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It doesn’t matter how many wins you have under your belt, championships bring a special kind of pressure.
York County Day boys basketball team learned that the hard way in the District 3 Class A final against High Point Baptist at Manheim Twp. H.S. on Thursday, Feb. 26. The Greyhounds jumped out to the early lead, only to have the Eagles turn the tables in the second half for the 51-49 win.
It didn’t matter that the Greyhounds defeated the Eagles by 33 points earlier in the season. That went out the window in the final, especially considering High Point was the defending champs and YCD had never been here.
“They were here before, and have a lot of the same guys,” YCD coach Kyle Moore said. “I think our guys, the pressure got to them in different moments. Those guys have experienced this stage before, so I think that was the difference.”
In their first meeting, five YCD players scored in double figures and put 88 points on the scoreboard. That dropped to three players in the final and their total points was nearly cut in half.
It looked like the final was going to be similar to their first game when YCD took a nine-point lead on a steal and 3-pointer by Beckett Barr early in the second quarter. But this time the Eagles didn’t go away.
They matched the Greyhounds bucket for bucket and never let them build the lead greater than seven the rest of the half.
The game changed after halftime.
High Point came out with a new intensity and the fluid playmaking YCD had in the first half disappeared.
“They started to get close and we tensed up,” Moore said. “Outside games against Berks Catholic and Lansdale Catholic, we haven’t had close games this year. It’s been a while since we had a close contest.”
But the Greyhounds had their chances until the very end.
Reagan Wodicka gave High Point a five-point lead when he hit 1-of-2 free throws with 1:56 remaining. Ryan Maus cut that lead to three when he hit a pair of free throws with 1:19 left.
Wodicka drove the paint to increase the lead, and Barr trimmed it to two with a 3-pointer.
After Carlos Torres missed a pair of free throws, Isaiah White pulled the Greyhounds into a 49-all tie with 21.2 seconds remaining.
Torres made up for those missed free throws by hitting a drive down the left side of the key to score with 2.7 seconds remaining. YCD’s last-ditch shot with .5 remaining came up short.
Moore said he told his players “it’s now or never” at the start of the fourth quarter.
“I said ‘you have to play the best defense you ever played, and we have to get this game back to a level where we have a chance to win,’” he said. “We needed one more stop, and we just didn’t get it.”
High Point’s Torres led all scorers with 15 points. Mason Rogers and Grant Rogers each added 12.
White, one of two seniors on York Country Day’s squad, led the Greyhounds with 14 points. Maus added 13 and Elijah Slaughter scored 10.
Next up for the Greyhounds is a PIAA opener against District 4 runner-up North Penn-Liberty on Friday, March 6.
Shelly Stallsmith covers York-Adams high school sports for GameTimePA and the USAToday Network. Connect with her by email [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter, @ShelStallsmith.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: High Point Baptist claims second straight District 3 Class A title
Continue reading...
York County Day boys basketball team learned that the hard way in the District 3 Class A final against High Point Baptist at Manheim Twp. H.S. on Thursday, Feb. 26. The Greyhounds jumped out to the early lead, only to have the Eagles turn the tables in the second half for the 51-49 win.
It didn’t matter that the Greyhounds defeated the Eagles by 33 points earlier in the season. That went out the window in the final, especially considering High Point was the defending champs and YCD had never been here.
“They were here before, and have a lot of the same guys,” YCD coach Kyle Moore said. “I think our guys, the pressure got to them in different moments. Those guys have experienced this stage before, so I think that was the difference.”
In their first meeting, five YCD players scored in double figures and put 88 points on the scoreboard. That dropped to three players in the final and their total points was nearly cut in half.
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It looked like the final was going to be similar to their first game when YCD took a nine-point lead on a steal and 3-pointer by Beckett Barr early in the second quarter. But this time the Eagles didn’t go away.
They matched the Greyhounds bucket for bucket and never let them build the lead greater than seven the rest of the half.
The game changed after halftime.
High Point came out with a new intensity and the fluid playmaking YCD had in the first half disappeared.
“They started to get close and we tensed up,” Moore said. “Outside games against Berks Catholic and Lansdale Catholic, we haven’t had close games this year. It’s been a while since we had a close contest.”
But the Greyhounds had their chances until the very end.
Reagan Wodicka gave High Point a five-point lead when he hit 1-of-2 free throws with 1:56 remaining. Ryan Maus cut that lead to three when he hit a pair of free throws with 1:19 left.
Wodicka drove the paint to increase the lead, and Barr trimmed it to two with a 3-pointer.
After Carlos Torres missed a pair of free throws, Isaiah White pulled the Greyhounds into a 49-all tie with 21.2 seconds remaining.
You must be registered for see images attach
Torres made up for those missed free throws by hitting a drive down the left side of the key to score with 2.7 seconds remaining. YCD’s last-ditch shot with .5 remaining came up short.
Moore said he told his players “it’s now or never” at the start of the fourth quarter.
“I said ‘you have to play the best defense you ever played, and we have to get this game back to a level where we have a chance to win,’” he said. “We needed one more stop, and we just didn’t get it.”
High Point’s Torres led all scorers with 15 points. Mason Rogers and Grant Rogers each added 12.
White, one of two seniors on York Country Day’s squad, led the Greyhounds with 14 points. Maus added 13 and Elijah Slaughter scored 10.
Next up for the Greyhounds is a PIAA opener against District 4 runner-up North Penn-Liberty on Friday, March 6.
Shelly Stallsmith covers York-Adams high school sports for GameTimePA and the USAToday Network. Connect with her by email [email protected] or on X, formerly Twitter, @ShelStallsmith.
This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: High Point Baptist claims second straight District 3 Class A title
Continue reading...
