Hempfield Retains First Place Status As Black Knights Snatch Road Win At Lebanon, Continue Section One Title Chase With McCaskey Showdown Looming Friday
Written by: Andy Herr on January 8, 2026
On Wednesday night, two teams came together to play a basketball game at Lebanon High School.
On one side, a team sat in four-way tie for first place in their section title race despite coming into the night while riding a five-game slide, all while owning a 3-8 overall record to their name.
In the opposite corner, a team playing arguably some of their finest ball seen so far this season even though they were comparatively two games below water when it comes to said section championship derby, despite they themselves being the ones owning a .500 record at 6-6 overall coming in.
Confused? Don’t worry. This is just the norm and the state of play when it comes to describing Lancaster-Lebanon League boys’ basketball in 2026 in general, but perhaps most specifically in terms of Section One most of all. Even if you came to a gym equipped with a compass, it’d be difficult to determine what way is up and what way is down this season.
As far as the specifics go, the team that traveled to Lebanon while in the middle of that logjam of a section title race, Hempfield, the Black Knights were not so much looking to stay with the lead pack as they just as likely were to search for a remedy that could help get them out of their current five-game hex. Ironically, for a team that possessed all of three wins, two of those happened to come against divisional foes, leading to the scenario where despite not having won a game since exactly one week prior to Christmas, Hempfield still found themselves in what could only be best described as a unique, but certainly not untenable situation when it comes to achieving postseason dreams.
For the other team involved in this discussion, the Lebanon Cedars, they were playing the type of basketball that Hempfield – and others frankly – would’ve yearned for in terms of the Cedars’ most recent stretch of play comparatively speaking.
Yes, while it may have been true that the Cedars entered the midweek as the lone school inside that entire Section One collective absent of any divisional wins tabulated thus far, it was also true that Lebanon nonetheless was ironically 3-0 in their last games against L-L competition in actuality given how the Cedars had knocked off the likes of E-town, Donegal, and Garden Spot in each of their last three outings successively prior to welcoming Hempfield into town on Wednesday to get section play back underway following the recent holiday respite.
Suffice to say, as you likely could in describing any Section One game from now til the teams run through the tape later on at the season’s finish line, there was a lot to unpack coming into this matchup between two of the historically great franchises that the league has ever seen all-time with plenty of implications hinging on the eventual outcome of this one as it relates to this year’s postseason scope.
Yet even though their overall record might suggest otherwise, rest assured that following their performance on the road on this night, Hempfield remains steadfast as a first-place team all the same.
In the early going, the 3’s had it for either side.
For Lebanon, their jersey-wearing #3, sophomore Derek Franco, who also owns the current league high water mark in terms of an individual scoring performance this season with a 37-point showing against McCaskey back in December, seemed right at home against another Section One outfit in the initial stages of Wednesday’s contest by knocking down a turnaround jumper that clipped an early Black Knights’ lead down to a pair, 10-8, an exchange all of which took place in the aftermath of Hempfield’s own #3, Jayzen Gant, getting the party started by he himself tallying four of the first six Hempfield points to get the visitors out to a bit of an early lead courtesy of their junior guard.
From there, Gant continued to have the hot hand for Hempfield by then knocking down a triple to vault the Knights back to the lead at 13-10 with 1:52 remaining in the opening frame, only to then see the Cedars storm right back and take their first lead of the contest that came punctuated off a Franco triple in transition, making it a 16-13 Lebanon lead, before the dust would settle on an opening eight minutes in which Lebanon’s late quarter retaliatory efforts proved vital enough to help push them into the second stanza with the benefit of a 17-13 advantage courtesy of that 7-3 spurt over the final minute and change.
But as far as the upcoming quarter was concerned, that was where Hempfield put their foot down and largely never looked back the rest of the way home.
It certainly didn’t hurt the Black Knights’ collective efforts that junior big man, Yonis Mute, helped to get the proceedings underway by tallying two early buckets in the paint to help get things in motion before a bucket in transition capped off by, you guessed it, Jayzen Gant, quickly reversed the game’s tide by then making it a 23-19 Hempfield lead with the Black Knights suddenly rolling downhill.
Then, although he might not have started the contest, Cam Harris quickly proved his worth once he checked off the bench and into the contest on Wednesday night, nonetheless.
Considering his value and importance that was best evidenced all throughout Lancaster Country Day’s historic postseason run that ultimately ended in a trip to the 1A state semifinal round one year ago, Harris figured to be a nice complementary piece that the Black Knights could add into the equation as this season was getting set to commence after transferring in to Landisville. Sure enough, the now Hempfield junior wing proved that in spades against Lebanon as Harris proceeded to enter the game and promptly score a pair of buckets in transition before then splashing in a pair of triples not long afterwards to boot, a key Harris-led salvo which made it a 33-26 Hempfield lead with time in the first half quickly wearing thin.
