Last Monday's 87-83 triple OT victory over Hershey, in the District 3 5A semifinal, is proof that Together Everyone Achieves More. "These guys...what a bunch," said head coach Ed Berryman. "No one is afraid of the moment; they pick each other up and don't give up. They are relentless."

And each of them had big moments in this one.

Ty Burton finished with 35 points, 30 in the second half and 18 in the overtimes. He was 11-for-11 from the foul line and dropped a trey at the end of the second OT to tie the game at 76-76.

Berkeley Wagner (14 points) hit two big threes in the second OT, was fouled on a rebound and an ensuing scramble that led to two made free throws that pushed the lead to 85-82 with 22.4 seconds left.

Luka Vranich (13 points) scored six in the second and six in the third, grabbed rebounds and dished assists that often go unnoticed as L-S fought off a 25-22 halftime deficit.

Ben Wert only hit one three pointer but it was the first of two straight by L-S, giving them their first lead of the night, 11-9.

Isaiah Parido's (11 points) and one with .8 left in the first quarter gave L-S its biggest lead of the night, 16-11. He also canned two big threes in the fourth, both breaking a tied score.

And last, but certainly not least, was sixth man Luke Hines (season-high 11 points), the unsung hero of the game. He hit five straight points late in the fourth and held his ground in the paint against Hershey's big man, Zach Miller, making it as difficult as possible to score.

"He definitely had an impact on the game," said head coach Ed Berryman.

"Overall, it was an amazing basketball game against two teams laying it all out, not wanting to back down. It was a high-quality game and probably the best game I've ever been a part of.

Prior to Hershey, the Pioneers took care of Northeastern, 66-52 in the quarterfinals on February 24.

Burton and Wagner connected on back-to-back three pointers (the team hit 11 on the night) to start the game and L-S never looked back.

Up 20-11 on a bucket by Vranich (4 points), Northeastern closed the gap with a three by Nick Rizzuto (21 points) and then dropped three straight triples in the second quarter to get within two, 25-23. L-S responded with a 9-0 run and finished the half in front 41-27. They led by as many as 19, 52-53 in the third quarter before surviving a Northeastern fourth quarter rally (19-14) down the stretch.

Wagner, with limited playing time in Lampeter's first round game, led with a team high 19 points and four triples. Burton added 18 points and helped keep the Bobcat's leading scorer, Karron Mallory, in check with 8 points. Parido, needing four three-pointers to hit the career 100 mark, did just that, nailing his final triple with 2:34 left in the third quarter and settling for 12 points. Wert followed with 11 points, Vranich led with eight rebounds and dished out five assists, and Luke Hines added one bucket.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

Playing teams two, and sometimes three times in a season is never easy. Especially when the first meeting didn't go as you had planned. Such was the case for the girls' basketball team. Last Friday, February 25, the Pioneers looked to split the series against Gettysburg but this time on a bigger stage. In their first meeting, back on January 17, the Warriors pulled out a 41-39 win. In the District Three 5A quarterfinals on Friday, the No. 2 seed canned six of their nine triples in the first half, took a 31-24 lead at the half, and then connected on 15-of-24 free throws after the break to advance to the semifinals with a 55-43 victory.

"Camryn Felix hit three three-pointers in the second quarter," noted head coach Tony Fink. "She has some range, and we just did not close out. And in the second half, (Anne) Bair was 12-for-14 from the free throw line," he continued.

Fexlix (14 points) and Autumn Oaster (12 points) combined for seven of those threes and Bair led the way with 22 points. It was more than L-S could handle. Katie Ranck finished with 11 points and Kiersten Hostetter and Ella Horst both added ten.

The Warriors jumped out to a 7-0 lead before L-S cut the lead to 11-9 on a Kelsey McTaggart triple. Hostetter's trey at the end of the quarter made it 15-12.

L-S kept at it in the second quarter. Jenna Daveler snatched a pass and drove for a layup and Maggie Visniski (5 points) scored in the paint for Lampeter's first lead of the night, 16-15. That was short-lived as L-S turned the ball over twice and Gettysburg answered with three straight triples and a 24-16 lead.

Hostetter's three-pointer before the half cut the led to 31-24.

Gettysburg led by as many as 16 in the third quarter before L-S rallied with a 9-0 run, including six from Ranck, to stay within striking distance.

L-S got to within five, 47-42 with 3:47 left in the game but Bair kept the hosts in front, connecting on eight free throws while holding L-S to a single point. The Warriors managed just one field goal in that final quarter but went 9-for-18 from the line to advance.

"I was happy that we competed, but we went there to win," said Fink.

Battling back in the consolation bracket, the Pioneers traveled to No. 3 seed Greencastle Antrim Tuesday, March 1, for state seeding purposes and suffered a 45-38 loss.

"It took us too long to adjust to their press and we were missing Ella Horst, a starter, so that played a role," said Fink.

That press led to seven turnovers and eventually a 14-5 first quarter deficit. They were down 27-15 at the half but outscored the Blue Devils 23-18 after the break. Hostetter's 3-point buzzer beater at the end of the third got L-S to within six, 36-30. Her back-to-back triples in the final minute of the game cut it to 43-38 before the Pioneers ran out of time.

Ranck (14) and Hostetter (10) were the double-digit scorers. Visniski (8), Daveler (3) and McTaggart (3) also contributed.

WRESTLING

Lampeter-Strasburg's lone entry into the Class 3A District Three/South Central Regional championships held Friday and Saturday, February 25-26 saw his season come to a close.

Coming off a bronze medal performance a week earlier, Riley Bonholtzer, wrestling at 120 suffered a round of 16 fall (3:09) against Chambersburg's Luke Mentzer, the eventual sixth place finisher and immediately dropped into the consolation bracket where he suffered a second loss, 7-5 to Damian Key (Dallastown). A first period takedown proved to be the difference as both wrestlers scored five second period points, Bonholtzer with a takedown and a nearfall early. Neither scored in the final period.