Central York boys' basketball battles, escapes to win PIAA title vs. Parkland
The Panthers had the talent to win it all, but it took guts in the final minutes against a senior-laden opponent.
HERSHEY — It was the dream. Now it’s reality for the Central York boys’ basketball team. The Panthers are the 2024 PIAA Class 6A state champions.
It wasn’t easy, and at times it wasn’t pretty, but it sure was satisfying.
Leading by two points with 6.8 seconds against District 11 champion Parkland at the Giant Center on Saturday night, the Panthers had to weather a potential last-second, game-winning 3-point attempt by the Trojans’ Blake Nassry.
Nassry’s shot, which came from a good four steps behind the arc, bounced off the backboard and fittingly into the hands of senior Greg Guidinger as the final horn sounded. The big scoreboard above the court at the Giant Center displayed the new reality, a realm in which the York-Adams League now owns a state title — Central York 53, Parkland 51.
Pandemonium erupted. The Central York bench sprinted towards halfcourt as the Panthers' starters celebrated with their teammates. They had won not only the program’s first-ever state title, but the first PIAA basketball championship ever for a York-Adams League public school.
“We battled that entire game,” said Guidinger, who was the only senior to play for the Panthers on Saturday. “By no means was it perfect, but that’s what makes it even sweeter.”
Guidinger’s last statement encapsulates both the entire season and its final contest. After beginning the season with a shellacking of 2023 state champ Reading on Dec. 5, the Central York boys put the state on notice that they were real contender. Nothing swayed that belief, as the Panthers claimed the York-Adams Division I and league tournament titles for the second year in a row.
After earning the top seed in the District 3 tournament, however, the Panthers were upset in the quarterfinals by rival Red Lion, a setback that prevented what seemed like an inevitable run to the district title. Instead of earning the No. 1 seed from District 3, the Panthers had to scrap to claim the No. 5 seed. But with a heavy dose of extra motivation, Central York reached another gear, winning its first four PIAA playoff games in decisive fashion.
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On Saturday, the Panthers led by as many as 13 points in the third quarter and seemed to have one hand on the trophy. But Parkland, with five seniors in its lineup, answered with a 16-3 run to tie the game. While Central still led 45-43 after three quarters, the inevitable coronation was no longer that. The Trojans even took a 47-45 lead with 4:30 left in the final stanza on a layup by Zaire Smaltz, much to the pleasure of the massive contingent of Parkland students who made their way from Allentown to Hershey.
Someone needed to step up for the Panthers. Would it be Guidinger, who had a rather pedestrian offensive night (seven points)? What about Ben Rill, the 6-foot-8 junior who torched the Trojans for 13 points in the first half? Or what about Ben Natal, whom coach Jeff Hoke had previously proclaimed as one of the best guards in the state?
Nope. It was Ryan Brown, a sophomore guard who's been a reliable shooter for the Panthers but hasn't needed to score 20 points a night with Guidinger, Rill and Natal in the lineup. Brown calmly found himself open on the ensuing possession and buried a 3-pointer to put the Panthers back on top.
“I’m a guy that likes the ball at the end of quarters and stuff like that,” Brown said. “When we need a big bucket, I’ll bet on myself every time.”
After Parkland evened the score up at 48-48 with 3:11 left, Rill took charge. Held to just two points in the second half up until that point, Rill made a move under the basket to draw a foul and get to the free throw line, where he sank both attempts to put Central up 50-48 with 2:26 left on the clock.
Under Hoke, the Panthers have prided themselves on offensive execution. It was the team’s defense, however, that stepped up time and time again over the final 146 seconds. The only basket the Panthers allowed in that stretch was an and-one layup by Parkland superstar Nick Coval with 49.7 seconds left. Otherwise, the Trojans shot 0-of-5 from the field down the stretch.
Perhaps such a defensive shutdown wouldn’t have been necessary if the Panthers were able to salt away the victory at the charity stripe. After Guidinger blocked a 3-pointer and pulled down the loose ball, the senior was fouled with 1:01 remaining and the Panthers up 53-48.
In a perfect world, Guidinger hits his freebies to make it a three-possession game, but as Guidinger said himself, Saturday’s contest wasn’t perfect. Guidinger missed both of his attempts before Coval (18 points) cut the deficit to two.
With 26.8 seconds left, the Trojans again had a chance to draw even. The Panthers keyed heavily on Coval, and Parkland found Robbie Ruisch open for a 3-pointer. The attempt hit the iron before Saxton Suchanic pulled down the rebound. Suchanic — who two points, four rebounds, three steals and a stellar night on defense — quickly dished the ball to Brooklyn Nace, who was fouled with 8.1 seconds left.
Nace, nearly a 75% free-throw shooter over the course of the season, may have allowed his nerves to get the best of him. He airballed his first attempt, then his second shot bounced out before deflecting off the hands of Suchanic with 6.8 seconds left to give Parkland one more chance.
After a timeout, the Panthers never allowed Coval to touch it. Instead, the ball eventually found its way to the freshman Nassry before Guidinger secured the rebound as time expired.
As Guidinger gripped the basketball tightly, the dream had been realized at last.
“We were the 5-seed going into the playoffs,” Guidinger said. “But I felt, and I think the rest of the team felt, that we were a 1-seed. But it’s the fact that we had that 5 next to our name, and that we had some struggles, that allowed us to play under the brightest lights and actually be able to compete.”
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