Eagles’ size, defense slow Railroaders

By Dan King

Hadley-Luzerne’s defense and size were on full display during its 69-54 win over Whitehall last Brian McLaughlin defends Hadley's Jesse DeMarshThursday.

The Eagles’ defense stifled the prolific outside shooting of Whitehall for a majority of the first half.

“When you’re playing a team that relies on the outside shot, it was to our advantage that they were desperate to look for that shot and used a lot of clock, and we forced a lot of turnovers,” Eagles’ Head Coach Gary Wilson said.

Particularly the second quarter doomed the Railroaders, as the Eagles outscored them 17-6 that quarter.

“Early on their defense was tight on us and we couldn’t get clean looks, and the looks we were getting obviously weren’t going in,” Whitehall Coach Keith Redmond said.

The Railroaders would come out stronger in the second half and get the game back into single digits, thanks in large part to some scoring on the inside.

“In the second half we did a better job penetrating the zone, which got us some cleaner looks,” Redmond added, “I think Danny St. Clair was a great force on the inside today and we got Brian McLaughlin back on track shooting the ball.”

St. Clair would finish with seven and McLaughlin led Whitehall with 19; Justin Hoagland added 13 for Whitehall.

Three Eagles were in double figures. Mike Deuel recorded a double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, Scott Broekhuizen and Jesse DeMarsh added 22 and 16 points, respectively.

Despite a much better second half, the Railroaders weren’t able to dig themselves out of the first half hole and the Eagles were able to stymie Whitehall’s momentum

“We took a couple of timeouts to remind ourselves of composure,” Wilson added. “Earlier in the season, we would have let that game get away.”

That composure, combined with the size and length of the Eagles’ defenders, allowed Hadley-Luzerne to pull away.

“The kids played well I thought, but it’s tough to match up against that kind of size,” Redmond stated.

Wilson attributed his team’s size to the success in the game, as well.

“We’re long and lanky, we play what we call ‘prongy,’ regardless of what defense we’re in, we like to get our prongs in the lane and disrupt the passing lanes, and we have the long arms to do it,” Wilson said.

Two days prior, the Railroaders were upset by Hartford by a 56-40 score. Forty points is the least the Railroaders have scored on the season.

Only Hoagland was in double figures against Hartford, with 15 points. Ethan Tyler had a great game for the Tanagers, with a game high 27 points, and Donovan Farley added 13.

The two losses drop Whitehall to 4-8 in the league and 5-9 overall. The Railroaders will host Fort Ann (9-2, 11-2) tomorrow, JV tips at 5:30 p.m. and varsity starts at 7 p.m.