ERIE, PA - After betting the No. 6 seed Hilbert, and then upsetting the No. 2 seed Penn State-Altoona, the Redhawks were unable to muster another victory and are coming back to the 'Burgh broken hearted after a one point loss to Medaille.
La Roche got on the board first, but Medaille kept up through the first 12 minutes, trading baskets and both teams playing tight defense. The Redhawks edged further out front as the half went on, leading by as many as nine points with two minutes remaining. The Mavericks closed to within seven after the first 20. At that point La Roche had out-rebounded Medaille, 23-12.
Joe Pipilo was leading the rebounding charge as he had his second double double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
This game was an intense contest to say the least. In total, this game had nine lead changes, and six ties. In fact, the Redhawks spent 32 minutes and 42 seconds with the lead, while the Mavs only captured it for two minutes and 40 seconds, but they had it when it counted.
Devon Darrell continued to be the consistent leader for La Roche. The junior shot 41 percent from the field, and hit four free throws for a total of 22 points in this afternoon's contest.
The Mavs dug a deeper hole in the second half, falling behind by as many as 11 before edging their way back in the closing five minutes. The lead changed hands multiple times before the final buzzer, and Medaille edged ahead with just over a minute to go. The Redhawks were at the line with the opportunity to take the lead in the final seconds, a lane violation gave the ball back to Medaille, and the Mavs hung on for the victory.
In the end, the Redhawks could just not hang on, and fell to the Mavericks 71-70.
Two other La Roche athletes joined the double digits club before the end of the game. Those players were Joe Starzynski with 12, and Jordan Grayson with 11.
