Deer Lakes dials up long-distance offense in win over rival Burrell
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Friday, January 24, 2025 | 10:44 PM
As if Deer Lakes needed another 3-point shot Friday night in its 71-49 Section 1-4A boys basketball victory at Burrell.
The Lancers sank a season-high 11 from long range. Sophomore guard Evan Moore made six of them, including four of the team’s total of eight before halftime.
But he’d have liked to have added to the total just the same — and he might have, had his on-target lob shot from in front of the Deer Lakes bench beaten the third-quarter buzzer.
But the officials, without the benefit of a replay, waved it off.
“We’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting for that,” Deer Lakes coach Albie Fletcher said. “We’ve shown the ability in practice and in spurts in some games. We did a great job of getting the ball to the open guy tonight and then knocking them down. We really found each other well. I was really proud of them.”
The Moore brothers — Evan, with 22 points mainly from the perimeter, and senior Nate with 17 down low in the paint — led No. 4 Deer Lakes (15-3, 8-1), which entered the night locked in a tie with No. 2 Knoch for the section lead.
J.T. McCue added 13 for the Lancers, who won their third consecutive game since their only section loss Jan. 14 at North Catholic.
“We had a bad second quarter against North Catholic, and they’re a good team,” Fletcher said. “You take that quarter away, and our film looked pretty good. We’ve been preaching, ‘Four quarters. Play a complete game.’ We’ve been working on it, knowing that the playoffs aren’t too far off.”
Deer Lakes completed a two-game sweep of Burrell (6-10, 3-6), which was led by Tucker Bitar’s 15 points. D.J. Cosentino added 11 for the Bucs, who have lost three in a row and six of their past eight.
“We’ve been in a little bit of a slump, but we came into the season inexperienced with just one returning starter,” Burrell coach Mike Fantuzzo said. “You never want just a learning year. Hopefully, they can take away a lot from the experience of playing some of these elite teams in our section. We just have to try to figure it out.”
Deer Lakes jumped in front at the start and never trailed. The Lancers, on the strength of their accurate 3-point shooting, built a 13-9 lead after the first quarter and overwhelmed Burrell in the second, outscoring the Bucs 25-10 to take a 38-19 halftime lead.
The margin expanded to 57-33 after three periods, not counting Evan Moore’s late 3-pointer.
“They outworked us in every part of the game,” Fantuzzo said. “You know what you get with Deer Lakes. They’re hard-nosed and they play physical. They’re a tough team.”
Fletcher said traveling to Burrell always appears daunting because the rivalry with Deer Lakes runs deep. Last season, Deer Lakes defeated Burrell, 55-49, at Petersen Events Center to win its second consecutive WPIAL Class 3A championship.
“Our guys did a really good job of being focused and blocking everything out tonight,” Fletcher said. “These guys have had success. They came to our place earlier and played us tough (in a 72-52 Deer Lakes victory on Dec. 20). This was a very good win for us.”
Tags: Burrell, Deer Lakes
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