Fannett-Metal (14-11), winners of five of their last six games, travelled to Everett on Wednesday evening to take on Shanksville in a District Five Consolation Round game with the winner advancing to the PIAA State Playoffs. In a tightly contested game the Tigers hung on for a 74-72 victory to finish in third place and punch their ticket to the States for the first time since the 1994-95 season. “This really is a very special group of young men. I knew when I was coaching them in elementary school that they were going to accomplish great things some day. They play so hard and I am so proud of them”, said Fannett-Metal Coach Paul Coffman.
The Tigers came out strong to start the game jumping out to a 22-15 first quarter lead. Ayden Warren found the net for 9 points in that quarter. The two teams played even in the second quarter as the Tigers went into the half leading 34-27.
In the second half , The Vikings chipped away at the Tigers lead trimming the lead to 53-50 at the end of third quarter. “We struggled in the second half defensively and on the boards and Shanksville was able to take advantage”, Coffman said. Doing most of the damage was Vikings 1000 point scorer Braden Adams as he started finding some room to penetrate the Tigers zone defense as he scored 19 of his game high 30 points in the second half. Countering Adams in the 4th quarter was Tigers senior Hunter Hill as he accounted for 14 of the Tigers 21 4th quarter points. But the biggest play of the game for the Tigers came just after Adams have given the Vikings a one point lead, their first lead of the game. Sophomore Drew Goshorn hit the biggest shot of his young career when he nailed a three pointer from the wing to immediately give the Tigers back the lead, one in which they would never relinquish the rest of the game. Fannett- Metal went on to win 74-72 and will be moving on to the State Playoffs next week.
The Tigers put five players in double figures tonight. Hunter Hill had 23 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Wyatt Appleby had 16 points and 7 rebounds. Ayden Warren had 13 points, 6 rebounds and 3 steals. Luke Coffman had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 6 assists. Drew Goshorn had 10 points and 6 rebounds. “All these guys played a pivotal part in tonight’s victory, so many big plays ”, Coffman said.
The Tigers will play the District 3 Champion next Tuesday in the first round of the PIAA State Playoffs.