Chambersburg 59, Altoona 43: The Trojans had the answer inside and outside against the Mountain Lions in a Mid Penn Commonwealth contest at CASHS Field House on Friday night, and that proved to be too much to handle.
Chambersburg (15-2, 10-1 MPC) got an excellent game from freshman Jai'tavius Kelly inside, as Kelly scored 19 points on a variety of layups, dunks and jump shots, and Altoona neglected to mark Ian Stewart and he burned them, knocking down 5 of 8 attempts from 3-point range for a career-high 15 points.
"The way they were playing their defense, Ian got a lot of open looks, and he's a great shooter," Trojan coach Shawn Shreffler said.
Once Kelly entered the game midway through the first period, he scored 15 of his team's next 18 points. The Mountain Lions were hanging around, trailing only 24-23 until Kelly scored 7 points in a row — on a three from the corner, a jumper in the lane and a smashing dunk on a feed from Jacob Bassham. When Stewart added a 3-pointer just before the second-quarter buzzer sounded, Chambersburg had run off 10 straight points and held a 34-23 cushion.
Shreffler said, "The way we closed out the second quarter was really big."
The Trojans started five seniors on Senior Night, only two of whom are normal starters, but they still jumped out to a 14-6 lead with help from seven points from Eli Shearer (who finished with 13). After Altoona got back into the game in the second period, Kelly and Stewart got busy and Chambersburg pulled away from that point, with leads as high as 21 points.
"You can really J.J.'s (Kelly's) confidence growing," Shreffler said. "Early in the season, you could see his rebounding and some ability around the basket. Now, he's expanded his game offensively and defensively. He's been able to play further from the basket and still be explosive around the basket."
Kelly has averaged 20.7 points over his last three games.
The Mountain Lions got some traction late in the first quarter and early in the second with Ashton Neely penetrating the lane and dishing off to Evan Alwine inside. But eventually, the Trojan defense used their quick hands to disrupt the passing lanes. For the game, Altoona committed 19 turnovers.
"As the game wore on, we did a better job of adjusting to them," Shreffler said. "No. 3 (Neely) did a great job of controlling the tempo."
Ashton Bartell led the Mountain Lions (5-10, 1-8 MPC) with 15 points, Alwine had 12 and Neely 11.
Chambersburg 59, Altoona 43
ALTOONA
Lucas Muffie 2 0-0 5, Ashton Neely 4 1-2 11, Kayden Pierce 0 0-0 0, Jordan Lestochi 0 0-0 0, Evan Alwine 5 2-3 12, Colin Lear 0 0-0 0, Ashton Bardell 4 4-5 15, Coleton Geibel 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 7-10 43.
CHAMBERSBURG
Jacob Bassham 1 0-0 3, Carter Fogal 1 0-0 3, Stanley Lozius 0 0-0 0, Eli Shearer 5 2-2 13, Jaitavius Kelly 9 0-0 19, Ian Stewart 5 0-0 15, Andon Martin 1 0-0 2, James Lilley 0 0-0 0, Nevin Yeager 1 0-2 2, Noah Yeager 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 2-4 59.
Altoona 15 8 7 13 — 43
Chambersburg 20 14 14 11 — 59
3-point shots — Alt 6 (Bardell 3, Neely 2, Muffie); Chbg 9 (Stewart 5, Bassham, Fogal, Shearer, Kelly). Shooting — Alt 15-38 (39%); Chbg 24-52 (46%). Turnovers — Alt 19, Chbg 8.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Altoona 42, Chambersburg 25: The Mountain Lions bagged six 3-pointers and used a 12-2 advantage in the second period to capture a Mid Penn COmmonwealth victory over the Trojans on Friday night in Altoona.
The Trojans made only 3-pointer in the game, by Joelle Rheam, who scored 6 points. Titi Kelly led Chambersburg (2-15, 2-9 MPC) with 7 points and Allie List added 5.
For Altoona (11-5, 8-3 MPC), Melana Eyer led with 10 points.
Altoona 42, Chambersburg 25
CHAMBERSBURG
Lily Cornwell 1 1-3 3, Brooke Strayer 0 0-0 0, Ella Parker 0 0-0 0, Allie List 2 0-0 5, Katie Kaufman 0 0-0 0, Joelle Rheam 2 1-2 6, Kylie Miller 2 0-0 4, Addi Kegerreis 1 0-0 2, Bridget Kemerer 0 0-0 0, Titi Kelly 2 3-5 7. Totals 10 5-10 25.
ALTOONA
Melana Eyer 4 0-0 10, Lanie Wilt 3 0-0 8, Kaylee Smith 2 2 2 6, Taylor Lane 3 0-0 8, Brooklyn Barron 1 0-0 2, Harley McGirk 2 0-0 4, Nevaeh Gibson 1 2-6 4, Avery Burchfield 0 0-1 0. Totals 16 4-9 42.
Chambersburg 8 2 7 8 — 25
Altoona 9 12 10 11 — 42
3-point shots — Chbg 1 (Rheam); Alt 6 (Eyer 2, Wilt 2, Lane 2).