Kyere Morton

STATE COLLEGE — Chambersburg made sure there were no last-second heroics this time.

The Trojans took the lead early, used a 12-0 run to start the second half to take control and played well with the lead down the stretch to hand State College a 57-45 Mid Penn Commonwealth defeat Friday night on the road.

“I liked our mentality,” Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. “The guys were ready to compete and it continued throughout the game. We had great energy, even on the bench. We were a locked-in group that didn’t want to leave here with anything other than a W.”

The victory, Chambersburg’s eighth in the last nine games, was perhaps a bit of a payback for the teams’ earlier meeting, when SC swiped a win on a buzzer beater.

Shreffler said, “Yeah, maybe we were remembering that.

“But I think the guys are starting to understand some things, too. We have some guys back from last year, but I think it’s taken the other guys a little longer to get comfortable. It’s starting to show now.”

Kyere Morton popped in a couple of first-period 3-pointers to give the Trojans the lead, then Aaron Maynard made it 20-14 at the end of the period when he banked in a three just before the buzzer.

Chambersburg weathered a nine-point outburst by State College’s Cam Villarouel in the second period to increase its lead to 33-25 by halftime.

The explosion came just after the second half resumed — the Trojans scored the first 12 points to lead 45-25 and Little Lion coach Brian Scholly had seen enough — he pulled all five starters and sat them on the bench.

Chambersburg worked the ball inside to Tyler Collier for a layup, and on the next possession, Collier scored on a putback. Terell Williams scored on another rebound, then the Trojans found Ty Holsopple inside for three straight baskets — one on a follow shot — to create the 20-point lead.

Holsopple said, “We came out with more energy in the third quarter, and I felt like when I got open, my teammates got me the ball. They were looking for me.”

The Little Lion starters returned for the fourth period and chipped away at the lead, but never got closer than 10 points with 2:06 left. Holsopple had two baskets inside in the fourth to help keep SC at bay.

“At the half, we talked about continuing to be aggressive and to take the fight to them,” Shreffler said.

“So many times in the second half, teams have amped up the pressure and we haven’t handled it well,” Shreffler said. “I think tonight we did. I think we dictated the play, especially in the third.”

Shreffler also smiled at the Trojans’ balanced scoring: Holsopple 14, Collier 13, Williams 10 and Brouse 9.

NOTES: Chambersburg (12-4, 7-3 MPC) is now just one game in the loss column behind Commonwealth leaders Cumberland Valley (9-2) and Central Dauphin (8-2) … Villanouel did not score except for the second period … The Trojans shot over 50% from the field (51%) for the second straight game.

Chambersburg 57, State College 45
CHAMBERSBURG
DaQuan Rodgers 0 0-0 0, Braden Byers 0 0-0 0, Seth Brouse 3 1-2 9, Aaron Maynard 2 0-0 5, Tyler Collier 5 3-4 13, Kyere Morton 2 0-0 6, Henry Shearer 0 0-0 0, Max Doctor 0 0-0 0, Ty Holsopple 6 2-3 14, Terell Williams 5 0-1 10. Totals 23 6-10 57.
STATE COLLEGE
Johnny Friberg 3 0-0 8, Tommy Friberg 2 2-2 7, Trey Oyler 2 0-0 5, Jarron Standridge 1 0-0 2, Cam Villarouel 4 0-0 9, Brenden Franks 0 2-2 2, Oliver Kile 2 2-2 6, Nate Lusk 2 2-2 6. Totals 16 8-8 45.
Chambersburg       20   13   16    8   —   57
State College           14   11    7   13   —   45
3-point shots — Chbg 4 (Brouse 2, Morton 2); SC 5 (J.Friberg 2, T.Friberg, C.Villarouel, Oyler). Shooting — Chbg 23-45 (51%); SC 16-33 (48%). Turnovers — Chbg 10; SC 13.