For Donegal, ‘Effort’ And ‘Trust’ Prove To Be The Secret Sauce As Indians Hold Off ELCO In Overtime Thriller, Compile Sixth Win In Last Seven Games
Written by: Andy Herr on January 15, 2025
Sawyer Floyd. LLHoops POG After 30-Point Night In Donegal Win Over ELCO
Back on the night of December 12th, the last time in which Donegal squared off with ELCO, it seemed possible that the end result that hinged on the outcome of that particular matchup would be a harbinger of things to come in the case of the immediate future for either side. And relatively speaking, that notion would indeed ring true.
For Donegal, a squad that came into the year with very high hopes, their early-season trip to Myerstown back in mid-December was a bit of a make-it or break-it type of game for the Indians, albeit just the fifth game of the season at the time. Needless to say, while staring down the barrel of a possible 1-4 start to the campaign depending on how this opening game of Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Three play turned out on the road against ELCO, it could understandably be a shock to their collective system considering those lofty aspirations coming into the campaign over in Mount Joy. However, in the aftermath of seeing ELCO break what was a nip-and-tuck game wide open with an onslaught over the course of the second half on that cold December night, largely due to the exploits the Raiders’ Josiah Hayes in particular, Donegal was sent home packing following what turned out be a much more emphatic 68-51 victory in ELCO’s favor come the final buzzer than probably truly transpired. Afterwards, the Indians would then proceed to drop their next three outings in the games which followed suit, dropping them down to a puzzling 1-7 overall mark just prior to the Christmas holiday.
But right around that time, something changed for the Indians. Something positive.
Maybe it was a fearless Joey Williams’ go-ahead trifecta with inside of ten seconds left to play against Solanco that finally stopped Donegal’s ongoing hex and breathed life into their camp found in the form of a 66-64 triumph back on December 23rd. But whatever “it” was, the Indians were able to bottle that up and use it once they took to the court following the holiday for their annual trip across the river to compete in the East Pennsboro Holiday Tournament.
There, Donegal proved themselves to the top team over in Enola over the course of two straight evenings as the Indians vanquished the likes of the hosts, East Pennsboro, before then toppling Greencastle-Antrim in the finale to give this team the title of champion, albeit while still possessing a sub .500 record prior to the calendar flipping over to 2025.
Then, after returning to the court at the start of January, the Indians kept playing their best ball of the season as evidenced by a pair of home victories against Lebanon and Lancaster Catholic respectively to officially make it a five-game winning streak heading into the latter part of this past week. And had it not been for a monstruous second half performance authored by their next-door neighbors over at Manheim Central, a team that entered Tuesday night presiding over the top spot in Section Three, the Indians would’ve made it a six-game winning streak heading into their upcoming game, a rematch against those aforementioned ELCO Raiders on Tuesday night with the league schedule now flipping back around.
And what better way to demonstrate the full-circle type growth they’ve been able to compile this past month than by making amends with one of the foremost squads that helped send them down the path of that rough 1-7 start with the Raiders coming into town to conclude the season series? Then, add in the fact that the Indians would have to do so on Tuesday evening without the services of two key starters found in Deandre White and Joey Williams respectively, and this truly became a matter of seeing just how tough and chiseled Donegal’s mental makeup has become when the chips are down.
As it turns out, it’s a moxie pretty strong considering what transpired over the course of 32 minutes. Well, 32 minutes and then some in actuality.
With two significant members now removed from the starting rotation against ELCO as stated, it became rather obvious that this would be a night in which the burden would largely be situated upon the shoulders of Donegal senior wing, Sawyer Floyd. Certainly not the worst of options seeing as how Floyd inked his intentions of playing ball at the next level prior to the start of his final ride wearing the Indians’ uniform with a commitment to play for Bloomsburg next year.
Specifically, while Floyd would so clearly deliver all night long for the benefit of his teammates by doing the lion’s share of scoring throughout, his seven early points tallied in the early portions of the first quarter — of which accounted for the entirety of the Donegal scoring output throughout the first six minutes — were nonetheless monstrous given the molding and meshing of these new pieces working together for the very first time together while now under the bright lights of varsity action no less.
In fact, save for a Tyler Bernhardt trifecta which later made it a 10-5 affair in favor of Donegal near the two-minute mark of the opening frame, Floyd would end up accounting for all but three of Donegal’s first period points once a first quarter riddled with turnovers and missed shots alike ended with the hosts holding serve with a 10-8 lead.
Yet no matter how hard ELCO seemed to push, the visitors just couldn’t quite summit the hill. Yes, even here inside the second frame as well.
Case in point, while the Raiders would claw to back to within three at 15-12 following a pullup jumper sunk by ELCO junior guard, Kaden Shultz-Tillison, the Indians would end up retaliating in kind by then rattling off a timely 6-0 spurt that was punctuated with a Zach Rohrer deuce inside as the 6’5 junior big man made it a 21-12 affair in his side’s favor with ELCO prompted in calling a timeout with 2:55 left to play in the opening half.
But if there was one Raider who refused to simply yield to the ongoing Donegal onslaught without so much of a fight, it was clearly Micah Gray most of all.
