CRESSON — Penn Cambria’s basketball team, which struggled early in the season, turned things around Tuesday night with a dominant 76-49 win over Mount Union in the first round of the District 6 Class 3A playoffs.
The Panthers had entered the game with a losing record and coming off a tough 34-point loss to Tyrone in December. But after several players shifted from football to basketball following Penn Cambria’s run to the PIAA semifinals, the team found its rhythm. They started strong, scoring the first 18 points of the game and never looked back.
“It took us a while,” said Penn Cambria coach Jim Ronan. “We’re making adjustments faster now, playing with more energy, and shooting well. Gavin Harrold, especially, is playing great basketball. He’s come a long way in getting into basketball shape.”
Harrold led the team with 16 points, hitting four 3-pointers and grabbing five rebounds. “Basketball is a tough sport to just jump into,” Harrold said. “We’re definitely clicking, and now is the best time for that to happen.”
Brandon Rabish added a team-high 17 points, including two 3-pointers during the Panthers’ 18-0 run to start the game. By the time Mount Union scored with 3:10 left in the first quarter, Penn Cambria had already built a commanding lead.
“Our main focus was to come out with energy and use our athleticism to trap them and score easy points,” Ronan explained. “The energy is much higher when we’re playing defense like that.”
Mount Union’s Caison Scott scored a game-high 21 points in the loss, as the Trojans finished their season with a 10-13 record.
The Panthers, now 5th-seeded in the tournament, will face 3rd-seeded Tyrone in the District 6 quarterfinals on Friday. The winner will advance to the semifinals with a chance to qualify for the PIAA tournament.
“We know we’re playing better basketball now,” Harrold said. “They beat us last time, but we’re ready for them. We’ll need to play as a team—when we do, shots fall, defense improves, and everything clicks.”
The Panthers have now won five straight games and seven of their last eight.
“Our chemistry has improved a lot since December 28,” Rabish said. “The football players just needed time to get into basketball shape.”
Penn Cambria made 11 3-pointers in the game, a mark they hope to match on Friday against a Tyrone team that is also dangerous from deep. The Panthers also forced 28 turnovers, including 20 in the first half.
“The energy they brought tonight was the most thunderous I’ve seen all year,” Ronan said. “They were really fired up, and we’ll need that same energy against Tyrone. We’ll have to match their physicality and toughness. We can’t afford to fall behind by 15 points against a team like Tyrone, especially at their place.”
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