Carlisle’s Andrew West finds himself surrounded by Chambersburg defenders Ethan Shreffler (5) and Aaron Maynard on Friday night during the Trojans’ 41-35 win. (Photo by Casey Kauffman)

CHAMBERSBURG — It was just another in a series of low-scoring, scrappy, grind-it-out Mid Penn Commonwealth boys basketball games.

And, as has been the case lately, Chambersburg found a way to come out on the winning side.

The Trojans picked up their sixth consecutive victory Friday night at CASHS Field House by outscoring Carlisle 12-2 in the final five minutes of the game to earn a 41-35 decision.

“Our kids know how good the teams in our league are, and I think we demonstrate that with the respect we give them,” Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. “There are no easy games.”

The Thundering Herd (5-13, 3-9 MPC) have been in a lot of close games and they jumped ahead 7-0 in the early going.

Shreffler said, “I think we got out of our pregame routine (it was Teacher Appreciation Night) a little, and then Carlisle didn’t play certain guys we had prepared for, and we were out of whack.”

In an earlier win over the Herd, freshmen Joaquin Ortiz (19 points) and Jeremiah Snyder (16) gave Chambersburg (13-4, 9-2 MPC) plenty of trouble. Friday, Snyder was not dressed and Ortiz played only a short time in the second period.

The teams went back-and-forth after the first quarter with no team leading by more than three points, until it was 20-19 in the Herd’s favor midway through the third period.

Then Dylan Young went off for Carlisle, scoring his team’s next 13 points, and gave his team an eight-point lead at 31-24. After a hustling putback by Malaki Blair and a 3-pointer by Ethan Shreffler, Young’s last bucket made it 33-29 in the Herd’s favor with around five minutes remaining.

But another three by Shreffler pulled his team within one.

“My dad called a timeout and he was frustrated because I had turned the ball over, but he did say to keep on shooting,” Ethan Shreffler said.

Carter Sollenberger missed two foul shots that could have put the Trojans ahead, but he quickly made up for it with a slick pass to Terell Williams for the go-ahead layup, then Sollenberger hit both ends of a 1-and-1 with 1:04 left for a 36-33 lead.

“It was nice to see so many guys making plays,” Shreffler said. “Sollenberger really showed his toughness and Blair got us started.”

James Barlow broke the scoring drought for Carlisle with a basket, then Shreffler missed the front end of a 1-and-1. In the battle for the rebound, Sollenberger went to the floor to gain control and called a timeout.

At the beginning of the break, someone on the Carlisle bench voiced their disapproval of the call, wanting a traveling violation, and an official hit them with a technical foul.

Chambersburg’s Malaki Blair, left, fights for a rebound with Andrew West of Carlisle, while the Trojans’ Brant Byers (23) looks on. (Photo by Casey Kauffman)

Gus Mace stepped to the line and dropped in both shots for a 38-35 advantage, and Ethan Shreffler sealed it by hitting 3 of 4 foul shots.

“Young really handled himself well,” Shawn Shreffler said. “But I think by early in the fourth, we started to make them feel a little uncomfortable on offense, and they hurried some shots.”

Carlisle’s 3-2 zone had given the Trojans trouble, but Chambersburg scored 18 points in the final period, including hitting 8 of 13 shots from the foul line.

“They didn’t use that zone the last time we played them, but we’d seen it when we scouted them, and they’ve been successful with it,” Ethan Shreffler said. “The one thing they differently was they were sinking the guy in the middle down inside on Terell.”

Williams still managed 10 points. Of his five field goals, Sollenberger assisted on two, as did Braden Byers. Shreffler led Chambersburg with 12.

Young finished with 15 for the Herd, which went to the foul line only three times in the game and missed all three.

NOTE: Central Dauphin East beat Cumberland Valley on Thursday and then Central Dauphin on Friday, meaning CD, CV and Chambersburg are at the top of the Commonwealth standings with 9-2 records.

Chambersburg 41, Carlisle 35
CARLISLE
Anthony Rouvre 3 0-1 7, Andrew West 0 0-0 0, James Barlow 4 0-0 8, Dylan Young 7 0-2 15, M.J. Brown 0 0-0 0, Joaquin Ortiz 1 0-0 3, Cameron Steck 0 0-0 0, Brendan Lyons 1 0-0 2, Barry Vasquez 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 0-3 35.
CHAMBERSBURG
Braden Byers 0 0-0 0, Ethan Shreffler 3 4-7 12, Aaron Maynard 0 0-0 0, Henry Shearer 1 1-1 3, Terell Williams 5 0-0 10, Malaki Blair 2 1-2 5, Eli Shearer 0 0-0 0, Carter Sollenberger 1 4-6 6, Brant Byers 0 0-0 0, Gus Mace 1 2-2 5. Totals 13 12-18 41.
Carlisle                      11   7   11   6   —   35
Chambersburg          7   9     7   18  —  41
3-point shots — Car 3 (Ortiz, Rouvre, Young); Chbg 3 (Shreffler 2, Mace). Shooting — Car 16-38 (42%); Chbg 13-35 (37%). Turnovers — Car 14; Chbg 13.