BOYS: Chambersburg reaches final in Gettysburg
GETTYSBURG - For three quarters, Chambersburg struggled to put away winless South Western, but a sharp fourth quarter by the Trojans pushed them past a game Mustang side, 60-48, in the opening round of the Gettysburg Lions Club boys basketball tournament Monday night.
Chambersburg (6-2) will face Gettysburg, a 50-35 winner over Delone Catholic, in the championship game Tuesday at 8 p.m.
The Trojan lead sat at just 45-43 following a hoop by Mustang Justus Coury with 6:50 remaining, but Chambersburg ran off the next 11 points, with six of those markers coming from junior Cade Whitfield.
Whitfield finished the night with a career high 22 points, on 8-of-9 shooting, and collared eight boards.
"We crashed the glass and locked down on defense in the fourth quarter," Whitfield said. "The guys were making good passes to me and I was doing my best to finish them."
South Western coach Nate Brodbeck cited a key point as being when Cole Christian knocked down a 3-pointer with 4:58 left in the game that made it 50-43.
"They hit a three to make it a seven-point game, then we turned the ball over," Brodbeck said. "Then eventually we had to foul to try to get the ball back."
Trojan coach Shawn Shreffler was very pleased with his team's defense in the second half.
"We gave them 31 points in the first half and that's too many," Shreffler said. "Until that late 3-pointer that (Brock Geiman) hit, they only had 14 points in the second half. Putting multiple guys on him, I think, sort of wore him down in the fourth quarter."
Geiman scored 14 of his 21 points in the first half and missed six of the nine shots that he attempted after halftime.
The teams traded punches in the opening quarter, a stanza that saw the Trojans emerge in front, 19-15. Then a 7-0 spurt by Chambersburg to start the second quarter appeared to give it control.
South Western (0-9) finished the half on a strong note, though, and Geiman tied the game, 31-31, at the half.
"Their record isn't indicative of their team. As I watched film of them, that jumped out over and over," Shreffler said. "They play a tough schedule in their division (YAIAA Division I)."
The Mustangs grabbed the lead in the third quarter on a bucket by Dhane Schmelyun, then extended it to 41-38 on Jeff Green's basket.
However, Chambersburg responded with a 7-0 spurt to carry a 45-41 lead into the final stanza. Whitfield supplied a pair of charity tosses and a bucket and Christian buried a 3-pointer to complete the run.
"The ball sort of stuck a little bit in the first half for us on offense," Shreffler said. "But we shared it very well in the second half."
Chambersburg 60, South Western 48
South Western (48)
Brock Geiman 8-18 0-0 21, Justus Coury 1-2 0-0 2, Jeff Green 3-9 0-0 6, Jake Wells 2-4 0-2 4, Charlie Klecker 1-7 0-0 2, Chase Topper 0-0 0-0 0, Job Brown 2-8 0-0 5, Dhane Schmelyun 2-7 0-0 4, Trevor Bean 2-3 0-0 4. Totals — 21-58 0-2 48.
Chambersburg (60)
Reggie Adams 0-2 0-0 0, Cole Christian 4-14 0-0 12, Jacob Brouse 1-1 2-6 4, Cade Brindle 0-1 4-6 4, Tyler Collier 3-6 0-0 6, Ezechiel Cadet 1-1 0-0 2, Evan Shreffler 1-3 0-0 2, Cade Whitfield 8-9 6-7 22, ByShawn Mincie 3-10 1-4 8, Joel Torres 0-0 0-0 0. Totals — 21-47 13-23 60.
South Western _15 _16 _10 _7 — _48
Chambersburg _19 _12 _14 _15 — _60
3-point goals: SW 6-19 (Geiman 5, Brown), Chbg 5-20 (Christian 4, Mincie).