Cedar Cliff continues hot start with home-gym win over Mechanicsburg

CAMP HILL — In 1995, Kevin Rutherford was a senior at Mechanicsburg, and a co-captain on the Wildcats’ District III 3A championship team, the first District III title in program history. Mike Gaffey was the coach at Palmyra that year, and strategically brought his team over to see what a Mid-Penn team looks like winning on the Hersheypark Arena floor.

Now, 30 years later, Rutherford’s son, Baylee, is on the Mechanicsburg freshman team, and is the head coach at Cedar Cliff. Gaffey is in his fourth season as the Wildcats’ head coach, and delivered the program their first District III title since 1995 two seasons ago.

On Wednesday night at Cedar Cliff, the two battled in a close game through four quarters and overtime for an eventual 76-72 win for the Colts.

“I’m emotional, because it means a lot,” said Rutherford. “These guys are my family, this is my family. (Cedar Cliff) took me in, when I didn’t have a place to go. I love these guys.”

THE STARS

Early on, senior guard Jacob Eager proved he would be an impact player for Mechanicsburg. He made three three-pointers and added two field goals for a first-quarter total of 13 points. By halftime, he had totaled 22.

Eager went on to score six more in the third for a total of 28, but registered a second technical foul midway through the quarter that sidelined him for the remainder of the game.

Donovan Despines chipped in nicely off the bench for Mechanicsburg, draining a three in the third quarter, and adding six more points in the fourth. His six points came in clutch for the Wildcats, adding key buckets when it mattered the most.

The Colts were led by Mo Ahmed, who totaled 22. The senior also made a free throw in overtime.

Fellow senior Jayvion Walker added 19 points for the Colts, including seven in the fourth quarter.

GAME-DECIDING MOMENTS

Tied at 67, Cedar Cliff got an inbounds pass from in front of their own bench, a key chance to score in 5.2 seconds to finish the game in regulation. Tough defense by the Wildcats limited chance, capped off by an intercepted pass from the Wildcats’ Alex Pida as time expired. The defensive stop kept the game deadlocked and sent it into overtime.

In the bonus period, Amin Ahmed stepped up for a key pair of free throws to give Cedar Cliff the edge. Ahmed, a sophomore, is 0-4 this season at the line, and knew he needed to sink his first from the charity stripe this season at this moment.

“I’ve never been so nervous going to the free throw line,” said Ahmed. “And I missed my first one and it felt so heavy. I didn’t really think I would make the second one, but, my teammates picked me up, told me I could do it, and I ended up making my first three throw of the year.”

Ahmed also picked up the scraps on Walker’s missed free throw later on. Ahmed drove baseline and finished at the rack, giving Cedar Cliff a three-point lead in overtime.

Ahmed got another chance at the line in overtime to sink another free throw on the season, while his second trip to the line was far less stressful. He went 1-for-2 in his second trip, tacking on to a three-point Colts lead that transitioned to four, for a 76-72 final score.

THEY SAID IT

“I feel like they bring a lot of the energy most games. Before the games, they hype us up at school. They’re just like family.” – Amin Ahmed on crowd impact

“I was talking to (Mike Gaffey) before the game. Him and I both were like ‘We hate the Keystone, there’s no off nights. You look at Palmyra beating Lower Dauphin, and they scored 70 points. Anytime you get a win in the Keystone, it’s a hard fought battle, and it’s huge. We’re 3-0 in the Keystone to start the season, we had one (division) win last year.” – Kevin Rutherford on key division wins

Mechanicsburg – 17-16-19-15-5 – 72

Cedar Cliff – 14-16-15-22-9 – 76

Mechanicsburg (72) – Jacob Eager (27), Noah Apple (10), Donovan Despines (9), Colten Rodgers (9), Chase Weiand (8), Alex Pida (5), Daniel Kurtz (4)

Cedar Cliff (76) – Mo Ahmed (22), Jayvion Walker (19), Troy Toray (17), Amin Ahmed (10), Garrett Weaver (3), Julius MacIntire (3), Amarion Autry (2)