It was certainly not the play coach Shawn Shreffler drew up in the timeout taken with 14 seconds remaining in Tuesday’s Mifflin County at Chambersburg boys basketball game.

Doesn’t matter.

The Trojans’ Evan Shreffler ended up with the ball in his hands with the clock quickly running out and the score tied 43-43. He tried a drive to his right and was cut off, so he veered to his left and put up an off-balance jumper.

The ball kissed off the glass and dropped through the net to lift Chambersburg to a 45-43 Mid Penn Commonwealth Division victory at CASHS Field House.

The 3-0 Trojans were heavily favored over the Huskies, who were crushed 71-35 by Lower Dauphin in their opener. But while Chambersburg was able to get a lot of good looks — especially in the first half — its shooting percentage was not good.

That, and Mifflin County’s scrappy defense and opportunistic offense, allowed the underdogs to hang around. And the Huskies nearly pulled off a victory.

“Credit to Mifflin County,” coach Shreffler said. “They made some big shots and hung around. We just got one more stop and one more basket.”

Trailing 43-37, MC’s Tyreen Smalley outfought his taller opponents for a rebound basket, then Ryan Walker knocked down a 3-pointer. Drew Westover had a chance to put his team in the lead with just under three minutes left, but hit only the front end of a 1-and-1, leaving it tied at 43-43.

After the sixth turnover of the quarter by Chambersburg, the Huskies slowed it down, looking for a good shot. They burned over a minute off the clock, then called time with 1:17 left. With just under a minute to go, Walker tried a jumper from the baseline, but tight coverage by Seth Brouse played a large part in the shot coming up short.

The Trojans then held the ball until the final timeout.

“Even though we knew we weren’t playing our best basketball, we still stayed positive in the huddles,” Shreffler said. “We stayed motivated.”

By rights, the Trojans should have had a healthy lead after the first half, but it was merely 29-26, thanks to a Brouse three just before the buzzer.

But a ton of missed shots from in close allowed the Huskies to stay within range. A 3-2 zone and quick hands on defense prevented Chambersburg from dominating inside, even though it had a huge size advantage.

“I don’t know if it was their defense … we just weren’t making shots,” Shreffler said. “We could have been stronger with the basketball, but that’s something we can improve on.”

Joel Torres (11) and Terell Williams (10) led the Trojans in scoring. Walker had 15 and Smalley 12 for MC.

Chambersburg 45, Mifflin County 43
MIFFLIN COUNTY
Ryan Walker 4 5-6 15, Isaiah Collins 2 0-0 4, Tyreen Smalley 5 1-3 12, Noah Wright 2 1-3 6, Drew Westover 0 1-2 1, Levi Weaver 1 2-2 5. Totals 14 10-16 43.
CHAMBERSBURG
Cade Brindle 1 0-0 3, Seth Brouse 2 0-0 6, Evan Shreffler 2 0-0 5, Tyler Collier 1 1-4 3, Joel Torres 5 1-1 11, Tyron Williams 0 0-0 0, Terell Williams 4 2-4 10, Cota Heckman 3 0-0 6, Noah Beidel 0 0-0 0, Will Harriger 0 1-1 1, Yianni Hronis 0 0-0 0.
Mifflin County        11   15   5   12   —   43
Chambersburg         8   19    7   9     —   45
3-point shots — MC 5 (Walker 2, Smalley, Wright, Weaver); Chbg 6 (Brouse 2, Heckman 2, Ev.Shreffler, Brindle).