Mike Vukovcan HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP– James Armstrong is an athlete that we’ve written plenty about throughout his junior high and high school career.
In the past, multiple coaches referred to him as a generational athlete. Tonight, Armstrong put on a performance, to quote the late great Mike Lange, “that you had to be there to believe.”
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Personally, it was one of the best individual performances that I’ve ever witnessed by a high school athlete.
In a game that Hopewell trailed for nearly the entire game, Armstrong a career-high 47 points (28 in the 2nd half) and 17 rebounds to lead Hopewell to a come from behind 84-79 win over Belle Vernon in a 4A consolation playoff game.
The win means that on Wednesday, the Vikings will host Central Valley at Hopewell High School. The winner of that game qualifies for the PIAA 4A playoffs.
The atmosphere inside the gym, especially in the 4th quarter was incredible as Hopewell just kept fighting to hang in the game, much of the time trailing between 4 and 6 points.
However, with 1:35 left, the Vikings finally took the lead on a basket by Justin Shegog. After Belle Vernon retook the lead, Armstrong took over.
With 1:07 left, Armstrong muscled his way for 2 to give Hopewell a 76-75 lead. With :53 seconds left, Armstrong stole a Belle Vernon pass, raced to the other end to convert a layup and was fouled, Hopewell led 78-75.
With :27 seconds left and Hopewell leading 78-77, Belle Vernon missed a shot, Armstrong powered up for the rebound and was fouled. Hopewell was in the bonus, so he shot free throws and converted both of them to give Hopewell an 80-77 lead.
Boo was done. Hopewell was at the line shooting 2 free throws and missed both, but Armstrong grabbed the offensive rebound and converted a layup to increase the lead to 82-77.
With :05 seconds left and Hopewell leading 82-79, Hopewell had the ball underneath their own hoop and were looking to just inbounds the ball. They did exactly that as Brody Rock threw a deep pass to Armstrong, who caught it up half-court and took it in from slam dunk to end the game.
FINAL SCORE: HOPEWELL 84 BELLE VERNON 79Â
1ST QUARTER SCORING:
-Rock cross paint pass to Armstrong, 2 plus the foul (off the glass), Hopewell 3-2
-Rock drives the lane, dumps off to Armstrong, who knocks down a jumper from the lane, Hopewell 5-4
-Rock drives again but this time keeps it and converts the up and under, BV 8-7
-Jeremey Benninghoff with a shot off the glass from the right wing, Hopewell 9-8
-Shegog with the steal and takes it in for the layup, Hopewell 13-12
-Shegog with the drive and a nice touch pass to Armstrong in the paint, who converts, Hopewell 15-14
-:54, Rock with great hustle to track down a ball before it goes out of bounds, throws it to Armstrong who misses but Tre Cameron gets the offensive rebound and layup, Hopewell 17-15
END OF 1ST QUARTER: BELLE VERNON 20 HOPEWELL 18
2ND QUARTER SCORING:
-Jack Biega with a nice entry pass to Armstrong down low for 2 more, 20-20
-Armstrong with a strong drive for 2 off the glass, 22-22
-Armstrong grabs the offensive rebound and is fouled shooting, makes both free throws, 24-24
-Cameron with another strong take, BV 28-26
-Nice inbounds play, Biega finds Armstrong for 2, Hopewell 28-28
-Biega with a strong drive, misses the shot but gets his own rebound and puts it back in, BV 31-30
-Armstrong 2 more in the paint, BV 33-32
-Biega slashes down the middle of the lane, Belle Vernon 37-34
-Rock with the drive, finds Armstrong in the opposite block for 2, BV 39-36
-2:08 left, Rock drives the baseline for a reverse layup, BV 41-38
-:04 seconds, Rock with a steal and is fouled shooting, makes both free throws, BV 43-40
HALFTIME: BELLE VERNON 43 HOPEWELL 40
3RD QUARTER SCORING:
-Armstrong muscles his way for 2, BV 46-42
-Following a long offensive rebound, Shegog nails a deep jumper, BV 46-44
-Hopewell breaks the press, Rock to Shegog for a layup, BV 49-46
-Armstrong with a defensive rebound, throws a length of the court pass to Shegog for a layup, BV 51-48
-3:30 left, Armstrong with another defensive rebound and another long pass to the other end to Rock for a layup, BV 55-50
-Hopewell breaks the press, Armstrong hits a jumper from the foul line, BV 56-52
-Armstrong 2 more in the lane, BV 58-54
-Rock penetrates the paint and drops off to Boo for 2, BV 60-56
-1:11 left, Armstrong with a spin in the lane and off the glass, BV 62-58
-Rock with a strong drive and converts off the glass, BV 64-60
END OF 3RD QUARTER: BELLE VERNON 64 HOPEWELL 60
4TH QUARTER SCORING:
-Boo with 2 in the lane, BV 66-62
-Armstrong fights for a loose ball, grabs it, goes up for 2 more, BV 68-64
-4:02 left, Benninghoff drains a long 3, NV 72-68
-2:49 left, Armstrong 2 plus the foul, BV 73-70
-1:57 left, Armstrong 2 more and is fouled again, BV 73-72
-1:35 left, Shegog gives Hopewell the lead with a floater, Hopewell 74-73
-1:07 left, Armstrong muscles his way inside for 2, Hopewell 76-75
-:53 seconds, Armstrong with a steal at midcourt, converts the layup and is fouled, Hopewell 78-75
-:27 seconds, After grabbing a defensive rebound, Armstrong is fouled, and makes both free throws, Hopewell leads 80-77
-Hopewell misses 2 at the line but Armstrong grabs offensive rebound and makes layup, Hopewell 82-77
-:05 seconds left, Armstrong catches a deep pass from Rock and takes it in for the dunk, Hopewell 84-79
FINAL SCORE: HOPEWELL 84 BELLE VERNON 79
HOPEWELL SCORING (UNOFFICIAL)
JAMES ARMSTRONG: 47 POINTS
JUSTIN SHEGOG: 11 POINTS
BRODY ROCK: 10 POINTS
JEREMY BENNINGHOFF: 5 POINTS
JACK BIEGA: 4 POINTS
TRE CAMERON: 4 POINTS
