| “We’ve put in too much time together to get flustered and let it all go to waste,” said Franklin's Damon Curry after he and his teammates eliminated Chestnut Ridge from the Class AAA State championships Wednesday night to advance to the state quarterfinals. The 64-57 win was hard fought, keep your head in the game testament to how this team, with eight seniors has worked towards one goal - to win a state championship. "Trust your training," was Franklin coach Jason Fulmer's major advice as his team entered the final quarter with a one-point lead over the Lions. That's what they did for final eight minutes as the Lions employed a full court press, and even though the 3s weren't falling for the Knights, they kept their cool. "We couldn't throw it in the ocean," Fulmer said about the team's long ball attempts. What they could do was stay tough on defense and rely on their training to push back against the pressure from the Lions. "It's a hell of an accomplishment," Fulmer said after the game, complimenting the seniors for making it this far three out of the last four years. Getting there wasn't easy. The day seemed to be conspiring against them. Fulmer said they expected to get to the school around 4:30 for the 6 p.m. start, but the team, and many of the fans, found themselves hung up on the turnpike due to a crash. This gave them 30 fewer minutes to prep for the game once they arrived at 5:15 p.m. Fulmer said the players were out of sync a bit as the game started. "It was a little bit ugly, a lot of distractions, a lot of interruptions.," he said. This led to some walking calls, bad passes and even players bumping into each other. Curry's hot hand early and he and Jalen Wood combined for 17 of the Knight's first quarter points. Despite the struggles, their training pulled them through the tight contest that had the teams consistently only a bucket or two away from each other. Franklin led 21-18 after one and the teams played even in the second to go into the half 36-33. In the third, Chestnut Ridge showed how they earned their spot in the top 16 across the state. Carried predominantly by senior Nate Whysong and his game-high 31 points, the Lions closed the gap to one point by the end three at 46-45. Chase Whysong hit for two to open the fourth and Franklin was trailing for the first time. Damon Curry and Jalen Wood answered with a basket each and everyone was in full fight mode to win the game. Franklin attempted to control the game with 3s but un like the first half, they couldn't get them to fall. Franklin broke a 52-all tie with the shot by Damarco Payne with slightly more than 3 minutes to go. From there, the margin grew a little at a time as Chestnut Ridge had to foul to save time on the clock. Fulmer knows his team's fundamentals and foul shooting is strong.Near the two-minute mark, Cole Buckley hit a jumper and added a plus one. The remainder of Franklin's points came from the free-throw line. Curry, who was at the line twice in the last 30 seconds, reiterated what Fulmer talked about with training. “It’s just routine, nobody’s guarding you. You just want to knock ‘em down,” he said about being at the line in pressure situations. Curry led the Knight's offense with 25 points, including 11 in the opening stanza. Also contributing on offense was Demarco Payne with 13, Wood with 11, Cole Buckley with 10, Gavin Eakin with three, and Dreyden Payne with two. “We had an opportunity to control the game late,” Fulmer said of his players going eight for 11 at the line down the stretch. “We had guys hit foul shots- that’s big.” Fulmer reiterated getting to the Elite 8 in three out of four years of this group of seniors is a major accomplishment, but is fully aware that they haven't gone further. "We'd love to get over the hump and that's the mission. |         |
Now they set their sights on Deer Lakes, who defeated Forest Hills 67-51. The two will meet on Saturday at a time and place to be determined.
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