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York Country Day rallies for first district title


HERSHEY - The York Country Day boys' basketball team found itself in a unique position at halftime Friday in the District 3 Class A boys' basketball championship game.

There were just a handful of times during the season when the Greyhounds trailed, but that was the case after the first 16 minutes against perennial power Greenwood.

But, the Greyhounds came out rejuvenated in the third quarter and took firm control of the game to claim the schools first district title with a 56-44 win.

"At halftime we went over the scouting report and the keys to the game and we checked off none of them," said Greyhounds coach Corey Stiles, whose team trailed, 23-20, at halftime. "At the end of the game, we probably checked off every single one of them. That's what happens when you understand the scouting report and understand what they are doing."

The top-seeded Greyhounds (22-0) went on runs of 16-0 and 14-2 in the second half to dominate the final 16 minutes against the 10th-seeded Wildcats (13-13).

"We just had to do the little things. We came out slow and weren't doing the little things," Greyhounds junior DeAireus Brown said. "Once we started doing the little things and seeing the shots go down, it was over."

Brown finished with a game-high 24 points, including scoring 12-of-16 points during the 16-0 Country Day run in the third quarter.

"I cant explain it," Brown said. "It's becoming instinctive for me. I just do what I've been doing since I was 3 years old and doing basketball and just loving what I do. It just comes naturally."

As Brown dominated the third quarter, it was his teammate, Jordan Ray, who took control in the fourth quarter. Ray scored nine of his 17 points in the final period.

"I will tell you, my freshman year, I never thought we would be here," the junior said. "I never thought that we would win a district championship. We stuck together as a team."

Country Day had not been to a district title game since losing to Scotland in 2002. It overcame a shaky first half that saw the Wildcats gain momentum thanks to their 3-point shooting.

For the game, Greenwood shot 7-of-16 from beyond the arc, but at one point it had converted 6-of-9 3-pointers.

Greenwood, who has been in the final six of the last seven years, was led by Seth Ferguson's 16 points.

Country Day will prepare for next week's state tournament. But for now, Stiles, who captured a district crown as a player for York Catholic in 2007 will get to savor his first gold medal as a coach.

"Winning the district title as a coach is 100 times better than as a player," Stiles said. "Don't get me wrong, even when I won it as a player, it's surreal. This feeling right now, I don't think it compares. Those guys deserve the credit. They can hold onto this forever."

Greenwood (44)
Seth Ferguson 5 2-2 16, Woodard 3 0-1 6, Sheaffer 1 0-0 3, Gorman 1 0-0 2, Wright 2 3-5 8, Mordor 0 0-0 0, Goodling 4 0-0 9. Totals — 16 5-8 44.
York Country Day (56)
Gertz 1 1-2 3, Hamilton 4 0-0 8, Greisler 0 0-0 0, DeAireus Brown 10 3-4 24, Jordan Ray 5 7-9 17, Gladfelter 0 0-0 0, T. Wymard 2 0-0 4. Totals — 22 11-15 56.
Greenwood_15_8_12_9_—_44
York Country Day_12_8_21_15_—_ 56
3-point goals
: G 7 (Ferguson 4, Sheaffer, Wright, Goodling); Y 1 (Brown).