CHAMBERSBURG — Greencastle-Antrim was coming off a tough and close loss to Gettysburg the night before.

And the game against Boiling Springs at Chambersburg’s Dunks for Drew showcase on Saturday night at CASHS Field House was starting to have the same feel — a close game all the way that might be slipping away.

Eli Sterling

But two huge baskets by the Blue Devils down the stretch and some fine defensive work that stymied Boiling Springs at a crucial moment keyed a 40-36 victory for G-A.

The Blue Devils (7-4) led by as many as seven points several times in the first half, but the Bubblers (3-8) clawed their way back and took the lead at 30-28 just before the third period ended on a layup by the diminutive Ethan Yenser.

Several excellent plays and six points by Eli Sterling kept the Blue Devils close in the fourth quarter. Trailing 36-34, quick passing from Sterling to Conner Wright and from Wright inside to Adam Horst led to a tying layup.

G-A got a stop on defense, then Wright got open in the left corner and nailed a 3-pointer with 1:32 left for a 39-36 lead.

“Eli did a great job of running the team and that was a really big shot Conner hit,” Greencastle coach Todd Stephens said.

Boiling Springs called a timeout with 1:25 left, and again with a minute left. But its offense could not penetrate the Blue Devils’ defense as the seconds ticked away. Finally, after a missed shot, G-A got the ball up court with 15 seconds left.

Eventually, with 12 seconds left, Blake Shadoan hit the first shot of a 1-and-1 to make it 40-36 and then Sterling sealed the deal by intercepting the Bubblers’ next pass.

“I guess we did what we needed to do on defense on that possession,” Stephens said. “We did our jobs.”

Sterling led G-A with 15 points, including 11 in the second half, while Horst scored 10 and Wright had 9.

Stephens said, “It’s always tough playing games on back-to-back nights, without a whole lot of prep time. But we had some good execution and Adam Horst got some really big rebounds for us at times.”

For Boiling Springs, Yenser scored 10 points and Brandon Ascione added 9.

Greencastle 40, Boiling Springs 36
BOILING SPRINGS
Braydon Richie 2 4-4 8, Ethan Yenser 3 2-2 10, Brandon Ascione 4 0-0 9, Carson Tuckey 2 2-3 7, Marcus Boyle 1 0-1 2. Totals 12 8-10 36.
GREENCASTLE
Jackson Eby 0 0-0 0, Eli Sterling 7 0-1 15, Surzano Solomon 0 0-2 0, Carter McCauley 0 0-0 0, Logan Alvey 1 0-0 2, Jordan Hunt 1 0-0 3, Adam Horst 3 4-5 10, Conner Wright 4 0-1 9, Blake Shadoan 0 1-2 1, Brenden Shadoan 0 0-0 0, Owen Plum 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 5-10 40.
Boiling Springs            8       6    16     6    —    36
Greencastle                 10    11     7    12    —    40
3-point shots — Boil 4 (Yenser 2, Ascione, Tuckey); GA 3 (Sterling, Hunt, Wright).