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F-F Highlights: Trojans fall to Carlisle


If it weren’t for those first few minutes, Chambersburg’s boys basketball could still be going toe-to-toe with Carlisle in a Mid Penn Commonwealth Division game.

The Thundering Herd, ranked in the top 10 in the state in Class 6A, drained three straight 3-pointers to start the game, putting Chambersburg in a 9-0 hole early. That was all the difference on Monday night, as the Trojans fell 58-49.

“Other than spotting them a nine-point lead, then losing by nine, I thought we competed pretty hard,” Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. “I thought we were competing well early. We weren’t finishing shots that we had, but we were getting good looks. Once we settled down a little bit and got adjusted to what was happening.”

Cole Christian gave the Trojans (3-2, 0-2 MPC) a fighting chance. He finished with 21 points, including five 3-pointers all in the second half. It was his most prolific offensive output of the season.

“I thought early on, he was a little hesitant, and I challenged him to be a little more aggressive,” Shreffler said. “This is two games in a row now that he’s really risen to the challenge, and as the game has gone on, he’s gotten better.”

Shreffler also complimented the work of Jacob Brouse. Cade Whitfield scored nine points, and Tyler Collier contributed seven.

Unsung hero

In five games this season, James Buchanan’s Abby Mackling had scored a total of 34 points, with 13 being her game high. 

Monday night against Big Spring, Mackling had a second half to remember, going 5-for-5 from behind the 3-point line. She scored a career-high 19 points to help the Rockets to their first win over the season, 54-40.

“She was feeling it, so we needed to keep feeding her the ball, and we did,” JB coach Jenny Lauthers said. “We had been in every game but our first one and didn’t play well late, so our goal today was to finish. With Abby hitting three threes in the fourth quarter, we had the right combination of people out on the floor to keep possession and it worked.”

Bad start

Chambersburg’s girls had a start to forget Monday, trailing Carlisle 20-3 at the end of the first quarter.

To the Trojans’ credit, they outscored the Thundering Herd 29-24 the rest of the way, but the deficit was too much to overcome.

Taylor Vrabel led Chambersburg with 12 points.

Top performers

Girls basketball: McConnellsburg crunched Northern Bedford 62-49 as two girls had big nights. Bronwyne Mellott piled up 29 points and had five steals and two blocks, while Kellyn Perry provided big-time support with 14 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.

Boys basketball: Shalom Christian also had a nice tag team in a 60-44 win over Mowersville Menonite, as Jonah Stains had 20 points and Cameron Roseman added 16.

James Buchanan has been led by senior Jared Pine all season, but Monday night Pine got a little help from Hunter Reath, who exploded on the court to rain down a season-high 16 points in a loss to Big Spring. Pine led the Rockets with 17 points. 

Scores

Boys basketball
Carlisle 58, Chambersburg (3-2, 0-2 MPC) 49
Big Spring 58, James Buchanan (1-5, 0-3 MPC) 48
Mt. Airy Christian 52, Cumberland Valley Christian (2-5) 38
Greencastle (3-1, 2-0 MPC) 69, Northern York 52
Shippensburg (4-1, 2-0 MPC) 71, Boiling Springs 41
Shalom Christian (5-3) 60, Mowersville 44
Girls basketball
Carlisle 44, Chambersburg (1-4, 0-3 MPC) 32
Greencastle-Antrim (4-0, 2-0 MPC) 43, Northern York 30
James Buchanan (1-5, 1-2 MPC) 54, Big Spring 40
Shippensburg (3-3, 2-0 MPC) 44, Boiling Springs 32
McConnellsburg (2-1, 1-1 SHL/ICC) 62, Northern Bedford 49
Southern Huntingdon 58, Forbes Road (0-3, 0-2 SHL/ICC) 32
Mt. Airy 53, Cumberland Valley Christian (1-4) 32