CHAMBERSBURG — It was a different script, but the ending was just the same, and just as satisfying to Chambersburg.

The Trojans scored the final nine points of the game Friday night and dealt Harrisburg a 52-48 defeat at a nearly-full CASHS Field House in a District 3 Class 6A quarterfinal boys basketball game.

The win came with all kinds of benefits for Chambersburg:

• A berth in the PIAA Tournament is assured.

• The No. 3 Trojans (18-4) will play in the District 3 semifinals on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Giant Center against No. 2 seed Hempfield (22-3), which defeated Wilson 59-49 on Friday.

• It is believed to be the first time Chambersburg has ever beaten the Cougars three times in one season; it’s certainly the first time it went 3-0 against them.

“It feels incredible,” Trojan senior guard Cade Brindle (pictured above) said. “We knew a Chambersburg team has never beaten Harrisburg three times before, but we knew we could do it.”

It wasn’t easy.

The Cougars trailed much of the game, but never by more than five. Offensive ace Tony James finally got hot in the fourth period, however, scoring 10 of the game’s first 15 points of the last quarter and pushing Harrisburg to a 48-43 lead midway through the period.

Then Cougar coach Kirk Smallwood called a time out and changed the complexion of the game. He wanted his guards to control the ball and run some time off the clock. It backfired.

First, John McNeil missed a free throw and at the other end, the Trojans’ Tyron Williams swished a jumper from the top of the key.

Brindle then drew a charge to regain possession. Chambersburg broke the press and Brindle saw Noah Beidel in the far corner waving his hand.

“I picked up my dribble, and I saw him,” Brindle said, “and I said, ‘Noah, please hit that.'”

Beidel obliged, ripping the cords with a 3-pointer to tie the game 48-48 with 3:01 left and putting the crowd into a frenzy.

The Trojan defense then let the Cougars run more time off before regaining possession on a rebound and called timeout. The ensuing play was worked to perfection, with Brindle feeding Joel Torres inside and Torres scoring with 39 seconds left.

“Getting Joel the ball was option 1, option 2 and option 3 in that situation,” Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said.

“I knew the guards would get me the ball; I just had to stay calm and focus,” Torres said.

He could not convert the three-point play, so the Cougars still had a chance. James was fouled and went to the line, having hit all five of his foul shots to that point. But with the CASHS Crazies making their presence felt behind the basket, James missed both.

“The environment the fans created was amazing,” Brindle said.

Seth Brouse made 1 of 2 with 14 ticks left to make it a 51-48 game, then after a desperation miss by Harrisburg, Keyshawn Jones secured a rebound, was fouled and hit 1 of 2 with 5 seconds left to seal it.

“A lot of people said it was hard to beat a good team three times, but we did it,” Torres said.

Shreffler said, “Our defense was really good late in the game. The last three or four minutes we didn’t give up any offensive rebounds, the guards did a great job of switching and staying with their man and we forced them to take tough shots.

“I felt the group we had in there gave us our best chance to make stops, and they did.”

For the game, Chambersburg held Harrisburg to just 30 percent shooting (16-for-53), while hitting 44 percent (19-for-43) itself. That helped erase a bleak 11-for-25 effort at the line.

Torres was a bull on the inside again, totaling 19 points, but he uncharacteristically struggled from the foul line, hitting only 3 of 10. In fact, the Trojans had a chance to convert a three-point play six times, and did it only once.

Chambersburg 52, Harrisburg 48
HARRISBURG
Ky’Aire Sumpter 1 0-0 2, Stephen Jones 1 0-0 2, Na’Reece Glenn 6 3-3 19, Nyzier Brannon 2 3-4 7, Tony James 5 5-7 15, John McNeil 1 0-0 3. Totals 16-53 11-14 48.
CHAMBERSBURG
Noah Beidel 2 0-0 5, Keyshawn Jones 0 1-2 1, Ethan Shreffler 0 0-0 0, Seth Brouse 0 1-3 1, Cota Heckman 0 0-0 0, Cade Brindle 4 2-4 12, Tyler Collier 1 0-0 2, Evan Shreffler 0 0-0 0, Yianni Hronis 0 0-0 0, Terell Williams 2 2-4 6, Tyron Williams 2 2-2 6, Joel Torres 8 3-10 19. Totals 19-43 11-25 52.
Harrisburg                14   11   13   10   —   48
Chambersburg         15   12   11   14   —   52    
3-point shots — Harr 5-21 (Glenn 4, McNeil); Chbg 3-8 (Brindle 2, Beidel).