Donegal Responds From Octorara Loss, Tallies Workmanlike Victory At Northern Lebanon As Indians Begin Final Week With Hopes Of Snatching Up District 3-5A Playoff Spot
Written by: Andy Herr on February 5, 2023
Once you reach this part of the season when the number of days, much less the number of remaining games can essentially be counted on one hand in fact, it’d be nothing if not understandable as to why some of the more “feel good” stories found inside the Lancaster-Lebanon League boys’ basketball trail may now be placed on the backburner so to speak in lieu of the attention that the inevitable playoff chase looming right there on the horizon figures to rightfully receive. Of course, when you have two of those sentimental stories squaring off head-to-head against one another, the attention and appreciation is even more noticeable and palpable. And never more did that prove to be the case than with Donegal’s Monday night excursion up to Northern Lebanon on Monday night to settle the score on the pair’s season series.
For the Donegal Indians, it’s been easy to see in this just his first year on the bench as to why the green and white from Mount Joy likely figure to be exactly that, joyous, over the next few years as long as head coach Ryan Shipper is in charge of things. But don’t take just our word for it. Instead, ask around the L-L League and to a man, unsolicited no less, will both coaches and players alike to tell you that Donegal has their upmost attention and respect. And that’s not for nothing either. Sure, while there was the occasional blip into the postseason in the decade or so following the infamous 2013 squad, success found on the hardwood for the Indians on the boys’ side of things hasn’t been all that prevalent quite frankly these last few winters. However, with Shipper since taking command of the ship, it’s been nothing if not evident to see that his philosophy and formula for doing things is quickly taking shape and holding serve given the clear buy-in exuded from his players who will fight you every second on every possession. As a result, Donegal came into Fredericksburg at the beginning of the week residing right near the cutoff line in respect to the District 3-5A playoff hunt which will get underway here in just a matter of days. Simply put, the Indians could not afford any sort of slippage coming out of Monday night to say the least if they wanted those dreams to remain in place heading into the final leg of their journey.
Even still, their opponent on this night, Northern Lebanon, had just come off a positive story of their own to tell.
It’s been fair to say that this 2022-23 Vikings’ campaign hasn’t gone the way in which anyone in their camp had hoped for. Easy to say that perhaps when you consider that Northern Lebanon was found lugging an 0-16 overall record into their game against Hamburg back on January 24th. However, to their credit, Northern Lebanon was finally able to solve the riddle that had plagued them all year up until that point as the Vikings were finally and rightfully able to celebrate in the locker room after 32 minutes of play for the first time all year following a well-earned 45-38 over the neighboring Hawks from down Interstate 78. But even for a squad where the wins have been in short supply up until this point, it’s obvious just to the naked eye alone that the Vikings have some young (very young) pieces of which to work with that will undoubtedly serve them well into the future for years to come.
And so, with a team who was making their first return trip back home to “The Snakepit” following their initial triumph against Hamburg, Donegal had to have figured that they would be in for a fight on Monday night inside the nether regions of Lebanon County. Even still, while the Vikings would indeed offer up said resistance, the Indians, with an obvious fresh scent on that postseason prey, would prove to have the last laugh come the end of it all.
Simply put, the visitors came out of the gates strong to begin this one. In that regard, the Indians needed to thank and cite the efforts of 6’0 senior point guard, Dutch Good, as Good proceeded to rattle off his own personal 6-0 salvo inside the first few minutes of the contest to help usher Donegal out to the early 8-3 cushion with three minutes gone. However, not to be outdone, another key senior in the Indians’ rotation, Noah Rohrer, tallied a bucket of his own inside roughly two minutes later to not only put the guests up by a half dozen at 14-8, but also prompt Northern Lebanon into burning a timeout to try and quell the Indians’ existing momentum.
Long story short, but the impromptu timeout called by NL’s Chris George seemed to be exactly what the doctor had ordered for his troops.
