HERSHEY ESCAPES FROM EXETER TWP. 54-50

Written by: Bruce Badgley on February 19, 2018

PIAA District Three post season games, regardless of the sport, always feature some very non-traditional inter conference matchups Such was the case Monday when Exeter Twp traveled to play Hershey. Hershey had a strong consistent year that featured a conference crown. Exeter Twp. an up and down season coming off a blow out loss in the Berks County Tourney. On paper this was a one sided matchup. In reality it was a hard fought nip and tuck battle. Hershey got the better of the matchups down the stretch and defeated Exeter Twp 54-50 Monday night.

The game marked two milestones for Hershey. Head Coach Paul Blackburn notched his 300th career win. And standout Jake Wilson scored his 1,000th point. Wilson also led the Trojans in scoring Monday night with 17. Hershey also played some stellar defense and held Exeter’s leading scorer Alex Javier to only eight points. The Eagles Anthony Wise stepped up and put down 15 points to lead the Exeter scoring.

Exeter Twp came out extremely fired up. The Eagles scored the first nine points and kept the Trojans as bay for most of the first quarter. This despite their big man Riley Dobraniecki being forced to the bench early with two quick fouls . Despite that the Eagles led 17-11 after one. Hershey turned up the defensive pressure in quarter two. The Trojans forced some Exeter mistakes and turned them into points. The Eagles hung in there until the half and were still up 23-20 at the break

The entire third quarter was a series of Hershey runs, followed by Exeter answer’s The Eagles maintained a slim 38-34 lead after three. Fueled by a pressing, ball hawking defense Hershey finally got past the Eagles. Exeter’s RIley Dobraniecki saddled with foul trouble all night fouled out with 2:25 left. Shortly after the disqualification Hershey began to move inside and took the lead. The Trojans took control down the stretch and came away with the 54-50 win.

Hershey now (20-4) goes up against #3 seed Northeastern (23-2) on Thursday in PIAA District Three quarterfinal action in York.