PIAA roundup: Central York wins in final seconds
The Central York girls' basketball team is still alive after winning a nailbiter to open the PIAA Class 6A tournament.
The Panthers beat Central Bucks West, 42-41, on Friday in the opening round of the state tournament. The game was played at William Tennant High School in Warminster.
"The odds were against us, we came all the way over here, I don't think a lot of people expected us to win," Central York head coach Scott Wisner said. "I'm just proud of our kids for gutting it out."
Central York trailed, 41-39, with under a minute remaining when Emma Saxton found Teirra Preston for a three-point play, giving Central York the go-ahead score. Wisner said the play and Preston's subsequent free throw were particularly clutch, pointing out the Panthers didn't shoot the ball well from the line throughout the evening.
The Panthers led 28-17 at halftime before CB West made its push. Wisner said CB West came out and shot the ball well from 3-point territory to get back into the contest before Central closed the third quarter strong to take a 37-30 advantage into the fourth.
The Bucks turned up the defensive pressure to start the fourth quarter, however, and took a two-point lead late.
That's when Saxton and Preston came to the rescue.
"Their defense in the fourth quarter was unbelievable," Wisner said of the Bucks. "But we did just enough to come home with the victory."
Preston led the way with 12 points while Saxton and Nikson Valencik each finished with 10.
Central York is now 25-4 on the season and will play Cardinal O'Hara in the second round of states. The Lions beat Upper Dublin 53-25 on Friday in the opening round.
In other PIAA action Friday, the York Catholic and New Oxford boys, and the York Suburban girls saw their seasons come to an end in the first round of states.
The two local boys' teams faced some of the toughest teams in Pennsylvania.
York Catholic dropped a 71-48 decision to District 12 champion Neumann-Goretti and its pair of NCAA Division I commits.
The Fighting Irish held a 13-8 lead after the first quarter, but Neumann-Goretti pulled away to take a 31-16 lead at halftime.
Torrey Thomas led the Irish with 14 points, and D'Andre Davis added 11. York Catholic ends its season with a 22-4 record.
The New Oxford boys also found themselves in a tough spot in the Class 5A bracket, falling to Archbishop Wood, 92-62. After reaching the state tourney for the first time since 2009, the Colonials end their season with a 14-12 record.
On the girls' side, York Suburban fell to District 4 champ Montoursville, 56-14. The Trojans end their season with a 14-12 mark.