By Todd Stanford
SELINSGROVE -- After getting hurt on the boards and struggling to hold onto the ball, Selinsgrove found itself in a 10-point hole midway through the second quarter of Tuesday's Heartland Athletic Conference Division I game with Jersey Shore.
But then Ryan Keiser pulled the Seals out a jam.
Keiser sparked a Selinsgrove rally with an eight-point, five-rebound performance in the second quarter, and the Seals rode that momentum to a 62-56 win.
"Ryan's capable of that," Selinsgrove coach Ray Moyer said. "He goes in spurts like that where he can just carry us."
Alex Lupolt paced Selinsgrove (5-4, 3-1 HAC-I) with a game-high 21 points. Keiser had 19 to go with his 11 rebounds, three blocks, three assists and one steal.
Caleb Barnhart had 15 points to lead the Bulldogs (5-4, 2-2), while Ben Barnhart tallied 13 and Andrew Bean added 11 to go with his game-high 12 rebounds.
"Jersey Shore's tough," Moyer said. "There's not a weak spot in their lineup. ... This is a good win for us."
There were six ties and three lead changes in a game that featured contrasting zone defenses. The Seals stayed back in their 2-3, while the Bulldogs used a trapping 2-1-2 halfcourt press.
"We've been having a lot of success lately with our 2-3," Moyer said. "And we were worried (because) they're a really good rebounding team. They hurt us on the boards."
Jersey Shore earned a 41-33 rebounding advantage on the night, though Keiser had nine second-chance points by pounding the offensive glass.
Selinsgrove's biggest problem early was turnovers. The Seals had 17 at halftime, but just five more after the break. When the Bulldogs' Taylor English scored off a turnover at the 5:11 mark of the second quarter, Selinsgrove was down 25-15.
But Keiser scored inside off a Lupolt feed, and that bucket sparked a 15-4 run to end the half, giving the Seals a 30-29 lead at halftime.
Jersey Shore would reclaim the lead briefly in the third when Bean made a pair of foul shots to put the Bulldogs up 45-43.
But Mike Rodriguez responded with a 3-pointer from the corner and Lupolt buried his fourth trey of the night from the same spot 40 seconds later as Selinsgrove took the lead for good.
"Looking at the back of the rim, I just wanted to knock it down for my team," Lupolt said. "We put it together at the end there."
In the fourth, Jersey Shore would get the deficit down to two twice and to three when Caleb Barnhart buried a triple to make it 59-56 with 2:16 left.
But the Bulldogs wouldn't score again, as they turned the ball over twice in the final minute -- with one turnover coming when Justin Keiser made a steal off of an inbounds pass -- and the Seals made just enough foul shots to salt the game away.
"Earlier in the season we weren't jelling," Lupolt said. "Now we're starting to find our groove."
