BY JOBY FAWCETT
Times-Shamrock Writer

Elk Lake’s offensive efforts were thwarted by Holy Cross as the Crusaders took a 50-30 win over third-seeded Elk Lake at Valley View High School on Wednesday night.
Elk Lake (20-5) went on to play Mid Valley (22-5) in the third-place game for a spot in the PIAA playoffs.
Elk Lake tried to play zone against the reigning Times-Tribune Player of the Year, but to no avail as Josh Kosin went for 11 points and five rebounds in the first half and the Crusaders built a 27-12 lead.
In the third, however, Elk Lake showed some fight and chipped away by outscoring the Crusaders, 12-8. Nick Dudock scored all seven of his points in the quarter and Kosin went 0 for 2 from the floor.
“We missed several shots and turned the ball over more than we did all year, and then it snowballs,” Elk Lake coach John Warnero said. “It’s hard to matchup with a player of his size and caliber.”
But clearly, two shots in the quarter wasn’t enough, and Holy Cross pounded the ball inside to start the fourth. Kosin went on a 10-4 run that included three offensive rebounds, a pair of steals and a powerful blocked shot and pushed the lead to 45-28.
“They were doubling down on me in the third and then we started to run some screen plays in the fourth,” Kosin said. “Casey Gaughan set some great screens and even when they doubled down, I kicked it out and when they defended, the guys just got the ball back to me.”
Elk Lake finished the game making only 12 of 50 shots. Tanner Reyan led the Warriors with 11 points.
Elk Lake (20-5) – T. Reyan 4-16 2-2 11, N. Dudock 3-7 0-2 7, R. Heft 3-12 0-2 7, T. Arnold 1-6 0-0 3, M. Woolcock 1-3 0-2 2, P. McGee 0-6 0-0 0. Totals: 12 2-8 30.
Holy Cross (22-5) – J. Kosin 10-17 2-3 22, C. Jones 4-9 0-0 9, E. Nelson 3-3 0-0 7, C. Gaughan 3-4 0-0 6, K. Kearney 0-2 2-2 2, C. Callejas 0-4 2-2 2, R. Torre 1-3 0-0 2, N. Vinansky 0-0 0-0 0, J. Chen 0-0 0-0 0, C. Joyce 0-8 0-0 0, K. Kovaleski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-50 6-7 50.
EL 7 5 12 6 – 30
HC 16 11 8 15 – 50
3-point shooting: EL 4-17 (Heft 1-3, Reyan 1-6, Dudock 1-1, Arnold 1-2, Woolcock 0-1), HC 2-12 (Jones 1-2, Nelson 1-1, Callejas 0-2, Kearney 0-2, Joyce 0-2, Gaughan 0-1, Torre 0-2). Rebounds: EL 25 (Heft 9), HC 39 (Kosin 13). Assists: EL 4 (Heft 2), HC 11 (Nelson 6). Steals: EL 13 (Reyan 6, Heft 5), HC 8 (Kosin 3). Blocks: EL 4 (Reyan, Heft 2), HC 4 (Kosin 4). Turnovers: EL 16, HC 21. Fouled out: Woolcock.