Lampeter-Strasburg Passes Another Test As Pioneers Add A New Trophy, District 3-5A Gold, Following Victory Over Shippensburg En Route To 27-0 Record
Written by: Andy Herr on March 4, 2022
Shippensburg vs. Lampeter-Strasburg in the District 3 Class 5A championship game at the Giant Center in Hershey on March 3, 2022. Mark Palczewski Photo
When the fine folks at the District 3 office got together earlier in the year and ultimately rolled out the schedule and slate of championship games that were going to be held inside the Giant Center in the early portion of the month of March, you can best believe that every boys’ basketball program from around the mid-state had their sights set on playing inside the arena on March 3rd right before the 8 o’clock hour late on that Thursday evening. And while everyone certainly wanted to reach that prestigious stage, there figured to be a very select few that you could almost pencil-in to make it there back around the Thanksgiving holiday, yes, before the season truly got underway. Just take Lampeter-Strasburg for example.
Now sure, while L-S was largely assumed to be one of the odds-on favorites to make it to Hershey, it’s hard to believe if anyone really saw THIS coming. After all, scud missiles fired into their resume for their apparent lack of scheduling prowess and all, it’s hard to form a coherent and reasonable argument against them when trying to disparage or throw shade upon a 26-0 outfit, a season’s worth of work that comes complete with a league championship too by the way. But it wasn’t always the smoothest of sailing for the Pioneers of course. At least not in terms of Monday night’s semifinal all-out war that quickly took shape against the Hershey Trojans of course.
In that game roughly 72 hours prior to their championship date late on Thursday night, L-S was somehow able to outwill and outlast a ridiculously strong Hershey-effort that didn’t conclude until the Pios finally emerged triumphant following a thrilling 87-82 final decision in triple-overtime to send them into Thursday’s title tilt.
Ironically though, their opponent on this night, the Shippensburg Greyhounds, could probably look down the floor at L-S and feel as if they may have been looking into a mirror of sorts. As far as the Greyhounds were concerned, they too were able to reach the precipice of District 3 supremacy following an equally wild triple-overtime classic of their own in which Ship was able to stave off a persistent West York Bulldogs’ charge before a 51-49 final decision ultimately rang out in Ship’s favor. But even with the recent white-knuckle victories tallied by each pushed aside for just one moment, this Shippensburg crew didn’t need to feel intimidated by the bright lights and big stage that only the Giant Center can truly provide, mind you. In fact, save for the Greyhounds’ opening game of the season –a loss to L-S’ closest fellow L-L League school, Lancaster Mennonite — the group hailing from the Mid-Penn’s Colonial division was able to compile a 20-2 record following their initial setback to Mennonite’s Blazers, including a trip to their league championship game too where they would later fall at the hands of Cedar Cliff in that title affair.
So, suffice to say as the old adage goes, the esteemed cast and crew in the head offices truly did save the best for last in terms of Thursday’s six-game logjam of various boys’ and girls’ undercard championship games splattered throughout the entirety of the day before the final headliner that the masses were likely clamoring for in the District 3-5A championship game between L-S and Shippensburg, two squads that came in with an eye-popping 47-3 combined record shared between them. Needless to say, the hype found coming into this one could not have possibly been any higher. And in the most apropos of ways possible, the game itself would end up living to all its anticipated pregame fanfare too.
Of course, getting off to a fast start would surely be objective numero uno for whichever squad could accomplish such a task. Well, in that regard, hang a star next to Shippensburg’s name at least in the early going of Thursday night’s throw down. There, following a pair of buckets sunk by way of the Greyhounds’ senior duo of Jayden Statum and Anthony Smith respectively, the ‘Hounds were able to double-up their opposition at a 10-5 count before another Ship deuce –this one tallied by 6’2 junior forward, Graison Michajluk – made it a 12-5 Shippensburg lead as the Pioneers were then forced to burn an early timeout to try and regroup given their touchdown-sized deficit with over half of the opening quarter already having been expired.
Yet as was to be expected, L-S would exhibit no evidence of scar tissue whatsoever when it came to surrendering that early Shippensburg volley lobbed in their direction.
In fact, following the timeout, L-S’ Berkeley Wagner would retaliate right back on the Pios’ ensuing offensive trip with a long deuce from just inside the three-point line which trimmed the Greyhounds’ lead down to 12-8, only to see that gap be sliced down to a penny following a trifecta drummed up by 6’1 senior guard, Isaiah Parido, making it a 12-11 ballgame which is precisely where the score would remain once the final 30 seconds of the first period would later expire.
