Mustangs Flash Supreme Balance As Governor Mifflin Holds Down Manheim Township In Wire-To-Wire Road Triumph
Written by: Andy Herr on December 9, 2023
While you never want to really say it loud, the simple fact of that the matter is that some teams can find themselves at a proverbial fork in the road, yes, sometimes even just eight days into the start of a brand-new season. Again, while the verdict of using such hyperbolic language is always open to debate, the fact of the matter is that even after one lone week into a three-month winter campaign, time quickly becomes of the upmost essence with each opportunity presented to you. And in the world of Lancaster-Lebanon League boys’ basketball most specifically, you’d have to imagine that the Manheim Township Blue Streaks would be a club thus far that finds itself in such a locale heading into the second weekend of play.
Why? Well, for a variety of reasons to be honest. First and foremost, the Streaks came into their Saturday home matinee against Governor Mifflin while sporting a 1-3 overall record. Secondly, the depth of L-L Section One –where Manheim Township obviously resides – looks more bountiful than most years previous when you consider the likes of odds-on favorite Cedar Crest, an improved bunch from McCaskey, arguably the best Penn Manor team in recent memory, and of course the defending league champions in Hempfield who’s projected swoon the lower levels of the division this season is anything but a surefire bet when talking about the Black Knights’ program. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly here, Manheim Township is the midst of an extremely front-loaded schedule. Case in point, the Streaks standing shoulder-to-shoulder alongside just a small handful of other teams throughout the conference already having four games under their belt with some others only having taken to the floor once thus far for comparison’s sake. Suffice to say, with a schedule that presents only one nonconference game following the start of the new calendar year –not exactly an envious assignment either considering it’s a road test to District 3-6A runner-up Cumberland Valley – a lot of the Streaks’ hay needs to be in the barn come the start of the year 2024 in just a few weeks. Yet to their credit, with their backs already shoved up against the wall somewhat after the first few days of the season out of the gate, Township responded with arguably the best performance that anyone inside the L-L can lay claim to thus far in a thorough 78-48 triumph over Section Two foe Elizabethtown their last time out on Thursday evening.
And while the obvious hope and intent was that Township would be able to parlay that E-Town outing into two straight wins come late Saturday afternoon, the problem was that their opponent, Governor Mifflin, already came in battle tested.
Ironically, while only some L-L League teams have played only one or two games thus far as mentioned earlier, Governor Mifflin already came into their weekend battle at Township having already gone up against two teams from the conference in going one up and one down in the form a resounding win over Lebanon last Saturday afternoon to open their brand new arena, before then falling to Cedar Crest on the road earlier in the week. But aside from that, you’d have to figure that the Mustangs came in with an added jolt of momentum considering they were able to stave off a valiant Red Lion crew by a 42-37 final verdict their last time out on Friday night.
Needless to say, with both sides entering the affair with the added benefit of momentum helping to push them along, only one ballclub would be able to walk out of Manheim Township on Saturday with the precious boost of a two-game winning streak in their back pocket. Yet in the end, considering they were able to play with the lead from the opening tipoff to final buzzer, those spoils would totally go the way of the red-clad guests.
As is typically the case in cavernous gyms, but especially on sleepy Saturday afternoons more than anything, energy typically must be self-generated. In that regard, there was little doubt as to which team was able to bring the juice in the early going as the Mustangs raced out to a quick 4-0 lead following a steal and lay in courtesy of Stephen Mayo with the Mifflin full court press clearly flummoxing Township right out the chute. Not only that, but after a tough bucket inside chipped in by way of Jahmair Jordan that felt as if it should’ve come with a flex gesture added on top off it, Governor Mifflin was up by an 8-2 count with Manheim Township forced into burning an early timeout with 5:07 left in the first to try and regroup following the Mustangs’ blitzkrieg.
Fortunately, as far as who had come to the game supporting the home side were most concerned, the Streaks’ early timeout appeared to be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Steadily, Manheim Township began chipping away at things following the stoppage. For proof of that taking place, it’d be easy to cite Tyler Gray’s reverse bucket from point-blank range that sliced the Mustangs’ cushion down to a half dozen, 10-4, before a bucket plus contact not long afterwards tallied by senior lead guard, Caden Young, drew Township within three at 11-8 with two minutes and change still yet to unfold in the opening quarter. In the end though, while Mifflin and Township would take their respective turns scoring throughout the waning stages from there on out, the Mustangs’ lead held firm at three, 13-10, with the second quarter getting to commence.
Yet even despite appearing to get out of the opening stanza relatively unscathed given their modest three-point deficit, Township would proceed to give the momentum right back at the onset of the second.
As far as those honors bestowed upon the Mifflin contingent following Township’s ill-timed graciousness, they would go to their diminutive yet razor-sharp point guard, Andrew Galantuomo, as the Mustangs’ junior proceeded to author the first four points of the second quarter all by his lonesome, making it a 17-10 Mifflin lead just 1:20 into the frame. And while Township would try their best to keep the gap at that same level following a pullup jumper sunk by the aforementioned 5’10 junior guard, Tyler Gray, that made it 21-14 with 4:20 left before the break, a 6-0 spurt all of which came via the handiwork of Governor Mifflin junior forward Bryce Detwiler, proved to be an immediate rebuttal that continued to keep the Streaks at arm’s length and then some as the second quarter progressed onward.
