The State College boys’ basketball team could not have hoped for a much better regular season than the one it just completed.
The Little Lions finished 19-4, won 10 of their last 11 games, and took home their first-ever Mid-Penn championship after victories over Trinity and Mechanicsburg on Feb. 14 and 16.
If the season ended with that, there would be high fives all around and celebrations for a job more than well done.
There are, however, more and bigger achievements still out there, beginning with the District 6 championship game against Altoona at 8 p.m. on Friday at Tyrone High School.
Altoona and State College are no strangers. The two met last year in the D-6 championship game, won by State College, and they got together this season in a non-league game Feb. 7 in State High’s North Gym.
The Little Lions won that one as well, 72-59, but they had to come back from a big first half deficit to pull it out. Drew Friberg scored 23 for State College in the game, and Tommy Sekunda had 22 as the Little Lions shot 26-46 from the field and nailed nine 3-pointers.
It wouldn’t be a bad idea for State College to have another good shooting night in the championship game. Altoona finished its season on a high note with three consecutive wins and had a final record of 11-11. Look for the Mountain Lions to be highly prepared, and motivated, for the rematch.
Altoona is led by the outside-inside combination of senior guard Shawn Gibson and junior forward Jayvion Queen. Gibson scored 25 in the Feb. 7 game, and the 6-foot-5 Queen scored 17 and pulled down 14 rebounds. The two were instrumental in building Altoona’s big lead, but their team could not hold on in the face of 42 second-half points by the Little Lions.
The 6-5 Sekunda (16 ppg) and 6-6 Friberg (17) have been the leaders for State College all season. Both present major matchup problems for opponents because they can score inside or outside and feel just as comfortable in the lane as they do beyond the arc.
Add their scoring with the 26 combined points each game contributed by Ryan McNulty, Keaton Ellis, Tommy Friberg and Brandon Clark, and it’s apparent why the Little Lions score just under 65 points every time out.
This game has all the markings of a shootout, but it just might be the team that puts in the most effort on the defensive side that has the advantage.
Even though State College and Altoona are the last two 6-A team playing in District 6, the loser is not finished. There will be two teams going into the PIAA Tournament play from the combination of Districts 6, 8 and 10.
The loser of the State College-Altoona game will play in the consolation game against the No. 1 team from D-10, Erie McDowell, or the No. 1 team from D-8, either Allerdice or Brashear. Those teams will also play Friday, Feb. 24, and the consolation game will be Wednesday, March 1, at a site to be determined.
The winner of that game will enter the state tournament as the No. 2 seed from District 6 and will play against the No. 3 team from District 7 in the first round Saturday, March 11. D-6 No. 1 will play against D-7 No. 4 on the same day.
