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District 3: Hedrick and Lower Dauphin cruise past Ephrata

02/20/2018, 12:00am EST
By Michael Bullock

Lower Dauphin's Luke Hedrick (above) helped the team win its first district game in four years. (Photo: Michael Bullock/ CoBL)

Michael Bullock (@thebullp_n)
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HUMMELSTOWN — Able to get some things going early on both ends of the floor, Luke Hedrick figured if he could start quickly that might give his Lower Dauphin teammates a chance to settle in and take some time to find their legs in a hoops environment they’d never experienced before.

Hedrick had been in a number of postseason basketball games and so had senior teammate Casey Caruso, but the rest of the Falcons who stepped on their home floor Monday night had not.

So when Hedrick’s early outburst allowed LD to build an early lead that allowed Rick Attivo’s club the opportunity to dictate flow and play downhill, the rest of the Falcons followed. And when everything was eventually said and done, LD was celebrating a 58-41 victory over visiting Ephrata that covered several levels.

First, Attivo’s eighth-seeded Falcons (18-5) successfully claimed their first District 3 playoff victory in four seasons. Second, No. 8 LD is ticketed for a Thursday matchup with Class 5A No. 1 seed Lampeter-Strasburg — a 55-35 victor over Northern York — in suburban Lancaster.

And finally, LD was back in the state tournament for the first time since 1992, when John Botti and future Mansfield University skipper Richie Miller were bouncing around in blue-and-white duds.

While Hedrick scored eight of his 16 points in the opening quarter, 6-6 junior big man Will Bowen worked the interior for 23 points and 12 rebounds as LD led from opening whistle to final buzzer.

Turns out Hedrick didn’t need to remind his teammates beforehand what they’d be encountering.

“They were all ready, definitely,” said Hedrick, who last season was part of a Hershey squad that finished 10th in the District 3 Class 5A tournament yet went into states and knocked off District 1 champ Penncrest and pushed Chester. “We were picked as an underdog and we haven’t gotten much respect, but we all wanted to show what we could do as a team. Now, they all understand it’s only us and Ephrata on a line and only one advances. 

"So they have to do whatever it takes to get that win.”

Caruso checked in with six points, seven rebounds and six assists, powerful 6-6 junior Brian Swist hopped off the bench to add seven points and three boards, while Jackson Becher collected eight rebounds and dropped four dimes without scoring a point.

Caruso also arrived via transfer prior to the school year, checking in from Camp Hill.

Xavian Rodriguez popped a double-double for Jon Treese’s Mounts (18-7) — Washington (Md.) commit Dilyn Becker and Zach McGillan added eight points apiece for Ephrata — which can still reach states if it collars two victories in the consolation bracket.

Next up for Ephrata is a home date in Thursday’s consolations against Northern York.

Comfortable and full of pep from the start, and with the Falcons able to get the first four looks at the bucket, the 5-10 Hedrick buried a trey from the left corner that opened the LD scoring. He also canned an elbow jumper and made one of two freebies as his six early points gave the Falcons an 8-2 lead.

“Hopefully, I was thinking that they’d feed off my energy,” Hedrick said. “Making them know that this is a huge game. We’ve got a good atmosphere. We’ve got a good student section. … Let’s let that feed into it. I was just trying to be that spark for everybody else.”

“Coach stressed that before the game,” Bowen recalled. “Let’s get started, or that halftime speech isn’t going to be any fun. So we came out there with a lot of energy.”

“We were fortunate to get out ahead,” Attivo added. “I think it relaxed our kids a little bit.”

Another bucket came later when Hedrick swiped a pass and turned it into a transition bucket, after flashing some opportunistic defense fueled by hands in passing lanes. While the Falcons forced seven first-half turnovers, Ephrata totaled 19 before the game came to a close.

“That’s been the key to every game so far this season,” Hedrick said. “We’ve been letting up two, four, six points in the first quarter. We like to set the tempo and make teams play our style.

“Usually, they struggle with that because we have a physical, athletic team and we like to set the tempo and make them play our game.”