As it turned out though, that late first quarter charge may have ended up making all the difference in the world as far as the eventual outcome would be most concerned. And wouldn’t you know it, but L-S would find their groove by, you guessed it, shooting the rock with stellar proficiency to help light their pathway.
In fact, it didn’t take the Pioneers very long to author their long-range assault when it came to the second stanza. No, not when you factor in Wagner’s trey that successfully concluded the Pioneers’ opening offensive possession of the quarter, as the 6’0 senior guard gave his squad their first lead of the evening since a brief excursion with an 3-2 advantage found in the earlier portion of the first quarter. From there, L-S quickly got their transition game into high gear as well considering a Ben Wert take to the rack which put the Pioneers by four, 18-14, with 6:10 left to play before the half. All of that is to say of course that it would’ve been hard to envision any sort of L-S charge if their 5’10 sophomore dynamo didn’t have some sort of hand in the matter. And right on cue, Ty Burton came to the scene with one of his trademark pullup jumpers to up the Pioneers’ cushion to a half dozen at 20-14, prompting Shippensburg to call a timeout with 5:15 then left to play in the first half as L-S had successfully flipped the 13-point turnaround all within a matter of minutes.
But even when the Greyhounds tried to find their footing, something best exemplified by a take to the rack by all-state guard, Jayden Statum, shortly following the aforementioned timeout, a pair of back-breaking 3-balls cashed in by Parido and Wagner in successive fashion later on would quickly follow suit for the timely L-S rebuttal, a six-point barrage which helped usher the Pioneers into the recess with the 29-20 advantage.
To their credit though, much like in the same manner that L-S had exemplified during their first half charge that had helped them dig out of an early hole, Shippensburg was clearly up for the fight by the time the third quarter rolled along on Thursday night as well.
For that, it was easy to see what the message likely was during the halftime break in the Greyhounds’ locker room considering the third frame began in the most authoritative of ways given a spectacular seal-off of a defender underneath courtesy of 6’8 Ship big man and University of Minnesota football commit, Anthony Smith, that successfully capped off the Greyhounds’ initial possession of the third quarter with a deuce from point-blank range. So, with Smith hopefully getting into a rhythm as far as operating within the post that Shippensburg was most concerned with, the Greyhounds proceeded to step out from beyond the arc as third quarter trudged along. There, following a pair of triples around the midway point of the quarter sunk by 6’0 junior guard, Traevon Kater, the Greyhounds had methodically whittled the L-S lead down to a very slim 39-36 difference, perhaps triggering some sense of doubt within the blue-clad fanbase who came from Lancaster County in droves on Thursday night.
Fine, but don’t bother telling that to L-S’ Ben Wert and Berkeley Wagner. They simply weren’t having any of it.
With their team starting to teeter dangerously on the edge given Shippensburg’s current onslaught of precious momentum, Wert proceeded to bury a key answer on the Pioneers’ ensuing possession which preceded a miraculous Wagner reverse finish at the cup, a critical four-point salvo which opened the L-S lead back out to seven at 43-36 before a late Greyhounds’ bucket inside the final minute of the third quarter propelled the Pioneers into the final frame with the still somewhat precarious 43-38 cushion.
Granted, while the game appeared to largely be situated somewhere within the current five-point window as the game quickly careened into the final quarter, rest assured that the outcome was still very much in doubt as the last batch of eight minutes was getting set to commence.
In fact, even despite spotting Ty Burton a triple which upped the L-S lead back to eight at 48-40 during the fourth quarter’s infancy stages, a fearless Erby Weller triple on the ensuing Shippensburg possession just as quickly sliced the gap back down to five once more, 48-43, just 1:13 seconds in.
That said, Lampeter-Strasburg is unbeaten this season for a reason. And boy oh boy, did that reason ever come to life in the waning stages of the fourth period in Thursday night’s championship game.
You know, no matter how hokey it may sound and whether you can put an actual finite transitive property on it or not, there’s certainly something to be said for someone who serves as the quarterback on a wildly successful football team before translating that same type of leadership onto the basketball floor while operating as that team’s floor general just a few months later as well. In a word, one must be the epitome of fearless. And throughout the Pioneers’ entire postseason run this year, but on Thursday night in particular it seemed, Berkeley Wagner’s picture would surely be situated right beside the dictionary’s very definition. So, with that in mind, seeing yet another one of the senior’s reverse layups at the cup during crunch time seemed all the more warranted, such as the case his most recent exploits of the like which made it a 52-46 L-S lead – good for two more en route to his dizzying 17-point performance on the night — with the amount of possessions left to be had by Shippensburg quickly dwindling into a short supply.
Yet setting aside Shippensburg’s current predicament, the Greyhounds’ task certainly didn’t get any easier heading down the final stretch of this championship affair, particularly when considering how the Pioneers would offer up a pair of late-game possessions that would personify their team to an absolute T.
