Chambersburg can't mount comeback vs. CD East
CHAMBERSBURG - With 1:10 left in Tuesday's boys basketball game, ByShawn Mincie laid in a bucket that brought Chambersburg within two possessions of Central Dauphin East.
The Trojans then forced the Panthers into a turnover and took a timeout to make a game plan. Out of the break, Chambersburg almost immediately turned it over.
CD East went down the court and missed a pair of free throws - which was basically a gift, as it ended 14-for-20 from the line in the fourth quarter alone - but Chambersburg answered with a missed shot of its own.
That was how it went all night for the Trojans, who suffered a 59-54 defeat in a key Mid Penn Commonwealth Division matchup.
"We turned the ball over an awful lot in the game," Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. "It seemed like we would scrap, fight, claw and create something positive, only to not capitalize on what we created. That kept that gap where we couldn't quite get over that hump."
The Trojans (6-4, 3-3 MPC) looked like they would pull off something miraculous in the waning seconds. Cole Christian nailed a hurried 3-pointer, and Jacob Brouse snuck in a putback to pull the deficit to 57-54 with 16.3 seconds left. But the Panthers (7-4, 4-2 MPC) got two stops, and Justin Henry hit a pair of free throws to ice the game.
"These guys are starting to learn that it's about getting stops at the end of the game," CD East coach Don Ross said. "You're not going to get every stop, but the more you get, the better chance you have. We got enough tonight. (The Trojans) definitely turned their aggressiveness up, offensively especially."
East guard Evan Chandler said, "We were using a full-court pressure. We were going back and forth, back and forth, up and down the court. We like to put pressure on the ball handlers and get them to turn it over."
Chandler and the Panthers' defense were especially threatening in the third quarter, allowing CD East to break open a big lead. Midway through the second quarter, Chambersburg took a lead on a 3-pointer by Brouse, but CD East finished the frame on a seven-point run, pushed its lead to double figures in the third and never trailed again.
"We let them speed up our tempo to a tempo that we don't like to play at," Mincie said. "They played at a fast pace, so we tried to do the same. That's not the pace we play at. We were trying to run sets, but we were passing the ball when people weren't open. That created a lot of turnovers, and they got some easy points."
CD East also got an unexpected spark from Brennen Jackson. Chandler finished with a game-high 16 points, but Jackson was right behind with 15.
"What they haven't done to this point (in the season) is go down inside to (Jackson)," Shreffler said. "I thought he was a major factor in the basketball game. They got him a lot of touches early, and really made him a big factor."
Jackson said, "It's very important that as a team, we all have to contribute to scoring, so we can go out and get the win. Making free throws late was huge."
Chambersburg also did a nice job of spreading its offensive out. Christian scored 15 points to lead the Trojans, while Brouse, who tied his career high, and Mincie each had 14.
CD East 59, Chambersburg 54
CD East (59)
DJ Cooper 5 0-0 10, Justin Henry 1 2-4 5, Travis Biney 0 0-0 0, Evan Chandler 3 7-8 16, Brennen Jackson 6 3-3 15, Jahad Neibauer 0 4-6 4, Jerry Danner 1 0-0 2, Jaylen Hawthorne 0 0-0 0, Tajh Robinson 1 0-0 2, Jordan Gillis 1 3-4 5, Darrion Livingston 0 0-0 0. Totals — 18 19-25 59.
Chambersburg (54)
Cole Christian 4 5-5 15, Jacob Brouse 6 1-2 14, Tyler Collier 1 0-0 2, Cade Whitfield 1 5-8 7, ByShawn Mincie 3 6-6 14, Joel Torres 0 0-0 0, Ezechiel Cadet 0 0-0 0, Evan Shreffler 0 0-0 0, Cade Brindle 0 0-0 0, Reggie Adams 1 0-0 2, Tyron Williams 0 0-0 0. Totals — 16 17-21 54.
CD East _ 13 _ 14 _ 12 _ 20 _ — _ 59
Chambersburg _ 12 _ 8 _ 11 _ 23 _ — _ 54
3-point goals — CDE 4 (Chandler 3, Henry), Chbg 5 (Christian 2, Mincie 2, Brouse).
JV score — Chambersburg 46, CD East 34. Cota Heckman led the Trojans with 9 points.