In fact, on Northern Lebanon’s ensuing trip down the floor following the stoppage in play, one of NL’s talented young guns, freshman guard Kael Erdman, displayed some of those same intangible leadership qualities that helped propel him in becoming the Vikings’ starting quarterback on the gridiron this past fall as Erdman’s timely trey here sliced the Donegal advantage down to three at 14-11 before the Indians would finish off the opening eight minutes with a 5-0 spurt to take ownership of the 19-11 lead into the second frame.
However, for an opening quarter that featured volleys back and forth shared between the two sides, the second quarter was there Donegal really made their hay.
In terms of the evidence to support that case, look no further than Evyan Patel’s corner 3-ball which the Indians’ 6’1 junior sharpshooter sunk in the corner to open the Indians’ lead out to 15, 26-11, with Northern Lebanon calling another timeout with 4:59 left to go in the opening half still.
And while the Vikings would counter right back in the form of a nice take inside by way of another of their young pups, talented 6’3 freshman big man Brady Krall, which got things back to a baker’s dozen roughly a minute later, a pair of buckets tallied by way of Good and Mason Pavelik respectively would then up the Indians’ lead to its largest at 17 which then laid the groundwork for a Nate McKnight triple not long thereafter as the Donegal 6’1 senior wing made it a 33-13 affair in favor of the visitors which is precisely where the count remained once the final few seconds ticked off the second quarter clock.
Needless to say, entering the final 16 minutes of play while staring up at a 20-point hole on the scoreboard isn’t the most suggested of ways to try and go about things. But to their credit, much in the same manner in which they were able to knock off Hamburg following an excruciating hard start to begin the campaign, Northern Lebanon continued and fight and claw for every inch of their property as the game wore on.
Case in point, a six-point swing in the Vikings’ favor courtesy of you guessed it, another Northern Lebanon underclassman, as Riley Messinger proceeded to take his talents beyond the arc by splashing in a triple to aid in his cast’s cause before then following that up with a three-point play of the old fashioned variety as the sophomore guard certainly did his best in trying to cut the Donegal lead down to size at 40-25 with just 1:40 then left to play in the third stanza. On the night itself, Messinger proved himself worthy of carrying his team’s flag all the away across the finish line seeing as how he would conclude the evening with capturing game-high scoring honors in posting a 16-point night at the office, points of which came exclusively inside the second half.
But as would be the case all night long, Donegal would have the rebuttal here as well.
Sure, while perhaps the shift of momentum may have been starting to tilt in Northern Lebanon’s direction at that particular point in time, a trifecta knocked down on the very next Indians’ trip via the handiwork of 6’1 sophomore guard Sawyer Floyd helped set the stage for the final period which saw the visitors out in front by a commanding 46-27 difference.
In many ways though, not even the brief break in between periods seemed to do much of anything when it came to tamping down on Floyd’s hot shooting or any of his teammates for that matter.
In fact, on the very first Donegal possession of the fourth quarter, Floyd proceeded to dial long distance yet again as this three-point addition to his evening not only helped him in finishing with a team-best 14-point contest once all was said and done, but it also opened the Indians’ advantage out to 22 within the blink of an eye.
But the dam still had to burst when it came to Donegal’s 3-point exploits inside the final frame.
There, on the ensuing offensive trip down the floor following the aforementioned Floyd trey, DeAndre White decided that he too wanted to get in on the act from bonus distance as the Indians’ 5’11 sophomore stalwart fired in one of his own to pump it up to a 52-29 margin of separation.
And even if they weren’t scoring from outside the semi-circle, Donegal’s Nate McKnight had no qualms whatsoever when it came time for him to offer up a cause of his own as the Indians’ senior tallied a personal 4-0 run all by his lonesome before the punctuation mark on the entire evening was best served via the efforts of the lone freshman found on the Donegal roster, Joey Williams, as Williams not only rifled in a triple of his own inside the waning stages, but he also then followed that up with a fearless charge taken down on the defensive end the very next possession for a exchange which best personified the Indians’ entire evening at large.
Then, once the final gun had sounded, it was clear that Donegal had taken care of business in the manner in which they needed to given their 65-48 final triumph for a critical victory that now has the Indians entering this final week of the season residing just inside the cut line at the #13 slot inside a field that only selects just 14 esteemed members.
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