HERSHEY -- One shot. That's all it took for Andrew Nicholas' nerves to disappear. All the Eastern York junior needed to settle in during his team's 74-55 District 3 Class AAA boys' quarterfinal win against Susquehanna Township on Friday.

For sure, there was plenty for Eastern York's star junior to be nervous about.

There was the stage. The cavernous Giant Center.

There was the audience. Members of the Rutgers men's basketball program -- which Nicholas has verbally committed to -- were in the building.

And there was the milestone. Nicholas entered Friday five points shy of Eastern York's all-time scoring record.

Any jitters vanished after all of five seconds. That's how long it took for teammate Austin Tillotson to grab the opening tip and find Nicholas for a right-wing 3-pointer.

"I hit that first shot, that first 3 I took," Nicholas said, "and I just felt in rhythm the rest of the game."

That play set off another landmark night for Nicholas and his team. The 6-foot-6 junior scored 34 points -- one off his career high -- to help lead top-seeded Eastern into the semifinals.

The Golden Knights (26-0) will face No. 5 East Pennsboro at 8 p.m. Monday back at Giant Center. The Panthers (20-5) advanced by bouncing West York, 52-48.

Nicholas is a big reason Eastern is making a return trip to Hershey. The lefty sharpshooter was efficient all game, and helped key a lights-out third quarter in which Eastern shot an astounding 12-of-14 and

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outscored Susquehanna Township 30-14.

That burst overwhelmed an athletically gifted Indians team that Eastern coach Larry Fisher had expressed concern about heading into Friday.

"Do I look like I haven't slept for a couple days? Because that would be accurate," Fisher said. "I've been losing sleep over them since the bracket came out."

Fisher can sleep better tonight, after a pristine second half in which Eastern ran the Indians (14-9) right out of the building.

Tillotson (18 points) got the flurry started with 3-pointer out of the halftime break. Nicholas followed with back-to-back treys a few minutes later pump Eastern's lead to 18. The Golden Knights hit 5-of-6 from beyond the arc in the quarter.

Even backup guard Davin Zimmerman joined in. He hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter, and finished with 11 points.

By the time the onslaught ended late in the third quarter, Eastern had a padlock-safe 59-30 lead.

"By the time we got our breath, it was too far out of hand," Susquehanna Township coach Vince Rogers said. "You have to give them credit. They shot the ball well."

None better than Nicholas. He scored his 1,681st career point with a free throw in the first quarter, passing Jon Raab ('88) as the school's all-time leading scorer.

The 6-foot-6 standout finished 9-of-14 from the field and 13-of-14 from the foul line. Those free throws were the main reason Eastern took a 32-24 lead into halftime.

"We didn't have anyone to match up with him," Rogers said of Nicholas. "We knew that going in."

Eastern also held Susquehanna Township to 18-of-64 shooting (28.1 percent) from the field.

Afterward, Nicholas was his typical, low-key self. He said little about his record ("It's just points," he quipped) and instead shifted attention to Eastern York's team goals.

"It's a good milestone in my career again, but we just got to stay focused," he said. "We want to win a state championship, so we have a long way ahead of us."
jclayton@ydr.com; 771-2045
  
SUSQUEHANNA TOWNSHIP (55)
   Epps 0 0-0 0, Dupree 0 0-0 0, Tajh Turner 4 3-4 13, Sheppard 0 1-2 1, Adrian Dean 7 6-8 20, Joshua Quartmon 3 4-4 10, Maisel 0 0-2 0, Young 1 0-0 2, Gray 0 0-0 0, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-0 0, Sparver 0 0-0 0, Greene 1 0-0 2, Daniels 0 1-2 1. Totals: 18 17-25 55.
EASTERN YORK (74)
   Smith 0 0-0 0, Austin Tillotson 6 5-7 18, Bollinger 3 0-0 7, Barto 1 0-0 2, Andrew Nicholas 9 13-14 34, Bailey 0 0-0 0, Davin Zimmerman 4 0-0 11, Armitage 1 0-0 2, Stoutzenberger 0 0-0 0, Bixler 0 0-0 0, Sheetz 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 18-21 74.
Susquehanna Twp.  10  14  14  17 -- 55
Eastern York  20  12  30  12 -- 74

   3-pointers: Susquehanna Township 2 (Turner 2); Eastern York 8 (Nicholas 3, Zimmerman 3, Tillotson, Nathan Bollinger).

Also of interest

· Who is the rightful owner of York County's boys basketball career scoring record?

· Autumn Lau holds the girls basketball scoring record.

· Red Lion's Scott Fitzkee voted all-time top York/Adams athlete.