Third Time Is The Charm As Lancaster Mennonite Gets The Better Of Warwick, Avenges Last Two Tourney Losses As Blazers March Onward To L-L League Semifinals (Article By Mike Gross)
Written by: Andy Herr on February 7, 2026
By Mike Gross
It’s too much to say Lancaster Mennonite’s 58-52 defeat of Warwick Saturday was the de facto Lancaster-Lebanon League championship game.
It’s not enough to say it was just another quarterfinal.
The Blazers have targeted the league playoffs more than usual this year, and knew they cleared a big hurdle Saturday.
“It’s a particular emphasis,’’ said Mennonite coach Jeff Hartenstine, whose club won its 19th straight to improve to 20-2. “I lied to you in years past – I would have loved to win it, but I was, like, if this goes absolutely perfect, we might get through. This time, we’re on a bit of a roll, and we’ve got a legitimate shot.’’
Step two is a semifinal meeting with Section One champ Hempfield, which beat Lancaster Catholic in its quarterfinal Saturday. That game will be played at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Conestoga Valley.
The Warriors, L-L Section Two runners-up, had won 15 of 16, and this was a classic matchup on several levels – public school vs. private, big school vs. small, size vs. quickness (although Mennonite isn’t small and Warwick isn’t slow).
Also, there was a head-to-head battle between two of the league’s best players, at least when the Warriors had the ball, since Mennonite guard Chase Hurst, maybe 5-11, defended 6-4 Warwick wing Ya’Majesty Washington for 32 minutes.
“It’s impossible to stop him, because I think he’s the best player in the L-L,’’ said Hurst of his buddy and longtime AAU teammate.
“You just can’t let him get hot. If he does, the basket’s like an ocean. You can only hope to slow him down.’’
Warwick has a lot of guys in the same general class as Washington – 6-4-ish with perimeter skill – so that there’s a mismatch somewhere against almost any opponent.
Early on it was Austin Clemens, a sophomore with lots of tools on his belt. He scored six as Warwick ran out to leads of 10-4 and 18-12. The Warriors were defending Hurst well (“They were long around the rim,’’ he said. “It really does alter your shots.’’), and it was hard to see how Mennonite was going to be able to score enough.
But the Blazers gradually altered the script. They defended better, sped up the game and the Warriors, won the more 50/50 balls and, critically, did not get outrebounded by a bigger foe.
“Shocking,’’ Hartenstine said. “I thought if we talked about (rebounding) enough, we might get close.’’
“We weren’t great today,’’ said Warwick coach Chris Christensen. “When you’re not great, a pretty good team will get you, especially if you’re not doing the hustle things.’’
Warwick had nine straight empty possessions in the second quarter. Even if the Blazers weren’t converting enough, they were getting looks out of their high-level halfcourt sets and getting to the foul line. They led 29-24 at the half and never trailed again.
It was far from over, though. As the second half wore on, Warwick settled on riding Washington, giving him a ball screen and getting him downhill against Hurst.
Washington scored 14 of his 19 in the second half, and Warwick trailed by just 40-39 heading to the final period.
The Blazers, who had struggled some at the foul line, made six straight to lead, 46-43, with four minutes left. Warwick then fired and missed from behind the arc three straight times – the Warriors made just two of their last 12 three attempts.
A minute later, Warwick was showing its extended zone trap, and Mennonite was showing it was ready for it, Hurst and playmaking guard Brady Grau delivering passes over and through the D for layups.
The Blazers were 12-for-14 at the line in the fourth quarter.
Washington finished with 19 for Warwick, Brady Clausen 13 and Clemens 12.
Hurst scored 18, right on his average, and Mennonite also got strong games from soph Jackson Bare, who had 16 points and Bill Rothwein (10). Grau scored nine, but his smooth, smart show-running prompted Hurst to call him, “the MVP of the game.’’
Mennonite’s seniors were freshmen when it won the Class AA state title in 2023. It is one of the very few programs in Pennsylvania to have reached the state quarterfinals or better five straight years.
But the L-L playoffs have mostly been a big-school thing. The Blazers have never won it. They’ve been to the final just once, and that was 35 years ago.
“My wife has been talking to me about the Super Bowl plans,’’ Hartenstine said. “My mind is just not engaged in that. It’s been 100 percent on this game.
“So, yeah, it was very emotional. I knew how big it was for these guys as seniors. If they lost, they could never get back.’’
Follow LLhoops on Twitter @LLhoops
