Red Lion boys' basketball stuns Central York in district quarterfinals

Red Lion boys’ basketball had come tantalizingly close to an upset at Central York at the end of the regular season, only to be stunned at the buzzer. The Lions were one win away from a rematch in the York-Adams League championship game, only to unravel in a semifinal loss. But when they finally got to take their swing at the Panthers again, they didn’t miss.

Instead, they connected on a knockout blow heard ’round the district.

Red Lion went on the road and stunned division rival Central York, 66-65, in the District 3 Class 6A quarterfinals on Friday night. In one fell swoop, the No. 8-seed Lions advanced to the district semifinals for the first time since 2006 and dropped the No. 1 Panthers into the consolation bracket.

“I’m kind of speechless right now,” Red Lion head coach Steve Schmehl said. “It was a heck of a game.”

The visitors led for most of the evening, and after a third-quarter surge put the host Panthers in front, Red Lion led by as many as five in the final frame. The Lions trailed by two before freshman Isaiah Ogurcak nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute, and after Central York’s Ben Natal leveled the score at the foul line, Red Lion senior Joe Sedora was fouled with 14.9 seconds remaining. He missed the first but hit the second, and Central couldn't get its last-second shot to fall.

“I would've been a mess if they hit another buzzer beater when I missed one (free throw),” Sedora said. “It ended up working in our favor.”

The Lions (18-8) will visit No. 4-seed Chambersburg, a 53-39 winner over Central Dauphin, in the District 3-6A semifinals at 7 p.m. Tuesday. Central York (22-3) will host the No. 5-seed Rams in the consolation semifinals; the Panthers can clinch a state berth with a win, but they can finish no better than fifth in the district tournament after earning the top seed.

Sedora scored a game-high 19 points for the Lions, while Ogurcak notched 18 and senior Chris Williams tallied 14. Natal led Central with 18 points and was joined in double figures by Brooklyn Nace (12), Greg Guidinger (11) and Ben Rill (10).

The Panthers had not lost since Dec. 27, winning 15 straight. Their last loss at home, and to a York-Adams League opponent, came on Jan. 18, 2023, against Dallastown. But the Lions had pushed Central to the wire 15 days earlier, on Feb. 8, before losing 64-62 on a Natal buzzer-beater. That loss dropped the Lions from No. 6 to No. 8 in the district power rankings, putting them in the Panthers’ quadrant of the bracket.

“They’re disciplined, they play hard, they’re senior-oriented,” Panthers coach Jeff Hoke said. “It was my biggest fear tonight, and it all came to fruition. Exactly what I didn’t want to happen, happened.”

Red Lion led for most of the first half, with its last deficit coming at 5-3 and the last tie at 12-12. The Lions were up 16-12 through eight minutes and led by six at multiple points in the second period en route to a 27-23 halftime advantage. Senior Dakarai Dennis played particularly strong defense on Guidinger, holding the leading scorer in Division I this season without a 3-point attempt all night.

Central found its offensive rhythm in the third quarter, taking a 47-45 lead on a 3-point play by Rill in the final seconds of the frame. But Red Lion didn’t blink. The feisty visitors reclaimed the lead early in the fourth quarter and rebuilt a five-point advantage at 59-54. And after Natal gave the Panthers a 63-62 lead on a layup with 1:38 remaining, Ogurcak dropped in a massive 3-pointer from the left corner to put the Lions up two with 41 seconds to play. 

Central called timeout and got the ball back to Natal, who was fouled on a drive to the hoop and made both free throws. But as Sedora took the ball up, Guidinger reached in and was whistled for his fifth foul of the game. The confusion was heightened by the roars of a packed gym and a brief scoreboard malfunction that erroneously gave the Panthers three extra points, although neither coaches were sure if any players actually saw the scoreboard in the moment.

“I’m not gonna blame anybody for that,” Hoke said. “I still think we should have played disciplined D. We weren’t gonna foul them (even if we were up three).”

Sedora, shooting with a boisterous Central student section as his backdrop, followed a miss with a clutch swish, giving Red Lion a 66-65 lead with 14.9 seconds left. The Panthers, with Guidinger out of the game, called a timeout with 11.5 to play and got the ball to Natal, but it was knocked away on the dribble handoff and fell to Nace, whose off-balance shot sailed long. Sedora came down with the ball after the buzzer sounded and flung it toward the ceiling. The Lions jumped and hugged while the Panthers stood in disbelief.

All of this would have sounded impossible to Sedora at the end of October, when he broke his ankle a month before the season and was unsure if he’d even return by this point. The all-star senior was instead back by January; Friday was his 16th game this season, and he’s averaged 19.3 points per contest while still dealing with pain on a daily basis.

“The kid’s in pain every single day. He can barely practice,” Schmehl said. “He doesn’t practice much, so it’s just about trying to manage the pain and get him ready to play in the games. He’s just a warrior. … I’m so happy for him to have a moment like that.”

Neither Central York or Red Lion has ever won a district boys’ basketball title. The Panthers, with a collection of talent unlike anything York County has seen in years, had positioned themselves to win it all. But while they hold a 4-1 record against the four semifinalists (2-1 against Red Lion with wins over Cumberland Valley and Reading), their only chance at getting to Hershey’s Giant Center now will be by making states and reaching the PIAA 6A final on March 23.

