Gettysburg punches ticket to states

It's pretty unusual for a high school boys' basketball coach to speak positively about his team's performance when it scores 42 points.

It's even more unusual for that same team to hold its opponent to a single-digit scoring total for three and a half quarters.

Gettysburg did both those things in its 42-23 win against Cocalico in the District 3 Class AAA consolation round on Monday, and head coach Jeff Bair was thrilled with his team's performance.

"We did what we had to do," Bair said. "Sometimes a team doesn't want to practice two more weeks, but our guys made it pretty clear they wanted it. We were ready to play, you could just see it in their eyes."

The win guarantees Gettysburg (14-9) a spot in the state playoffs. The Warriors will first play ELCO in the district fifth-place game on Thursday. The time and location for that game has yet to be determined.

Very few things went wrong for Gettysburg on Monday. The Warriors double-teamed Cocalico's leading scorer J. Tucker Lescoe for the entire first half  and tried to force the rest of the Eagles to beat them. It worked almost flawlessly, as Cocalico (18-7) scored just two points in the first half and none in the second quarter.

Time and time again, the Eagles hoisted up 3-point attempts only for them to clank off the rim or the backboard. By the time the third quarter had ended, Gettysburg was up by 26 and had held Cocalico to an astoundingly low three points.

"I'm almost speechless, they were just so cold," Bair said. "And that's their game, and they just struggled the whole game. There were times I was feeling for them because they would get a wide open look, and it wasn't even close."

The Eagles eventually made the score more respectable by hitting six 3-pointers in the final four minutes after Gettysburg put most of its subs in.

With Cocalico unable to generate any offense at all, the Warriors slowed their pace on offense in the first half and limited the Eagles opportunities to heat up. Senior forward Devin Ringler led Gettysburg with 14 points, and scored 11 in the first half.

"This group has proven resilient all year," Bair said. "We've had bad moments and bounced back with good moments."

Cocalico (23)

J. Tucker Lescoe 5 0-0 13, Arcudi 0 0-0 0, Fabiani 0 0-0 0, Trynosky 0 0-0 0, Ulysse 0 0-0 0, Landis 0 1-2 2, Haines 2 0-0 6, Harven  1 0-0 3, Miller 0 0-0 0, Paiano 0 0-0 0, Fester 0 0-0 0. Totals — 8 1-2 23.

Gettysburg (42)

Devin Ringler 6 2-3 14, Ravaughn Dillard 4 3-5 11, Lampe 2 1-3 6, Camel 1 1-2 3, Weikert 1 0-0 2, Biggins 0 2-4 2, Eckhart 0 3-4 3, Buxton 0 1-2 1, Crushong 0 0-0 0, Bream 0 0-0 0. Totals — 14 13-23 42.

Cocalico _ 2 _ 0 _ 1 _ 20 _ — _ 23

Gettysburg _ 16 _ 3 _ 10 _ 13 _ — _ 42

3-point goals — Cocalico 6 (Lescoe 3, Haines 2, Harven), Gettysburg 1 (Lampe).