Four York-Adams League basketball teams earn Friday victories in PIAA playoffs

A year after York-Adams League basketball teams went 4-9 in the opening round of the state playoffs, four squads claimed PIAA tournament victories on Friday night alone.

The boys from Eastern York and York Suburban, as well as the girls from Dallastown, all won close contests on their home floor. York Catholic's girls, meanwhile, traveled to the Philadelphia area and knocked off Imhotep Charter to secure their spot in the Round of 16.

Eastern's boys, coming off a District 3 Class 4A championship, were tested by a feisty South Allegheny squad but made a furious last-minute comeback to win 56-55. Suburban broke a late tie with Thomas Jefferson to emerge with a 52-48 triumph. Dallastown led throughout its contest against Central Bucks East, prevailing 43-36. And York Catholic knocked out District 12 Class 3A champion Imhotep Charter, 37-33, in the first local game of the evening.

Class 4A boys — Eastern York 56, South Allegheny 55: The Golden Knights were playing in front of their home fans for the first time all postseason, but South Allegheny weathered the near four-hour bus ride and Wrightsville crowd to take a four-point lead into the final minutes of action.

Eastern York then rallied with the assistance of some poor free-throw shooting by the Gladiators late. South Allegheny converted on just 1-of-4 free throws over the final 51.1 seconds, and buckets by Carter Wamsley and Justin Strausbaugh helped give the hosts a chance. With just over three seconds left, Brady Seitz took a pass and drove in the lane for the game-winning basket, lifting the Knights to the one-point victory.

“That’s his second game-winner for Brady at almost the same spot,” Eastern York coach Troy Sowers said. “He had the game-winner against Suburban (on Jan. 30) right around there and he hit this one for us, which was really nice.”

The District 3 champs will take on Valley View in the second round at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Easton Middle School.

While Seitz was the hero, he shared the postgame wrestling championship belt with Strausbaugh. The 6-foot-5 senior finished with 21 points and a dozen rebounds to help the Knights keep the game close.

“That’s nothing unusual,” Sowers said of Strausbaugh, who's shined throughout his lone season of high school basketball.

The Gladiators certainly could have been weary after a long bus ride from south of Pittsburgh, but they were anything but. Cameron Epps, a 5-7 guard, was on fire in the first period, putting up 14 points on four long 3-pointers to help the Gladiators to a 16-14 lead after eight minutes. He finished tied for the team lead with Jeston Beatty, who scored all 19 of his points after intermission.

Strausbaugh had a big third period, scoring eight of his game-best 21 points. The forward also knocked down 7-of-8 free throws in the contest. Wamsley scored nine of his 13 points in the second half.

Seitz finished with just seven points, but he had the biggest two of the evening. His go-ahead bucket actually set off a premature celebration, as the clock briefly ran down to 0.0 and the Eastern student section rushed the court. The officials put 2.8 seconds back on the clock, however, and the Knights had to survive an open 3-point look at the buzzer.

“Those were the longest 2.8 (seconds) that I’ve seen,” Sowers said. “(The Gladiators completed) two passes in 2.8.”

But the Golden Knights survived and advanced.

Class 5A boys — York Suburban 52, Thomas Jefferson 48: In a tie game with less than 30 seconds remaining, Trojans coach Mitch Kemp planned to hold for the last shot. But he trusted sophomore guard CJ Rissmiller to make a play. And that's exactly what he did.

Rissmiller paused briefly at the top of the key before sprinting around his defender and sinking the go-ahead layup with 25 seconds remaining. After the visiting Jaguars were whistled for an offensive foul on the ensuing possession, Rissmiller capped a short game of keepaway with another layup that sealed Suburban's four-point victory.

"In the summer, by myself, I worked countless hours on that situation right there," Rissmiller said. "The game-winner in my hands, 30 seconds left — there's not much you can do to fold there when you've put work in up to that point."

The Trojans prevailed without superstar freshman point guard Nasir Barnes, as the York-Adams Division II Player of the Year missed his second straight game with a groin injury. That moved Rissmiller back to the point, where he spent most of his time a year ago, and placed more scoring onus on Kai and Kane Stryhn. Kai, a junior all-star, led the hosts with 16 points, including a pair of go-ahead buckets in a thrilling final frame. His sophomore brother Kane hit three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points. Rissmiller's late flurry brought him to 11 points as well.

"They show up every day and work their butts off — on the court, in the film room — as a collective group," Kemp said. "They're very unselfish individuals that care about winning, and when you buy into that, it's fun and beautiful basketball to watch."

York Suburban never trailed Friday, but the District 3 third-place Trojans (23-7) were never truly comfortable against the WPIAL sixth-place Jaguars (21-6). The Trojans briefly led by as many as 11 in the second period, but the Jaguars scored the last five points of the half to enter the locker room down 28-22. The visitors got within a point in the third quarter before Suburban restored its six-point lead.

Jefferson first tied the score at 40-40 on a 3-point play early in the fourth, but Kai Stryhn responded with a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:29 remaining. He answered another tying bucket with a midrange jumper, only for a Trojan turnover to turn into a fast-break layup with 34.5 seconds to play. That's when Rissmiller went to work.