All told, while Township would continue to battle, something no better evidenced than with their energy-giver throughout the first half of play, Tyler Gray, selflessly taking a charge for the benefit of his fellow troops, Governor Mifflin was able to trot into the locker room behind their team bench with the aid of a 30-17 halftime cushion at their disposal.
By this point, while the game wasn’t out of reach by any means, it quickly became paramount from the Blue Streaks’ perspective to methodically chip away at the existing deficit once the third quarter rolled around. Spoiler alert of sorts, but that’s precisely what they were able to accomplish coming out of the dressing room.
Sure, while things seemed to start off rather precariously in that regard seeing as how Township was trading buckets back and forth with Mifflin to begin the period, Caden Young had clearly seen enough and decided to take matters into his own hands.
To set the stage, while Mifflin may have been starting to teeter, Cole Renninger was able to help right their ship near the midway point of the quarter as the Mustangs’ senior forward fired in a much-needed triple to aid the Mifflin cause, making it a 35-25 difference with 4:20 still up on the game clock. From there though, Township proceeded to play their best ball of the entire day.
Sure enough, following a pair of back-to-back takes to the tin from Young just under the halfway point of the quarter, the Blue Streaks had been able to whittle down the Mifflin lead down to a much more modest 35-30 margin of separation. That said, Young only continued to keep forcing the issue with the Mustangs as the senior’s hard-earned three-point play at the rim –good for three more en route to his team-high 16-point performance on the day — cut the once commanding Mifflin lead down to just a pair at 35-33 with 1:25 left in the third.
At this juncture, things could’ve gone one of two ways for Governor Mifflin while currently finding themselves in the throngs of a Township-led surge. But as fate would have it, the Mustangs were no worse for the wear. Quite frankly, it seemed to only harden their resolve.
As if to be right on cue coming on the heels of Young’s latest exploits that had put Township right on the verge of barging through the front door, Mifflin’s Matt Koehler had other plans in mind as the Mustangs’ junior forward was able to finish through contact at the rim to quell the Township onslaught. And while Koehler’s moment may have been of the more mundane variety, Andrew Galantuomo would proceed to steal the honors in a flashier form as the Mustangs’ floor general came away with a cold-blooded step back 3-ball at the third quarter buzzer right in front of his bench, ushering Mifflin into the final stanza with some much-needed breathing room back in their favor given their 42-33 lead after 24 minutes. On the day, it was next to impossible to undersell Galantuomo’s overall value to his club as he was able to somehow both serve as a calming influence while also continuing to play at break-neck speed with the ball in his hands all while Township only continued to try and ratchet up the defensive pressure, but particularly inside of the second half especially. Yet if you’re looking for tangible evidence as to his overall day at large, consider the fact that Galantuomo would go on to pace his side in scoring with a 16-point day at the office once all was said and done.
All told, it seemed as if Mifflin’s late third quarter burst was able to keep Manheim Township for offering up a final credible threat throughout the concluding eight minutes on Saturday. Granted, while Sebastian Henson would do his to rebuke that premise with one of his two triples on the day that cut the Mifflin lead down to a 45-36 difference with 4:30 left to play, that would just about the last gasp that Township had left in the tank heading down the stretch as total team effort put forth by Governor Mifflin on this day would be good enough for a 14-point nonconference road triumph as the Mustangs were able to head home and back up Route 222 with the afterglow of a 54-40 victory over Manheim Township in a game in which they were able to lead and largely control throughout the entirety of.
For the Manheim Township side of things, the Streaks will now continue onward with this game-heavy December slate by lacing it up again on Monday when they travel the defending 5A state runners-up, Exeter, as the Eagles look loaded for bear yet again this season. From there, the Berks County flavor will continue in Streaks’ camp again on Wednesday when Wilson rolls into town for another nonconference tilt between two suburban name brands. Simply put, the Streaks suddenly find themselves staring down the barrel of a critically important game week as the potential of venturing into section play with a 1-6 record can be rather precarious stance once they encounter Lebanon on Friday night for the curtain-raiser on divisional play. Even still, while this year has not started off how many both inside and outside of Manheim Township probably had forecasted, this is arguably the preeminent L-L program that seems to make up for lost time and truly round into form when the days get coldest and the ramifications get hottest. And while Section One appears to have a litany of depth housed within it from top-to-bottom, perhaps in a way that is even more pronounced than what was originally thought heading into the year, Manheim Township has at the very least shown that they have the potential at putting it all together, such as they did against E-Town earlier this week. If nothing else, while not exactly an enviable position, the Streaks have thrived in such residencies before. For that reason alone, it’d be naive not to expect Manheim Township to get things moving in the right direction. Certainly sooner rather than later if they have their druthers.
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