Ethan Shreffler scored a career-high 22 points for Chambersburg.
CHAMBERSBURG — In a game of definitive runs, Chambersburg made the last one count.
An 8-2 run from 3:44 remaining until there was 1:59 left was just enough to lift the Trojans to a thrilling 57-54 Mid Penn Commonwealth boys basketball victory over Central Dauphin East on Wednesday night at CASHS Field House.
“When they made their runs, we responded,” Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said, “and when it got tight, we responded. We handled some adversity tonight.”
Here is a look at the scoring runs:
— Chambersburg 5-0 to start the game
— East an 11-3 run, quelled by 3-pointers from Ethan Shreffler and Kyere Morton to the end the first period on a 6-0 Trojan run
— Panthers use a 9-3 run to lead 20-17
— Trojans rip off the final 9 points of the half to lead 26-20
— 14-4 run by Chambersburg gives it a 40-26 advantage late in the third
— CD East blitzes the Trojans 12-0 to end the period down only 40-38
The Panthers (3-4, 2-3 MPC) eventually made it 48-48 on a fast break layup by Amir Jackson with 3:44 left.
But Chambersburg (7-3, 3-2 MPC) regained the lead on a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Seth Brouse, a turnaround jumper by Ethan Shreffler, a foul shot by Ty Holsopple and two free throws from Terell Williams.
Both of the fouls came after huge offensive rebounds.
That made it 56-50, but East wasn’t done yet. A pair of layups by Tyree Cowan brought it to 56-54, and the Trojans missed the front end of a one-and-one with 0:50 left.
But the defense played strong and the Panthers eventually fired up an air-ball three that went out of bounds. Shreffler made 1 of 2 with 0:13 left and a final East 3-ball did not come close just before the buzzer.
When Chambersburg went ahead 40-26 — thanks to four layups by Holsopple and a jumper by Williams — it looked to be in good shape.
But the Panthers used a timeout to turn things around. A trapping defense helped, and some iffy decisions on offense by the Trojans helped, too.
Shawn Shreffler said, “We didn’t take good shots and that led to them getting some easy baskets. We missed a basket to go up by 16, and they scored. We missed a too-quick shot, and they scored. Then it started to snowball and we didn’t do a good job of controlling the tempo.”
However, a pair of 3-pointers by Ethan Shreffler early in the fourth quarter righted the ship. He knocked down five threes in the game, and missed only one, to lead everybody with 22 points — a career high.
Asked to explain the torrid shooting, Shawn Shreffler, his dad, said, “Well, he spent all of that time off (out with an injury early in the season) practicing his shooting.”
It was another tight win in the extremely competitive Commonwealth Division, where at least seven, maybe eight, of the teams appear to be very close night after night.
“Our guys showed a lot of resolve and toughness tonight,” Shawn Shreffler said. “We told them that runs would happen and bad things would happen, but we just had to find a way to win. And we did.”
NOTES: Holsopple added 11 points for Chambersburg, which 50% from the field (21-of-42), and Williams had 7 … For East, which shot 39% (21-54), Cowan had 13, Jackson 12 and Xavier Samuels 10.
Chambersburg 57, CD East 54
CD EAST
Markel Horne 3 2-2 8, Donovin Medina 1 0-0 2, Aaron Jones 3 0-0 6, Amir Jackson 5 0-0 12, Tyree Cowan 4 4-6 13, Xavier Samuels 4 2-4 10, Brian Tatum 0 1-2 1, Chase Crowell 1 0-0 2. Totals 21 9-14 54.
CHAMBERSBURG
Braden Byers 0 0-0 0, Ethan Shreffler 7 3-4 22, Seth Brouse 2 0-0 5, Aaron Maynard 0 0-0 0, Tyler Collier 2 0-1 4, Kyere Morton 1 0-0 3, Henry Shearer 1 0-0 3, Max Doctor 1 0-0 2, Ty Holsopple 5 1-2 11, Terell Williams 2 3-4 7. Totals 21 7-11 57.
Central Dauphin East 11 9 18 16 — 54
Chambersburg 14 12 14 17 — 57
3-point shots — CDE 3 (Jackson 2, Cowan); Chbg 8 (Shreffler 5, Brouse, Morton, Shearer). Shooting — CDE 21-54 (39%); Chbg 21-42 (50%). Turnovers — CDE 10; Chbg 15.