Mike Glover-Wilson

With six minutes remaining, Wilson’s lead over rival Gov. Mifflin was down to two points on Tuesday. Mike Glover, who entered the night averaging 6 ppg., scored a dozen points down the stretch to seal a 55-44 victory in West Lawn. “I’m just trying to do what I can to help my team win. My teammates made great plays, great passes for me to be able to finish. I give props to them and give props to my coaches,” said Glover. The twelve points were a career-high for the 6’3, 223-pound junior. The imposing power forward and All-State tight end also grabbed eight rebounds. “He’s been one of our best players this year. He’s a great athlete. He’s strong obviously, but he understands the game. He’s under control all the time,” noted head coach Matt Coldren. Peter Kelfala, a 6’3 senior forward, poured in 19 points for the (4-2) Bulldogs. “He’s put in a lot of work in the offseason. He’s been grinding and he’s been working. It’s great to see him show the people what he can do,” replied Glover.

The (1-5) Mustangs had pulled within 39-37 entering the final quarter. Neither team scored for two minutes. Glover knocked down a pair of free throws before Correll Akings found him underneath for a three-point play. Glover got another layup off an assist from Akings with 4:33 left which forced a timeout by second-year head coach Garrett Etzel. Nick Kalis sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to make it 46-40. That was the lone field goal for Gov. Mifflin in the fourth period. “In the first three quarters, we kind of over helped and we left some shooters open. We talked about stunting a little bit more as opposed to leaving our guys. I still think we gotta get better defensively,” explained Coldren. He’s in his 25th season at the helm and holds the school record with 436 victories. Glover provided another three-point play with three minutes to go that gave Wilson a 50-40 advantage. The Mustangs were outscored 16-to-7 over the last six minutes.

The Bulldogs came out hot. They hit four triples in the opening quarter and were 6-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first half. Wilson was in front 14-11 after the first period and started the second quarter with a 8-to-2 run. A layup by sophomore guard Nechar Mercado put the Bulldogs on top 22-13 midway through the second period. Conner Moreland, another sophomore guard, came off the bench and drilled two treys in the first half. Wilson got 13 points overall from its reserves. Gov. Mifflin trailed 28-22 at the break. John Lachina made his third 3-pointer of the third quarter to bring the Mustangs within 37-35. The 5’9 senior had connected a total of five times from long range in their first five games. Lachina finished with a career-high 15 points. Ian Fleming and Lebron Leaf chipped in with seven points apiece. Kelfala had 17 points in the first three quarters for the Bulldogs, including a trio of 3-pointers. He’s averaging a team-high 12.5 ppg. this year.

After advancing to the second round of the PIAA-6A tournament a season ago, Wilson and Gov. Mifflin each lost four starters to graduation. The Mustangs have faced a very difficult schedule. Their five losses have come against opponents who were (20-4) going into Tuesday. The Bulldogs only setbacks have come against Central Dauphin and Berks Catholic. Wilson went 7-of-18 from long range against Gov. Mifflin and 12-for-15 from the charity stripe. The Mustangs hit four triples and were 14-of-18 from the foul line.

Glover was recently named the Outstanding Lineman of the Year in Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. He had 35 catches for 572 yards and 7 TD as the Bulldogs went (9-3). Glover made 44 tackles, seven tackles for loss, and three sacks at defensive end. “I love being able to compete with my guys. I think the physicality of football translates to basketball, working in the post and rebounding,” he said. Coldren added, “I’d actually like him to be a little bit more selfish. I don’t think as a coaching staff we’ve done a good job of getting him the ball. We need to work on that because we need him to get some more touches.” Glover got the ball in crunch time against Gov. Mifflin and made the most of his opportunities.