YORK — Chambersburg’s boys basketball team had been playing pretty good defense in the latter portion of the season.

But that did not happen Friday in the fifth-place game of the District 3 Class 6A tournament, partly by the Trojans not playing up to par, and also because Central York showed a fine-tuned offense.

Colton Cornwell

And that turned into a 61-51 victory by the Panthers on their home court.

“In our five-on-five defense we were giving up too many layups, probably for about 10 points,” Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. “And then we kept making live-ball turnovers and they got a lot of fast breaks off them.

“They have a good offense, probably one of the best we’ve seen this year, but when you’re making sloppy passes, they’re going to make you pay. And they did.”

Chambersburg (15-11) will play in the first round of states on Saturday, March 11 at the home of the District 1 champion, either Spring-Ford or Plymouth-Whitemarsh (they play Saturday). Central York (21-7) will play at the D-1 runner-up.

The Panthers started out hot from the field and bolted to a 14-5 lead. The Trojans very slowly reeled them back in and it was 31-27 by halftime.

To start the third period, Colton Cornwell scored on a fast break, Sedrick Vessah hit a layup and Cornwell dropped in a 3-pointer to give Chambersburg a 34-31 lead.

The Trojans took their last lead, 39-38, on a 3-pointer by Jacob Bassham. But Central York then went on an 8-0 run that featured several turnovers, and Chambersburg never recovered.

Shreffler said, “After getting down, we fought back with a strong third quarter. At that point, I thought we’d settle down and guard them. But then we gave them some live-ball turnovers and some easy points, and now we were fighting uphill again.”

J.J. Kelly scored 21 points for Chambersburg, Cornwell had 8 and Vessah added 6. For the Panthers, Greg Guidinger led with 17, Ben Rill had 15 and Ethan Dodson had 14.

NOTES: The Trojans were a meager 2-for-9 at the foul line … Central York shot a blazing 53% (23-for-43), while Chambersburg was 23-for-53 (43%).

Central York 61, Chambersburg 51
CHAMBERSBURG
Jacob Bassham 2 0-0 5, Ari Snyder 0 0-0 0, Carter Fogal 1 1-4 4, Konner Whorley 0 0-0 0, Stanley Lozius 1 0-1 2, Colton Cornwell 3 0-0 8, J.J. Kelly 10 0-1 21, Aden Swatsburg 0 0-0 0, Sedrick Vessah 3 0-2 6, Talon Brewer 1 0-0 2, Treyton Sarvis 1 1-1 3, Jermere Jones 0 0-1 0. Totals 22 2-9 51.
CENTRAL YORK
Ryan Brown 1 2-2 4, Ben Natal 3 0-0 7, Ethan Dodson 6 1-3 14, Saxton Suchanic 1 0-2 2, Greg Guidinger 6 3-3 17, Brooklyn Nace 1 0-0 2, Ben Rill 5 5-8 15, Matthew Parker 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 11-19 61.
Chambersburg          14    13    14    10    —    51
Central York               18    13    19    11    —    61 
3-point shots — Chbg 5 (Cornwell 2, Bassham, Fogal, Kelly); CY 4 (Guidinger 2, Natal, Dodson). Shooting — Chbg 23-53 (43%); CY 23-43 (53%). Turnovers — Chbg 14; CY 11.