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Game of the Week: Waynesboro at Shippensburg boys


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It would be tough to rank what's most important about Friday's Mid Penn Colonial Division boys basketball game between Shippensburg and Waynesboro.

First, the host Greyhounds will be looking to avenge a five-point loss from earlier this season.

Secondly, both teams are still in the hunt for the Colonial Division title - if someone can knock off unbeaten Greencastle-Antrim, that is.

And last, but certainly not least, both Ship and the Indians are squarely in playoff contention and are now playing a numbers game with the District 3 Class 5A power rankings.

"We just try to take everything one game at a time," Hound coach Ray Staver said. "As far as the league, we'd like to be in position next week (versus G-A) where we're undefeated in this half; that would be great. But we're also looking at playoffs and where we need to be there; each game is important whether it's a league game or not."

Heading into Friday's game, Ship was ranked ninth and Waynesboro sat in 12th.

This one could be anyone's game, too.

In the team's first matchup, Ship led by nine points at halftime before falling, 60-56, to a stingy 'Boro defense.

"When they get behind, they go even faster," Staver said. "They came out in the second half of that game and were much more in attack mode. We gotta be prepared to stop that."

Waynesboro coach Tom Hoffman said, "When we get a sense of urgency and our backs to the wall, we come out swinging a little bit more. It happened against Northern earlier this week. At times, when we've had to go toe-to-toe, we've responded well."

While the Greyounds (11-4, 7-2 MPC) will be looking to stop Waynesboro's potential offensive outbursts, the Indians (11-6, 7-2 MPC) must attempt to contain Carter Van Scyoc and Cody Gustafson, who are averaging 16.2 and 15.5 points per game, respectively.

Lately, the Hounds have also seen offensive sparks from Clayton Stine, Alaric Hickman and even Adam Houser.

"We seem to be getting decent balance," Staver said. "Alaric has been pretty consistent, and Adam (Houser) has been giving us a spark. He doesn't score a lot of points, but he does a lot of other things that don't necessarily show up on boxscores."

As for the Greyhounds, they'll look to key in on Cameron Keck, who is averaging 13.8 ppg. Mitch Neterer has also scored in double figures in eight of his last 10 outings.

"Mitch is playing with confidence," Hoffman said. "I've probably not told a single player in my 17 years of coaching to shoot more than I have Mitch. At some point, he said, 'It's my senior year, and I'm a good player, and I'm going to go out and show everyone what I can do.' When he gets in a zone, he's difficult to stop."

Indians-Greyhouonds at a glance

Game data: Waynesboro Indians at Shippensburg Greyhounds boys basketball ... Friday, 7:30 p.m. at Shippensburg ... Mid Penn Colonial Division game.

Media: Follow @lilziarbogast on Twitter for live updates.

Teams: Waynesboro enters the game with an 11-6 (7-2 MPC) record and is coming off a 69-67 defeat of Northern York ... The Greyhounds (11-4, 7-2 MPC) have won four of their last five. 

Series: 'Boro won the first meeting, 60-56. 

P.O. pick: Ship by 5. Home-court advantage will be key for the Hounds.