Coming off a tough Lancaster-Lebanon League loss at Elizabethtown two days earlier, the Garden Spot boys' basketball team traveled to Manheim Central for another battle with a league rival on Thursday, January 26.

The Barons' defense held Garden Spot to five points in the fourth quarter, opening up a five-point lead and posting a 61-44 win.

The Barons (15-3) improved to 8-1 in league play while the Spartans (5-12) fell to 2-7.

The always dangerous Trey Grube scored 21 points for the Barons.

While Grube had the game-high, Garden Spot's Jeff St. Jean led everyone in treys, knocking down three from long range. He finished with 13 points.

Austin Hurst and Bryce Weaver poured in 10 points each. The Spartan teammates both went 2-for-2 at the free throw line.

The Fleetwood Tigers visited Garden Spot for a non-league Saturday afternoon match. With a strong second-half defense, Fleetwood came away with a 65-36 victory.

Jace Conrad and Lance Binkley hit double digits for Garden Spot, scoring 11 each. Binkley was on the mark with two three-point buckets.

Gabriel Smeltz finished with eight.

In a fast-paced and exciting non-league contest on January 31, Conrad Weiser scored 13 overtime points to top the Spartans 65-57 at New Holland. The Spartans fell to 5-14 on the year.

Ironically, the Spartans' 13-point fourth quarter output tied the game before the buzzer to end regulation.

Binkley's three-point shooting netted 12 of his 13 game points. Conrad finished with 12 points and Dylan Nolt came through with 10.

Donovan Gingrich scored 30 for Weiser.

WRESTLING

"All three of our big guys pinned their way to the semis," Adam Bunting, the Garden Spot wrestling coach, pointed out.

Bunting was talking about the performances of Blake Weaver, Tyler Hurst and Mason Musser at the Lancaster-Lebanon League Wrestling Championships, which took place Friday and Saturday, January 27-28 at Manheim Township.

Weaver was the winner in the 189-pound weight class, taking a 3-2 decision over Hempfield junior J.J. Plaza.

"Blake capped a fantastic tournament with a gritty, smartly wrestled match against Plaza, the number two seed," Bunting remarked. "He broke up a 1-1 match late in the third with a single leg takedown. Plaza escaped with about 30 seconds left to make it 3-2, but Blake was able to hold him off."

Weaver also had pins against Adrian Nunez of Octorara and Cocalico's Levi Bearinger before earning a 6-2 decision over a very tough Clayton Erb of Northern Lebanon in the semifinals.

"Blake scored a crucial takedown at the end of the second period to go up 2-1," Bunting explained. "He blew the match open in the third period with two more takedowns.

"He becomes the Spartans' 21st league champion and seventh in the past eight years," continued the coach.

Hurst lost to Jose Garcia in the title bout. Garcia won the championship for McCaskey in the 215 weight class.

"Hurst faced a tall order in the finals, taking on the defending league champ and state eighth-place finisher from last year," Bunting said.

He pinned Dan Viselli of Donegal in the first round and took only six seconds to pin Edgar Velazquez of Lebanon. Hurst wasn't done recording pins for he pinned Adam Mitchell of Octorara in 1:12

Zander Rider of Conestoga Valley had a three-match win streak (all pins) coming into the semifinal with Hurst. The Spartan senior posted the pin 51 seconds into the second period.

"He had an outstanding tournament, racking up four pins and taking second," added Bunting.

"Mason Musser faced off against an opponent that had pinned him last year," Bunting said, referring to Hempfield's Caleb Mussmon. "It was a much closer match than the final score of 8-2."

Musser had pins against Seamus Bohan of Lancaster Catholic and Chris Sabino of Columbia prior to facing Mussmon in the semis.

He advanced through the consolation semis via forfeit and pinned Hayden Adams of Northern Lebanon in the third-place match.

Sean Kelch, who lost his first match on Friday, earned a 15-0 technical fall, wrestling his way back in the 152-pound consolation brackets. He then pinned Caden Chidley of Octorara only to lose to Township's Kaden Kemp - the eventual fifth-place finisher.

"Sean had a strong showing," Bunting noted. "He came up one win shy of reaching the podium. As only a second-year wrestler, he continues to impress."

As a team, Garden Spot made the top-10 in the standings with 96.5 points. That sum was only half a point higher than 11th-place Elco.

AIR RIFLE

The Spartan riflers were involved in two very close contests this past week, coming up short against Elizabethtown on January 26 and edging Governor Mifflin on Tuesday, January 31.

Parker Bryant and Rachel Gerberich both hit the 100-point mark for the Bears in their 496-494 victory at Garden Spot. Matthew Sauder led the home team with 100 while both Colton Watkins and Leksi Bender sparked the Spartans with 99 each. Ryan Lambert and Trevor Jones recorded 98's.

In the Mifflin match, Lambert, Jones and Magdelene Martin all hit the century mark while Jack Werner (99) and Bender (98) provided the necessary support to overtake the Mustangs.

GIRLS' BASKETBALL

The Garden Spot girls ran into a Manheim Central team that was unbeaten in League competition. The Barons carried a 29-11 lead into the locker room at halftime and rode the momentum into the second half, posting a 61-17 victory at New Holland on Thursday, January 26. The Barons improved to 9-0 in league play while the Spartans fell to 2-7.

Maddie Knier scored 30 points to pace Central. Gwen Varley led Garden Spot with eight points, connecting twice from three-point range. Nikki Zeiset added three points.