CHAMBERSBURG — The play that Cumberland Valley coach David Vespignani drew up in the huddle with 29 seconds left in a tie game with Chambersburg on Friday night could not have been executed any better.

Aiden Diehl’s layup just before the buzzer sounded lifted the Eagles to a thrilling 47-45 victory in a Mid Penn Commonwealth contest at CASHS Field House.

Angelo Onomastico

The crowd was rocking after the Trojans’ Angelo Onomastico stuck in a wide-open 3-pointer to tie the game just moments before.

But after a timeout, CV’s Patrick O’Brien dribbled the ball until the final seconds near the top of the key. Diehl started under the basket, then came out to the foul line. He faked his defender and headed to the basket where O’Brien found him with a one-bounce, left-handed pass that just got past a defender’s hands and Diehl made a contested layup to win the game.

“CV executed that last play perfectly,” Chambersburg coach Shawn Shreffler said. “We had two guys contest him at the basket but he made the shot.”

The Trojans (3-1, 1-1 MPC) had trailed the hot-hitting Eagles (6-for-9 on 3-pointers in the first half) for much of the game, including 25-13 in the second quarter, but battled back to tie it at 37-37 after three periods on a late drive by Colton Cornwell.

“It was not a good first half,” Shreffler said. “We did not make them uncomfortable. We had too many turnovers, almost no second shots and played passive defense.”

CV (2-2, 2-0 MPC) was able to work the ball around and when it went inside, it usually came back out to an open shooter. Diehl capped the first half with a 3-pointer from way out for a 32-22 lead.

Shreffler said, “The second half was like night and day. We might have been bothered a little bit by playing our first home game, and it took us a while to settle down early.

“Our efficiency was much better in the second half and we dictated the play. We got ourselves in a hole, we fought out of it, and we gave ourselves a chance to win it.”

Chambersburg opened the second half on a 7-point run, including 4 by Cornwell. A steal and basket by Malachi Duhaney to open the fourth gave the Trojans their only lead of the game at 39-37. But a layup by Sam Parsons and 4 free throws by Welsh put CV ahead 43-39 with 4:45 left.

Cornwell swished a three with 2:07 left, and Welsh made a pair at the line to make it 45-42 with 57 seconds left.

Then Onomastico passed the ball off and dusted his defender to produce lots of space and Cornwell passed him the ball on the right wing. Onomastico did not miss and sent the crowd to its feet.

But Chambersburg never got another chance and Cumberland Valley picked off a big win.

Shreffler said, “Over the long haul this will help — we found a way to get back in it. And the guys said the right things afterward, everybody took accountability as a team.”

NOTES: Cornwell led the Trojans with 16 points … Landon Buhrman added 10 and Grayson Kegerreis had 8 … For the Eagles, Welsh scored 12 and Patrick O’Brien added 9 … CV did not have a 3-pointer in the second half.

Cumberland Valley 47, Chambersburg 45
CUMBERLAND VALLEY
Kameron Wolfe 2 0-0 5, Patrick O’Brien 3 1-2 9, Elijah Welsh 3 6-6 12, Kallen Duppstadt 2 0-0 5, Aiden Diehl 3 0-0 8, Elijah Scott 1 0-0 2, Sam Parsons 3 0-0 6. Totals 17 7-8 47.
CHAMBERSBURG
Josh Rudy 0 0-0 0, Grayson Kegerreis 3 0-0 8, Angelo Onomastico 2 0-0 5, Colton Cornwell 5 3-4 15, Malachi Duhaney 3 1-2 7, Landon Buhrman 5 0-0 10. Totals 18 4-6 45.
Cumberland Valley     12     20       5     10     —     47
Chambersburg              4      18     15       8     —     45
3-points shots — CV 7 (O’Brien 2, Diehl 2, Wolfe, Duppstadt); Chbg 5 (Kegerreis 2, Cornwell 2, Onomastico). Shooting — CV 17-32 (53%); Chbg 18-39 (46%). Turnovers — CV 11; Chbg 9.