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BOYS HOOPS: Chambersburg wears down Greencastle in title game


MERCERSBURG -- ByShawn Mincie admitted that he did not have a good start to Saturday night's boys basketball game for Chambersburg.

"I didn't have a good first half," Mincie said. "I had two turnovers that were my fault, and I took blame for that. I told my teammates that I was coming back in the second half."

He made good on his promise.

Mincie racked up 17 points, including 12 in the second half and eight in the final quarter, and he helped the Trojans pull away from Greencastle-Antrim for a 51-41 victory in the Franklin County Tip-Off Tournament championship.

"I was 100 percent amazed that he was not MVP," Blue Devil coach Gary Martin said. "Nothing against the kid who did win. Mincie was on on our scouting report as a good shooter that defers to other guys, but he just had big bucket after big bucket. We put a lot of emphasis on Cole (Christian), but we had to slide off him a bit because of Mincie."

After leading by just three points at halftime, Chambersburg (2-0) came out of the gate swinging. Jacob Brouse knocked down a pair of free throws, John Shupp laid in a bucket and Mincie had a putback to extend the Trojans' lead to nine.

But Greencaslte (1-1) was not deterred. The Blue Devils went on a six-point run that spanned from late in the third to early in the fourth. But once they had pulled within four, Mincie took over again. He reeled off the game's next six points to bring the Trojans their biggest lead of the night to that point.

"To his credit, (ByShawn) really came out and had a focused second half," Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. "He played to his strengths very well, and we tried to keep it as simple as possible for him."

Mincie was a force on the offensive end, but much of the Trojans' victory came be attributed to strong defense. Greencastle finished with 16 turnovers and shot a mere 13 of 39 (33.3%) from the field.

"When we were traveling on the bus, Coach went over what they were going to do and the offense they like to run," Mincie said. "Coach (Randy) Taylor is our defensive guru, and he was telling us to get in on their shooters and force them to make turnovers. We did a good job of clamping down near the paint. They like to cut and screen and pass, and we took that away from them."

Shreffler said, "I think our defensive pressure got more consistent as the game went on. We got better at taking away the things that they wanted to do and applied more pressure. As a result, it may have worn them down a little bit. Some of their shots late were drawing iron or weren't getting there at all."

Chambersburg was rewarded for its hard work with its second straight tournament championship, and Cade Whitfield, who finished with six points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in the title game, was named the tournament MVP. Other members of the All-Tournament team were James Buchanan's Ryan Hege, Waynesboro's Kyle Hoffman, Chambersburg's Christian and Greencastle's Casey Hoover and Sam Sprague.

Chambersburg 51, Greencastle 41

Greencastle (41)

Brandon Stuhler 2 2-2 6, Ian Gelsinger 1 0-0 3, Bryan Gembe 0 4-4 4, Casey Hoover 4 3-4 11, Sam Sprague 4 4-4 12, Camron Hileman 0 0-0 0, Matt Lutz 1 0-0 2, Bryson Robinson 0 0-0 0, Ben Freeman 1 0-0 3. Totals — 13 13-14 41.

Chambersburg (51)

Cole Christian 3 0-0 9, Jacob Brouse 0 4-4 4, Cade Whitfield 3 0-1 6, John Shupp 5 2-3 13, Byshawn Mincie 7 3-4 17, Tyler Collier 1 0-2 2, Evan Shreffler 0 0-0 0, Cade Brindle 0 0-0 0, Reggie Adams 0 0-0 0. Totals — 19 9-14 51.

Greencastle _ 13 _ 6 _ 11 _ 11 _ — _ 41

Chambersburg _ 9 _ 13 _ 14 _ 15 _ — _ 51

3-point goals — GA 2 (Gelsinger, Robinson), Chbg 4 (Christian 3, Shupp).