A quiet Monday started the new week, after supper I went over to practice to get the scorebook from Freddy. JPM lost to Hazleton by eleven points in that showcase event in Reading on Saturday, on Tuesday we were back on the bus for the short trip north to Manheim Township. This was the start of the second round of divisional play, the club went 2-2 in the first half including a ten-point loss to MT at home in December. On this night in Neffsville the teams engaged in an up-and-down back-and-forth affair that was decided in overtime with JPM coming out on the wrong end of a 44-42 decision. In the four-minute OT period we were outscored 2-0 with both points coming from the foul line. It's often been said that personal foul calls in basketball are not always a matter of how many are called, it's more a matter of WHAT is called and WHEN it is called. At one end of the court a man drives to the basket and is driven to the floor with no call made, at the other end every little ticky-tack violation is whistled down. In the dying seconds of overtime we had possession with a chance to tie, after a timeout an obvious hold on the inbounds play (which would have put us on the line for two shots) went uncalled as the clock ran out. After the buzzer one of our players (and I don't know who because I legitimately didn't see it happen) punted the ball into the air in frustration but luckily nobody was injured. I would say it's unbelievable but it really isn't because we've seen it too many times and after almost fifty years it's not likely to change anytime soon. The loss drops the record in 4-6 in the league and 6-10 overall. Wednesday was quiet except for lunch with Jenny and her mother but the weekend will be busy. The boys have three games in three days coming up, two of them were just recently added to the schedule. On Thursday we host a non-league opponent from the Philadelphia area, Friday features Penn Manor coming into town for a divisional game and on Saturday morning we'll be on the bus to Dauphin County. The JV game on Saturday starts at 12-noon so the three dates in full are all within less than forty-eight hours. I'll be tired just watching it, can't imagine how the kids are going to feel. Take care, thanks for reading.
