In Battle Between Two Starved Teams, Milton Hershey Is Able To Gorge As Spartans Pick Up First Victory Since Mid-December In Impressive Saturday Afternoon Showing Against Lebanon
Written by: Andy Herr on February 3, 2024
When those in the Lebanon Cedars boys’ basketball camp awoke from their slumbers on Saturday morning, it’d be hard to find fault with anyone one of them if they began the day with a renewed sense and overall feeling of promise. Granted, that may be hard to figure considering how the Cedars began the day while in possession of an 0-17 record, but the fact of the matter was that this, this could perhaps be the day more so than any of the others found before it that would indeed be different.
In the event that this afternoon would in fact be different, that would most certainly be welcomed news for this proud program that boasts an incredible lineage. While it may be hard to sometimes fathom and just flat-out accept, but since the Cedars’ 2020-21 Lancaster-Lebanon League championship during that COVID-littered season, it’s been nothing short of a grind for the Cedars since then. Specifically speaking, as hard this may be to reconcile as a bit of truth, the last time that the Lebanon boys’ varsity basketball team won a game during the winter must be traced all the way back to February 11th, 2022, a victory against Octorara in the opening round of the league tournament. Beyond that, it was equally unfortunate and cruel that second-year head coach, Kris Uffner, a proud Cedar who bleeds red and blue, had still gone along this far in his early tenure without being able to head back into a joyous locker room at the end of 32 minutes.
But again, this figured to be a day where the Cedars had the opportunity to wash away some of the sins from their more recent past. Why you ask? Well, aside from Lebanon playing some of their best basketball in years despite still have a goose egg to show for it in the win/loss ledger, the aspect of the Cedars loading up the school bus and heading to Milton Hershey, an equally proud program with success throughout history in its own right, brought with it the opportunity for two teams currently in the midst of difficult seasons the opportunity to relish in the spoils of victory. For this would eventually be a day come the end of it where either the Cedars or Spartans, two hungry teams entering Saturday afternoon at the palatal Spartan Center on the Milton Hershey campus with combined 1-34 records between them, would be an occasion in which one group would fittingly be able to enjoy throughout a majority of the weekend still remaining for the eventual victor in a matchup between a pair of clubs eager with anticipation to taste the sweet nectar of victory.
But on this day, a day in which one of these two proud programs could perhaps garner some momentum to use in the waning stages of this season before in turn parlaying it into the future, it was evident that Milton Hershey would not only make the most of said opportunity, but they would do so by effectively seizing without letting Lebanon do much when it came to intervening.
In the initial stages of Saturday’s affair, the volleys traded back and forth were incredibly equal. Granted, while the Cedars were doing so by way of the three-point for their first two buckets from the field –the latter of which came via the efforts of junior guard Ben DiScuillo which knotted things up at 6-6 three minutes in—Milton Hershey conversely opted for using the more “black and blue” variety of ball if you will.
For that, ironically coming right on the heels of the aforementioned DiScuillo triple no less, a bucket inside chipped in courtesy of Milton Hershey 6’1 senior forward, Jaden Stemn, gave the lead right back to the Spartans before a tough take to the tin by way of cat-quick sophomore guard, Khalif Turner, prompted Lebanon into calling an early timeout while staring up at the Spartan Center scoreboard hanging above the floor and noticing the 10-6 count with 4:09 left in the opening stanza.
As it turned out though, Turner was only just beginning to heat up for the duration of the period.
Not long afterwards, Milton Hershey’s 10th grade floor general proceeded to take his act outside the arc where he would then promptly bury a trifecta before going back inside the ring as Turner’s drive to the cup cashed in mere moments before the first quarter horn sounded would put Milton Hershey up by a touchdown, 17-10, with Khalif Turner having been personally responsible for generating the lion’s share of the separation which he and his fellow troops were at that point fully able to enjoy.
But the Milton Hershey onslaught just kept coming full steam ahead in the Cedars’ collective direction once the second quarter got underway as well.
Fittingly, using a nice mix of inside/outside efficiency, the Spartans were able to see their lead swell upwards even larger. As far as the inside portion was concerned, those points would be chipped in by another Milton Hershey underclassman, Dylan Crawford, as the 6’2 freshman forward was able to score within the first 28 seconds of the frame which then laid the groundwork for a member of the senior class, Jason Burney, to take his turn in shining as the Spartans’ guard would bomb in a trifecta before following suit with a take to the rack which then allowed the hosts to double up their opposition at 26-13 with Lebanon quickly finding themselves residing in dangerous territory and it not even being halftime as of yet.
