Brian Hagberg
EDINBORO, Pa. – Brady Berdine’s 3-pointer with 3 minutes to play gave Warren some breathing room and the Dragons pulled away for a 59-46 win over Grove City in the District 10 Class 4A semifinals.
Grove City, which trailed by 12 at the half, pulled to within two, 46-44, on Nathan Greer’s layup with just under five minutes to play. After getting a tie-up on the ensuing possession, the Eagles had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Gavin Lutz’s 3-pointer was off the mark.
The Dragons took a timeout and drew up a play that initially saw Braylon Barnes take it to the hoop. Barnes’ shot was short, but he got his own rebound and kicked it out to Konnor Hoffman. Hoffman swung it over to Berdine on the wing who knocked down the three.
“A couple of them were my fault that they got some and-1s, I should have stepped to help,” Berdine said during his Cole Orthodontic Associates player interview. “We haven’t been great in those games all year long and coming away with that one after knowing we were able to control the situation at that time and we finally got one.”
See Berdine’s full Cole Orthodontic Associates player interview:
Warren ended the game on a 13-2 run to seal the win and punch a ticket to the D10 championship.
“It feels amazing (to play for the championship),” Berdine said. “We’ve got to do the same thing we did here. Get a good press going, play defense well, not get stupid fouls. Just everything we know we can do, we’ve got to bring it all.”
The Dragons brought it all to start their semifinal game, racing out to a 9-2 lead. Warren held a 20-8 advantage after the first quarter.
“We are really fast when we play,” Warren’s Konnor Hoffman said in his Cole Orthodontic Associates player interview. “It gets Brady and Braylon up the floor (and) they are really good at making tough shots, tough layups.”
See Hoffman’s full Cole Orthodontic Associates player interview:
The offensive pace slowed in the early stages of the second quarter with Warren leading 22-12 with five minutes left in the half. The offense picked back up again just before the half and the Dragons held a 31-19 lead at halftime.
Grove City cut the deficit in half midway through the third quarter, but Warren pushed the lead back to 12, 41-29, with 2:15 to play in the frame. The Eagles ended the quarter with an 8-2 run to make it a 6-point game going to the fourth.
Greer led the Eagles with 17 points. Lutz had nine points and Jimmy Irani and Brett Loughery each had seven points.
Berdine led all scorers with 28 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter. Barnes had 11 points and Tommy Nyquist added six points.
Warren will face Hickory, a 48-43 winner over Sharon, for the D10 4A title on Friday at a time and location to be announced.
Grove City will take on Sharon in the consolation game on Friday.
