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By John Hartsock
EBENSBURG — Jim Ronan’s Penn Cambria High School boys basketball program returns a decent nucleus this year from the team that advanced all the way to the semifinal round of the PIAA Class 3A playoffs last March.
The Panthers did that after winning their second straight District 6 championship.
As good as the recent past has been for Penn Cambria, though, this year’s team has a strong desire to carve out its own identity.
With three players scoring in double figures, Penn Cambria got the 2023-24 season off to an excellent start by rolling past Cambria Heights, 75-47, in the first round of the Ron Davidson Basketball Tournament Friday night at the Central Cambria High School gymnasium.
The win earned the Panthers a berth in Saturday’s 12:15 p.m. tournament championship game against host Central Cambria, which advanced with a 59-54 first-round victory over Conemaugh Township Friday night.
Senior guard Easton Semelsberger scored a game-high 18 points, while junior guard Gavin Harrold added 13 and sophomore guard Caden Gibbons chipped in 10 for Penn Cambria, which used an eight-point run to build a 28-20 halftime lead before gaining considerable separation in the third quarter, which the Panthers carried, 18-12, to take a 46-32 advantage into the final period.
“We have 12 guys on our roster who are very similar in athleticism – strong and fast,” Ronan said. “All of them have that pit bull mentality, and all of them want minutes on the floor, and they all know that they’re going to have to do something out there in order to get those extra minutes.
“Last season is always going to be a special one for this program, but these guys are all hungry to leave their own legacy,” Ronan added.
After a jumper by Heights senior guard Parker Farabaugh tied the score at 20-20 late in the second quarter, Penn Cambria reeled off eight straight points for the 28-20 lead at intermission.
Harrold got the rally going with a putback bucket, then senior Carter McDermott cashed in a layup after a steal by Blake Lilly. Harrold then came up with two consecutive steals for layups to cap off the Penn Cambria run.
“Penn Cambria has a really physically strong team and they kind of knocked us off the ball when they used their defensive pressure and went on that 8-0 run at the end of the first half,” Heights coach Eric Nagel said.
Semelsberger said that it took awhile for the Panthers to overcome some opening-game nerves.
“We got the jitters out in the first half, and we pulled it together and worked well in the second half,” Semelsberger said.
The Panthers rode the momentum from that late second-quarter run into the third period, when they put the game away.
After Heights had drawn to within 30-25 early in the third quarter, Gibbons drained a 3-pointer from the top of the circle for Penn Cambria, and Semelsberger followed with a trey from the right side.
McDermott’s two free throws and Semelsberger’s putback expanded Penn Cambria’s lead to a commanding 15 points, 40-25, and the Panthers more than held serve the rest of the way. They closed strong, carrying the fourth quarter, 29-15.
“We started off a little slow but in the second half, we picked it up as a team,” Harrold said. “We started to rebound, we got a lot of points in transition, and we were able to increase our lead.”
Heights got a team-high 12 points from junior Cameron Abrams and 10 points apiece from seniors Reese Garrison and Parker Farabaugh.
The Highlanders’ football team advanced to the PIAA Class 1A quarterfinals last Saturday, and some of the football players are also members of the school’s basketball team, which got a late start in practice this year.
“After having only four practices, we played well in spurts tonight,” Nagel said. “We love playing Penn Cambria, because they’re a really good team, and a game like this gives us an idea of where we are at as a team.”
CAMBRIA HEIGHTS (47): Weiland 1 3-8 5, Farabaugh 4 0-0 10, Nelen 0 0-2 0, Yeckley 2 0-0 4, Garrison 4 0-0 10, Rogal 0 0-0 0, Abrams 4 3-4 12, Nagel 1 1-2 4, Lobick 1 0-0 2, Kubat 0 0-0 0, Douthitt 0 0-0 0, Leamer 0 0-0 0. Totals – 17 7-16 47.
PENN CAMBRIA (75): Harrold 6 0-0 13, E. Semelsberger 7 2-3 18, McDermott 2 2-2 6, Gibbons 4 1-1 10, Cherico 2 0-0 6, Lilly 1 0-0 2, Farabaugh 2 0-0 5, Plunkett 0 0-0 0, L. Semelsberger 3 0-0 8, Strittmatter 2 0-0 4, Hooper 1 0-0 3. Totals – 30 5-6 75.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Cambria Heights 10 10 12 15–47
Penn Cambria 13 15 18 29–75
3-point goals: Cambria Heights 6 (Farabaugh 2, Garrison 2, Abrams, Weiland). Penn Cambria 10 (E. Semelsberger 2, Cherico 2, L. Semelsberger 2, Gibbons, Harrold, Farabaugh, Hooper).
Officials: Neil Cobaugh, Tom Kegg, Wayne Warful.
CC advances
EBENSBURG — Central Cambria advanced to the Ron Davidson Roundball Classic final with a 59-54 win over Conemaugh Township behind Grady Snyder’s 31 points.
Connor Seranko added 14 points for the Red Devils, who will play Penn Cambria in the final.
CONEMAUGH TOWNSHIP (54): Updyke 11 0-0 23, Dinyar 5 3-3 14, Lohr 1 0-0 3, Matera 4 1-1 9, Stanko 0 3-4 3, Kane 1 0-0 2, McClemons 0 0-0 0. Totals — 22 7-8 54.
CENTRAL CAMBRIA (59): Snyder 12 7-14 31, Serenko 5 2-2 14, Iacono 2 0-0 6, Dill 1 0-0 2, Swope 2 2-4 6. Totals — 22 11-20 59.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Conemaugh Township 8 8 21 17 — 54
Central Cambria 19 12 13 15 — 59
3-point goals: Conemaugh Township 3 (Updyke, Dinyar, Lohr); Central Cambria 4 (Serenko 2, Iacono 2).
Records: Conemaugh Township (0-1); Central Cambria (1-0).