Central York Defeats Central Dauphin For District 3 Class 6A Championship: Kehler On Hoops

Article by David Kehler

 

Defending PIAA Class 6A state champion Central York defeated Central Dauphin 72 to 58 on Friday night at the Giant Center in Hershey before a large and enthusiastic crowd to win this season’s District 3 Class 6A championship.  It was a close game for most of the way, with Central York finally taking a decisive lead with three 3-pointers in a 90 second span in the fourth quarter.  These are two high octane teams, and the game was played up-tempo for all four quarters.  

 

The teams traded leads in the first quarter, and there were a couple of ties.  Five Central York players scored in the first frame, and, presaging the game’s ultimate outcome, two Central York players hit from beyond the arc in the first quarter.  Central Dauphin’s Wayne Fletcher II, a 6′ 4″ senior, had a strong first period, scoring eight points on a pull-up jumper, a hoop inside, and four free throws.  Central York took a 16 to 13 lead at the end of the quarter on a spinning drive by 6′ 3″ senior Ben Natal.  Both Fletcher and Natal were All-State selections last season.  

 

Central York opened the scoring in the second quarter with a 3-pointer by 6′ 5″ senior Byron Pinkney.  CD’s Fletcher made a couple more free throws, then Central York went up by 23 to 15 on a putback by 6′ senior Jo’mere Woodard and a fast break layup by 6′ junior Ryan Brown.  Central Dauphin ended the first half with a 7 to 2 run on two more free throws by Fletcher, a putback by 6′ 2″ sophomore Shakur Starling, a put back by 6′ 5″ junior Jelani Easter, and a free throw by Easter.  Central York led 27 to 24 at halftime, a score that fairly reflected the flow of the game up until that point.

 

Central York’s Ben Natal committed his fourth foul early in the third quarter and went to the bench until late in the third frame.  With Natal on the sideline, Central Dauphin surged. A power move by 6′ 3″ sophomore Khalil Roberts and a steal and a fast break dunk by Shakur Starling cut Central York’s lead to 34 to 33.  Central York responded with a clutch turnaround jumper by 5′ 11″ sophomore Doug Layer.  Central Dauphin came back with a layup by Roberts from a sensational pass by Fletcher, and Central York’s lead was 36 to 35.  Central York’s Ben Rill, a 6′ 9″ senior and an All-State selection last year, had been shaken up in the second quarter, but he extended his team’s lead to 38 to 35 with a couple of free throws.  (Rill’s terrific play in the second half was a major determinate of the game’s outcome.).  Following Rill’s free throws, Central Dauphin took the lead at 39 to 38 on two free throws by Fletcher and two free throws by Easter.  Rill then made a free throw to tie the game at 39.  Then, Central Dauphin took their last lead of the game, 41 to 39, on a drive by Easter.  Central York responded with a hoop inside by Pinkney to tie the score at 41.  Central Dauphin committed a turnover which led to two free throws by Natal, and Central York led for the rest of the way.

 

The fourth quarter started with a hoop inside by Central York’s Rill.  Then CD’s Easter made couple of free throws to cut Central York’s lead to 45 to 43.  At this point, Central York took command of the game, starting with a 3-pointer by Layer with 6:43 left in the contest.  Over the next 90 seconds, Central Dauphin had two empty possessions, while Central York scored on a 3-pointer each by Pinkney and Natal.  With that, Central York led 54 to 43 with 5:10 left in the game, and they quickly added to their lead with a jumper by Layer.  This was the decisive sequence, and, for the rest of the contest, Central York’s Natal and Rill were close to unstoppable.

 

For the game, Central York had a 29 to 27 edge on the boards.  In the fourth quarter, Central York out-rebounded CD nine to four.  Each team had 11 turnovers.  CY was 17 of 24 from the free throw line, while CD was 18 of 20.  Central York made seven 3-pointers, and five different players scored from beyond the arc.  Central Dauphin made two 3-pointers.  Central York’s reserves were a major factor in the outcome of the game, particularly when Rill and Natal were on the bench.  There were five ties and four lead changes.

 

 

Central York scoring: Ben Rill 22, Ben Natal 17, Doug Layer 10, Byron Pinkney 10, Ryan Brown 4, Jo’mere Woodard 4, Kylar Landis 3, and Ryan Jackson 2.

 

Central Dauphin scoring: Wayne Fletcher II 23, Jelani Easter 16, Shakur Starling 8, Richard Chase 4, Khalil Roberts 4, and Kyle Sucheski 3

 

Central Dauphin 13 11 17 17-58

Central York 16 11 16 29-72

 

Both teams have qualified for the PIAA Class 6A state championship tournament.

 

On X (formerly Twitter): @david_kehler