All game long, as he routinely does each and every time he steps onto the floor, the ELCO senior lefty brings all the intangibles along with him that you really can’t measure within a boxscore. Sure, it certainly sticks out though when he happens to score 25 team-high points, such as the case on Tuesday night, but his countless hustle plays were equally mammoth to the Raiders’ entire collective effort in this one. In that regard, the basketball gods shined upon Micah Gray with favor for his work exerted in the waning moments of the second period by awarding him with 5-0 personal rally from both beyond the arc and at the free throw line, for a push that got the Raiders back within a point at 23-22.
Suffice to say, as had been the case back in their first meeting of the season, the margin of separation between these two squads seemed to be minuscule at best as the first 16 minutes of Tuesday night laid to bare. With that in mind, provided that either club could somehow conjure up a bit of rally to try as a means to try and separate, that might end up being the catalyst that could prove to be the foremost differentiator.
For that assignment, ELCO took the reigns and ran with it come the start of the third quarter. And even though the Raiders had surrendered a last-minute triple at the hands of Donegal’s Andrew Pavelik inside the final stages of the second quarter which had helped push the Indians into the intermission with the 26-22 advantage, a 5-0 Raiders’ rally to start the third quarter gave ELCO their first lead of the evening, 27-26, following a 3-ball splashed down by Kaden-Shultz Tillison with a shade inside of two minutes having ticked off the third quarter clock.
But again, even despite this current ELCO salvo and all, Donegal wouldn’t budge.
All told, the Indians would later climb back in front at 33-31 following a Sawyer Floyd trifecta with 3:30 left to go, before a bucket tallied by the man of the hour in the first meeting, ELCO’s Josiah Hayes, knotted things up once again at 33-33 roughly one minute later.
If you’re sensing a theme here that the odds of someone perhaps breaking this open were at best a wishful folly, you’re not incorrect.
True to form, while Donegal would jump back in front at 36-33 following a 3-ball nailed by Tyler Bernhardt, a three-point play of the old-fashioned variety tallied by Micah Gray made things all square once again at 36-36 with now inside of a minute left to play in the third. But there, before the fourth quarter would commence, Kaden Shultz-Tillison still found ample enough time to bomb in another 3-ball to his night’s work, this en route to a 17-point outing, as the junior’s triple allowed ELCO to possess the 39-36 lead heading into the final stanza.
In reality, while the written word will have to make do here when trying to illustrate the fourth quarter proceedings in this one, going and looking at the actual film would likely prove far more beneficial given the constant haymakers landed back and forth between the two sides.
For proof, while Bernhardt and Andrew Pavelik would knock down a pair of Indians’ triples to begin the fourth period which put the hosts back in front at a 42-39 clip, a Micah Gray triple of his own got the Raiders back on level footing at 42-42 not long afterwards. Then, once Sawyer Floyd and Kaden Shultz-Tillison decided to have their own three-point shootout against one another with Floyd bookending the exchange with a pair of treys that made it a 50-49 Donegal lead with just 2:36 left to play, it was rather obvious that this game might come down to which team was in possession of the ball last.
And wouldn’t know it, but that’s exactly happened to take place.
While ELCO would end up splitting an offering a charity stripe with 9.4 seconds remaining which ended up putting the Raiders back on top by virtue of the 52-50 difference, that was still more than enough time for the Indians to rebuttal back.
For those honors, the responsibility would be bestowed upon Donegal 6’5 junior big man, Cohen Miller, as Miller’s easy lay in after a wonderfully executed set by the Indians collectively in crunch time knotted things up at 52-apeice with just 1.9 seconds remaining.
Granted, while overtime seemed all but imminent given the situation as it stood, a full-court heave not just found the Raiders’ mitts on a last ditch Hail Mary attempt, but it was good enough to allow ELCO to get a point-blank look at the game-winner, only to then see the ball cruelly roll off the rim, sending this memorable matchup into a much-deserving session of extra time.
Brand new set of circumstances and all, nothing it seemed would end up separating Donegal and ELCO from one another.
Sure enough, while Sawyer Floyd would execute a wonderful step-thru move inside the lane after appearing stymied in picking up his dribble for a key deuce which put Donegal up by a 56-54 lead inside the overtime, a Shultz-Tillison answer would immediately follow suit on the Raiders’ ensuing offensive possession to make things dead-even with the outcome anything but decided.
However, it did seem somewhat possible as to what the end-result might become once Gray, the hero who helped spearhead this ELCO effort all evening long, came away with another Herculean three-point play with inside of a minute left in OT which then made it a 61-60 Raiders’ advantage with 47.7 seconds left.
Not the best of situations for Donegal. But hey, just another opportunity at showing just how far you’ve come all the same, right?
With that in mind, seeing Sawyer Floyd and Tyler Bernhardt execute the magnificent two-man action amongst themselves which saw Floyd ironically enough become the assist-giver rather than the point-scorer, concluded a late-game set which saw the Indians’ 5’10 sophomore guard burying the biggest shot of his young career thus far with a triple off the backwards flip pass tossed from his senior counterpart as the Bernhardt triple made it a 63-61 Donegal cushion with time now the foremost enemy of ELCO.
