By Matt Kellam
The Shippensburg Greyhounds sprinted to a 21-11 first quarter lead, but Chesters’ full court pressure was too much to handle and eventually wore down the Greyhounds to capture a 65-59 win to advance to the PIAA 5A semi-final Friday night.
Greyhound head coach Ray Staver said after the game, “Three things hurt us. We fouled too much in the second quarter, we did turn the ball over, and there were flurries where they got two or three or four shots.”
Shippensburg opened the game with an 8-0 run before a three by Kevin Rucker Jr., who led the Clippers with 26 points, put Chester on the board.
For the Greyhounds, Anthony Smith scored 8 first quarter points and grabbed 7 rebounds.
Chester turned up the pressure in the second quarter creating turnovers and steals to cut into the Shippensburg lead. The Greyhounds carried a 31-27 advantage into halftime.
Coach Staver added, “the pressure wears you down playing 94 feet. It hurts you on the boards and in other aspects as well.”
That pressure and the quickness of Chester was on full display in the third. Rucker opened with a three but the Greyhounds answered with a bucket by Smith. A short jumper from Larenzo Jerkins and a steal and lay-up by Qadir Lowrie gave the Clippers their first lead of the night at 34-33.
Another three from Rucker and a jumper from Breilynd White sandwiched around two missed free throws pushed the Chester leadto 43-36. They would lead at the end of three 49-43.
Two free throws by Kyree Womack gave the Clipper’s their largest lead of the night at 56-45, but Shippensburg mounted a comeback.
With Chester up 60-52, Spencer Edey completed a three-point play, Jeremy Thomas had two steals and a basket and assisted on a basket by Jayden Statum to cut the lead to one, 60-59 with just under a minute to play.
A basket by Jerkins made it 62-59 and the Chester defense came up big again. Lowrie knocked the ball away from Graison Michaljukand scored on a lay-up to ice the game for the Clippers.
Smith led Shippensburg with 26 points and 15 rebounds. He was joined in double figures by Thomas with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Statum with 10 points. Rucker, a sophomore, led the Clippers with 26. The Greyhounds finished with 21 turnovers.
Chester will face the top seeded 5A team in the state, Imhotep Charter, Friday night in the semi-finals.
CHESTER 65, SHIPPENSBURG 59
Shippensburg
Jayden Statum 5 0-1 10, Traevon Kater 1 0-0 2, Jeremy Thomas 5 1-2 11, Graison Michaljuk 3 0-0 6, Anthony Smith 10 6-12 26, ErbyWeller 0 1-2 1, Spencer Edey 1 1-1 3. Totals: 25 9-18 59.
Chester
Qadir Lowrie 2 3-4 7, Isaiah Freeman 0 1-3 1, Kevin Rucker Jr. 8 7-9 26, Larenzo Jerkins 5 0-0 10, Kyree Womack 4 6-8 14, BreilyndWhite 3 1-1 7. Totals: 22 18-25 65.
Shippensburg 21 10 12 16—59
Chester 11 16 22 16—65
Three Point Shots: Chester 3 (Rucker Jr. 3)