Shippensburg runs into 'buzzsaw' Central

A trip to the Giant Center? Check.

A trip to states? It's early but go ahead and book that one too.

That's Central York's updated itinerary after Wednesday. The Panthers shot better than head coach Kevin Schieler can remember and blew out Shippensburg, 67-38, securing a rematch with Hempfield in the PIAA District 3 quarterfinals.

Just days after a tough loss to Spring Grove in the YAIAA title game, Central came out firing on all cylinders. The Panthers shot 9-for-11 and connected on six 3-pointers — three each from Onterio Edmonds and Nathan Markey — in the first quarter.

"He (Markey) gets one or two early ones, then I give him his heat checks," Schieler joked. "I gave him his heat checks today and he was hitting from deep."

By halftime, the Panthers had already drained nine treys and led 37-23. It's hard to beat a team when they're shooting that well and Shippensburg head coach Ray Staver knew that.

"There's not much (you can do)," Staver said. "I knew they had that capability. I knew if they shot like that and we didn't respond, then we were going to be in trouble...We ran into a buzzsaw. They shot the lights out."

The Greyhounds cut the lead to 12 early in the third quarter but that's the closest they would get in the second half. Playing in his last game on his home floor, Central's Jared Wagner poured in 16 of his 20 points in the second half, including 14 of Central's first 17. Then with the game well in hand in the fourth, Wagner walked off to a standing ovation and Schieler emptied his bench. Seeing their bench guys add onto the late lead as Central pulled away was a welcome sight for Panthers' fans less than a week after a heartbreaking loss.

"I'm always nervous about that," Schieler said of his team bouncing back from a loss. "We have a really resilient group here. They're super competitive and a great group of young men. We didn't let that hang over our heads too long."

Central York 67, Shippensburg 38

Shippensburg (38)

Shuntan Hickman 5 0-0 12, Carter VanScyoc 3 6-7 12, Mills 3 3-4 9, Kuhn 1 0-0 2, Cavanaugh 1 0-0 2, Houser 0 1-3 1, Staver 0 0-0 0. Totals — 13 10-14 38.

Central York (67)

Jared Wagner 9 0-0 20, N. Markey 4 0-0 12, Edmonds 3 0-0 9, Ray 2 1-2 6, Sobestanovich 3 0-0 6, G. Markey 2 0-0 5, McLaughlin 1 2-2 4, O'Neill 0 2-2 2, Richards 1 0-0 2, Batts 0 1-2 1, Czulada 0 0-0 0, Pribula 0 0-0 0, Hunt 0 0-0 0. Totals — 25 6-8 67.

Shippensburg _ 13_ 10 _ 7 _ 8 _ — _ 38 

Central York_ 24 _ 13 _ 10 _ 20 _ — _ 67 

3-point goals — SHIP 2 (Hickman 2), CY 11 (N. Markey 4, Edmonds 3, Wagner 2, Ray, G. Markey)