Rivals routed: Boys basketball win against Cumberland Valley
More stories from Michael Raphael
The anticipation was growing for the young Herd’s contest against Cumberland Valley. The team’s last game before the break helps them surge forward through the season. For the 13th time in a row dating back to 2014 the Herd came out on top.
“This is one of the best rivalries in Central PA,” Coach Andre Anderson said. “So it [means] a lot for us to pull this [win] out.”
Senior Trevor Hamilton is one of the oldest players and leaders of the team. A forward for the team, he was looking forward to the matchup with longtime rivals.
“This team hustles more than any other team I’ve played on before,” Hamilton said. “We just need[ed] to play together for a whole game. Even though CV’s playing very well and everybody thinks highly of them, I want[ed] us to dominate them.”
Hamilton’s hopes were proven to be enough, as the team was able to overcome the opposition to get the win.
The Herd and CV’s rivalry runs back to the beginning of high school sports. Carlisle and CV are rivals in every sport, but in basketball, it could be considered more intense.
Coach Anderson was pushing the importance of the game during the buildup of the game.
“The key [was] not coming out flat,” Anderson said. “We need[ed] to have a lot of energy throughout the whole game […] helped out by the crowd and the crazy atmosphere in the gym.”
The Herd entered the contest at a record of 2-4 losing multiple close games along the way while the Eagles were a perfect 5-0 heading into the contest Friday night. Carlisle had beaten CV eight times at home in a row entering the matchup but, CV has one of their best teams in recent memory this year.
It was a very competitive and low scoring affair with both teams scoring less than 30 points in the 32 minute time frame. Both teams struggled to score in the first quarter having the end of the frames line being five to three to the away team.
The second quarter was the highest scoring eight minutes of the night with CV outscoring the home team by two and taking a three-point lead into halftime.
The tide swung in the second half, however as the Herd outscored the Eagles by five in the third and then eventually holding on in the fourth to claim a five-point riveting win before winter break began.
After the game, senior guard Clay Burkett gave his reaction to the crazy and competitive game. He felt as though this game not only was a great win for the present but also for future games.
“We can use this performance as a blueprint for future games by coming out with the same amount of intensity at the start of the game,” Burkett said. “Hopefully we can rebound and play defense as well in future games. We also just can’t be shy about taking shots and facing ball pressure.”
The Herd will go into their next game against a 3-2 Harrisburg team hungry for a win on Jan 2 with a record of 3-4 and coming off a momentum-boosting win. If the Herd can replicate their performance on Dec 21, then they give themselves a good chance at winning.
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Michael Raphael is currently a freshman at Carlisle Area High School, and this is his first year on Periscope staff. He will write for various sections...
Jacob Bream • Jan 10, 2019 at 1:23 pm
I am glad the the boys team defeated CV. I was shocked, and I knew it was going to be a close game. They played their hearts out. They wanted the win more, and it showed on the court. They left it all out there.