CHAMBERSBURG — It had to be a long bus ride home for Central Dauphin East on Thursday night.

The Panthers led and out-played Chambersburg for much of their Mid Penn Commonwealth game at CASHS Field House, crushed the Trojans in rebounding — especially on the offensive glass — and had the ball in a tied game twice with the chance for a winning shot.

Eli Shearer
(photo by Chris Shatzer)

Somehow, the Trojans wiggled free and took a hard-earned 59-52 win in two overtimes.

“CD East is tough, gritty bunch of kids and I have a lot of respect for their program,” Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. “They came here as I expected and gave a great effort.”

But it wasn’t quite enough to get the “W,” thanks to the Trojans reaching deep for a comeback victory.

Eli Shearer racked up 24 points, which included a 14-for-16 effort at the free throw line, and Jacob Bassham tossed in 17 points for Chambersburg (12-2, 7-1 MPC), which trailed by 11 points, 29-18, at halftime.

Shreffler said, “Being down by 11 to them at the half felt more like being down 20 because of how deliberate they are and the way they play defense. It’s kind of like playing Virginia. But coach (Dennis) Chamberlin had the right message for us at halftime and our kids went out and responded.”

The Panthers (4-9, 3-5 MPC) went up by 13 early in the third quarter, but then the Trojans put together one of their lightning-quick runs — this one a 13-0 burst — to tie the game at 32 with just over two minutes left. The difference was defense — Chambersburg forced East into nine turnovers in the period, many of which came on deflections of passes.

“We were a lot more solid on defense and those deflections were a key part of the comeback,” Shreffler said.

Nevin Yeager got the run started with a layup off an in-bounds pass from Shearer, then Andon Martin scored off a steal. Bassham swished a 3-pointer, Shearer made two free throws and scored on a coast-to-coast steal and Bassham hit a turnaround jumper in the lane to tie it up.

In the fourth quarter, the Panthers were up 39-36 when Bassham scored two buckets in a row. CD East tied the game on a jumper by Josiah Stanley and eventually got the ball back when Shearer was called for a charge on a made basket. East decided to hold for a potential winning shot.

Then came a wild play in which Bassham knocked the ball out of the hands of Domingo Cruz. Cruz grabbed the loose ball and tried to pass to a teammate, but with 0:12 left, Shearer stepped in front, stole the ball at mid-court with nobody in front of him. However, the East coach had apparently called a time out just before Cruz released the ball.

On the ensuing Panther possession, Martin made a steal and passed up court to Shearer, who had to choice to try to drive toward the only defender who was back or pass to Bassham. He passed, but Bassham didn’t have time to go for a layup and his 3-point try rattled out.

In the first OT, Shearer hit two free throws and Jai’tavius Kelly hit a baseline jumper, but CDE tied it up on baskets by Cruz and Jaiden Baltimore. The Panthers once again had the ball for the last shot, but missed three shots after a pair of offensive rebounds.

Shreffler said, “We had to be really, really solid on defense when they had the last shot. They’re just so good on the offensive glass. They are quick, good leapers and they’re physical. We had multiple times when one defensive rebound wins the game for us, but we cuoldn’t get it.”

Bassham opened the second overtime with a three and the Trojans never trailed. Martin had a key drive, Bassham got through the lane for a layup and when Shearer beat the press with a nice dribble he hit Kelly with a pass and he drove the baseline for a dunk and a 54-49 lead. Shearer was 4-for-4 at the line and Bassham 1-for-2 to seal the win.

Chambersburg 59, Central Dauphin East 52
CD EAST
Terrence Jackson-Copley 2 1-2 5, Domingo Cruz 4 3-5 11, Thurston Wells 2 1-2 6, Demetrius Matthew 2 0-4 4, Josiah Stanley 1 4-5 6, Anthony Stevens 2 0-0 4, Jaiden Jackson-Baltimore 5 4-4 16, Eli Vega 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 13-22 52.
CHAMBERSBURG
Jacob Bassham 7 1-2 17, Carter Fogal 0 0-0 0, Eli Shearer 5 14-16 24, Jai’tavius Kelly 3 0-0 6, Andon Martin 2 0-0 4, Landen Simmons 2 0-1 4, Nevin Yeager 2 0-0 4, Noah Yeager 0 0-0 0, Ian Stewart 0 0-0 0, James Lilley 0 0-0 0.
CD East                      13    16     9    4    4      7    —    52
Chambersburg          9      9    16    7    4    14    —    59
3-point shots — CDE 4 (Baltimore 2, Wells); Chbg 3 (Bassham 2, Shearer).