City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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HARRISBURG — Justin Henry knew what was riding on the result.

Should the 5-5 deep-shooting dynamo and his Central Dauphin East teammates collar their final regular-season outing, they’d go into the upcoming District 3 Class 6A playoffs riding some positive waves — and they’d likely open postseason play at home.

Yet while East was determined to close out favorably — especially since Henry and his fellow seniors were honored beforehand — turning back a desperate Steel-High outfit hoping to extend its season would require a quality effort and a good bit of sweat.

And that’s exactly what happened.

With Henry ringing up 24 points — he was 6-for-13 from beyond the arc and canned all six of his free throws — Don Ross’ Panthers defeated the neighboring Rollers by a 71-59 count in nonleague action late Thursday afternoon at East High School.

Jordan Gillis added 11 points for East (14-8), which led from start to finish. Evan Chandler chipped in nine points and Jordan McCraw tacked on eight as the Panthers pecked at Steel-High’s 3-2 zone by canning 11 treys.

The Panthers actually shot better from beyond the arc [11-for-28/39.3 percent] than they did from the floor [24-for-56/37.5 percent].

East also picked up a combined 26 rebounds from Brennen Jackson, D.J. Cooper and Terry Danner — the Panthers were outboarded 35-34 — while Na’Seen Thomas dished out seven assists to go with his six points.

East’s collective performance more than offset a wonderful effort from Tim Kater, who scored 33 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out two assists. Yet that wouldn’t be enough for Rick Binder’s Rollers (9-13) to reach the District 3-3A playoff field.

Not with Henry or Gillis or McCraw or someone else bouncing into a sizable spotlight and knocking down a clutch shot whenever the Rollers tried to make it close.

“Coach Tramayne pretty much just told us that we didn’t want to go into districts off of a loss,” said Henry, referring to assistant Tramayne Hawthorne, the former Steel-High great (2,033 career points) who spent three seasons as the Rollers head coach. “We aren’t going to play for like a week-and-a-half, so wanted to have that win.

“We knew they were playing for their season, so we had to match their intensity and we did,” added Henry, who also grabbed two rebounds, dished out two assists and even took a second-half charge before getting bumped around late while absorbing fouls.

And while Henry picked up his second foul in the closing moments of the opening quarter and sat down, he wasn’t lamenting his lack of activity.

Nor was he concerned.

“I was anxious, but I knew my teammates were going to keep the intensity up and keep the lead,” Henry said of an East club that led 31-26 at the break. McCraw netted all eight of his points in the second, Thomas scored on back-to-back runners and Gillis pocketed the second of his three treys. “I knew we were going to be fine.

“My teammates are good.”

Henry also unloaded an 18-point salvo after the break.

“I knew they were going to play for 32 minutes because their lives depended upon it and they’re Steelton kids,” Ross said. “They have that in their DNA.

“But we were able to maintain,” Ross continued. “The nice thing about this team is we’re not perfect, but the guys all have each others’ backs.

“What I mean is [Henry] and Evan get fouls and other kids step up.”

Thomas was particularly good throughout, the pass-first senior repeatedly finding teammates while playmaking against Steel-High’s zone and even taking the ball to the rack several times for his own scores. He’s also Henry’s cousin.

“He’s our leader, to be honest with you,” Henry said. “He keeps everybody together. He’s a great teammate. I love being around him.”

“He’s healthy,” Ross added. “He’s been battling nagging injuries all year and I heard Justin say this — he is our leader. He’s our leader on and off the court.”

Steel-High was able to draw within a deuce (37-35) midway through the third — the Rollers were down two at one point late in the first — but Thomas’ drive and finish, Chandler’s old-school three-point play after sticking back his own miss and Henry’s trey made it a 10-point contest in a flash. Another Gillis trey from the right corner, with 4.5 seconds left, had the Panthers up by eight (48-40) with one quarter to play.

While the Panthers bumped their lead to 13 early in the fourth, Steel-High continually rode Kater’s hot hand … just to keep it close. The burly 6-3 junior, who just knows how to finish and makes that happen in a variety of ways, had 15 just in the fourth.

“He’s so smart,” Ross said of Kater, a 6-3 junior who was 10-for-18 from the floor, 3-for-7 from beyond the arc and 10-for-11 at the free-throw line. “He studies the game and he cares. He cares like an old-school player. … He plays to his strengths.

“He was good.”

And when Kater sank both ends of a one-and-one with 2:32 showing, Binder’s Rollers were back within five points (55-50). They’d never inch closer.

Although Chandler scored twice in transition, the Panthers eventually closed out their second straight win by going 10-for-12 at the stripe. Jackson drained a pair, Chandler collected two more and Henry strung together six straight makes.

Bottom line is East accomplished what it set out to do by knocking off the Rollers, finishing the regular season in positive fashion and ensuring one last home game for the Panthers seniors when the District 3 playoffs begin on Feb. 21.

While the final numbers won’t be revealed until sometime Friday, it appears as if the Panthers’ unofficial No. 6 seed will pit them against remarkably dangerous Mid-Penn Commonwealth playmate Chambersburg, a squad they’ve already bested twice.

At East, of course.

“We wanted to play at home,” Henry admitted. “We play well at home. We like our student section, there’s a lot of energy there.

“If we get a playoff game at home, we have a great chance to win it.”

Henry, too, will have plenty of family bragging rights going forward since his uncle, Brian Cobb, was a star wide receiver at Steel-High before wheeling off to Rutgers and getting a look from the National Football League’s Pittsburgh Steelers.

Several other Panthers — such as Gillis and Jaylen Hawthorne — sport Steel-High connections. So do East assistant coaches Hawthorne [Jaylen’s older brother], who also played for Bruiser Flint at Drexel, and Ryan Hill. Both landed multiple all-state nods.

Hawthorne and Hill, who played at Bucknell, also celebrated state titles at Steel-High. Another connection is Hawthorne played most of his career for Binder.

These neighboring programs have so many ties they could have busted out the picnic baskets following the game, set up a few tables and shared a meal before heading back out into the frosty air and ducking between the piles of relocated snow.

Hence, the importance of collaring a needed result.

And it was East that turned back its determined visitors, accomplished what it set out to do while perhaps initiating some of those unavoidable Panthers-Rollers arguments.

The kind of family back-and-forth, if you will, that Henry can brag about forever.

Said a grinning Henry: “Uh-huh.”