By this point, it was rather obvious that the Cedars needed a cut-stopper to effectively halt their current bleeding. And surely not a moment too soon either.
When it came to that assignment, Lebanon leaned on the efforts of one of their seniors too, Colby Robb, as the Cedars’ big man donning #55 responded in kind with six consecutive Lebanon points from the field to whittle the margin back down to a baker’s dozen, 33-20, with the second quarter quickly winding towards its completion.
Yet if there was one prevailing theme that seemed to encompass not just the majority of the first 16 minutes alone but for much of the afternoon as a whole, it seemed to be that whenever Lebanon felt as if they were making some headway, Milton Hershey was right there on the scene behind them to then take the fire out.
Case in point, with the Cedars’ riding Robb’s hot hand at the time to an eventual 10-point showing by the end of the afternoon, a timely triple knocked down on the Spartans’ ensuing offensive possession following Robb’s latest exploits via Jason Burney not only stemmed the tide back in Milton Hershey’s favor at the time, but it also helped propel them into the dressing room come the halftime break by virtue of the 38-26 lead of which they enjoyed.
But right from the opening offensive set once the third quarter began, it was rather obvious that Milton Hershey was fully cognizant of how they would best butter their bread against the Cedars on this day.
While he still may be relatively unknown to many beyond his school’s gorgeous campus, the fact of the matter is that if Abdou Diene continues to put his talents on tape from here on out the likes of which he did on Saturday afternoon against Lebanon, the Milton Hershey 6’6 freshman big man won’t be able to fall and/or hide under the radar for that much longer. And as if to be right on cue, the Spartans’ talented frosh would proceed to score his team’s first points of the second half with a bucket from point-blank range, a two-point addition into what would amount to a 13-point day at the office for the blossoming prospect.
The issue for Lebanon, however? Diene too was only just starting to truly put his fingerprints all over the game.
Truth be told, it nonetheless seemed as if perhaps the Cedars had been able to conjure up some momentum inside the initial stages of the third quarter albeit while still being down by double figures at 40-29. Well, that was of course up until Diene kept imposing his will inside against his counterparts while already well en route to a double-double performance in cleaning up the defensive glass.
First, behind a pair of Diene bunnies yet again that in turn created a 46-29 Milton Hershey buffer with 5:20 left in the third, Diene would then come right back on the defensive end and swat a would-be Lebanon shot which in turn led to led to an offensive possession where his fellow twin tower found along the Spartans’ frontline, Jaden Stemn, came up with a bucket of his own that then allowed Milton Hershey to flirt with the idea of going up by 20 considering the 48-29 difference with still roughly half of the third quarter yet to be played.
In actuality however, Milton Hershey would indeed hit that 20-point plateau and then some over the course of the next few minutes.
Sure enough, the Spartans’ lead would hold firm at that specific number following a put-back bucket chipped in by Lebanon’s Colby Robb, making it a 53-33 ballgame inside of a minute left to play in the third which is precisely where things remained upon heading into the final act. And while the Spartans wouldn’t quite trigger the mercy-rule running clock into effect, they at times certainly seemed to be poised in careening towards that inevitable direction.
For proof of that, look no further than a bucket in transition contributed by Milton Hershey senior guard, Mohamed Koroma, which made it a 24-point Spartans’ lead at 61-37 with three minutes and change left to go with many of the reserves on both benches already getting their chance to take to the pristine Spartan Center floor for their well-deserved minutes of action.
For the Cedars’ contingent, one of their final volleys on the day would be thrown by way of senior guard, Nate Trace, as the Lebanon upcoming graduate knocked in a triple which later cut the gap back down to 20, 63-43, with Trace going on then to tally another bucket to his name with a microwave-like five-point outburst heading down the final stretch on Saturday.
But that point, it was rather apparent that that the hill that Milton Hershey had forced Lebanon to climb throughout much of the afternoon was far too steep for the Cedars to eventually overcome. As a result, the Spartans of Milton Hershey School were finally able to rightly revel in the spoils of their first victory since December 16th at long last as Milton Hershey’s finest hour of their 2023-24 campaign to date was punctuated with a resounding 64-45 verdict against Lebanon in a game that featured two squads equally starved to find their way into the win column. And not for nothing, but it would be a contest in which its two combatants also have reason for optimism for both next season and beyond considering the upside in talent that each club figures to bring back into the fold for the next couple of years to come as both look to start the upward climb in asserting themselves back where they each belong—the top of their respective divisions. And for it that were to eventually take place, both leagues would surely be all the better for it.
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