Chambersburg boys basketball coach Shawn Shreffler said, "The last couple of practices, I saw a little more bounce in their step."
Jai'tavius Kelly
(photo by Chris Shatzer)
His team had lost four of its last five games, but the Trojans appeared to have gotten their mojo — and their bounce — back again Tuesday night when they blitzed Cumberland Valley 66-46 on the Eagles' home court in a District 3 Class 6A consolation semifinal game.
Eli Shearer and J.J. Kelly each scored 24 points and Kelly's scintillating third period, in which he scored 14 points, was a massive factor in the victory.
Chambersburg (18-6) will now play Hempfield (20-6) on the Black Knights' home court on Friday for fifth place in the district. Both teams have already clinched PIAA Tournament berths. CV (18-7) will host Wilson (15-10) on Friday for seventh place and the final spot in states.
"I think the health of our guys played a role," Shreffler said. "They looked more like themselves tonight."
The teams, which had split their first two meetings of the season, were close for the first nine minutes, with the Eagles holding a 16-15 lead. Then CV shifted to a 2-3 zone and the Trojans adjusted their offense. It resulted in three 3-pointers in three trips down the court by Jacob Bassham for a 24-18 lead. A fastbreak layup by Shearer on a pass by James Lilley and a corner three by Kelly bumped to lead to 29-18 with the 10-0 run.
Cumberland Valley never got closer than four points again.
Shreffler said, "We executed extremely well on offense — we attacked their 2-3 zone well, when they used a full-court press, we beat it, and when they were in their normal half-court defense, we attacked it aggressively. We shared the ball really well and guys were more aggressive in attacking the basket."
Then came the third quarter, which turned into The Kelly Show. The 6-4 freshman lit the Eagles up, scoring his team's first six baskets of the quarter, and added another later for 14 points. Bassham assisted on two layups, and Kelly also hit three baseline jumpers (two of which were indefensible turnaround Js), a putback and a drive down the lane.
"J.J. did a nice job of attacking the basket and he also played off the ball very well," Shreffler said. "He was able to put himself in a lot of good positions to make plays."
Shearer added a three-point play and then may have broken CV's back when he ended the third period — after the Trojans held the ball for nearly a minute — by driving for a heavily-contested layup before the buzzer and upping the lead to 48-39.
In the fourth quarter, Chambersburg's defense closed out the game by making the Eagles take valuable time off the clock on most of their possessions, or forcing low-percentage shots. CV did creep within eight points at 51-43 after Spencer Titus (20 points) drove for two buckets, but the Trojans stemmed that tide when Carter Fogal popped in a three, Kelly scored on a layup and Shearer drove for a hoop to make it 58-43.
Chambersburg out-scored Cumberland Valley 18-5 in the final quarter.
"On defense we were connected in terms of what we wanted to do," Shreffler said. "It wasn't perfect, because they have a lot of good players, but we made them work for most of their baskets. It was good to see us playing the type of defense we're capable of playing."
NOTES: Bassham added 12 points … For CV, Nolan Gilbert scored 9 and Kuffa 8 … The Eagles' top big man, Jackson Boone, played some, but did not score — he had missed the last two games with an injury … The teams combined to commit only 9 turnovers … Hempfield beat Wilson 56-47 … In the 6A semifinals, Reading beat Cedar Cliff and Warwick surprisingly routed Central Dauphin.
Chambersburg 66, Cumberland Valley 46
CHAMBERSBURG
Jacob Bassham 4 1-2 12, Carter Fogal 1 1-2 4, Eli Shearer 9 5-6 24, Jai'tavius Kelly 10 3-5 24, Andon Martin 0 0-0 0, James Lilley 0 0-0 0, Nevin Yeager 0 0-0 0, Noah Yeager 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 10-15 66.
CUMBERLAND VALLEY
Grant Kuffa 3 0-0 8, Nolan Gilbert 3 3-4 9, Dylan Levis 2 1-2 6, Spencer Titus 9 2-2 20, Troy Collard 1 0-0 3, Jackson Boone 0 0-0 0, J.P. Hunter 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 6-8 46.
Chambersburg 13 16 19 18 — 66
Cumberland Valley 12 10 17 5 — 46
3-point shots — Chbg 6 (Bassham 3, Fogal, Shearer, Kelly); CV 4 (Kuffa 2, Levis, Collard). Shooting — Chbg 22-41 (53.6%); CV 12-43 (28%). Turnovers — Chbg 5; CV 4.
