Battling injuries and sickness, Conestoga rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to push Lower Merion into overtime before falling short, 70-63, in a Central League clash of powerhouses.
Playing without senior Sam Gibbs, who was wearing a boot on his injured leg, the Pioneers still managed to put four players in double figures.
Senior Ben Robinson led the way with 20 points and 5 rebounds followed by juniors Shane O`Brien, Cory Hogan and Rowan Miller with 15, 13 and 12 points respectively.
Miller notched 7 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Hogan, who was in Urgent Care with flu symptoms just hours before the game, took two charges and added 2 assists and a steal while O’Brien, also battling sickness, had a team-leading 7 rebounds along with 2 assists and a steal.
The visitors’ press caused the Pioneers problems in the first half as they trailed 30-20 at intermission. Stoga fought back to outscore its opponent by 38-28 in next two periods to send the game into overtime.
“I thought we fought really hard coming back from a 10-point deficit,” said coach Sean Forcine. “We played with tons of energy but give them (Lower Merion) credit. They executed down the stretch and hit their foul shots.”