City of Basketball Love

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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CHAMBERSBURG — With the wide headband he’s favoring these days snugly in place — and keeping his lengthy locks from flying all over the place — Seth Brouse could double for a survivor of the wintry Valley Forge encampment or a skirmish with the Confederates as his hometown burned.

“That’s what I’m going for,” Brouse said with a grin.

So, we’ve determined that Brouse doesn’t mind a scrap with a worthy adversary.

Yet when the game gets tight, the result hangs in the balance and he’s asked to step to the foul line and knock down several clutch free throws, there’s no one calmer in a Chambersburg jersey.

It’s almost as if he sees the whites of his opponents’ eyes before making a play.

Such was the case Friday night at the Chambersburg Field House, where the unflappable Brouse and his Chambersburg teammates were trying to play a late game of keepaway until Harrisburg tagged the 6-0 junior with 9.7 seconds to play and the Trojans clinging to a one-point lead.

Needless to say, Brouse converted both looks, strengthening the host Trojans’ tenuous advantage.

And while Harrisburg’s Tony James converted on a late baseline drive to tighten things up again, Chambersburg was able to inbound the basketball and hang on for a 55-54 victory over their Mid-Penn Commonwealth Division playmates that all-but-clinched second place in the eight-team loop.

Brouse finished with 16 points and Cade Brindle shrugged off the physical pounding he took to tack on 11 as Shawn Shreffler’s gritty Trojans (16-4 overall, 10-3 in Mid-Penn Commonwealth) completed a rare sweep of a perennially powerful Harrisburg side (15-7, 10-4).

Chambersburg, which has won 10 games by 10 points or fewer, will close out the regular-season portion of its schedule Tuesday night at home against Central Dauphin East — although the Trojans do have room to add another game before the District 3 Class 6A tournament begins.

Friday night’s victory also pushed the Trojans into the No. 3 spot in the 3-6A power rankings, pending the addition of Cedar Crest’s victory over Penn Manor to the calculation.

Although Chambersburg led by as many as 11 points (46-35) in the opening moments of the fourth quarter, Harrisburg made one of its vaunted comeback attempts by upping the pressure all over the court. While Brouse and Brindle tried to keep their cool, the Trojans did make six late mistakes.

Brindle responded by making all four of his free-throw attempts in the final eight minutes, while Brouse checked in by going 3-for-4 from the stripe. None, however, were bigger than the two he was awarded with the clock showing 9.7 in remarkably bright lights and his team up by one.

What followed was one soft splash from Brouse — and then a second just like it.

“Those two definitely helped us as a team,” admitted Brouse, who was 3-for-5 from the floor (all treys) and 7-for-8 from the free-throw line.

Turned out to be just enough to push the Trojans to their third consecutive victory.

“Lots of poise, lots of composure,” Shreffler said. “Whatever word you throw out there that has anything to do with being calm and collected, whatever the case is, he does a great job with that.”

Brouse was just as important earlier in the contest, however, as he buried two deep looks in the opening quarter and canned a pair of free throws in the second as Shreffler’s Trojans constructed a 32-20 halftime advantage against Harrisburg’s 3-2 zone defense.

“It definitely boosts [my confidence],” Brouse said, referring to his first two shots falling. “Having the confidence to shoot it and having them have the confidence in me really helps.”

Not sporting all that much size and length up front since 6-4, 230-pound Micah Parsons graduated at the end of December so he could enroll at Penn State, Harrisburg’s zone was predicated on slowing down an effective interior attack fueled by 6-6, 280-pound Joel Torres and 6-8 Tyler Collier.

Torres grabbed eight rebounds and Collier yanked away five, yet they shared 12 points.

So Brouse, once he found space and set his feet, waited for the ball to come his way.

“My first thought is, ‘Shoot it, Seth,’” Shreffler admitted. “He’s a very unselfish player, so there were other moments when I thought maybe he had an opportunity to pull it — but he may have made an extra pass or swung the ball or maybe he just didn’t feel quite right.

“When he’s feeling good about where he is, where his feet are, where his catch is, he shoots the ball really, really well.”

When it finally did, he fired from deep and connected both times he hoisted area-code looks. Then, in the second quarter, after Na’Reece Glenn was assessed a technical, Brouse stepped to the line.

Obviously, both looks fell.

Even when Harrisburg returned for the second half and started attacking defensively with its traditional stifling man looks, the remarkably patient Brouse connected again — this time from the Maryland Line — to give the Trojans their largest lead of the game at 15 points (35-20).

While his last two 3-point attempts wouldn’t fall, Brouse converted both of his looks at the free-throw stripe in the third quarter following an intentional foul.

Although Brouse and his teammates were trying to milk plenty of clock in the fourth quarter, he still had several nervy trips to the stripe to get through. Yet, after going 1-for-2 on his first trip to the line in the final eight minutes, Brouse locked up the game by making two in crunch time.

Shreffler likely exhaled when he saw No. 10 striding to the line.

“Absolutely,” Shreffler said. “He’s a very poised young man, doesn’t get too rattled by the situation. To have him there in that moment was great, that’s who we wanted to be there. I thought Cade Brindle did a great job a little earlier than that, rising up and knocking down two.

“Seth has proven he can do the job in that situation,” Shreffler continued. “I thought throughout the game he made plays for us all night long.”

Must be the headband, right?

“I tease him all the time. I call him The Spaniard, because I just think of the Spaniards with the long, flowing hair and he gets a big kick out of that,” added Shreffler, who laughed when a reference to tennis great Rafael Nadal was made. “He’s a great kid.

“He’s a terrific kid who fits in real well with our team and what we try to do.”

Yet once the Trojans take on East Tuesday night at home — unless they schedule another contest — their attention will turn to postseason play and atoning for last season’s early exit.

Getting back in the weight room on multiple occasions will be one of the Trojans’ objectives. Continuing to enhance the chemistry already in place will be another for a squad that’s lost twice to state-ranked State College and once each to Carlisle and Greencastle-Antrim.

By the way, Chambersburg’s four losses are by a combined 15 points.

They’ve also ground out a number of closely contested victories by using that inside-heavy attack and showing the ability to connect from deep. Shreffler also worked nine youngsters into the lineup as the Trojans turned back the Cougars for the second time, something the long-time coach had never done.

“It shows that we can close games against tough teams like Harrisburg,” admitted Brouse, one of the Trojans’ primary ballhandlers along with Brindle, Evan Shreffler and reserve Noah Beidel.

“If we get in situations like that in districts and playoffs and it’s close, we have experience against tough teams like we’ve faced.”