KITTANNING, Pa. (EY/D9) — They kept coming, even when things looked the bleakest.
Down by 10 after one quarter.
Down by 12 several times, including late.
The Redbank Valley boys basketball team continued to battle.
Ultimately, though, Kennedy Catholic was just too adept at plunging daggers into the Bulldogs’ hearts with a clutch shot here or a defensive stop there.
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By the time the final buzzer sounded, one of the most successful seasons in Redbank Valley history was over with a 61-56 loss to the Golden Eagles in the second round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs Saturday afternoon at Armstrong High School.
“We had a great season — I’m still smiling, you know,” said Redbank Valley coach Emmanuel Marshall. “I’m not disappointed because these boys played 100% and they played like that all year. I’m proud of them. I’m proud to be their coach.”
For Kennedy Catholic (23-4), it was an unusual grind. Usually when the Golden Eagles jump out to a double-digit lead so quickly, it’s not long before they can break the will of their opponent.
That never happened against Redbank Valley, no matter how hard Kennedy Catholic tried.
“They made us work for everything,” said KC first-year coach Ken Madison. “We’d get up 10, 12, 14 and they’d make a run. They would not go away. A lead like that can quickly go to 20, but they were able to weather those storms.”
In the end, there was just too much bad weather for Redbank to deal with.
Kennedy Catholic came out of the gate like the Golden Knights have all season: aggressive. It helped them bounce back from an early 8-4 hole with a 15-1 run to end the quarter.
Redbank Valley (23-5) was able to keep that lead at 10 by the half and cut it down to three, 43-40, near the end of the third quarter.
The Golden Eagles, though, went on another run.
The 9-0 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer by Gio Magestro, put the advantage back to 12 at 52-40 with 5:40 left in the game.
Again, Redbank didn’t fold.
The Bulldogs got that lead all the way down to two at 56-54 following a layup by Marquese Gardlock.
Redbank had the ball again with a chance to tie, but couldn’t convert.
Then, the final dagger.
Elijah Harden drained a 3-pointer from the wing with 50 seconds remaining to put Kennedy Catholic up by five again. Redbank could get no closer.
“We hit big shots,” Madison said. “That’s the luxury of having three seniors who can stay composed and who have been in those situations. It’s something that we practice every day — we put situations on the clock — and they were prepared for it.”
Magestro led the Golden Eagles with 19 points. Harden added 15 and Malik Lampkins-Rudolph 13.
Owen Clouse had a big day for Redbank Valley with 16 points. Marquese Gardlock added 13 and Chris Marshall 10 for the Bulldogs.
Gardlock and the Marshalls had ties to some of the Kennedy Catholic players.
Coach Marshall lived for a time with Lampkins-Rudolph’s father and said he watched Malik grow up. Gardlock and Chris Marshall played on the same AAU teams with several of the Golden Eagles.
“Those are kids they grew up playing with, playing AAU with,” Coach Marshall said. “I coached quite a few of those kids. I’ve known Malik since he was a little baby. We’re all friends. It was a good time, We had fun out there playing together. Somebody has to lose, that’s all.”
Kennedy Catholic, the District 10 champs, will take on District 6 champion Portage Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Portage ended the Golden Eagles’ season last year.
It is the end of the basketball road for Redbank’s “Big Three” seniors, Bryson Bain, Gardlock and Chris Marshall.
Bain and Marshall both surpassed 1,000 career points in the same game this season.
Bain will play baseball at Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Gardlock football at California University of Pennsylvania; Marshall just signed his letter of intent Friday to play football at Clarion University.
They helped take the Bulldogs boys basketball program to the next level, along with fellow seniors Tyson Adams and Jack Shaffer.
“We’ve been building this program for quite awhile and now the bar is set,” Coach Marshall said. “I think these younger guys will continue to play good basketball.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
