Chambersburg and Cumberland Valley put on a show to close out the first day of the Hoops For Harmony showcase basketball event at CASHS Field House on Friday.
Andon Martin
(photo by Chris Shatzer)
The Trojans, winners of eight straight since an earlier loss to the Eagles, and CV, which had also won eight in a row, staged an entertaining game of basketball, full of spectacular offensive moves, brilliant defense and plenty of big runs for each team, all in front of a loud and enthusiastic crowd.
In the end, it was a 7-0 run by Chambersburg, its third such run of the game, in the last 3 minutes of the fourth period that made the difference in a 53-48 Mid Penn Commonwealth victory.
"Great crowd — it was electric," Trojan coach Shawn Shreffler said. "It was two teams going at each other hard. Both teams made runs to get momentum, and then … boom! … it changed; we just seemed to have that momentum at the end."
Chambersburg was clinging to a 43-41 lead after a bucket underneath by CV's relentless Jackson Boone, then it ran a play designed for Andon Martin and he came through, popping in a short jumper after driving in from the right side with 2:17 left.
"(Assistant) coach (Dennis Chamberlin) called the play — he trusted Andon, and he did a nice job with it," Shreffler said.
After a CV missed a shot, Jacob Bassham received a pass up the court and stood with the ball on his hip for a couple of seconds, and just about everybody expected him to hold it and run off some clock. Instead, he shifted the ball, put up a long 3-pointer and drained it, putting the crowd into a frenzy and bumping the score to 48-41.
On Cumberland Valley's next possession, Nevin Yeager got a hand in to knock a pass away and the resulting fast break was finished by Eli Shearer for a 50-41 lead that pretty much iced the game.
Boone was a horse inside, scoring 16 points and getting numerous rebounds, but Yeager did his job well, scored 7 points of his own, took two charges and also had some rebounds.
Shreffler said, "Boone is physical and really plays hard, and he's got more weight than Nevin. But he really battled with him."
The Trojans (11-1, 6-1 MPC) held early leads of 7-0 and 10-2, but the Eagles (8-3, 6-1 MPC) came right back with an 11-2 run to take the lead. Bassham, who totaled 20 points, scored 7 straight on his own early in the third period, including a couple of shape-shifting drives, to give his team a 32-21 bulge. But again, CV retaliated, this time with a 13-0 run, and still led 37-35 early in the fourth period.
"We didn't do a good job of rebounding in the third quarter and they got a few extra possessions," Shreffler said. "And on a couple of those, they ended up hitting threes (3 by Dylan Levis)."
But Bassham ripped in a pair of 3-pointers, sandwiched around a putback by the Eagles' Nolan Gilbert, then a fast break bucket by Shearer (16 points) set up the Trojans for their final run of the night.
Shreffler said, "I feel like we've grown a lot since the first time we played CV, and we still have a long way to go. But playing a good team like that shows us the things we still have to work on."
NOTES: Trojans are still ranked No. 2 in the District 3 6A rankings, behind Reading … CV was third before Friday night … Chambersburg, CV and Central Dauphin each have 1 defeat in the Commonwealth … The Trojans host Cedar Cliff (9-2) on Saturday at 8:30 … The Colts, who were upset by Mechanicsburg on Friday by a point, are 9-2 and ranked 8th, but have lost 2 straight … Action in the Hoops For Harmony begins Saturday at 10 a.m. with a girls game between the Trojans and Cedar Cliff.
Chambersburg 53, Cumberland Valley 48
CUMBERLAND VALLEY
Grant Kuffa 2 1-4 6, Nolan Gilbert 3 1-2 7, Jackson Boone 8 0-2 16, Dylan Levis 3 0-0 9, Spencer Titus 2 0-0 4, J.D. Hunter 1 0-0 3, Troy Collard 1 0-0 3. Totals 20 2-8 48.
CHAMBERSBURG
Jacob Bassham 7 1-2 20, Carter Fogal 0 0-0 0, Eli Shearer 7 0-1 16, Jai'tavius Kelly 2 0-0 4, Andon Martin 2 1-2 6, Nevin Yeager 3 1-1 7, Noah Yeager 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 3-6 53.
Cumberland Valley 11 6 15 16 — 48
Chambersburg 12 13 7 21 — 53
3-point shots — CV 6 (Levis 3, Kuffa, Hunter, Collard); Chbg 8 (Bassham 5, Shearer 2, Martin). Shooting — CV 38% (20-53); Chbg 47% (21-44). Turnovers — CV 12; Chbg 12.
