Sports
Moon Falls to Butler in First Round of Playoffs
The Moon Area High School boys basketball season ended last night after the team lost to Butler High School.
boys basketball team’s season ended one point short last night, losing to Butler High School 51-50 in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs at North Allegheny.
Moon’s Aaron Johnson led all scorers with 20 points, but the Tigers were plagued by costly turnovers and fouls. Unable to overcome a third-quarter meltdown, they were bounced from the playoffs in their first trip as Class AAAA members.
Butler’s Bobby Swartwout converted on two free-throw attempts with just 1.4 seconds remaining in the game, expanding Butler’s lead to four points. That was enough to overcome a three-pointer from Moon senior Brett Hoffman as the final buzzer sounded.
Moon entered the tournament as the No. 8 seed, securing its spot after a 15-7 regular season, but a lack of focus and a few timely mistakes brought its season to a halt.
The game began with sloppy play from both teams. No one on either offense could find their footing, aside from Johnson. The 6-foot-4 senior scored eight points in the first quarter, which turned out to be enough to give his team a 10-9 advantage after the first few minutes of the game.
At half time, Moon headed to the locker room with a 24-17 advantage. The lead didn’t last. By the third quarter, Butler had the upper hand at 40-36.
“The third quarter really hurt us,” said Moon coach Jeff Ackerman. “It was fast and, even when we were hitting our shots, we couldn’t get the momentum back because we’d turn the ball over and they’d make us pay for it. We needed to do a better job of controlling the pace of the game, but [Butler] came out with a strong plan of attack and made it work.”
By the fourth, repeated turnovers and missed shots caught up with Moon. The Tigers had ten turnovers in the second half alone.
“You only get so many opportunities in close games like this,” Ackerman said. “We just didn’t take advantage of them.”
Ackerman said despite falling short in the playoffs, he’s proud of the team’s effort.
“This team had a great season,” Ackerman said. “We didn’t reach our goal of a championship, but they played their butts off and competed, and that’s all you can ask for. Right now, we’re going to celebrate our accomplishments, not dwell on our failures.”
