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Little Lions overcome battle with Wolverines

WINGATE – For the second straight year the State College boys basketball team met up with the tough Woodland Hills team in the State post season.
And for the second year in a row, the Little Lions has what it took to advance past the Wolverines.
In this meeting, State College used a balanced scoring attack and mixed it with a strong defensive effort to come out of the PIAA first round contest victorious, 73-65.
Leading the way defensively was Drew Friberg who posted a game-high 24 points.
State College had a total of four players finish in double-figure points.
Besides Drew Friberg’s 24, his brother Tommy finished with 14.
Guard Keaton Ellis was the distributor and also posted 12.
Teammate Ryan McNulty missed a double-double by a rebound as he finished with nine boards and 13 points.
Also providing a strong defensive effort was the hard nosed play underneath by Brandon Clark. He finished with eight.
The Wolverines were led by Keandre Bowels, who was almost automatic from beyond the 3-point line, with a 20-point effort. Out of the 20 points, 12 came from four 3-pointers.
Tough man underneath, Khalil Wilson scored 14-hard earned points while teammate Asante Britt finished the double-digit scorers with 13. His three triples in the fourth quarter helped keep Woodland Hills in striking distance before fouling out.
State College seemed to have a comfortable 54-40 lead as the fourth got underway but that would quickly chance as the Wolverines quickly sizzled from beyond the arc.
Drew Friberg got the final stanza started with a runner in the lane, upping it to 56-40.
Bowels got his team’s scoring run going with a triple with 7:10 left.
On the following possession, Woodland Hills forced a turnover and quickly took the ball back up the court.
This time the group worked the ball around to Britt, who hit nothing but net and quickly brought his team back to within striking distance at 56-46.
After State College missed two from the charity stripe, the Wolverines struck again from outside. Britt once again was automatic, closing the score to a 56-49 contest with still 6:20 left.
But State College had some sharpshooters of their own. McNulty extended the Little Lions lead back to a 10-point contest as he roped a triple of his own.
From there, the Little Lions scored the next four points, upping its lead to a 13-point 62-49 advantage.
The fourth would be a game of mini runs for both teams.
After State College’s 4-point spree, the Wolverines came back with a 4-point run of their own to cut the lead to under double digits.
With the comeback attempt, Woodland Hills proceeded to call a time out to set up its plans for its defense.
However, State was able to overcome the stingy Wolverine defense, posting another 4-0. The Little Lions got buckets from Tommy Friberg and a running scoop shot by Max Benner to take a 66-53 lead with only 2:30 left.
Woodland Hills chipped away at the State College lead, getting as close as a 6-point game with just 26 seconds left.
But the Little Lions were able grind things out the rest of the way, holding onto the 73-65 victory.
It was a battle from the very beginning as the two offenses produced a 36-point first quarter.
Woodland Hills would hold onto the 19-17 advantage.
But State College would bounce back and take the lead at the half, 34-30.
State Colllege advances to a Wednesday contest while Woodland Hills finishes its season with a 20-5 record.

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