By Levi Cressler

One week ago when the Shippensburg Greyhounds lost the District 3 title game, coach Ray Staver said he wanted his team to make some more memories this season. Well, they continued to do so Friday night at legendary Martz Hall in Pottsville as they defeated the Pittston Patriots 49-43. The win means Shippensburg has qualified for the quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

Getting the win was not easy by any stretch. Pittston came out of the gates firing early by scoring the first five points of the game just two minutes in. Then Shippensburg senior guard Jayden Statum got going. Statum scored five points in the opening quarter, including a step back three pointer. At the end of the low scoring first quarter the Hounds found themselves ahead 9-7.

In the second quarter Pittston knocked down two triples and seemed to find something with their defense. They outscored Shippensburg 10-9 in the quarter and had successfully played the game at the pace they preferred. “They definitely controlled the tempo in the first half,” said Staver.

In the third quarter the Greyhounds started to find their way. Anthony Smith and Jeremy Thomas combined for ten points in the paint. Then in transition Statum found Trae Kater spotted up on the left wing and he buried a three-point field goal to the delight of the Shippensburg crowd. Pittston, playing like the District 2 champions they are though would not roll over. They took each Shippensburg blow and kept responding right back. As the third quarter horn sounded the Greyhounds held a 31-27 advantage.

In the fourth quarter the tempo finally fully went in the favor of Shippensburg. Pittston, who entered Friday allowing just 41 points per game on the season was forced to play from behind with a more aggressive, trapping defense. While that did create a turnover here and there, the Greyhound guards pushed the pace in transition to find Thomas for ten fourth quarter points. “We felt like their transition defense could be attacked and in the second half we really couldn’t have been any better,” added Staver.

With Shippensburg holding a 40-37 lead with 2:30 left Graison Michalijuk went to the line and calmly knocked down two free throws. After a Patriot three pointer, Jayden Statum sliced his way to the rim for a layup and a 44-40 lead. After rebounding a missed Patriots shot, Thomas got free in transition again for a bucket and the Hounds found themselves holding a 46-40 lead. From there the fouling began and Shippensburg converted free throws down the stretch, while earning themselves the right to play Tuesday night in the state quarterfinals. “A few times I thought about calling a timeout, but didn’t,” said Staver about the late game stretch. “Sometimes you put the game in the kids hands and tonight we made the plays,” added Staver.

When asked after the game about his team making memories, Staver had this to say, “To come to this place, this gym, with this history, against a tough opponent, it’s special.”

The Greyhounds will move on to play Chester on Tuesday night. A location and tip off time will be released on Saturday.

Shippensburg 49 Pittston 43
Shippensburg: Statum 3 0-1 7, Kater 2 1-2 7, Thomas 9 2-4 20, Michalijuk 0 2-2 2, Smith 6 1-2 13.
Totals 20 6-11 49.
Pittston: Walsh 4 0-0 9, Ghannam 4 0-0 8, Locker 2 0-0 6, Cencetti 3 0-0 9, Januzzi 5 0-0 11. Totals 18 0-0 43.

Three point shots: Ship 3 (Kater 2, Statum) Pittston 7 ( Walsh, Locker 2, Cencetti 3, Januzzi)
Ship: 9 9 13 18—–49
Pittston: 7 10 10 16—–43