Landon Polcyn (23) and Griff Harrington (2) of Warrior Run try to stop a shot from a Hughesville scorer in an away gamer earlier this season. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Polcyn set the tone for a fabulous collective second half defensive effort. The Defenders picked up the pressure and intensity and Polcyn stuck to dynamic point guard Shazier Bethea like glue. Doing so helped disrupt the entire Minersville offense.

Polcyn is tall enough, fast enough and smart enough to defend either guard position or against post players. It was not just his steals which ignited Warrior Run in the second half, but also his ability to prevent Bethea from getting to the basket, rotate and clog passing lanes.

“I’ve been saying this year, the kid can cover anybody, legitimately, 1-5. And he wants to do that,” Warrior Run coach Eric Wertman said. “He put us on his back. In that little stretch we went on that big run, it was his defensive effort which really gave us a big boost.”

Polcyn finished with nine points and has the ability to stretch a defense, facilitate or get to the basket. But he takes his most pride from his defense. A student of the game, Polcyn studies film, learns tendencies and prepares for a game like he would an Algebra exam.

He received straight A’s against Minersville.

“I want to shout out Landon Polcyn,” Keifer said. “He played one heck of a game on No. 5 (Bethea).”

“I’ll guard anybody. I don’t really care. I know my assignment the week before a game,” Polcyn said. “As soon as we find out who we’re playing, I watch film every day. I try and learn as much as possible.”

That had Polcyn well-versed in defending a well-run offense which includes lots of movement and screens. Defense kept Warrior Run in the game when the offense was struggling during the first half and Polcyn turning diligent filmwork into excellent court-work had Warrior Run storming back Saturday.

Polcyn’s 24-second burst sparked a 32-14 run over the next 10 minutes. By the time it ended, Warrior Run went from trailing by 12 to leading, 49-43.

“We talked about cranking up the defense,” Wertman said. “They were making us feel very uncomfortable in the first half offensively, why not return the favor? Let’s step it up and put some pressure on them.”

BIG-GAME EXPERIENCE

Although Warrior Run was playing in its first state tournament game since 2020, the Defenders appeared callous to the atmosphere. And that’s because many have competed in high-stakes games in different sports throughout their athletic lives.

Polcyn, Keifer and forward Griffen Harrington started on the baseball team which reached last year’s district championship and also started on a Senior League all-star team which reached the 2023 World Series final. Keifer and others were on the football team which won two playoff games last fall and reached the program’s first district final.

The sports change, but big-game experience translates well to other sports and it showed against Minersville. Instead of cracking, Warrior Run pulled closer together, thundered back and won the program’s first state playoff game in 26 years.

“My whole life we’ve been close. We’ve always been in big games; tough games, so there really was no pressure,” Polcyn said. “We were in it fully and really were sticking to our game plan and doing what we needed to do.”

HAC ALL-STARS

The Heartland Athletic Conference released their all-star selections in the three divisions Monday and the area was well-represented. That included Warrior Run where Aiden McKee earned HAC-III MVP honors and was joined on the first team by Cooper Wilkins. Polcyn was a second team selection and Keifer a defensive all-star.

Loyalsock’s Isiah Jennings and Gavin Knarr were HAC-III second team honorees. Jennings earned Defensive honors, too, as did McKee and Hughesville’s McKevley Brink.

Jersey Shore’s Ben Dalton and Central Mountain’s Hunter Hoy were HAC-I first team selections, and Jersey Shore’s Landon Lathan and Central Mountain’s Noah Wells second team picks. Lathan was joined on the Defensive Team by teammate Jake Lorson and Central Mountain’s Blake Walker.

Lewisburg’s Neyshawn Mabry and Cooper Mowry earned first team HAC-II honors, while Montoursville’s Shea Ulmer and Milton’s Rylin Scott headlined the second team. Lewisburg’s Rebira Jemana was named Defensive Player of the Year and Montoursville’s Elijah Eck joined him on the first team.