-5 post player. "Matt did a great job," said Moore. "He accepted his role and did it." Damon Kreider collected 22 points, seven rebounds, and four assists to pace the Mules. Leonard added 11 points and six rebounds. Joe Pfender provided nine points. Belczyk supplied seven points, two steals, and two assists. Desmond Kreider chipped in three points and three rebounds. The Mules shot 7 of 15 from three-point range. "There are still some things to do," said Moore. "We made 50 percent of our free throws and missed layups. We could've won so that it didn't come down to the end. But it doesn't matter if it's an ugly win." Oxford downed Solanco 73-55 in Friday's first round. The Mules were in the game until the fourth quarter. Oxford hit a shot at the haltime buzzer to extend their lead to four. Solanco was down by seven entering the final quarter but committed 10 turnovers in the fourth. Damon Kreider led the way with 16 points, six steals, five rebounds, and three assists. Desmond Kreider contributed 11 points. Leonard had 10 points and two assists. Belczyk added seven points, three rebounds, and two steals. Ethan McCardell mustered five points and four rebounds. Pfender and Evan Mankin each had three points. "It was a good weekend for us," said Moore. "We learned a lot about our players by the way they rebounded after a loss and then being down by 11 points and coming back to get the win. It was good to see." Comments are closed.
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