Windber rallies to knock off rival Conemaugh Township

DAVIDSVILLE -- Windber held only five leads throughout the entirety of its WestPAC North showdown against rival Conemaugh Township on Thursday.

However, its final advantage, which came with 2:22 remaining in the game on a John Shuster bucket in the paint, proved to be the difference as the Ramblers held on for a 57-51 victory to improve to 10-2 on the season.

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"Seems like every time the two of us get together, it comes down to those last couple of possessions," said Windber coach Steve Slatcoff. "Fortunately (Thursday), we were able to make some more plays than they were down the stretch."

Senior John Shuster tallied 11 of his 15 points in the final frame, proving dividends when it mattered most.

"We're competitors. We don't like to lose," Shuster said. "We just compete to the end. Don't count us out until the very end."

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For the second time this week, the Ramblers erased a fourth quarter deficit to earn a victory. Windber rallied from nine down to start the fourth against Portage on Tuesday, eventually winning in overtime.

Windber trailed 40-36 to begin the fourth on Thursday but used an 8-0 run to close the game in style.

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Conemaugh Township (7-3) led after the first three quarters but could not close the deal on its home court.

"When we needed to execute, we didn't. That's it," Conemaugh Township coach Chuck Lesko said. "Give Windber credit. Maybe they didn't allow us to execute our stuff, but we definitely did some uncharacteristic things. Hopefully, we learn from it."

Conemaugh Township held a 20-12 advantage after one quarter of play. The team used an 8-0 spurt and closed the frame on a 7-2 run to take a favorable lead.

It was a wild finish to the quarter as Windber's Blake Klosky was called for a travel in the process of knocking down a step-back three. With 0.4 seconds remaining, Conemaugh Township's Alex Gregory hit a three from behind half court as time expired.

The gritty Ramblers battled back in the second. Windber outscored Conemaugh Township 16-9 in the frame and took a 28-27 lead with 7.8 seconds left. However, Gregory went coast to coast and scored before the buzzer once again to give Conemaugh Township a 29-28 lead at the break.

Conemaugh Township held its largest lead of the game 38-28, on back-to-back 3-pointers by Tanner Shirley and one by Jon Updyke to start the third. Shirley paced the team with a game-high 17 points while Updyke finished with 10 points and eight rebounds.

It appeared Conemaugh Township was going to run away with it but managed only one more score in the quarter on a Declan Mainhart bucket. He finished with 11 points.

Conemaugh Township was clinging to a 40-36 lead.

With 3:05 remaining in the fourth, Shuster scored and was fouled. He completed the 3-point play to tie the game at 49 apiece. Evan Brady tied the game once again for the Ramblers, picking up a loose ball for the score. He finished the night with 10 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Brady added another bucket to give Windber a 55-51 lead and put the game out of reach.

Blake Klosky, who was playing just his fourth game since returning from injury, iced the contest with two late free throws. He finished with 10 points and seven rebounds. Klosky's younger brother, Grady, recorded 15 points.

Windber lost a crop of talent from its District 5 Class 2A runner-up team a season ago. However, the new-look Ramblers are making a name for themselves and are a serious WestPAC and District 5 title contender.

"The biggest compliment I can give to our team right now is that we play very well together, very unselfish," Slatcoff said. "That speaks volumes to them. The start that we're off too, we're taking it one game at a time. It really is just the next opponent up, really focusing and concentrating on what we are going to do to be successful against them."

Adam Ripple is the Daily American sports editor. He can be reached at 814-444-5926. Follow him on Twitter @ARipple_DAsport. Follow Daily American Sports on Facebook and @dailyamericanmedia on Instagram.

This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Shuster, Windber clutch down stretch in win over Conemaugh Township