Christopher Edwards and the Palmyra Cougars understood that racking up another Mid-Penn Keystone victory Friday meant limiting one of the division’s top scorers.
Mechanicsburg guard Lukas Rhodes would eventually get his moment, but it was Edwards and the Cougars who stole the show.
Palmyra’s big poured in a game-high 32 points on the road, leading the Cougars to a commanding 51-27 triumph.
Bracing for a second-half comeback after the Cougars (14-4) generated a 23-12 lead at halftime, Mechanicsburg’s struggles vs. Palmyra’s defense and style continued.
Rhodes, however, finally got Mechanicsburg on the board late in the third quarter, dropping an 18-footer from the left wing that pressed his career scoring mark to 1,000.
Rhodes, who totaled a team-high 10 points, became the fifth player to reach the mark in program history.
STARS
Edwards chalked up the game’s first 9 points as Pete Conrad’s division challenger dug in. The Wildcats (8-9) would manage just three field goals in the first 16 minutes. Still, the margin stayed relatively tight.
To open the third, Palmyra used a Quinton Townsend slash to the bucket and Edwards drop in to extend the lead to 15. Rhodes would stop the bleeding with his milestone shot from the left wing soon after.
By the time the fourth quarter began, Daniel Baldo’s pull-up jumper had Palmyra up 30-14. Edwards popped for 15 of Palmyra’s 19 points in the final period. Townsend and Alex Dorta chipped in 5 points apiece in the win.
GAME-WINNING MOMENT
The Cougars, leading 39-24 midway through the fourth, went on a 12-0 run to close out the Wildcats.
THEY SAID IT
“Right now, it’s upsetting that we lost but I’m proud of myself for getting to 1,000. Now, it’s in the past and we have to get ready for Tuesday. My next focus is to get us in the playoffs. Since the first game of the season, I’ve been tracking it. It’s a huge weight off my shoulders.” -- Wildcats’ guard Lukas Rhodes
“We’re always defensive-minded in the way we play. Lukas Rhodes is an amazing player, so we knew if we could limit him we would have a great shot. Props to him. We knew he would get 1,000 tonight, but we just knew we wanted to win also.” -- Palmyra’s Christopher Edwards
“All year long, defenses have been designed to stop Lukas and [forward Sam DeLuca]. Tonight, I think they took pride in not letting him get it against us. You add that normal pressure on Lukas, and the pressure of reaching 1,000 points, I think we all got caught kind of watching and waiting, holding our breath. Pete is a great coach, and they are a very good team. They execute their game plan and do what they do.” -- Mechanicsburg coach Kevin Rutherford
“Lukas is a great young man. Not one time as I felt like he’s been a selfish player. He’s made the right basketball play more times than not. When you’re a scorer like that, and he can flat out score the ball, it’s not the easiest thing to do. He’s done it the right way. I’m happy for him.” -- Rutherford
Palmyra 12-11-9-19 -- 51
Mechanicsburg 6-6-6-9 -- 27
COUGARS (51) -- Quinton Townsend 2-0-5, Anthony Mansfield 1-0-2, Trey Hilbert 0-1-1, Alex Dorta 1-2-5, Christopher Edwards 13-3-32, Daniel Baldo 2-0-4, Eli Becker 1-0-2. 3-point goals: Townsend, Dorta, Edwards 3. Totals: 20-6-51.
WILDCATS (27) -- Sam Burch 1-1-4, Josh Smith 1-2-4, Spencer Nolan 1-0-2, Rashawn Early-Holton 2-2-6, Lukas Rhodes 3-4-10, Seth Brubaker 0-1-1. 3-point goals: Burch. Totals: 8-10-27.
Follow Eric Epler on Twitter -- @threejacker
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