Pace pushes O'Hara past Garnet Valley

For Cardinal O'Hara head coach Ryan Nemetz, the task at hand versus Garnet Valley was one that is oftentimes easier said than done for those that square off against the defending Central League champs.

"We wanted to speed the game up." Nemetz said, in reference to the focal point of the Lions game plan.

After a slow start in the first five minutes of the first quarter, the Lions would feed off of stifling full court pressure, shutting down the Jaguars perimeter centric attack, and an-up tempo, downhill offensive attack of their own, to notch a 55-41 win. With a six point lead at the half, the Lions defensive pressure created their separation in the second half, with Garnet Valley's offense out of rhythm.

"They are a very well coached team and execute really well so our goal was to make sure we got them out of their flow offensively." Nemetz said.

Coming off of a COVID shortened 3-10 campaign, where they saw three pauses In their season due to COVID protocols, the Lions got off to a slow start, with Garnet out to an 8-2 lead midway through the first. Early on with the Jags in a 3-2 matchup zone, trying to slow them down, the Lions tried putting dents in the zone from downtown, unable to connect, and appearing on edge.

"Our guys admitted they had jitters. Last year we didn't have fans, and having their student section out there, I think we just started off slow and executed the game plan as the game went on."

The Lions offense closed out the first quarter by creating better shots through attacking the gaps in the zone and doubling down on ball movement. A team that mixes and matches different five guard lineups began to get downhill and find momentum. Junior guards Josh Coulanges and Hunter Johnson knifed their way into paint touches, creating for themselves and their teammates, combining for 27 points. The Lions would outscore the Jags 16-10 in the second quarter to go up 28-22, with the momentum in their favor thanks to their balance on the offensive end.

" We just moved the ball faster to attack the gaps and get more open shots. We picked our teammates up when shots weren't falling and the shots eventually fell." said Coulanges, who led the Lions with 14 points.

The Jaguars, who are coming off of their most succesful season in program history with a league title and distict semi-final appearance, scrapped with the Lions on the glass, getting second chances off of offensive rebounds, and also created quality looks as well in the first half, thanks to the drive and kick ability from junior combo guard Max Koehler. Koehler is stepping into the point guard shoes that were left by all-Delco guard Carl Schaller, who is now playing at Gettysburg, and although he frequently got defenders on a hip and created some good opportunities for the Jaguars, they were unable to find their touch from long range. Junior forward Logan McKee also made his prescience felt physically on the glass, bruising down low, and led the Jags with 12 points before fouling out in the fourth.

The Lions came out of the locker room up six and would go onto surrender only five points in the third period, with their defensive intensity and connectedness throttling the momentum further their way, forcing Garnet into six turnovers thanks to stifling ball pressure, and utilizing their length by blitzing ball handlers, as well controlling the passing lanes.

"We made a few adjustments to get ball out of Koehler's hands. He's a really good player, and we wanted to get the ball out of his hands so they couldn't initiate offense, so we started double teaming him a little bit, and it helped us get some more momentum." Said Nemetz.

Feeding off of momentum on the offensive end with the Jaguars now having to guard man to man, the Lions continued to get downhill at will, and added opportunities at the charity stripe. The chemistry displayed by their guards was evident as they played off of each other on the offensive end, getting each other involved in transition, and making the extra pass out of drive and kick situations, forcing Jaguars defenders to make multiple efforts. For Coulanges and his fellow teammates, improving their chemistry was a point of emphasis in the offseason, and continues to be moving forward.

"The chemistry is good. Last year we were really young, and this year it's a lot of the same guys. In practice we compete and we've been spending a lot of time with each other outside of practice. We all know each other really well." Coulanges said.

Competing in what is arguably one of the toughest, traditional high school leagues in the country, getting the first win in non-conference play sets the right tone for a team that's talent is still budding, looking to reap the benefits of their development, and make noise in the Catholic League.

"This game means a lot. " Coulanges said. Right off the bat."