GREENCASTLE — Exeter Township piled up significant runs to open the second and third quarters and put an end to Greencastle-Antrim’s season Tuesday night.
Alex Albright
The Blue Devils, playing at home in a District 3 Class 5A boys basketball consolation game, could not overcome an 8-0 run to begin the second period, and a 9-0 advantage to start the third quarter and dropped a 65-43 decision to the Eagles.
Greencastle finishes a fine season with a 19-7 record and a Mid Penn Colonial Division title. Exeter Twp. (17-10) advances to play Red Land (12-13) on Thursday for 9th place in the district and a berth in the PIAA State Tournament.
“They did a nice job against us and we just didn’t play our best,” G-A coach Todd Stephens said. “We didn’t have our best effort for working our stuff.”
The teams were tied 15-15 after one quarter, but the Eagles used their first run to jump out to a 32-21 lead by halftime.
To open the third quarter, Greencastle missed its first 9 shots from the field and committed 2 turnovers, helping Exeter score 9 straight to take a 41-21 lead. Camden Eby’s basket halted the drought with 3:20 left in the quarter.
Stephens said, “We had a lot of turnovers that turned into baskets for them. Our defense didn’t get back and they got some easy ones.”
Early in the fourth quarter, G-A’s Dez Holman scored on a layup and steal and Cooper Green’s 3-pointer made it 51-37. But that was the closest the Blue Devils got, as Exeter’s Braylon Reinert scored back-to-back layups after his team beat Greencastle’s press.
Exeter put 3 players in double figures — Jayden Ware (18), Reinhert (16) and Dylan Donate (15).
For Greencastle, freshman Green led with 15 points, and Bryce Davidson and Ryan Schick each scored 7.
Alex Albright, who led the Blue Devils in scoring with 15 points per game, is the only senior on the team’s roster.
“I can’t say enough about Alex, who showed such growth both on and off the court,” Stephens said. “He showed great leadership and showed those other boys how to do it. I think the younger guys will stay hungry and come back better next year.”
Exeter Township 65, Greencastle 43
EXETER TWP.
Jayden Ware 7 1-1 18, Dylan Donate 5 4-6 15, Braylon Reinhert 8 0-0 16, Jackson Kozik 3 0-0 7, Cam Scott 1 2-2 4, Aiden Dawble 3 2-2 8. Totals 27 9-11 65.
GREENCASTLE
Dez Holman 3 0-0 6, Alex Albright 1 2-4 4, Landen Swain 0 0-0 0, Bryce Davidson 3 0-0 7, Camden Eby 1 0-0 2, Ryan Schick 3 0-0 7, Zane Oberholzer 0 0-0 0, Joey Bowers 0 0-0 0, Dane Medina 0 0-0 0, Brady Kagarise 0 0-0 0, Jex McDowell 0 2-2 2, Cooper Green 6 2-4 15. Totals 17 6-10 43.
Exeter Twp. 15 17 15 18 — 65
Greencastle 15 6 9 13 — 43
3-point shots — ET 2 (Donate, Kozik); GA 3 (Davidson, Schick, Green).