PENNSYLVANIA Business is good for Sharon; Tigers turn fourth profit

The Sharon High basketball team was in the money with an 88-52 romp past Mercer.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
SHARON -- Business for the Sharon High basketball team is combining a wide-open, fast-paced offense with a pressure defense.
Friday at Tiger Gymnasium, business was good as the Tigers downed Mercer County Athletic Conference foe Mercer, 88-52.
The Mustangs (2-5) hung tough and only trailed by a pair (16-14) at the first turn, but the Sharon (4-2) pressure took its toll.
The Tigers stretched their lead to 16 at the halftime and extended it to 34 after three quarters.
"I have to give all the credit to my assistants," Sharon coach Jim Hoy said. "They coach the defense and I really don't do a whole lot around here.
"They do a good job of breaking down the film and setting up our traps and jump switches, and they did an excellent job preparing our team."
No happy camper: Mercer coach Mike Williams was anything but a happy camper with the performance of his Mustangs.
"They wanted to get us to play that up-tempo, race-horse type game and we went right along with them," Williams said. "I was not at all happy with our composure because we were down by 16 at the half and we shouldn't have been down by more than maybe six.
"That third quarter was just horrendous," Williams said. "They run that little wheel where they penetrate and then kick it out.
"As I am standing here, that team is a team that might be 10 points better than we are, but certainly not 20," Williams said.
Pressure defense: The Sharon pressure took its toll in turnovers leading to easy buckets.
When the Mustangs did manage to work the ball down court and get it inside, they still couldn't finish the job.
Several players took their turn at leading the Tigers offense. With Luke Schweiss and Mike Schneider experiencing personal foul difficulties in the first half, it was O'Brien Bridges and Duston Golub who took charge.
Golub hits 26: Bridges finished with 14 points and Golub led all scorers with 26.
Schweiss finished with 20 points and Schneider came on down the stretch to wind up with 13.
As far as playing the up-tempo style of play, Hoy admits that it can sometimes give you fits.
"As a coach, it is a nightmare to coach like this because you don't know what is going to happen next," Hoy said.
While Sharon had a quartet of players hit for doubles, Mercer had a pair with double figure totals as Sean Berti finished strong to wind up with 21 and Mike Sankey added 13.