Barkley Showcase: Draper provides big 4th quarter spark to help Jasper-Troupsburg edge out Tigers with 50-45 triumph

Scio junior Cam Loucks, middle, battles up against the Jasper-Troupsburg defense underneath the basket during game three of the 6th Annual Dan Barkley Showcase at Alfred State College, Saturday evening. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Scio senior Jake D’Arcy (10) drives the lane toward the basket against the Jasper-Troupsburg defense during game three of the 6th Annual Dan Barkley Showcase at Alfred State College, Saturday evening. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

Scio senior Brendan Graves (24) splits the Jasper-Troupsburg defense on his way to the basket during game three of the 6th Annual Dan Barkley Showcase at Alfred State College, Saturday evening. [Chris Brooks/WellsvilleSports.com]

ALFRED — One of the big goals that head coach Dillon McFall outlined for his Scio Tigers crew upon their duel with the Jasper-Troupsburg Wildcats at the 6th Annual Dan Barkley Showcase, was attempting to eliminate one of their biggest assets on the field — the three-point game.

Last January was the last time the Tigers and Wildcats last went after it, as Jasper-Troupsburg came out on top in overtime behind a stymying three-point game that issued a dozen shots in all in the 76-62 win. Most of the pieces to that puzzle were back to face the Tigers once more, this time on neutral ground at Alfred State College on Saturday.

Scio would checkmark the sanctioned three-point defense against Jasper-Troupsburg, allowing things to become a bit tighter in the last eight minutes of play. But the Wildcats had a bit of relief down the stretch, courtesy of Reese Draper, who saved the clutch shooting for last by scoring seven of his 13 team-high points inside the frame to allow the Wildcats to pull toward victory with a 50-45 decision over the Tigers.

“They only had a couple of three-pointers tonight, and that was one of the big things we came into this game talking about focusing on,” McFall said. “We took that away from them, but we have to do better switching on the fly on defense. We have to have better judgement of the game, and they ripped us in the high post. That’s what happens when you don’t play with enough energy on the defensive front. We did a good job on their top two guys, but we forgot about their other role players. We just fell asleep on them.”

The Tigers (9-2) and Wildcats went back-and-forth all through the first quarter to begin the festivities, which saw a couple of deadlocks along the way before Noah Price dropped a pair of threes to help jumpstart and close what was a quarter-closing 10-2 run of the Tigers to take the eight-point lead into the second quarter.

After transitioning to the next frame, a complete reversal would occur. It was Scio’s turn to take charge with both Cam Loucks and Brendan Graves stepping to the plate, as Loucks netted four of the team’s first six points from inside, and at the charity stripe to dig down the Wildcats lead to a single possession. On the next transition, Graves gave the Tigers the 20-17 lead on one of two second-quarter threes.

But the Wildcats found their back into the driver’s seat, as a teeter-totter pace began to settle in under the halfway mark. At the half, it would wind up a two-point lead in favor of the Tigers after they broke a 20-20 tie with six of the last 10 from both Loucks at the line, and an and-one from Graves.

“Brendan helped us through that second quarter with those threes. At that point, it was big.” said McFall. “We put up a really nice showing of offense. I guess if you’re watching the game, you see we’re playing harder on the defensive side along with it too. That’s what helped us get that edge going into the half. Cam had another big night to help that out too with 24 points. We have to get a little bit more from everyone else behind those two. It’s not doing us any favors if it’s just those two scoring.”

Jasper-Troupsburg obliged to start the second half against the Tigers with another capitalization on offense. Scio would get as close as one to the Wildcats, but they scored a 15-8 third quarter run that saw the emergence of Reese Draper, who eventually ended up earning Player of the Night honors at the end of the game for his efforts down the stretch for the Wildcats, as he hit a long two-pointer to help continue said run until the frame’s conclusion.

From there, it carried over into the fourth quarter, as Draper went on to net the first four points to extend their lead to just over two possessions. But the Tigers wouldn’t back away just yet, as Loucks continued adding to the scorebook to keep it a seven-point deficit in the remaining three minute timespan. Graves provided a four-point punch after a foul outside the arc allowed him to finish the and-one at the line to close the gap to four with under a minute left to play.

The final 60 seconds would see a lot of back-and-forth dealing with the Tigers ultimately trimming down the Wildcats lead down one more time to a pair before it was extended back out for good, as the Wildcats finished the game with five of the last eight points, including some key Draper shots at the charity stripe.

Finishing behind Loucks in the scorebook was Graves, who totaled 18 points in all. Carl Finnemore had the remaining three points to add for the Tigers, who return home for their next game on Tuesday, as they welcome in the Cuba-Rushford Rebels for a 7:30 p.m. visit.

Scio                            8 18  8  11 – 45

Jasper-Troupsburg    16   8 15 11 – 50

SCIO: Brendan Graves 5 4-6 18, Cam Loucks 7 9-16 24, Carl Finnemore 1 1-2 3. Totals: 13 14-24 45.
JASPER-TROUPSBURG: Brayden Hill 1 4-4 6, Noah Price 2 2-2 8, Josh Flint 0 1-2 1, Blake Lawson 1 0-2 2, Tyler Flint 2 3-4 8, Reese Draper 5 3-6 13, Ethan Draper 2 0-0 4, Quincy Cornell 4 0-0 8. Totals: 17 13-20 50.

3-point goals: Scio 4 (Graves 3, Loucks), J-T 3 (Price 2, T. Flint).
Total Fouls: Scio 14, J-T 18. Fouled out: Cornell (J-T).