Cage’s defense boxes in Strath Haven, enabling Penncrest to prevail

NETHER PROVIDENCE — Penncrest’s plan of attack against Strath Haven Tuesday didn’t originally star Jimmy Cage.

Then again, it also didn’t include being down 10 points straight out of the gate, being without two starters by coach’s decision or fielding a lineup of four juniors, two in their first varsity starts. For all that didn’t go to plan, Cage’s smothering defense more than made up for it.

Cage was the key to Penncrest deploying a clinical box-and-1 defense to nullify Strath Haven’s Luke Edwards much of the way, helping the Lions rally for a 54-53 Central League win.

With Cage as his shadow, Edwards went from six points in the first quarter to three field-goal attempts in the final three frames combined. He tallied a team-high 17 points, including a 27-foot 3-pointer with 15 seconds left to tie the game at 53. But on balance, Cage succeeded in making it a 4-on-4 game, face-guarding Edwards out of it.

“When my name’s called to guard someone like him, that’s awesome,” the junior said. “He’s a great shooter, never stops moving. He’s like Klay Thompson. It took a lot of energy but I loved doing it.”

The box-and-1 was a late installment in practice the day before, a freshman modeling Edwards’ role, as a contingency. The 10-0 start 4:38 into the game made it a necessity.

Cage executed with aplomb. Edwards’ three shot attempts – a made 3-pointer off a screen, a missed putback on the glass and the late triple, with Ben Stanton switched to him – were miniscule given his usual impact. They came with Cage trailing him baseline to baseline, Edwards unable to shake him even as an in-bounder.

“I revert back to football because I’m a cornerback,” Cage said. “I’ve got to guard the receiver. I’m basically like, he’s a receiver and he can’t get the ball.”

Strath Haven’s offense never coped with the disruption. All eight Panthers who played scored, including seven in the first half. But they hit just two of their first 16 attempts from 3-point range and overall didn’t adapt.

“We’ve just got to get better at it, because every team’s going to do this, they’re going to deny Luke,” guard Matt Shuler said. “We’ve got to get better at trusting each other and trusting everyone else besides him. He’s not the only basketball player on the team. Everyone else can score. We’ve got to move the ball around, find open shots and make our shots.”

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