Nothing like a good county rivalry to start the basketball season off right.

That will be the case tonight in the championship game of the Annville-Cleona boys' tip-off event after host A-C and county brethren Northern Lebanon both recorded opening-round wins on Friday night.

The Vikings took a hard-fought decision over Middletown, 54-53, while the Little Dutchmen rolled over York County Tech 49-33 in the nightcap. In the opener, Northern Lebanon held a lead most of the game before holding in to beat Middletown. Trailing by three points with 30 seconds to play, Middletown's Trent Zimmerman was fouled shooting a 3-pointer, putting him at the line with a chance to tie the game.

Zimmerman missed the first free throw but made the second, and after a Viking turnover in the final 10 seconds, the Blue Raiders got off a good shot but it bounced off the rim as time expired.

Sam Light finished with a game-high 26 points before fouling out. Light, who was 8-for-8 from the line, made four free throws on one play in the third quarter when he was fouled shooting a 3-pointer and also made a technical foul that was whistled after the play.

Middletown erased a 14-10 first-quarter deficit with a 16-7 run through the second quarter that gave it a 26-21 halftime lead. Northern Lebanon managed to tie the game at 39 by the start of the fourth quarter.

In the second game, the Little Dutchmen used balanced scoring led by Derrick Sanders' 15 points to secure its championship

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game invitation. Zach Weaber, Casey Smith and Paxson Hayes each added nine points for A-C, which pretty much settled the outcome with a 17-4 run through the first quarter. Elsewhere Friday night:

Boys'

basketball

roundup

  • CD East 62, Cedar Crest 57: In the opening round of the Lower Dauphin tip-off event, the Falcons fell by five to their Mid-Penn Conference opponent. No details were reported by press time.

    Girls'

    basketball

    roundup

  • Cumberland Valley 63, Cedar Crest 29: In South Lebanon in the second game of the Cedar Crest Tip-Off Tournament, the visiting Eagles ran out to a 24-5 first-quarter lead and never looked back. CV will play Mt. St. Joseph in today's 4 p.m. final, while the host Falcons will take on Simon Gratz, a 70-18 loser, at 2 p.m.

    Cedar Crest's deficit grew to 42-10 by halftime. Addy Toms netted a team-high nine points for the Falcons.

  • Susquehannock 70, Annville-Cleona 31: In Elizabethtown in the opener of its Tip-Off Tournament, the Little Dutchmen were no match for the York County reps. The loss sends the Little Dutchmen to today's 2:30 p.m. consolation game opposite Brandywine Heights, which lost to the hosts 43-28.