City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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LANDISVILLE — As far as Danny Walck and his feisty Hempfield Black Knights are concerned — even though they still have several regular-season contests remaining to play — the postseason has tipped off and every one of them is fully engaged.

So, it’s a good thing that the perennial Lancaster-Lebanon League contender is in the midst of an upward crescendo that has Walck’s bunch on a serious uptick.

Yet while playing well and piling up results in early February can charge up the juice feeding the batteries, these Black Knights have their eyes plugged into the big picture — and they want to be playing in those really meaningful games.

And Friday night at home was yet another of those really meaningful games as Walck’s surging Black Knights welcomed L-L Section 1 regular-season champ Lebanon into their spacious digs, battled gamely throughout and emerged with a 50-47 victory that wasn’t decided until Tyler Hilton buried a trey from the right corner with 11.8 seconds to go.

“It’s playoff basketball … and we’re in it,” Walck said. “And that’s how you have to treat it. We’re in playoff mode, so when we do get there the big crowd, the bright lights, the situation, we’ve been there. So when we call that timeout, you reference back.”

David Martin-Robinson paced the Black Knights (14-6, 9-4) with 19 points — including 13 in the second half — and Hilton checked in with 11 as Hempfield claimed its seventh win in eight games and maintained its hold on second place in Section 1.

“The key is the seniors realizing it’s their final run,” said Martin-Robinson, a 6-4 junior who added two rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocked shots.

“They want to put everything on the floor and all of us underclassmen want to help them because we love our seniors.

Ryan Moffatt and Javon Mitchell added nine points apiece for the Black Knights, who dropped a 65-51 decision at Lebanon three-plus weeks ago.

Camryn Shaak and brawny Khalique Washington scored 13 points apiece for Lebanon (16-4, 12-1), which had its eight-game winning streak halted. Tim Speraw’s Cedars, who have won 15 of 17, also picked up 10 points from Dante Vargas.

Mitchell, when the Knights showed a man look defensively, did a terrific job on Luis Aquino-Rios. Aquino-Rios, who came in averaging nearly 13 points per game, was held without a field goal and finished with just a pair of free throws.

“Yeah, he did,” Walck said, complimenting Mitchell’s defensive effort.

All square at 44-44 with 1:59 to play after Aquino-Rios pocketed his two freebies, Hempfield pushed in front some 35 seconds later when Martin-Robinson canned a trey from the left wing off a slick dish from 6-5 senior Bryan Karl.

Karl finished with just two points, but he delivered assists on three clutch buckets in the final four minutes — including the last two 3-pointers.

“Bryan Karl, I’m just so happy for him,” Walck expressed. “He’s not even a month into his season with his injury. His injury wiped out November, December, he never came back until like Jan. 10.”

“When me, Ryan and Bryan are on the court, teams sort of suck in when we drive or do anything and that makes it easier to get other people open,” Martin-Robinson said. “It was harder when I was out for a few games and Bryan was out.”

Shaak popped a deep look from the right wing that didn’t fall, but the rebound caromed to the left wing seconds later and Vargas calmly knotted the score with his own trey.

Speraw instantly called time.

While Walck’s Knights were content to hold the ball and run the clock down, Lebanon eventually unleashed a half-court trap in an effort to force a mistake that could lead to yet another possession — long before the final tantalizing seconds.

That mistake never occurred as the ball eventually cycled to Karl, whose return from an elbow injury coincides with Hempfield’s determined playoff drive. Karl thought about a quick look at the tin, but ultimately decided to kick to the corner.

Although the ball zipped past Martin-Robinson to an awaiting Hilton, the 6-1 senior calmly gripped the ball and settled his feet before hoisting a shot.

“I made sure my footwook was good and once it left my hand, I thought I missed it to the left,” Hilton admitted. “But thank God it went in.”

With the partisan crowd longing for yet another positive result, Hilton delivered what turned out to be a game-winning dart that softly cut through the net.

Lebanon hustled up the floor quickly, but Shaak was unable to answer.

Hempfield had managed to prevail — despite spotting Speraw’s talented Cedars the first eight points of the game. Walck’s Knights also fought off a 40-33 deficit that was in place with 5:50 to play following Washington’s finish at the rim.

“We just needed to get a bucket,” Walck said of the 8-0 advantage Lebanon was holding when he called for time. “My concern there was if the hole gets too big, we’re gonna be in trouble before this thing even gets started.”

Well, trouble soon averted.

Controlling tempo was one key as Hempfield flashed man, a matchup zone and even a half-court trap that forced the Cedars to lengthen possessions. Finding a way to corral Shaak and Aquino-Rios, both of whom are adept off the bounce, was another key.

“They have so many pieces,” Walck said of the Cedars. “They have enough skill to spread you out and get into your gut and they’re very good at it.

“We worked on changing defenses just to keep them thinking.”

So was just digging in and battling as the Knights’ all-or-nothing playoff mindset kicked in down the stretch and led to a meaningful win in a meaningful game as Walck’s side strengthened its number in the District 3 Class 6A playoff rankings.

“It gives us momentum for the future and heading into the playoffs,” Hilton said. “Hopefully, we’ll carry it out.”

Hempfield came in at No. 6 — Lebanon checked in at No. 3 — but the Knights can keep the positive waves bouncing Saturday when they play No. 2 Governor Mifflin.

Yet another meaningful game on tap for a cohesive group that was 4-4 at the end of December and 7-5 following its loss at Lebanon, a group that heightened the confidence meter by securing yet another terrific outcome.

“Those experiences [without Karl] has allowed us to develop a grit that’s really important at this time of the year,” Walck said. “We had a five-overtime game last Friday night on the road. We went to Cedar Crest and won. Now we come and beat Lebanon tonight.”

“When we stay together and we come out ready to play, I feel like we’re fun to watch,” Martin-Robinson said. “And it’s fun to play. But when we come out like a bump on a log it’s hard, but from here on out if we have good practices that’s the key part, in my opinion, we can put a little run here that’s something special.”