First and foremost, while everyone inside the Lancaster-Lebanon League is already keenly aware of the wizardry of L-S’ Ty Burton, rest assured that a much larger audience quickly learned of his name and talents late on Thursday evening as well. In fact, while Burton himself has had gigantic late-game 3-balls in the waning moments of the Pioneers’ league championship game, along with their most recent victory, a three-overtime triumph over Hershey in the District 3 semifinal round at home this past Monday night, the sophomore guard perhaps saved his best late-game heroics for last.
There, with his team protecting a 52-46 lead, Burton found himself with the ball in his mitts while trying to size-up his on-ball defender. This time around, while his ankle-breaking crossover would arguably the most cruel that any defender who found themselves stranded on the lonely “Burton’s Island” could probably attest to, Burton’s step-back trey here not only took the collective wind out of the Greyhounds, it also added injury to the insult as Burton’s triple was good thru contact, meaning that the rare four-point play suddenly upped the Pioneers’ lead to double figures, 56-46, with just 2:04 left to be played. Oh yeah, if you’re wondering, Burton was able to capture game-high scoring honors on this night as well given his 24-point explosion on the mid-state’s grandest of stages.
But while Burton may light the match that sets off the L-S fireworks on a nightly basis, his cast of brethren that surround him ain’t too bad either.
Fittingly, while Burton’s cold-blooded shot will most certainly become the stuff of legend as time only moves onward, it was the Pioneers’ next scoring trip that was arguably their best moment of the entire year. There, in a way that personifies just how unselfish this group of Pioneers truly is, a hot potato exhibition of passing underneath the bucket between the likes of Ben Wert and Isaiah Parido respectively capped off the magnificent two-man game amongst the pair with an easy bunny from point-blank range which more importantly gave the Pios their largest lead of the night at that time, 58-47, with L-S’ magnanimous display seeming to serve as the punctuation mark on the evening.
And while an Anthony Smith dunk within the final minute –his second of the second half – would get the Greyhounds back inside the ten-point bubble at 62-54 with 31.6 seconds remaining, the hill was far too great to navigate from there on out as L-S was able to keep their perfect season alive and well with a successful and gutsy triumph in the District 3-5A title game against Shippensburg, 66-57, a victory which marked only the second District 3 title in program history.
Ironically, while performing well on a big stage has now become a fact of life it seems for L-S this season, the same message continues to reverberate coming out of each successful triumph along the way it would appear.
“They believe in themselves, they believe in each other and they’re a tight-knit group. I’ve been saying it all year,” Lampeter-Strasburg head coach Ed Berryman offered of his troops while in the middle of another lively and festive postgame media session. “They’re friends. They hang out together and they go to battle with together. They love each other, and it shows.”
“We have five guys on the floor at all times who can score,” Berryman continued of his team’s construction. “When we spread the floor, if (an opponent) has a bigger guy, they have to come out and play us. We shoot the ball at a high percentage from 3, overall I think we’re over 40% as a team from 3, so they have to match up with us also.”
And speaking of his team’s DNA, he too felt as if the Burton dagger and subsequent unselfish play which followed it could serve as the textbook example as to what this 27-0 squad is truly all about.
“That’s probably a really good definition right there of who we are,” Berryman acknowledged. “Sharing the ball and then also Ty (Burton) stepping up and making plays.”
Speaking of making plays, Berkeley Wagner made his fair share on this night too. In short though, just another night at the office if you will.
“We started off a little slow and then we just heated up shooting the ball, getting comfortable with the gym, getting comfortable (playing Shippensburg), and then we just started playing our game- shooting 3’s…It’s awesome,” L-S’ dual-sport leader candidly admitted in the postgame as well.
Now, from here, L-S will now take their traveling show onto the state stage as the Pioneers will get ready for what the PIAA bracket will have in store for them over the next couple of weeks. The good news though for L-S is that it doesn’t appear as if this group will be one to misconstrue the task at-hand as the process moves along.
“At this point, we’re just taking it game-by-game,” Wagner went on to say. “I think most of us have forgotten how many wins we have. We just keep going. Whoever shows up on our schedule, that’s who we’re gonna game plan for, that’s who we’re gonna try and beat.”
And to be frank, it seems as if that’s a pretty good mantra to adhere to when you’re already standing at 27-0 heading into states. But make no mistake about it. There is another trip to Hershey’s Giant Center looming large that L-S is most certainly trying to line up in their collective sights here over the next couple of weeks. Yep, just five more wins would eventually supplement L-L League and District 3 gold with the most prestigious of all prizes -a state championship as well.
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