“This was a good eye opener for us that we’ve just got to move forward,” Hoke said. “I know our guys will bounce back and we will have a good run here that’s gonna be fun to watch. This may be the shot in the arm that (sends us) to the Giant Center another way.”

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District 3 Class 4A quarterfinals

Eastern York 72, Octorara 47: The No. 5-seed Golden Knights (16-8) jumped on the No. 4 Braves from the jump, leading 15-6 and 35-18 after the first two periods. Octorara had no answers for Eastern’s frontcourt tandem of Justin Strausbaugh and Carter Wamsley, who recorded 20 and 17 points, respectively. Simon Lipsius added four 3-pointers to finish with 14 points, while Carter Foote-Renwick scored eight of his 11 in the decisive second quarter. The Knights will visit top-seeded Berks Catholic in Tuesday’s semifinals.

No. 6 Big Spring 56, No. 3 Littlestown 51: The No. 3-seed Thunderbolts appeared to have seized control when they made five straight 3-pointers and took a 44-36 lead with 2:40 left in the third quarter. But they scored only seven points the rest of the way and fell short. The No. 6 Bulldogs were buoyed by 26 points from freshman Ayden Martinez, while Zyan Herr led Littlestown (18-7) with 18. Brandon Clabaugh scored 12 on four triples, while star center Christopher Meakin was limited to 10 points. The Bolts will host No. 7 Boiling Springs in an elimination contest Tuesday.

District 3 Class 3A quarterfinals

No. 2 Columbia 57, No. 3 Delone Catholic 53: After leading 43-40 with 6:19 remaining, the No. 3-seed Squires unraveled as the No. 2 Crimson Tide went on a 16-2 run, more than enough to withstand a late Delone push. Senior Cam Keller led the Squires (18-7) with 27 points, while Braden Smith had 10. Delone won’t get its rematch against Trinity in Wednesday’s district final. Instead, it’ll host York Catholic on Tuesday with the winner advancing to states.

Trinity 87, York Catholic 60: The top-seeded Shamrocks proved too much to handle for the No. 4 Fighting Irish, turning a 36-25 halftime lead into a rout with 51 second-half points. Owen Schlager led Trinity with 30 points and Reece Brown had 22. York Catholic (12-12) will face rival Delone in an elimination game for the second straight postseason.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

District 3 Class 5A quarterfinals

York Suburban 39, Manheim Central 23: The No. 1-seed Trojans (24-2) defended home court and coasted into the semifinals, where they’ll welcome division rival West York. Janay Rissmiller led a balanced Suburban offense with nine points, while Lydia Powers and Jordyn Williams tallied eight apiece.

West York 57, Mechanicsburg 39: Faith Walker surpassed 1,000 career points on a second-quarter jumper, then scored 14 of her game-high 20 in the second half as the No. 4-seed Bulldogs (18-7) rolled past the No. 5 Wildcats. Reagan Doll had 14 of her 17 by halftime, spurring West York to a 30-17 lead. Freshmen Cam Forsythe and Brooke Nalls added big contributions in the first and third quarters, respectively.

Northern York 47, Red Land 33 (Saturday): This game between York County Mid-Penn foes was postponed due to a power outage Friday, but the No. 3-seed Polar Bears (23-2) handled business the following afternoon, going on a 23-2 run between the second and third quarters to put the game out of reach. Cassidy Sadler led Northern with 15 points and Siena Ondecko added 13, while Summer Emlet led the No. 11 Patriots (12-12) with 15.

District 3 Class 1A quarterfinals

Mount Calvary Christian 50, Christian School of York 20: The No. 6-seed Defenders were outmatched early by the No. 3 Chargers and dropped into the consolation bracket. CSY (15-8) will visit No. 2 Lancaster County Christian in an elimination game Tuesday.

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UP NEXT

Monday semifinals — 6A girls: No. 4 Dallastown at No. 1 Lebanon … 5A boys: No. 3 York Suburban at No. 2 Mechanicsburg … 4A girls: No. 1 Delone Catholic vs. No. 4 Bishop McDevitt

Tuesday semifinals — 6A boys: No. 8 Red Lion at No. 4 Chambersburg … 5A girls: No. 4 West York at No. 1 York Suburban

Monday consolations — 6A girls: No. 5 Northeastern vs. No. 9 Ephrata (winner to states); No. 10 York High at No. 6 Manheim Township (winner to states) … 4A girls: No. 8 Eastern York at No. 5 Berks Catholic (winner to states, loser eliminated) … 3A girls: No. 4 York Catholic at No. 3 Pequea Valley (winner to states, loser eliminated)

Tuesday consolations — 6A boys: No. 1 Central York vs. No. 5 Central Dauphin (winner to states) … 4A boys: No. 3 Littlestown vs. No. 7 Boiling Springs (winner to states, loser eliminated) … 3A boys: No. 4 York Catholic at No. 3 Delone Catholic (winner to states, loser eliminated)