Of course, turnovers were also an adversary equally as strong in their own regard, but none more glaring than the Raiders getting hit with an offensive foul on their ensuing offensive trip back down the floor in an attempt to either tie or take the lead.
From there, considering how he himself had helped land the biggest punch of the evening with his go-ahead 3-ball just one possession prior, Bernhardt ended up putting the final bow on this night with a pair of clutch freebies at the line with just 13.9 seconds remaining in bonus time to put things out of reach.
And once ELCO could draw no closer and the final score would become cemented in a 65-61 final verdict in Donegal’s favor at the end of 36 minutes in what could only be rightfully described as a spectacular high school basketball game, there was more too than that. For Donegal, a team whose season might’ve seemed lost at sea just a couple weeks ago, this victory over ELCO marked the Indians’ sixth time tasting victory over the course of their last seven outings altogether. Hey, outside of perhaps Octorara and Lancaster Mennonite, there might not be a team playing any better at the moment than these Indians. If not that, they’ve certainly inserted themselves into the discussion at the very least heading down the homeward mile of the regular season slate.
Beyond that, consider the fact that the Indians were forced to dig this victory out while absent of their full complement of a rotation, and it’s easy to see as to why this triumph might be considered as Donegal’s finest hour compiled yet this season. Well, it certainly doesn’t hurt matters when your future college hooper happens to toss in 30 points all by himself to aid in the cause of course.
To Sawyer Floyd, in this his senior season, while it’s been a bit of an up-and-down ride thus far for both he and his teammates alike, tonight at least could help serve as some bit of vindication that things are finally turning for he and everyone else in the Indians’ camp.
“Obviously not the way we wanted to start out by putting ourselves in a deep hole starting at 1-7,” Floyd candidly remarked of the first leg in the season’s journey. “But I’ll say that things started to change once we started to trust each other more here starting this second half (of the season). Trusting each other more is just what’s putting us in a good spot and giving us this win streak.”
“I feel like we’re all just playing with more effort,” Floyd added. “Those first couple of games, I just felt like we got into that deep drought in starting 1-7 and then we just started to hang our heads. But we really emphasized trusting each other and continuing to grow during that time. It all starts with practice for us when it comes to trusting each other.”
And while he is always at the #1 spot in terms of the opposing team’s scouting report, Floyd was forced into taking on an even bigger lift this particular evening. No matter as far as he was concerned.
“I guess it did just kind of come naturally,” he remarked when asked as to what helped him explode out to a 30-point night at the office once the dust had settled without his usual suspects there alongside him. “Like I said, I trust my teammates, so I know we’ll all put each other in good positions. I wasn’t necessarily coming into the night saying, ‘Hey, I have to score 40 points,’ or anything like that in order for us to win, but I did know that I’d probably have to do a little bit more than normal and it all just worked out well.”
Not only that, but add in the fact that Floyd never once came out of the game for a sub at any point while playing the entirety of the game’s 36 minutes in full, and it’s easy to see why this game might be on the (very) short list of remarkable performances tabulated across the entire L-L League this year to date. Oh yeah, and not for nothing, but try doing so while being face-guarded the entire night as well.
“Yeah, I kind of see it on the usual,” Floyd said with a smile as all basketball players know there is no higher honor than to be treated with that plan of attack defensively. “Not necessarily every game, but I would say it’s the majority. Coach Shipper just helps me through it and talks with me through timeouts telling me what I can do with using my body and getting physical for getting the ball…I get used to it. Like I said, Coach Shipper gives me way to get open, but it’s just something you have to get used to and adjust to.”
Speaking of his head coach, the third-year man in leading this Indians’ program, he too has seen steps in which have troops have taken as of late that perhaps weren’t there at the outset of the season.
“I think the first thing is the effort we were seeing every day in practice,” Ryan Shipper said of his club in this recent stretch and what may be most different now. “We weren’t getting the results we wanted in games, so something had to change. It started with the effort we were giving every day in practice. Earning the right to win comes from practice. I don’t think we were quite there early in the season, but that’s on me,” Shipper humbly stated. “Not recognizing that and having it spill over to game play….You start getting some defensive stops, the ball gets some energy, and now you start making shots. It was difficult for us to get stops when we we’re making shots. It’s a little bit of getting some guys going as well, but it really does just come down to effort.”
“This year has presented some challenges,” the bright young coach then said of this 2024-25 campaign thru mid-January. “Being a first-time dad and going through all of that has been a change. Bringing back three varsity starters, but those were the only three guys with varsity experience from our team,” Shipper detailed. “Trying to get guys to learn and get caught up on the fly with playing so many games early in December, I think was tough. I think not getting that instant success that we thought was coming then became a challenge,” he shared. “Just trying to keep the guys mentally engaged and involved was a bit of a challenge, but we were able to turn the corner right after the holidays in starting 2025 off in a good way. Hopefully, we can continue to take steps forward and not continue to a step back every time we take a step forward.”
For now, a team that’s won six of seven, it certainly seems as if the Indians have indeed found their gait after all.
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