CLEAR SPRING, Md. – The Smithburg boys basketball listened to a couple of coach Eric Gerber’s greatest hits at halftime on Monday.
Suddenly, the Leopards found harmony.
After a disjointed first half, Smithsburg tuned in to Gerber’s top catch phrases to turn a five-point halftime deficit into a six-point lead by the end of the third quarter on Monday to orchestrate a 63-55 victory over determined Clear Spring.
Basically, Gerber hit a reset button with two reminders – one for the team and the other for top scorer Jacob Tyler.
“One of the things we always talk about at halftime is the first four minutes (of the second half). We came out really well,” Gerber said. “Tyler … sometimes I just have to remind to take the ball to the basket. He is so good at (it), using his quickness. Sometimes he settles for some mid-range jump shots, but I’d rather see him take it to the basket and get to the free throw line.”
Smithsburg trailed 30-25 at the half before opening the second half with a 12-2 run in those first four minutes – including eight straight points by Tyler – to take a 37-32 lead.
It spilled over for another 50 seconds with two more baskets – one of them by Tyler – for a 41-32 advantage by the 3:10 mark of the third quarter.
Smithsburg led 45-39 by the end of the quarter as Tyler scored 10 in the period and 16 of his game-high 26 in the second half in top layer of the Leopards’ comeback.
“I had to regain my focus. I came out too lazy,” Tyler admitted. “I had to play more aggressive and attack and play defense. It all starts with defense. Once I get a few stops on defense, it turns into offense for me.”
Tyler bounced back after spending the final 3:01 of the first quarter on the bench with two early fouls.
“I was playing down. The whole team was playing down,” he said. “So, when I came back, I knew I had to step up … not only for myself but for my team to get this win. I was letting my team down and I can’t start like that. I really had to pick it up.”
The other components of the comeback were produced by James Hare, who spearheaded the concerted effort of Leopards battling Clear Spring under the basket, and Marquis Weakfall, who was tasked with controlling Dalton Albowicz, the Blazers’ leading scorer.
Hare, who flashed his shooting touch with 13 points in last Friday’s loss to South Hagerstown, was stone cold on Monday. He did score 15 points on Monday – including 11 in 12 tries from the foul line – and pulled down 15 rebounds.
“The ball wasn’t falling, but my free throws felt good,” Hare said. “I knew I had to keep going to the rim and they kept pounding me. So, I had to hit my free throws.
“We weren’t hitting our shots and they were packed in the paint. We had to play through it. We had to play physical and make shots.”
Weakfall frustrated Albowicz, who scored only four points in the third quarter – Clear Spring’s first two and last two of the eight-minute period. Albowicz, who averages 19 points, rarely touched the ball in the quarter as Clear Spring was outscored 20-9.
“Weakfall is a really good defender. So, Marcus is out there and can really do his job defensively, we usually play him against the other team’s top scorer,” Gerber said. “He just did a really nice job in the third quarter.”
The game opened with Smithsburg struggling to an early 9-7 lead as the Leopards looked like they were still reeling after losing on South’s last-second shot on Jan. 9. Then, after Tyler went to the bench after his second foul, the Blazers closed with a nine-point run – including six by Albowicz – for a 14-9 lead.
Clear Spring (3-8) added another five points to the lead to open the second quarter for a 19-9 advantage. Smithsburg turned the tables with a 16-6 flurry for a 25-25 tie with 2:14 left in the half. Tyler scored eight points in the comeback.
Wyatt Albowicz, Dalton’s older brother, scored a 3 and Camden Whittington scored a layup to end the half for Clear Spring’s 30-25 lead at the intermission.
From there, the Leopards picked their spots to secure the win, particularly with the defensive attention to Dalton Albowicz.
“We wanted to eliminate his touches. We knew if he was going get the ball, he was going to try and get a shot up,” Tyler said. “He was hitting shots. He was hitting tough shots. We tried to play the best defense we can. In the second half, we came together to shut him down and limit his points so we could overcome their team and win this game.”
Dalton Albowicz led Clear Spring with 20 points, while Wyatt Albowicz added 19. The pair accounted for 23 of the Blazers’ 25 second-half points.
“This was a tough one,” Gerber said. “You’ve got to give credit to Clear Spring. They battled the entire night. I told the guys to never be upset with a W, but it was definitely a very hard-fought game tonight.”
