WAYNESBORO — Chambersburg’s depth was simply too much for James Buchanan to handle.
Jai’tavius Kelly
(photo courtesy Chris Shatzer)
The Trojans played everybody and 11 of them got on the score sheet, and the Rockets — playing without point guard Trenton Miller for all but the start of the first quarter — could not come close to matching that.
The result was a 73-38 win for Chambersburg to capture the Franklin County Tip-Off Tournament boys crown at Waynesboro on Saturday night.
“I felt bad for No. 2 (Miller) when he went out,” Trojan coach Shawn Shreffler said. “He played with so much heart and willed them to win last night, which is when he got hurt. He wasn’t 100% and that affected them tremendously.”
The Rockets hung in early, trailing only 18-11 after one quarter and 25-18 early in the second.
But when the Chambersburg starting rotation returned to the court, they were lights out. The Trojans cored 17 consecutive points to close out the half for a 42-18 bulge. Eli Shearer dropped in a pair of threes during the spree, Jacob Bassham hit a three and a steal for a bucket and freshman Jai’tavius Kelly scored on a layup and a rebound.
Shreffler said, “We were a little sloppy early, but when we took care of the basketball and shared the basketball — and they go hand-in-hand — then we started getting assists and we saw guys making shots.”
Shearer, who was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, scored 11 of his 20 points in the first half, Kelly had all of his 11 in that half and Bassham added 8. Bassham was named to the all-tournament team. Andon Martin patrolled inside for five baskets and totaled 11 points.
For the Rockets, Jayce Piper worked hard inside to tally his 18 points. He scored at least four buckets with a left-handed scoop shot that helped him get named to the all-tourney team. Trent Amsley and Cade Layton each added 7 points.
“We’re still growing; Eli just started playing with us last Tuesday, and the guys have to get more comfortable playing with him,” Shreffler said. “There are still a lot of improvements we can make. We don’t have a lot of experience in Mid Penn Commonwealth play, so every game we play is an opportunity to get better.”
Chambersburg 73, James Buchanan 38
JAMES BUCHANAN
Jayce Piper 7 3-4 18, Trenton Miller 0 0-0 0, Trent Amsley 3 1-2 7, Cade Layton 2 2-2 7, Garrett Hann 0 0-0 0, Bryce Hissong 1 0-0 2, Tanner Salovich 1 0-0 2, James Bell 0 0-2 0, Andrew Crouse 1 0-0 2. Totals 15 6-10 38.
CHAMBERSBURG
Jacob Bassham 3 0-0 8, Carter Fogal 0 0-0 0, Konner Whorley 1 1-2 3, Stanley Lozius 2 0-0 4, Eli Shearer 7 2-2 20, Jai’tavius Kelly 5 0-0 11, Ian Stewart 2 0-0 6, Andon Martin 5 1-1 11, James Lilley 1 0-0 2, Landen Simmons 1 0-0 3, Nevin Yeager 0 0-0 0, Talon Brewer 0 0-0 0, Noah Yeager 2 0-1 4, Jermere Jones 0 1-2 1. Totals 29 5-8 73.
James Buchanan 11 7 9 11 — 38
Chambersburg 18 24 15 16 — 73
3-pooint shots — JB 2 (Piper, Layton); Chbg 10 (Shearer 4, Bassham 2, Stewart 2, Kelly, Simmons). Shooting — JB 15-41 (37%); Chbg 29-65 (45%).