Crowd at Rockne was great to see on Tuesday night, even if I got "decked''

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/

FROM KEITH GROLLER

Maybe the people who stood in a long ticket line stretching up the ramp in front of Rocke Hall and all the way to 4th Street on Tuesday night didn't like it, but I loved seeing a long line of people waiting to get into a high school basketball game again.

It used to happen around here all the time, especially between city schools in Allentown. But it doesn't anymore. At least not until playoff time, and even then it's hardly a guarantee.

While Parkland-CCHS was the most anticipated game of the year, I had my doubts it would draw a special crowd. Considering the bitterly cold weather and the fact that both local cable companies were showing it on live TV, I thought the crowd would be better than average, but nothing special.

I was wrong and I am very glad I was.

These two talented teams deserved to experience that kind of spirited atmosphere.

Of course, the crowd did have some consequences for me.

Even though I left Rockne Hall long after most of the fans because I had to get all of the final stats and then conduct interviews with both coaches and a couple of CCHS players, the parking deck across the street from Sacred Heart Hospital was jammed by the time I got there.

With a 10 o'clock deadline looming and no place to go for a while, I got out my laptop and did the boxscore and the game story from the passenger seat of my car.

So, if it's not a Pulitzer prize winner of a story, hopefully you can understand that it was written in not the most cozy of conditions, although I did start the car and turn on the heater or else my fingers would have gotten frostbite while I typed away.

Here's a link to the story and an excellent photo galleryhttp://www.mcall.com/sports/mc-central-catholic-parkland-lvc-boys-basketball-20140128,0,7022642.story

I guess the large crowd was a surprise to the folks who run the Sacred Heart parking deck as well because they only had one guy collecting the money as you made your way out. I am sure there were not a lot of happy people who wanted to get home quickly and couldn't.

Although the story for the newspaper was done in cramped style, I still was most pleased to see the big crowd -- especially so many students -- at the game and hope we'll see more of the same as we conclude the regular season and get set for the league and district tournaments.

Here are brief recaps from the other LVC games tonight followed by the updated standings:

Allen 60, Whitehall 46 -- Maybe having to play their fourth game in five nights wore down the Zephyrs, or maybe it was the big offensive output by Daiyon Barnett who led the Canaries with 16 points, including four 3-pointers. I don't what it was, but this result surprised me. And it was a missed opportunity for Whitehall to gain ground on Parkland in the LVC North.

Dieruff 52, Becahi 44 -- I give up trying to figure out either one of these teams because there's no way I expected the Huskies to beat the Golden Hawks, especially without either Tyler Kohl or Matt Riddick. And especially not after Becahi bolted out to a 22-10 lead in the first quarter. Both teams are now firmly on the District 11 playoff bubble, and Becahi is still in the thick of the LVC East divisional race. Sophomore Tajon Roberts continues to be a scoring threat for the Huskies. He tallied 21 in this one.

Emmaus 57, Freedom 51 -- This game was surprisingly competitive considering Emmaus had won 11 of its last 12 coming and Freedom had lost eight of its previous 10 games. The Patriots came back from eight down at halftime to tie it entering the fourth quarter, but couldn't sustain the momentum. Joey Polczynski and Nate Feiertag combined for 33 points. David Williams had a well-rouned effort for Freedom (14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks).

Liberty 61, Northampton 34 -- Hurricanes still very much in contention in the LVC East with one more spin through the division members coming up. Darius Jones scored a career-high 12 in this one and Jaevan Dobbins had 13.

Easton and Nazareth had the night off, but will meet Wednesday night in Nazareth.

LEHIGH VALLEY CONFERENCE STANDINGS

WEST DIVISION

Team,                        LVC     All

X-Central Catholic         10-0  17-0

X-Emmaus                   8-3    14-4

Allen                            6-4    10-7

Dieruff                         3-6     8-8

NORTH DIVISION

Team                       LVC     All

X-Parkland                7-3     14-3

X-Whitehall               6-5     11-7

Nazareth                  2-7    6-10

Northampton            0-9     2-14

EAST DIVISION

Team                 LVC     All

Becahi                 5-5     8-9

Easton                 4-5     10-7

Freedom              5-6     6-11

Liberty                 4-7     8-8

X--Clinched District 11 berth.