K.C. guard has bright future

Golden Eagle senior Nolan Reimold will play baseball at Bowling Green.
By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
HERSHEY, Pa. -- Nolan Reimold is trading in his basketball for a bat and glove.
With his high school basketball career ending Friday in the PIAA Class A state championship game, the Kennedy Catholic High senior now will focus on a baseball career at Bowling Green.
"I played baseball with a summer team, and I got a lot of looks," Reimold, a first baseman/outfielder, whose career flourished his junior year with BB Rooners.
But Reimold's basketball career won't be forgotten.
The 6-foot-4 guard, who averaged 20 points per game, helped lead the Golden Eagles to their fifth straight state championship game.
Their hope for five consecutive titles, however, ended with a 69-50 loss to Scotland School at Hersheypark Arena.
Still, as important as Reimold has been to Kennedy Catholic, Scotland's defense on him Friday was a key factor in the game's outcome.
Reimold, whose older brother John also starred for the Golden Eagles, was held to seven points on 3-of-16 shooting. His struggles came one game after he poured in 30 in a state semifinal victory over Monessen.
Key to game: "I thought the biggest key is the fact that they locked Reimold up," Kennedy Catholic coach Tim Loomis said. "To me, that was the single most important factor in the game."
Taking on most of the defensive load of Reimold was Scotland 6-3 senior Charles Davis, who scored 12 points.
"[Davis] is stronger than he looks," Loomis said. "He covered [Reimold] up in the post area, contained him on the dribble. Things that we had to do to Davis, Davis did to us."
Scotland's ability to play sound defense is a byproduct of its quickness, athleticism and desire to frustrate its opponent.
"They can jump," Reimold said. "Whenever I tried to shoot the ball, I had a hand in my face. I couldn't get a clean look at the basket. It was real frustrating."
Which was exactly what Scotland coach Gerald Wilson wanted against Kennedy Catholic's standouts -- Reimold and senior guard Dan McElhinny, who was able to break free for a team-high 21 points.
"If they were going to beat us, they were going to beat us with a hand in their face," Wilson said. "I just think we disrupted them."
richesson@vindy.com