Tyler Collier scored a season-high 20 points.
CHAMBERSBURG — If you were given these two facts — (1.) Chambersburg would hold State College scoreless for a stretch of nearly 11 minutes, and (2.) Tyler Collier would break out for 20 points plus a bunch of rebounds and three blocked shots — you’d feel pretty safe placing this game in the “W” column for the Trojans.
But you would be incorrect.
A short desperation shot by the Little Lions’ Oliver Kile that just beat the buzzer lifted his team to a 42-40 Mid Penn Commonwealth boys basketball victory Friday night at CASHS Field House.
A 3-pointer from the top of the key by Collier tied the game at 40 with 0:31 left and finished a fine comeback from a 40-33 deficit with 1:14 left for Chambersburg (2-2, 1-1 MPC).
State College (2-2, 2-0 MPC) let some seconds drift away before getting into its offense, but the Trojan defense held its ground and did not allow any penetration or open looks.
Finally the ball came to Kile in the right corner — he was probably the Little Lions’ fifth option on the play — and he drove and flipped up a left-handed hopeful prayer over Collins that was answered.
“That ending was, just …” said Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler, patiently searching for the right word, “… unfortunate. We played great defense and I thought we forced a walk or an offensive foul or something, but that kid got the ball and made a play.
“We shut down the No. 1 (option), shut down No. 2 and we thought No. 3 turned it over.”
Perhaps even tougher to take than the ending was that the Trojans wasted a sparkling second half of defense.
Tommy Friberg hit a 3-pointer for SC near the end of the first half for a 26-21 lead, but his team did not score again until Cam Villarouel drove for a bucket with 5:31 left in the game — a spell of almost 11 minutes.
“I think we just got more comfortable with what they were trying to do,” Shreffler said.
In the third period, State College was 0-for-9 from the field and had eight turnovers.
However, from Friberg’s shot to Villarouel’s, Chambersburg managed to score only eight points, so a five-point deficit became only a three-point lead.
The Trojans are simply struggling on offense. Nobody other than Collier had more than 4 points and the team shot only 32.5% from the field.
Shreffler said, “State College is strong and physical and we weren’t able to get the whole way to the rim. And we let them push us away from the positions we wanted to be in near the basket. We’ve got to improve on that.
“I think there’s still too much thinking going on. We’re not making plays, and we’re still not as aggressive and assertive as we need to be.”
Once the Little Lions finally broke the ice, they erased Chambersburg’s lead and broke out to a 40-33 advantage with just 1:14 remaining.
But the Trojans got a foul shot from Collier, a 3-pointer by Kyere Morton with 45 seconds left, and, after SC missed two foul shots, the tying bomb from Collier to get the gym rocking.
But after Kile’s shot, the only thing rocking was the Little Lions’ long bus ride home.
NOTES: Max Doctor and Seth Brouse each had 4 points for Chambersburg … Villarouel (11) and Tommy Friberg (9) led SC … The Little Lions shot 40.5% from the field … The Trojans made 11 of 15 free throws … Shreffler on Collier: “In one of the timeouts, I challenged Tyler, and he had a nice night.”
State College 42, Chambersburg 40
STATE COLLEGE
Johnny Friberg 3 0-0 8, Tommy Friberg 4 0-2 9, Jarron Standridge 0 0-0 0, Cam Villarouel 2 7-10 11, Brenden Franks 1 0-0 3, Cole Friberg 0 0-0 0, Oliver Kile 2 1-2 5, Nate Lusk 3 0-3 6. Totals 15 8-17 42.
CHAMBERSBURG
Seth Brouse 1 2-2 4, Tyler Collier 7 5-7 20, Aaron Maynard 0 1-2 1, Braden Byers 1 0-0 2, Ty Holsopple 2 1-2 3, Tucker Perry 0 0-0 0, Kyere Morton 1 0-0 3, Henry Shearer 1 0-0 3, Max Doctor 1 2-2 4. Totals 14 11-15 40.
State College 16 10 0 16 — 42
Chambersburg 14 7 5 14 — 40
3-point shots — SC 4 (J.Friberg 2, T.Friberg, Franks); Chbg 3 (Collier, Morton, Shearer). Shooting — SC 15-37 (40.5%); Chbg 14-43 (32.5%). Turnovers — SC 17; Chbg 13.