January 13-14

Not much going on Tuesday, on Wednesday morning Jenny had an appointment in Willow Street and we had our usual lunch together. In the afternoon we boarded the bus at McCaskey for our second trip of the season into Lebanon County. In December we played at Cedar Crest, this time we traveled a few miles further to the city of Lebanon proper. When the league started in '72 McCaskey and Lebanon were division-mates, since both schools were former members of the Central Penn League the already-existing rivalry continued unabated. Several years ago Lebanon dropped our of our division due to league realignment, since then we haven't played them as frequently but the rivalry has remained. A game night in their gym has historically never been an easy assignment, this occasion would prove to be no different. The JV game was an instant classic in itself, at halftime we were down 29-10 and the locker room was no place for the faint of heart. In the second half JPM turned the game around dramatically and won 65-60 to keep the league record unblemished. In the varsity game JPM won 59-56 but it was uphill all the way, we trailed by five at the quarter and eleven at the half. The deficit was four going into the last quarter, Randolph Speller spearheaded the comeback by scoring twelve of his game-high fifteen points in the fourth period. Kobe Gantz had fifteen as well, he and Ran were the only JPM players in double figures. The game was testy all night long, as the final buzzer sounded angry words and shoves were exchanged. The officials and coaching staffs quickly got order restored and the teams to their respective locker rooms, the customary postgame handshake line never took place. The win brings the mark to 9-1 in the league and 11-4 overall, the boys are back at home hosting Solanco on Friday the 16th. Take care, thanks for reading.