Terell Williams made a key fast-break with 31 seconds left to help nail down a 55-48 win over Central York in a District 3 Class 6A quarterfinal on Friday night. 

CHAMBERSBURG — Chambersburg never trailed in its 55-48 victory over Central York in a District 3 Class 6A quarterfinal game Friday night.

But that doesn’t mean it was easy.

Not by a long shot.

The win guarantees No. 2 seed Chambersburg (20-5) a spot in the PIAA Tournament and moves the Trojans into Tuesday’s district semifinals. They will host No. 3 seed Reading (19-6), a 68-55 winner over Manheim Township, at CASHS Field House at 7 p.m.

The Panthers’ defense made it difficult for the Trojans all night, and by hitting seven 3-pointers they stayed in the game.

When Larry Hunt hit a step-back three with 55 seconds to go, he brought his team to within one of Chambersburg at 49-48.

But that was the last point Central York scored. Seth Brouse hit both ends of a 1-and-1 with 45 ticks left to make it 51-48, then Terell Williams picked up a loose ball and went coast-to-coast for a layup to make it 53-48 with 0:31 left.

“Terell’s basket was really huge,” Trojan coach Shawn Shreffler said. “And then we did a really good job at the end on defense, getting back and matching up and diagnosing what they were trying to do. We contested every shot they took and made them difficult looks. And we got every rebound, too.”

That’s the formula Chambersburg used over the second half of the season when it won 11 consecutive games — take the lead and not let the other team catch them.

Ethan Shreffler, who led the Trojans with 15 points, said, “You can’t just shut it down on offense when you have the lead — you have to keep scoring.”

Shreffler helped his team get the lead by drilling a trio of 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the game.

A 7-0 run midway through the first — two free throws by Ty Holsopple, Shreffler’s third long ball and a putback by Williams — put Chambersburg up 13-5.

From that point on, every time Central York fought back to make it close, the Trojans pulled away a little again, holding 10-point leads twice. Until Hunt’s late 3-pointer, the Panthers did not get closer than three points.

A big reason why the Panthers stayed close was because of their excellent defense. The guards, especially Hunt, were very quick and the inside defenders, although giving away some size, contested every Trojan shot. The officials consistently let them play underneath, so there was lots of contact.

“I think our guys understood how good they’d be on defense,” Shawn Shreffler said, “because we had scrimmaged them. Regardless of their size, they will pressure you out front and they’ll contest you underneath.”

Brouse, Chambersburg’s main ballhandler, had a tough task against the lightning-quick Hunt, but he handled it well. In all, the Trojans’ 13 turnovers were an acceptable number.

Ethan Shreffler said, “They were like CV the way they set up and pressured you, and they like to reach a lot. Once I saw how physical (the officials) were letting them play, we had to adjust to that.

“I thought Seth did really well. We’re comfortable with him having the ball a lot and he made a lot of good decisions with it.”

Once again, balanced scoring helped the Trojans. Williams and Holsopple each had 10 points, Max Doctor and Brouse each had seven and Tyler Collier had six.

Credit, too, to Chambersburg’s defense. Although Central York shot well (55%), the Trojans held them to only 34 shots.

Shawn Shreffler said, “I thought if we could hold them to under 50 points, we’d have a real good chance to win.”

NOTES: Alex Salter led the Panthers with 17 points, including three 3-pointers and a variety of nice drives to the basket … Chambersburg hit its first seven foul shots, and was 8-for-13 in the fourth period … Harrisburg will play at Wilson in the other 6A semifinal.

Chambersburg 55, Central York 48
CENTRAL YORK
Larry Hunt 3 1-2 8, Alex Salter 7 0-0 17, Braden Richard 1 0-0 3, Evan Eisenhart 2 0-0 5, Gabe Guidinger 3 1-3 8, TyQuez McMillen 1 0-0 2, Taylor Wright Rawls 1 1-2 3, Nolan Hubbs 1 0-0 2, Saa’hir Cornelious 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 3-6 48.
CHAMBERSBURG
Braden Byers 0 0-0 0, Ethan Shreffler 5 2-2 15, Seth Brouse 2 2-4 7, Aaron Maynard 0 0-0 0, Tyler Collier 1 4-5 6, Kyere Morton 0 0-0 0, Max Doctor 3 1-2 7, Ty Holsopple 4 2-2 10, Terell Williams 4 1-2 10. Totals 19 12-17 55.
Central York              9   16   8   15   —   48
Chambersburg       17   11  11  16   —   55
3-point shots — CY 7 (Salter 3, Hunt, Richard, Eisenhart, Guidinger); Chbg 5 (Shreffler 3, Brouse, Williams). Shooting — CY 19-34 (55%); Chbg 19-42 (45%). Turnovers — CY 8; Chbg 13.