Susquehannock edges Eastern York in final seconds
Susquehannock didn't change a thing in the final seconds against Eastern York, Susquehannock coach John Zerfing said.
The Warriors just loaded up on good perimeter shooters and attacked the zone like they would in any game at any time.
Only Wednesday night, the Warriors managed to attack Eastern York's 3-2 zone in the final seconds and net the game-winning bucket with 14.2 seconds to play. Susquehannock's Peyton Reider passed the ball to Jacob Mahan diving down from the high post for a layup to secure a 45-44 victory.
"It was just executed perfectly," Zerfing said.
The win wiped out a solid effort by Eastern (10-4, 5-2 YAIAA Division II), which held a slim margin for much of the second half. Playing without leading scorer Jared Achterberg (knee injury), Eastern kept pace with the Warriors. Evan Springer scored 13 points and Seth Bernstein dropped in nine points.
"We're going to try to distribute the points between each of the players," Bernstein said about making up for the loss of Achterberg. "Maybe score a couple more buckets, pull down a couple more rebounds. Scoring 25 points a game, it's hard to replace what he did for us. But we're going to keep trying, we're not going to give up on this season."
Springer added: "I've played with Jared all my life, it's a lot different playing without him."
Susquehannock (5-10, 4-4) kept the game close, with Reider knotting the score with a buzzer-beater before the end of the third quarter. Adam Hedgeland (11 points), Reider (eight) and Mahan (eight) paced the Warriors offense.
"We haven't won a game like this in a couple years," Zerfing said.
The loss adds more uncertainty to the Division II race, with two teams — Dover and Eastern — sitting at the top with two losses. But Kennard-Dale and Susquehannock could also figure in the mix.