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BOYS HOOPS: Chambersburg battles through State College, 54-48


CHAMBERSBURG - A bad shooting night wasn't enough to thwart Chambersburg's boys basketball team.

Neither was early foul trouble, a seven-point third quarter or a terrible night from the free-throw line. The Trojans went through it all Tuesday night and still managed to come out on top of a Mid Penn Commonwealth Division game, 54-48 against State College.

"They're not perfect; we're still growing and learning how to be a good, solid basketball team," Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. "Through spells when things don't go perfectly, I appreciate the mental toughness that our guys have shown."

Chambersburg (5-2, 3-2 MPC) shot a mere 29.6 percent (16 of 54) from the field, while managing just 16 of 37 (43.2%) on foul shots. After building up a seven-point lead at halftime, the Trojans made just two field goals in the third quarter, and the Little Lions (2-5, 1-4 MPC) got within three points by the end of the frame.

But Chambersburg did just enough in the fourth quarter to make it out alive.

"We just kept attacking the rim," Trojan guard Jacob Brouse said. "When things didn't go our way, we just kept battling, and that was the key."

The game started rough for both teams, as foul trouble hit early and often. A pair of State College's starters had two fouls on them in the first quarter, and four of the five finished with at least three fouls.

"It impacted our rotations a lot," Lions coach Joe Walker said. "They need to understand the time and place to foul - when you foul somebody 94 feet from their own hoop on a rebound, it's just not smart. Chambersburg scored (16) points from free throws; that's (16) points where they don't have to score on our defense."

Chambersburg was in a bit of the same boat early on, though. ByShawn Mincie sat out most of the first half due to foul trouble, and State College shot 14 of its 20 free throws in the first half.

"I was really impressed with keeping the lead and even extending it in the second quarter through all that foul trouble," Shreffler said. "They were at the line a lot in the first half, but we weathered the storm there and found a way to keep moving forward."

The Trojans were helped along in large part by Cole Christian, who finished with 27 points. He nailed six 3-pointers and had 16 points in the first half alone. He had a clutch longball at the end of the first half to put Chambersburg up by seven instead of a mere four.

"We want the last shot of every quarter," Christian said. "We want the momentum going into the next quarter or half. My teammates, they like to drive and kick out a lot. We've been working the ball a lot, so I've been getting a lot of open shots."

NOTES >> Brouse finished with a career-high 14 points ... For State College, Drew Friberg had 15 points, and Andrew Witt contributed 13 ... The Little Lions out-rebounded Chambersburg, 40-36.

Chambersburg 54, State College 48

State College (48)

Drew Friberg 5 5-6 15, Cooper Gulley 1 0-0 3, Tommy Friberg 3 1-2 8, Andrew Witt 3 7-10 13, Rian Scanlon 2 0-0 4, Lee Koudela 2 1-2 5, Gavin Schaefer-Hood 0 0-0 0, Eli Bokunewicz 0 0-0 0, Tommy Sekunda 0 0-0 0, Ryan McNulty 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 14-20 48.

Chambersburg (54)

Cole Christian 8 5-14 27, Jacob Brouse 6 2-5 14, Cade Whitfield 2 3-5 7, John Shupp 0 0-0 0, ByShawn Mincie 0 1-4 1, Cade Brindle 0 0-0 0, Evan Shreffler 0 2-4 2, Tyler Collier 0 1-2 1, Tyron Williams 0 0-0 0, Reggie Adams 0 2-2 2, Joel Torres 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 16-37 54.

State College _ 14 _ 11 _ 11 _ 12 _ — _ 48

Chambersburg _ 18 _ 14 _ 7 _ 15 _ — _ 54

3-point goals — SC 2 (Gulley, T.Friberg), Chbg 6 (Christian 6); Fouled out — D.Friberg, Whitfield; Technicals  — D.Friberg.

JV score — State College 43, Chambersburg 42. Joel Torres led the Trojans with 13.