In Pottsville, Linville Hill was incredibly accurate with their shooting on Friday night, leading to a dominating 65-29 victory over MMI Prep.
Linville Hill made nine three-pointers and thoroughly outplayed MMI on both offense and defense, securing a 65-29 win in the PIAA Class A quarterfinals at Martz Hall.
Ryan Sones scored 12 points and Brendon Brobst added 11 for MMI Prep. Together, they were responsible for eight of the team’s 10 made field goals, but it was a challenging night for the Preppers as their shots weren't finding the basket.
MMI Prep coach Joe Flanagan mentioned, “I thought the first couple possessions we got good shots, and then we panicked a bit and took a bunch of bad ones. (Linville) could shoot the basketball, they really made some open shots.”
Linville Hill, the District 3 champion, quickly gained a 21-6 lead in the first quarter, disrupting MMI's preferred style and tempo.
From the beginning, the Preppers were playing catch-up, struggling to score. MMI’s first three-pointer came much later in the fourth quarter, when the game's outcome was already determined.
Linville point guard Giovanni Sejuste repeatedly found open shooters, and the Warriors' three-point shooters were highly effective, extending their lead.
Jerome Stoltzfus, in particular, had a remarkable performance, scoring 24 points by halftime and adding 15 more in the third quarter, contributing to Linville's decisive lead.
Flanagan acknowledged, “We couldn’t get enough stops in a row. We wanted to control the tempo, and we just didn’t do enough.”
Following a District 2 championship, a runner-up finish in the District 2/11 subregional, and two wins in the state tournament, MMI Prep's strong run concludes for the senior-laden team.
Linville Hill will progress to the Class A semifinals to face Berlin Brothersvalley, following their 75-48 win over Lancaster Country Day in another quarterfinal matchup.
PIAA Class A Quarterfinals
Linville Hill 65, MMI Prep 29
MMI PREP (29) — Lispi 1 0-0 2, Pantages 0 0-0 0, Floryshak 0 0-0 0, Sones 5 3-5 12, Brobst 3 4-5 11, Rodriguez 0 2-2 2, Hosier 0 0-0 0, Frask 0 0-0 0, Parikh 0 0-0 0, Schwabe 1 0-0 2, Gombeda 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 9-12 29.
LINVILLE HILL (65) — Smoker 2 0-0 5, Sejuste 2 4-4 8, Chappell 0 0-0 0, Je. Stoltzfus 8 0-0 21, Fisher 1 2-2 5, Jo. Stoltzfus 0 0-0 0, Petersheim 2 0-2 6, Tibbins 2 0-0 4, S. Smucker 6 3-3 15, Westfall 0 1-2 1. Totals 23 10-13 65.
MMI Prep`6`7`8`8 — 29
Linville Hill`21`16`18`10 — 65
Three-point goals — MMI 2 (Sones, Brobst); LIN 9 (Je. Stoltzfus 5, Petersheim 2, Smoker, Fisher).
