City of Basketball Love

Zak Wolf (@ZakWolf22)
__

PLYMOUTH MEETING — Chambersburg knew what to expect.

With an experienced lineup that had come up just short against District 1 champ Lower Merion in the first round of states last season, the Trojans weren’t going to let it happen again.

Chambersburg head coach Shawn Shreffler said his team got punched in the mouth in a four-point loss to the Aces last season in Kobe Bryant Gymnasium, falling behind early and never able to climb the mountain to get back into the game. 

His group learned from that experience. Facing this season’s District 1 champion Plymouth Whitemarsh on Saturday, it was his Trjoans who threw the first punch. 

Chambersburg scored right from the opening tip and never looked back in a wire-to-wire 68-56 road victory over Plymouth Whitemarsh in the opening round of the PIAA Class 6A playoffs. 

J.J Kelly set the tone.

Kelly lost the tip to PW’s Lincoln Sharpe but teammate Joacob Bassham saved the ball from going out of bounds and found Kelly under the basket for a slam to start the scoring. It was the first punch that Shrefller had emphasized.

“Part of my message was, don’t wait part way into the game to realize you can play with these guys.” Shrefller said. “Last year we were a bit awestruck playing in Kobe’s gym and they came out and jumped on us.”

PW head coach Jim Donofrio mentioned that teams don’t drive two and a half hours to play a bad game and Chambersburg’s play indicated that. Before the Colonials could even blink, the Trojans jumped out to a 13-0 start giving them momentum for the rest of the game. From then on, Chambersburg survived every counterpunch PW threw with one of its own. 

Kelly scored 10 of his game-high 23 points in the first quarter. His presence inside was key against Sharpe, who Shreffler and Kelly knew is PW’s best offensive rebounder.

The sophomore mentioned that his teammates were “locked in mentally” and were ready for the moment. Kelly said that Chambersburg did a good job of sharing the ball throughout, also shouting out his team's transition offense and defense in the first quarter. 

To prepare for the frenetic pace and the atmosphere, the Chambersburg starters played 5-on-7 and 5-on-6 at times throughout practice this week. The Trojans knew PW was going to attempt to speed them up and force mistakes, but they’d experienced a similar style of play in the District 3 quarterfinals against Reading, going toe-to-toe with the Red Knights in a loss as Rider commit Ruben Rodriguez scored 42.

The Trojans also knew that if they threw the first punch that the Colonials were going to hit back — and they did. 

Plymouth Whitemarsh woke up midway through the first quarter. After a nightmare start with turnovers, missed layups and three point bricks, the Colonials trailed 15-5. Five straight cut into the lead, but Chamersburg got its advantage right back to eight. With PW holding for the last shot of the first quarter, Chase Coleman drove into the lane, tripping but keeping his dribble alive and kicking it to Jahseir Sayles for three as time expired. What had been a 13 point lead had been cut to just two at the end of the first quarter. 

It was Chambersburg’s time to hit back. The Trojans scored the first seven points of the second quarter and when PW threatened towards the end of the half, getting it back down to four the lead was straight back up to nine at the end of the half. 

“That was a lesson learned from last year,” Shreffler said. “It’s important to know you’re going to  make mistakes and you have to learn from them. Throughout that game as well, anytime we made a mistake, guys kept their heads up, stayed positive and kept working.”

“It’s a 32 minute game, we just had to make sure our guys didn’t go away.” Shreffler said. “We were pretty strong with the basketball knowing that they really like to come at you. I thought our guards handled that pressure well, and I thought our bigs, you know, were huge, just in their ability to score around the rim.”

Bassham, who finished with 18 points, hit timely threes in the first half, when he knocked down three of his four triples. His patience along with Carter Fogal helped calm the Trojans whenever PW threatened to make a run. They dealt with the pressure well enough to keep the Colonials at arm's length. Chambersburg’s ability to respond had PW flustered, with players rushing and pressing to get back into the game, despite having time.

“We've been on both sides of that game,” PW head coach Jim Donofrio said “When you have nothing to lose and psychology is completely different. We didn't scare them in the first two minutes of the game and they came out to play.”

Donofrio also mentioned that after winning the District 1 championship that his team had a “brass ring” and once you get your hands on it then everyone wants to take it. He mentioned that it’s human nature for a team to relax after coming off such a high. Donofrio said his team all year relied on Qudire Bennett or Jaden Colzie to hit big shots, with Coleman making big plays and Sharpe getting rebounds, but it didn’t happen enough on Saturday.

As it did in the first half Chambersburg jumped on PW early in the second half, building a double-digit lead. With time winding down at the end of the third, Bassham swished home a three putting the Trojans up 11. After eventually going up 14, PW attempted another push. 

Coleman (23 points)  and Colzie attacked the basket, getting to the rim with ease. Bennett, who had been in foul trouble throughout the second half came right in and hit a deep three-pointer causing the crowd to erupt and cutting the lead to four with five minutes remaining. The senior finished with 12 points, but struggled to get it going from beyond the arc outside of the make. Fogal responded with a three of his own, calmly swishing one home to silence the crowd. It was the senior’s first field goal of the afternoon, but was one of the biggest for Chambersburg. 

“That was huge, because I don't think that gym was louder when Bennett hit the three to cut it to four,” Shreffler said. “It was really really loud and to have him come down and bang that three that was huge.”

PW never got it to a one-possession game as the lowest Chambersburg lead in the fourth was six. The Colonials had chances, but Bennett and Colzie rushed up threes that didn’t fall, combining to go 2-11 from beyond the arc. As a team the Colonials knocked down four while Chambersburg hit five, but on much better efficiency. The Trojans shots were timely, making the right plays when they needed to, knocking off the Colonials for Shreffler’s first ever state playoff win as a head coach. 

Chambersburg will be tested again in the second round, taking on Archbishop Wood, led by Philadelphia Catholic League MVP Jalil Bethea. Wood took care of business, handily beating CB East on Saturday to advance. 

“We're going to put some time in over the next couple of days to get really prepared,” Shreffler said. “Come Monday and Tuesday we’ll have a good plan in place that give our guys a chance to compete and win.”

By Quarter

Chambersburg:   20 I 15 I 12 I 21 II 68

Plymouth Whitemarsh: 18 I 10 I 9 I 17 II 56

Scoring

Chambersburg: Kelly 23, Bassham 18, Vessah 12, Fogal 7, Brewer 3, Lozius 2, Cornwell 2

Plymouth Whitemarsh: Coleman 23, Bennett 12, Colzie 10, Sharpe 6, Sayles 5