Chambersburg’s J.J. Kelly tries to drive past the defense of Evan Byrne of Governor Mifflin (34). The Mustangs defended Kelly well, holding him to 14 points, and took 3rd place in District 3 Class 6A with a 60-55 win over 2 OTs on Thursday night at CASHS Field House (photo by Liam Kirkpatrick).

CHAMBERSBURG — Governor Mifflin made the long trip from the Reading area to Chambersburg on Thursday night hoping to secure third place in the District 3 Class 6A tournament.

The Mustangs got the kind of game they wanted — extremely physical — played good defense, especially on J.J. Kelly, and made 21 of 25 free throws to knock off the Trojans 60-55 in two overtimes at CASHS Field House.

Colton Cornwell

Chambersburg (19-6) will be the No. 4 team from District 3 in the PIAA State Tournament and will play a first-round game on Saturday, March 8 against the No. 4 team from District 11. William Allen and Whitehall will play for third and fourth place on Saturday. PIAA is expected to release pairings and sites on Sunday.

Gov. Mifflin (18-8) will play the No. 4 team from District 7 (WPIAL), which is Mt. Lebanon.

In the first half, the officials were “letting ’em play” and just about every shot and every rebound produced plenty of contact. The teams adjusted to the style of play some in the second period, combining to score a few more points and it was 19-16 in the Trojans’ favor at halftime.

“In a game like this, every point is a big deal, because it wasn’t easy to score,” Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. “The game was played more to their style of play than ours, and our guys didn’t adjust well.”

The Trojans stretched their lead to as many as 6 points several times in the third quarter, including 36-30 at the end of the period. But with a chance to add on to that lead late in that quarter, Chambersburg came up empty on a string of possessions, either missing a shot or turning the ball over.

At the same time, the fouls began called more often. Governor Mifflin took advantage and scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter to take a 41-36 lead. They also got into the bonus with over 5 minutes left.

That allowed the Mustangs to slow down the game and run some clock. And they went to line. And when they did, they were nearly perfect. For the game, Gov. Mifflin was 21-for-25 at the line, while the Trojans hurt themselves by hitting only 9 of 19.

Shreffler said, “They were very comfortable not shooting the ball, because they had the lead and were making their free throws. But our guys fought and clawed to take the game into overtime.”

The Mustangs led 45-40 when Stanley Lozius hit a 3 with 1:05 left for Chambersburg. After a steal, the Trojans got the ball on the break to Josh Rudy, who made a difficult and heavily contested layup to tie it 45-45 with 0:42 left.

Gov. Mifflin had the last possession, but a steal thwarted any chance of a game-winning shot.

In the first OT, the Mustangs led 49-45 before a three-point play by Kelly. This time it was Eli McDonald who made a tying layup on an assist from Landon Buhrman. Once again, the Mustangs turned it over before getting the last shot.

But in the second OT, Gov. Mifflin took the lead again and just kept hitting free throws. They made 10 in a row in the fourth quarter and were 9-for-12 in overtime.

The Trojans never held the lead after GM’s 11-0 run early in the fourth.

Shreffler said, “They played excellent position defense, and put their players in the right spots. I just wish we’d had more than one day to prepare for them … but they were in the same boat, too.”

NOTES: Colton Cornwell led the Trojans with 17 points, Buhrman had 15 and Kelly had 14, his lowest total since the first game of the season .. Kelly also had 7 rebounds and 3 assists … Cornwell and Lozius each 4 boards … For the Mustangs, Jahmair Johnson and Matt Koehler each scored 16 and Ian Fleming added 11.

Governor Mifflin 60, Chambersburg 55, 2OT
GOV. MIFFLIN 
Andrew Galantuomo 2 3-4 7, Ian Fleming 3 4-6 11, Jahmair Johnson 5 4-4 16, Stephen Mayo 3 2-2 8, Mark Koehler 3 7-8 16, Mark Lachina 0 0-0 0, Kamronn Florimon 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 21-25 60.
CHAMBERSBURG
Josh Rudy 1 0-2 2, Ayden Silvestre 0 0-0 0, Eli McDonald 1 0-0 2, Stanley Lozius 2 0-4 5, Colton Cornwell 7 0-2 17, J.J. Kelly 6 4-5 14, Landon Buhrman 5 5-6 15, Tyrell Hawkins 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 9-19 55.
Gov. Mifflin                  8       8     14     15     5     10     —     60
Chambersburg            5     14     17       9     5       5     —     55
3-point shots — GM 5 (Johnson 2, Koehler 2, Fleming); Chbg 4 (Cornwell 3, Loziis). Shooting — GM 17-45 (38%); Chbg 21-57 (37%). Turnovers — GM 11; Chbg 10. Rebounds — GM 16 (Fleming 6); Chbg 22 (Kelly 7). Assists — GM 9 (Galantuomo 5); Chbg 11 (Kelly 3, Lozius 3).