UNION DEPOSIT — Chambersburg made it a game for a half.
But as soon as Parkland opened the third quarter with a 9-1 run to take a 37-27 lead, the Trojans were in trouble.
Aden Swatsburg
Parkland outscored Chambersburg 22-6 in the decisive third quarter and went on to down the Trojans 61-46 Wednesday night at Central Dauphin East H.S. in a PIAA Class 6A second-round boys basketball playoff game.
Chambersburg finished its fine season with a 20-7 record. Parkland (24-5) will take on Roman Catholic (26-2) in a quarterfinal game Saturday. Roman Catholic defeated W.C. Henderson 47-40 on Wednesday.
"We came up short tonight against a very good basketball team," Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. "It was a disappointing ending to an extremely successful season."
The Trojans fell behind early in the game, as Parkland's Nick Coval showed why he has an excellent reputation. The 2,000-plus scorer put up 14 of his 27 points in the first period in a variety of ways and carried his team to a 21-10 lead after one quarter.
The Trojans ran several different defenders at Coval, but he was up to the task.
Shreffler said, "(Coval's) a phenomenal player; very heady, very skilled and extremely hard to guard. He'll have a great career at Davidson."
However, early in the second period, Chambersburg got a jumper from Landon Buhrman and two baskets by Jermere Jones to pull within 24-17. Then Coval went out of the game when he fouled J.J. Kelly and injured his knee, and two other Parkland starters — Zaire Smaltz and Jayden Thomas, had to sit with two fouls.
Chambersburg used the Parkland absences to get back into the game, outscoring them 9-4 from then until halftime to close within 28-26. The Trojans played good defense, including Aden Swatsburg forcing two of his three offensive fouls. Kelly scored 10 points in the second period.
But then the third quarter began, with all of Parkland's starters back in the game, and they gradually pulled away from the Trojans. Smaltz had 9 points in the third, off several assists from Coval.
It was 50-32 in Parkland's favor after three, and the closest the Trojans could get was 58-44.
Shreffler said, "We were picked to finish fourth in our division, lacking a lot of returning experience, yet we competed at a high level in what proved to be the best conference in the district. We earned two home (district) playoff games, which we used to earn a spot in the district championship game, which got us a home game for the state playoffs.
"All three home games were well-attended, as our community, both young and old, came out in great support of our team.
"I'm very proud of these young men and the impact they made on our community this season."
NOTES: Kelly led Chambersburg with 18 points … Cornwell added 9 and Jones had 7 … Smaltz totaled 15 for Parkland and Thomas scored 8 … The Trojans shot just 2-for-14 in the decisive third period.
Parkland 61, Chambersburg 46
CHAMBERSBURG
Ari Snyder 1 0-0 3, Grayson Kegerreis 2 0-0 5, Aden Swatsburg 0 0-0 0, Eli McDonald 0 0-0 0, Stan Lozius 0 0-0 0, Ben Etter 0 0-0 0, Colton Cornwell 2 3-4 9, J.J. Kelly 7 4-5 18, Landon Buhrman 2 0-0 4, Dylan Banda 0 0-0 0, Jermere Jones 3 1-2 7. Totals 17 8-11 46.
PARKLAND
Nick Coval 9 6-6 27, Jayden Thomas 3 0-0 8, Robbie Ruisch 2 0-1 5, Luke Spang 1 1-2 4, Ziare Smaltz 6 3-3 15, Connor Johns 0 0-0 0, Michael Toth 0 0-0 0, Eddie Paz-Romero 0 0-0 0, Blake Nassry 0 2-2 2, Josh Pulver 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 12-14 61.
Chambersburg 10 6 6 14 — 46
Parkland 21 9 22 11 — 61
3-point shots — Chbg 4 (Cornwell 2, Snyder, Kegerreis); Park 7 (Coval 3, Thomas 2,Ruisch, Spang). Shooting — Chbg 17-52 (33%); Park 21-44 (48%). Turnovers — Chbg 11; Park 11. Fouled out — Lozius, Jones.
