February 6-8

Had my usual midweek lunch date with Jenny on Wednesday, on Thursday afternoon we boarded the bus for one final time in the '18-19 season. The results of other games on Wednesday night eliminated the club from district playoff contention, on this night there was little to play for except pride and a chance at a winning record. Our destination was Central Dauphin East HS in Colonial Park, an eastern suburb of Harrisburg. This was a makeup game from January 19 when it would have been played as part of a showcase event at Reading High, rescheduling it allowed our JV squad to play an added game and the varsity to play its full schedule. On the surface I figured this could be a winnable game but I failed to factor in the effect of playing a Mid-Penn Conference opponent in their gym with a MPC officiating crew. Over the years MPC officials have gained a reputation for insinuating themselves into games far beyond where they need to be, this night was a great example. In the JV game Ray was hit with two technical fouls, the second coming as he was talking to one of the players and he was not given the courtesy of an explanation. The two Ts carried an ejection which forced him to stay in the locker room during the varsity game as well. The game itself was a barnburner all the way, JPM won 58-54 to finish the year 14-6. In the varsity game we battled through the adversity all over again but ultimately lost 55-45 to finish dead even at 11-11. At the start of the year I would have considered a .500 record successful (and I still do) but in a way it's disappointing because I can't help but feel it could have been better. Had we been 9-11 and won our last two to finish .500 I might view it differently, I guess it's just a matter of perspective. The club still won more games than the last two seasons combined, the eleven wins were by an average of eight points while the eleven losses were by an average of thirteen (largely because of the tough non-league schedule). Brian McKenzie led the club in total points (280) and average (12.7), he was the only player who averaged in doubles but there was good balance underneath. Ajani Simmons was at 9.6, Makai Ortiz at 9.5, Jahsaan Greaves at 8.6 and Isaiah Thomas was at 8.1. Makai and Isaiah are two of the four eligible returnees and they are two good pieces to build around for '19-20. The best thing about this team was the fact that we started the season with twenty-seven players and they were all still there at the end, it's been quite some time since that happened. It's a long time from February to November but next season will be here before you know it. Take care, thanks for reading.