"It was the right read," Kemp said of Rissmiller's go-ahead play. "We wanted to hold for the last shot, but he saw an opportunity and seized his moment."

Friday marked the first PIAA victory for Kemp as Suburban's head coach; the Trojans' last state win came in 2020, when they knocked off District 7 champion Laurel Highlands by a point. Kemp reached the state semifinals as a player for Suburban in 2009.

The Trojans will face District 7 champion Moon at Hollidaysburg High School at 6 p.m. Tuesday. It's unlikely that Barnes — who last played in the district semifinals on Feb. 26 and whose injury was expected to keep him out for two to four weeks — will be able to return for that game. But York Suburban, now 2-0 in his absence, won't go down without a fight.

Class 6A girls— Dallastown 43, Central Bucks East 36: Whenever it felt like the District 3 runner-up Wildcats were in position to put away the Patriots, the CBE girls found a way to get right back in it.

After leading by three to six points for much of the night, Dallastown (26-3) stretched its advantage to 34-23 with seven minutes left. The visitors cut the deficit to 34-28 with just under three minutes remaining, and after the Wildcats pushed it back to nine, a 5-0 run pulled the Patriots (19-8) within a couple baskets.

“They just never went away,” Dallastown coach Jay Rexroth said. “As well as they shoot the 3, they’re never out of the game. In their district playoffs they were down 17 and they eventually got it down to two.”

Sure enough, the Patriots made it a 39-36 contest with 1:06 left after freshman Haley Moran knocked down an open 3.

“We knew we had our hands full,” Rexroth said. “But I thought our defense was outstanding. We worked really hard to limit their open 3s and they banked in a 2 and a 3 in the first half and those are just things you have to deal with.”

In the early rounds of the York-Adams League playoffs, the Wildcats were not strong at the free-throw line, but the charity stripe has been a boon as of late. Junior guard Alonna Dowell knocked down a pair of free throws with 26 seconds left to stretch the advantage to five before senior Kiara McNealy capped the victory with a celebratory layup at the buzzer.

“I called a timeout there with about four minutes left,” Rexroth said. “And I told them that we’re not trying to hang on here — we’re trying to win, so let’s be aggressive and attack, and I thought the kids responded.”

Praise Matthews led the Wildcats with 13 points, while McNealy chipped in nine. Dowell and Ava Jamison added eight apiece.

“Just super proud of my girls,” Rexroth said. “We set a school record with 26 wins and (went) undefeated at home. A super, super successful year and we’re not done yet.”

Rexroth and his squad will face District 11 champ Parkland in the second round at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Governor Mifflin High School in Shillington.

Class 3A girls — York Catholic 37, Imhotep Charter 33: All the pitfalls were there for Kevin Bankos' Fighting Irish on Friday. Playing in a small but crowded gymnasium at West Philadelphia High School against District 12 champ Imhotep — the high-flying Panther boys' team was set to play right afterwards — the Irish were not supposed to go home happy.

Mixing poise with a dash of smart basketball IQ, York Catholic never let the Imhotep girls turn the contest into a track meet. And when the contest came down to the final minute, the Irish made the free throws that the Panthers couldn't.

Katie Bullen hit a pair of freebies with 14 seconds left to extend a two-point lead to four. The Irish played tight defense over the final seconds to keep Imhotep off the board before celebrating a 37-33 triumph.

“It was a tough environment,” Bankos said. “(Imhotep) was super athletic, but our kids handled the pressure at the end. We made some foul shots and they missed a bunch.”

Bullen was a perfect 6-of-6 at the line for 10 points. The Panthers wished they were half that effective at the line, as Imhotep converted just 5 of 21 attempts, including an ugly 0-for-8 at the line in the final period.

“We knew that they didn’t shoot well at the foul line,” Bankos said. “They’re about 50% as a team, but (5-of-21) isn’t 50%.”

Junior guard Mariah Shue led the Irish with 12 points on four 3-pointers, while senior Amanda Reed chipped in seven points to lead York Catholic to the second round of the state playoffs. Bankos will take his team into Round 2 against District 2 champ Holy Redeemer at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Minersville High School.

MORE FRIDAY RESULTS

Class 6A girls — Norwin 53, York High 29: The Bearcats, making their first PIAA appearance since 1998, couldn't keep up with the District 7 champion Knights, falling behind 33-10 at halftime. Senior Ciarra Gibbs led York High (16-11) with nine points.

Class 6A girls — Spring-Ford 71, Northeastern 37: The Bobcats ran into a buzz saw against the District 1 runner-up Rams, who led 22-3 and 46-12 after the first two quarters. Senior Mikayla Coleman led Northeastern (24-5) with 17 points and hit the Bobcats' lone triple of the evening.

Class 4A boys — Neumann Goretti 86, Littlestown 63: The Thunderbolts (19-9) kept pace with the District 12 champions for a quarter at Father Judge High School, but the Saints led by seven at halftime and pulled away in the second half for coach Carl Arrigale's 600th career win. Christopher Meakin led all scorers with 33 points and Zyan Herr scored 18 as both seniors closed their high school careers. Neumann Goretti had four double-digit scorers, led by DeShaun Yates' 24.

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