HERSHEY — For the third time this season, Cumberland Valley was just a little bit better than Chambersburg.
What made this one harder to swallow for the Trojans was that it happened at Giant Center in the District 3 Class 6A boys basketball championship game on Friday night.
The Eagles took the lead early and made Chambersburg play from behind the whole way, and the Trojans just couldn't get on a big enough run to catch up in a 48-39 defeat.
"Losing is never fun, and those guys in there are hurting," Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said in the hallway outside a silent locker room after the game.
Cumberland Valley (24-3) won its first-ever District 3 crown, while the Trojans (19-6) will have a week to get ready for their next game — a PIAA State Tournament game at home next Saturday against the 7th-place team from District 1.
Shreffler said, "On Monday, we'll start focusing on the first state game, and we know we'll have to come out strong. Playing in front of our fans is a great opportunity."
Cumberland Valley's leading scorer, Nolan Buzalka was held to just one point, mostly by the defense played by J.J. Kelly. But Buzalka's scoring was picked up by Creston Austin (17 points) and J.J. Lebo (12).
The Eagles took the lead early thanks to a trio of 3-pointers in the first quarter, and several baskets in transition that caught Chambersburg napping.
"We did some things very well," Shreffler said. "But Cumberland Valley is a very well-connected and very disciplined team, They execute, they execute, they execute and you play good defense and then, bam! They hit a basket. You feel like you just played good defense, but they were just hitting their shots."
The Eagles shot 57% for the game (17-for-30), including 9 of 14 in the second half.
Chambersburg had its chance in the second quarter, when its defense was in very good form, holding CV to just two baskets and five points.
But the Trojan offense simply could not convert on numerous opportunities. The defense worked hard to get a stop, and then the offense played too fast and turned it over. It happened five times in a stretch of six possessions. Instead of holding the lead at halftime, Chambersburg trailed 20-17.
"I think we could have been up by 5 at the half," Shreffler said. "All of those turnovers really hurt. We didn't take advantage of the good defense we were playing. We just didn't make the connections in transition that we usually do."
Kelly had suffered through a tough first half of shooting, but found the range and scored 8 in the third period. Unfortunately, CV's Austin was even better, pouring in 10 points in the quarter as the Eagles expanded their lead to 38-28 on Austin's three just before the buzzer.
"The Austin kid really shot the ball well," Shreffler said, "and Lebo hit some big shots, too."
Early in the fourth period, the Trojans got to within 40-35 on a Kelly rebound basket and a put-back by Landon Buhrman. A drive by Ari Snyder made it 42-37. But Chambersburg was forced to foul and CV was able to stretch the lead from the foul line.
The killer came with under 2 minutes left when Buzalka missed his second free throw and Jake Snyder got the rebound and scored for the Eagles to make it 45-37.
Kelly led the Trojans with 17 points and Jermere Jones added 11.
Cumberland Valley 48, Chambersburg 39
CHAMBERSBURG
Ari Snyder 1 0-0 2, Grayson Kegerreis 0 0-0 0, Aden Swatsburg 0 0-0 0, Stan Lozius 0 0-0 0, Colton Cornwell 1 0-0 3, J.J. Kelly 7 1-2 17, Landon Buhrman 3 0-0 6, Jermere Jones 5 1-2 11. Totals 17 2-4 39.
CUMBERLAND VALLEY
Jared Dolimpio 2 0-0 4, J.J. Lebo 5 1-2 12, Jake Snyder 3 2-4 9, Aiden Diehl 1 2-4 5, Nolan Buzalka 0 1-4 1, Creston Austin 6 2-2 17, Adam Somerville 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 8-16 48.
Chambersburg 11 6 11 11 — 39
Cumberland Valley 15 5 18 10 — 48
3-point shots — Chbg 3 (Kelly 2, Cornwell); CV 6 (Austin 3, Lebo, Snyder, Diehl). Shooting — Chbg 17-43 (39.5%); CV 17-30 (56.7%). Turnovers — Chbg 13; CV 11.