And although another member of the Cedars’ explosive backcourt, Manny Martinez, bucketing an 18-point night once things were over and done with, would later knock down a pullup jumper of his own to bring Lebanon back within arm’s reach, it seemed nothing if not fitting that one who started this quarter for Hempfield, Yonis Mute, be the one to finish things off as a Mute bucket notched mere moments before the second quarter buzzer helped to send Hempfield into the second half with ownership of a 36-28 lead.
Then, come the start of the third frame, it seemed for all the world that Hempfield’s initial sputtering out of the gates that came part in parcel with an early Lebanon lead in this one were long behind them.
Hard to argue considering how Hempfield senior guard, Ashton Lewis, helped get the second half underway by scoring a pair of layups at the tin to give the Black Knights their first double digit lead of the evening, 44-33, with the Cedars forced into calling a timeout with still 5:26 left to go in the third. Then, almost immediately following suit, Spencer Troyer, on his way towards finishing with a 14-point outing, notched himself a hard-earned bucket through contact as the Hempfield senior big man then extended the Hempfield lead out to a baker’s dozen, 46-33, with Lebanon now suddenly searching for answers.
If answers are what you seek offensively, having arguably the league’s best individual scorer certainly isn’t a bad thing to have sitting inside your camp.
With that in mind, Derek Franco would nail a key triple to help stop the bleeding for the Cedars’ contingent, all in en route to a game-high 24-point night at the office to his credit, to dice the Hempfield lead back down to a much more modest and manageable 46-38 difference as the quarter careened towards its halfway point.
From there, the 3-ball seemed to be contagious for the Cedars’ troops seeing as how yet another in the litany of Lebanon underclassmen on this year’s roster, Noriah Jones, knocked down one of his own to most certainly make the Black Knights feel a little bit squeamish considering the current 49-43 situation with a hair over three minutes remaining in the third by that juncture following the sophomore’s marksmanship.
Now, all that is to say, you’d certainly need a defensive cut-stopper to try and put a lid on one of the most dangerous backcourts that this entire league has to offer. Fortunately for Hempfield, they have such ability when calling upon Cayden Auker.
Although the Hempfield junior guard’s stat line might not have necessarily wow’d anyone who looked at it after the fact, turning on the game tape would certainly suggest otherwise.
Aside from primarily drawing the assignment of trying to contain and stifle Lebanon’s Derek Franco and making him work for getting all of his shots off, Auker was also a calming influence out on the floor for the Black Knights when things started to get even the slightest bit topsy-turvy on them. Justly so, seeing Auker come away with a nice up-and-under move at the cup right before the penultimate quarter’s buzzer signified his offensive efforts pairing nicely alongside his defensive prowess. Oh yeah, also more importantly making it a 55-43 Hempfield lead prior to entering the game’s final eight minutes of course too.
Yet try as they might, the deficit for the homestanding Cedars was just a little too steep with all of one lone quarter left to go on Wednesday night.
That said, don’t bother mentioning that Derek Franco of course as Franco was seen pouring in two more trifectas to get Lebanon back within a dozen at 63-51 with now inside of four minutes left to be played.
However, that was largely the final, tangible threat that Lebanon posed to their guests.
In almost perfect bookend fashion, Jayzen Gant, the one who had helped get the Black Knights out of the chute to begin this contest, had what felt to be the game’s proverbial dagger with time winding down.
Granted, while rising and firing from beyond the arc off a scramble situation offensively with still ample time left for a possible Lebanon-led flurry might have been reason for pause, Gant’s successful venture in sinking this effectively game-icing triple to make it a 66-51 ballgame made it all but curtains on a Cedars’ comeback venture. And if you’re wondering as to just how successful his night was exactly, Gant would lead the Hempfield troops by notching a team-best 20-point showing next to his name in the scorebook, just his second time reaching or eclipsing the 20-point barrier to date this season.
But there was still plenty of time for others to get involved, however. Like, say Carson Landis for example.
After the eventual verdict was all but decided, Landis, who initially began the season at the JV ranks, stepped in and delivered what was arguably the most fruitful minutes offered by anyone in uniform on either bench this game as the Hempfield sophomore big man ended the night on his own 5-point salvo seen from both inside and outside the arc as Landis drew arguably the biggest ovation from the entire Hempfield contingent at any point seen throughout the contest following his immediate offensive spurt.
And once the dust had finally settled on what would crystallize into a final 75-53 verdict in favor of Hempfield prevailing over Lebanon on this night, the Black Knights had successfully maintained their first-place status heading into Friday night against McCaskey, a first-place showdown, with both teams now residing at the top of the heap with 3-1 section records shared between them and Cedar Crest. Yes, even if both the Black Knights and Tornado happen to both be a collective five games below .500 overall on the season in total. But hey, welcome to the early days of 2026 in L-L basketball. A time where anything seems both possible and plausible.
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