Skip to main content

Dallastown, West York reach tourney title game


Dallastown and West York boys' basketball teams will clash in an early-season battle Saturday when they meet in the York Suburban tip-off tournament championship game.

Dallastown held off the host Trojans, 61-59, and the Bulldogs defeated Red Land, 57-40, to set the table for an intriguing weekend matchup.

Dallastown 61, York Suburban 59

For the Wildcats, junior guard Donovan Catchings iced a Dallastown victory at the free throw line with 7.1 seconds left in the game. The Trojans, who trailed by 12 heading into the fourth quarter, clawed their way back to within three several times, then closed to within two on a Thomas Merkle free throw in the final minute. But the Trojans were forced to foul, and Catchings, who went 10-for-12 from the line, calmly sank two free throws to push the lead to 61-57.

"He has been here before," Grassel said of his faith in Catchings in the free-throw line. "I wanted one of our three experienced guys in the backcourt to have the ball because they've been there before, and he showed you why right there."

In front of a raucous York Suburban crowd, Dallastown took advantage of 16 first-half turnovers by the Trojans and led by as many as 13 before York Suburban made its move.

"Down the stretch, we made just enough plays to get it done," Dallastown head coach Mike Grassel said. "We didn't played smart, but we played with effort and energy down the stretch. ... This is nothing like I want us to be playing at the end of the season, but we gutted out a win. And a win is a win whether it's by two or by 20: We'll take it."

West York 57, Red Land 40

For West York and head coach Bill Ackerman, it was all about his defense making adjustments and his senior forward dominating the paint.

Darian McCauley scored all 19 of his points in the paint, including nine in the second quarter to help West York pull away from a scrappy Red Land squad.

"Darian (McCauley) played big boy basketball tonight," Ackerman said of his senior forward."When he was younger, there were moments when he would shy away from that. I think that's in the past, and that's good to see."

Early on, Red Land burned West York's over-aggressive defense with backdoor cuts and easy layups. Morgon Keiser scored 16 of his 19 points in the first 11 minutes, and the Patriots actually took a 25-22 lead three minutes into the second quarter. But that's when the Bulldogs started to turn things around. West York ended the first half on a 15-2 run and held Red Land to three points over a 13-minute stretch between the second and third quarters.

"I think we did a much better job of being in the right position defensively," Ackerman said of the West York defense. "In the first half, we were aggressive, but our back side was awful. If you're going to be aggressive like that, you're going to need the help behind you. In the first half we didn't. In the second half, we did.”

West York 57, Red Land 40 

Red Land (40)

Morgon Keiser 8 1-2 19, Wagner 2 0-0 5, Veres 2 0-1 4, Radic 2 0-0 4, Wright 1 0-0 2, DeJesus 1 0-0 2, Snyder 1 0-0 2, Meckley 1 0-0 2. Totals — 17 3-5 40.

West York (57)

Darian McCauley 8 3-4 19, Dellorfano 3 1-1 8, Cains 2 2-2 7, Bailey 2 1-3 5, Lalic 2 0-0 5, Meckley 2 0-0 4, Hawkins 1 1-2 4, Frey 2 0- 4, Linton 0 1-2 1. Totals — 22 9-14 57.

Red Land _ 17 _ 10 _ 3 _ 10 _ — _ 40  

West York _ 16 _ 21 _ 12 _ 8 _ — _ 57  

3-point goals — RL 3 (Keiser 2, Wagner), WY 4 (Lalic, Cains, Dellorfano, Hawkins).

Dallastown 61, York Suburban 59 

Dallastown (61)

Brandon McGlynn 6 2-4 15, Donovan Catchings 1 10-12 12, Ben Ward 3 2-4 10, A. Ward 4 1-2 9, Albert 2 1-2 6, Atwood 2 0-0 4, Diaz 2 0-0 4, White 0 1-2 1. Totals — 20 17-26 61.

York Suburban (59)

Donovan Mears 5 1-2 13, Chey Carter 4 3-4 11, Marcus Trust 4 2-4 10, Schultz 3 3-4 9, Weinstein 2 1-2 5, Mailman 2 0-0 4, Merkle 1 1-2 4, Thomas 1 0-0 3. Totals — 22 11-18 59.

Dallastown _ 22 _ 14 _ 15 _ 10 _ — _ 61  

York Suburban _ 13 _ 14 _ 12 _ 20 _ — _ 59  

3-point goals — Dt 4 (Aaron Ward 2, McGlynn, Albert), YS 4 (Mears 2, Thomas, Merkle).