Fleetwood takes Oley Valley’s best punch, fights back to stay undefeated
By Sam Cavalieri — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Fleetwood went scoreless for an eight-minute stretch of the second and third quarters Tuesday at Oley.
The Lynx took advantage, went on a 20-point run and led by five points before Tigers All-Berks forward Jake Karnish stopped the run.
He scored his team’s next eight points and the Tigers didn’t trail again on their way to a 59-50 Berks Conference crossover victory between the Division III and IV preseason favorites.
Karnish, the league’s top scorer, finished with a game-high 29 points and 15 rebounds; he did most of his damage at the foul line and around the rim in the second half. His personal run calmed the storm and allowed the Tigers (2-0 Berks III, 9-0) to stay undefeated despite shooting struggles.
“We always ask who is going to step up in a big game and I love to put that responsibility on me,” said Karnish, a senior captain.
The Tigers appeared to be on their way to another blowout victory — their previous eights wins came by an average of 25.7 points — but they went cold after a hot shooting first quarter which saw them hit four 3-pointers and score 24 points.
Fleetwood was good on just 1-of-14 3’s the rest of the way.
“The coaches sat on the bench in the first quarter (saying) what’s going to happen when our 3’s don’t fall and we need to work around our offense,” Fleetwood coach Terry Sitler said.
What happened was the Lynx (1-1 Berks IV, 6-3) took advantage. They looked out of sorts in the opening quarter, with five turnovers and an inability to get comfortable on the offensive end.
They got hot late in the first half as sophomore Ben DeBalko knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and the ball movement picked up. Junior David Turchi had 14 points to lead the Lynx and Chase Rubendall found success slashing to the rim; he finished with 11 points.
“We were off to a good start and then they got into their groove,” Karnish said of the Lynx. “That’s what basketball is, a game of punches. You’ve gotta be able to give them and take them. They gave us their best punch in the second quarter.”
That punch was almost enough to knock Fleetwood from the unbeaten ranks, but Karnish was just too strong to knock down.
He was backed by Kevin Williams, who knocked down 3-of-6 from 3-point range, including a critical 3 to open the fourth quarter. Nate Herb scored 10 and Aiden Soumas had 11, including two key buckets in the fourth quarter, for the Tigers.
The Lynx couldn’t stay in front of the athletic, crafty Karnish. He made them pay from the foul line, going 10-of-11. He was able to serve as not only an offensive catalyst but a safety valve in the half-court sets and also was able to control the glass. Fleetwood finished with a 38-27 rebounding advantage.
“There were times I think we did well against (Karnish),” Oley head coach Matt Barrell said. “Other guys hurt us early, and that kind of opened some things up for him. We know how good he is. He doesn’t stop; he’s got a motor and keeps going. It’s tough.”
Karnish has played with the Lynx in several tournaments the past few summers.
His cousin, DeBalko, also posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. DeBalko doesn’t possess the size that Karnish has but put his nose in there on a lot of possessions.
“He’s learning how to be more physical and that was one of my goals for him this year,” Barrell said. “That’s the growth I want to see, little things from each of these guys in this game. Playing a group like that was good for us.”
Fleetwood got a lot out of this game, as well. After a string of blowouts this was one of the few times it had to battle and manage a game down the stretch.
“I really think we are a smart basketball team,” Sitler said. “All five people on the floor are like point guards; they understand the game. That and our experience helps a lot at the end of the game.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Fleetwood | 24 | 8 | 10 | 17 | 59 |
| Oley Valley | 11 | 18 | 10 | 11 | 50 |
| Tigers(9-0) | FG | FT | 3s | A | R | Points |
| Soumas | 5-14 | 0-0 | 1-5 | 1 | 1 | 11 |
| Williams | 3-6 | 0-0 | 3-6 | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Herb | 3-8 | 4-4 | 0-2 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| Karnish | 9-16 | 10-11 | 1-5 | 2 | 15 | 29 |
| Svoboda | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| Hilburt | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Loy | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals | 20-54 | 14-15 | 5-23 | 7 | 34 | 59 |
| Lynx (6-3) | FG | FT | 3s | A | R | Points |
| Neal | 1-2 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Kelly | 3-9 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| Rubendall | 4-11 | 2-4 | 1-1 | 2 | 3 | 11 |
| B. Debalko | 3-7 | 2-2 | 2-4 | 2 | 11 | 10 |
| D. Turchi | 5-10 | 3-4 | 1-1 | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| Galardo | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| J. Turchi | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Totals | 18-42 | 8-13 | 6-10 | 7 | 24 | 50 |
Turnovers: Fleetwood 7, Oley Valley 11.
