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Sports

Henderson Falls to Coatesville

Coatesville too hot to handle as the Warriors fall, 82-63

COATESVILLE  – As advertised, the Coatesville Red Raiders have speed, skills, defensive intensity and just enough patience to put almost any team in a tough spot, especially on their home court.  learned that the hard way Tuesday night, falling 82-63 to the team that may run away with the Ches-Mont National Division this year and make a run in the District Tournament.

Senior standout Tymeir Miller scored 21 points and he and his teammates forced 21 turnovers with quick feet and fast hands as the Red Raiders finished off a tough five-game start to the season with the convincing victory over the Warriors.  They got it done with a second quarter surge that stretched a three-point lead to 17 on a variety of fast breaks, offensive put backs and short jumpers as Henderson paid dearly for a six-minute span of poor execution.

“That is one athletic, well-coached team,” stated Henderson coach Chris Bruno, with emphasis on the adjectives.  “They know this court.  They know how to space out, work together and find the open man.  They work hard on defense.  We got frantic and they capitalized.”

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The McCormick twins, Chas and Jason, once again led the way for the Warriors, who closed to within 15 at the end of the first half after recovering from the mistake-laden first five minutes of the second period.  But Coatesville then scored the first eight points of the second half with some nifty interior passing and two more steals to put Henderson back on its heels once again.

“Henderson’s got a gutty team.  They played hard and did some nice things,” offered Coatesville coach Jim “Scoogie” Smith, whose team is top-ranked in the area by the West Chester Daily Local.  “We had intensity and hustle.  We did some things better on defense.”  Now 4-1, Coatesville opened the season with a loss to reigning PIAA champion Chester and followed with wins against top-tier teams from Norristown, Reading and Williamsport before starting Ches-Mont play against Henderson.

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The Warriors now fall to 2-3 with the season-opening road trip continuing Thursday night at Bishop Shanahan (7:30 p.m.)

The Warriors did show their guts and toughness in the fourth quarter, when a 21-8 run dropped the deficit to 11 with two minutes left.  Henderson then had possession after two missed free throws, but another steal plus a three-point play by Miller ended any hope of a single-digit final.

“When you dig yourself that deep of a hole, you stop worrying about the score,” Bruno continued.  “We fought hard in the fourth quarter.  We’ll hold our heads high.  Hopefully what we learned tonight with translate into some wins later in the season.”

It was Jason McCormick who did most of the damage in the first half with nine points and his brother collected 14 in the second half before finishing with 20.   Jason ended up with 13 and T.J. White contributed 10 for the Warriors.  Coatesville’s supporting scorers were Leroy Hoggard with 16 points and Eric Trowery with 10.

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