Dominick Foul Shot Sinks Hornets In Berguson Trophy Game

By: Ed Weaver  /  January 7, 2023  /  Photo: Lance Larcom/ntwsportsreport.com

A foul shot by North Penn-Mansfield's Karson Dominick with 2.9 seconds remaining sunk Wellsboro's hopes of erasing a three-game losing streak in a 48-47 loss in the Margaret (Peg) Berguson Memorial Trophy Game on Friday, January 6.

Tied at 47-all after a pair of Conner Adams foul shots with 23.9 seconds remaining, Dominick drove through the lane with 10 seconds remaining, kicked the ball out to Sammy Lawrence. Lawrence's shot came up shot but Dominick was there for the rebound and was then fouled. He made the first shot attempt to break the tie and put the Tigers up one, 48-47. His second shot hit off the front of the rim, but no one boxed him out, allowing him to grab the rebound and run out the clock on the Hornets.

"I'm super happy for the win and super happy to have the Peg Berguson Trophy back," Tiger coach Kipper Burleigh said after the win. "Super happy seeing Jim, Mark, Tim, Luke, and Bruce. It's super special. My first year coaching Jeff was a freshman, coached all four of them, when Luke graduated my youngest was a freshman, and now I'm on my fourth boy. It's been special. To be able to win and get the trophy in my last year coaching is super gratifying for me but I'm most happy for the kids. Tough game, rivalry game, throw out the records, and our kids overcame a tremendous amount of adversity in this game. They never stopped fighting, never stopped scrapping, never stopped believing. They found a way to get it done."

At the start of the game North Penn-Mansfield started off on fire, hitting 9 shots and jumping out to a 20-4 lead. Outside of the fast start, the Tigers found themselves in early foul trouble as Brody Burleigh and Alex Davis picked up two fouls each, forcing the Tigers to go to their bench in the second quarter. Wellsboro's shots finally started falling in the second as they edged the Tigers 12-11 in the quarter, cutting the lead to 31-16 at halftime.

Once the second half started the Hornets started with an 8-2 run, as the Tigers struggled with more foul trouble, mainly Burleigh picking up his third, forcing him to sit. The Hornets ended the quarter outscoring North Penn-Mansfield 18-8, cutting the lead down to 39-34 heading into the fourth quarter. Wellsboro got the lead down to three (43-40) with 5:33 to play then tied it up at 45-all with 2:54 remaining on a mid-range jumper by Adams. After a missed shot in the corner and a rebound by senior Cameron Brought, the Hornets proceeded to run the next 90 seconds off, but couldn't get a clean look at the basket.

North Penn-Mansfield broke the tie as Dominick connected on a pair of foul shots with 47.7 seconds remaining.

"We made it a game but in reality you have to play more than one half," Wellsboro head coach Steve Adams said. "We got down in the hole in the first quarter, we won the next three, but one half of basketball against a quality team like Mansfield isn't going to get you a victory. We talked about playing more team basketball in the second half, that was our big adjustment at halftime, making a few more passes and not just trying to win it ourselves. The effort was out there but we weren't playing with a high degree of intelligence especially with the amount of floor time we've had. It was a tough one, Mansfield is tough over here. We did battle back, so that part's good, but we're not going to live on moral victories right now. We need to get some 'W's'."

Dominick led all scorers with 20 points, Cooper Shaw finished with 11, Davis, Lawrence and Cade Kurzejewski all had 4 points each, Andrew Green added 3 points off the bench, and Burleigh rounded out the scoring with 2 points.

Adams led Wellsboro with 18 points, Brought finished with 14 and 17 rebounds, junior Hayes Campbell had 9 and 7 boards, and senior Peyton McClure and junior Caden Smith finished with 3 points each. Adams added 7 assists, McClure made 4 steals, and junior Ian Hoose grabbed 3 rebounds off the bench.

North Penn-Mansfield edged Wellsboro in the JV game, 34-31. Freshman Luke Rothermel led Wellsboro with 10 points and freshman Jonathan Carl added 8.

North Penn-Mansfield improves to 10-1 (5-0 NTL Large School Division) with the win, including 9 in a row. The Tigers also take a 5-4 series lead in the Berguson Memorial Trophy game and end a two-game losing streak.

The loss is the Hornets' 4th in a row since starting out the season 4-0. Wellsboro (4-4, 3-1 NTL Large School Division) is at Jersey Shore for a non-league game on Monday.