LD, meanwhile, turned the ball over just six times.

Plus, LD was determined to contest Ephrata’s deep looks — something the Mounts enjoyed plenty of success at while popping Cedar Crest in their Lancaster-Lebanon League tournament opener.

“Against Cedar Crest, they shot 15-for-17 from three, which is ridiculous,” Bowen recalled. “Coach was like get out there, make them drive into me and Brian. We just gotta rebound more than anyone else.”

Bowen, who holds a Division I football offer from Buffalo, also seemed to be plugged in from the beginning as he banked 10 points and eight boards by the halftime break — when LD led 32-21.

“I was pretty excited,” Bowen admitted. “Usually, I’m pretty mellow before games and I’m like, ‘It’s just another game.’ Everyone played harder. It was just different.

“I was excited before the game. Qualifying for states. It was neat.”

Hedrick, who added one rebound, one assist and one blocked shot to his final stat line, tacked on a late bucket at the rim to raise his first-half points total to 10.

While Ephrata did begin to challenge the Falcons in the third quarter — the Mounts were within 39-33 when the fourth began — Attivo provided several timely reminders in the huddle. The Mounts, however, never got closer than six the rest of the way.

“We wanted to understand that it was still our game,” Hedrick recalled. “We were still controlling the tempo, so let’s keep it that way and not slow down at all. They can get on a run shooting 3s, because they’re a very good shooting team. So, we needed to keep running shooters off the line.

“Play to win instead of just playing to move forward.”

“I just reminded them that there are some signs that they’re going to play what we want,” Attivo continued. “We wanted to push tempo and I thought we started doing it a little in the third and then in the fourth. And when they started coming up a little full court, that’s not what they do.”

Bowen scored eight points in the fourth quarter by making a series of plays around the bucket — all set up by slick dishes from teammates or crisp cuts to the hoop — while Hedrick capped his night by converting his last three looks. Several came on runouts off turnovers or press breaks.

LD, in fact, closed the game with a 14-4 run.

“It was crazy,” Bowen admitted. “They were finding me in the tightest spots and leading me perfectly. It’s great having those guys take the pressure off me.”

While Hedrick’s game-long leadership helped keep the Falcons plugged in, eventually the rest of Attivo’s squad settled in and played confidently and somewhat freely.

They’ll likely need another performance like that — but undoubtedly even more efficient — when they square off against Lampeter-Strasburg. Right now, Attivo’s Falcons are going to relish their first playoff win and the school’s first state tournament berth in a generation-plus.

Especially since LD barely missed qualifying for last year’s postseason event.

“We’re definitely very happy about this, but we want more,” Hedrick said. “We want something to show for this.”

“We’re excited to see what we can do,” Attivo added. “We just wanted the opportunity, so now we’ve got it. We’ve got the No. 1 seed on their home court. Hey, let’s have some fun.”

OTHER DISTRICT 3 PLAYOFF RESULTS

CLASS 5A — OPENING ROUND

No. 1 Lampeter-Strasburg 55, No. 16 Northern York 35

No. 13 Garden Spot 66, No. 4 Dover 59

No. 5 Milton Hershey 75, No. 12 Shippensburg 47

No. 2 Greencastle-Antrim 77, No. 15 Donegal 61

No. 10 York High 57, No. 7 New Oxford 53

No. 3 Northeastern 58, No. 14 Conrad Weiser 45

No. 6 Hershey 54, No. 11 Exeter 50

CLASS 4A — OPENING ROUND

No. 9 Bishop McDevitt 75, No. 8 Susquehanna Twp 73

No. 7 Northern Lebanon 74, No. 10 Elco 65

CLASS 3A — QUARTERFINALS

No. 4 Lancaster Mennonite 65, No. 5 York Catholic 44

No. 3 Trinity 65, No. 6 Camp Hill 56

CLASS 1A — OPENING ROUND

No. 8 Lancaster County Christian 44, No. 9 Harrisburg Christian 40

No. 7 Conestoga Christian 62, No. 10 Mount Calvary 51


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