Northern Lebanon Closes The Book On One Chapter, Looks Forward To Another, As Vikings Use Trademark Fourth Quarter Blitz To Push Past Gettysburg En Route To Season-Ending High Note

Written by: Andy Herr on February 4, 2025

Riley Messinger. Northern Lebanon POG In Vikings’ Season Finale Against Gettysburg

As is always the case when you get to the end of the season in this sport, while one story ends, another one is just beginning at exactly the same moment in time. In this arena, the cyclical beast that constructs high school athletics, it’s evident that constant change is the only true consistent fact of life. And once that final buzzer rings at the end of the final game of the year, while time is obviously taken for a bit of self-inventory and reflection, the next season’s prep work isn’t ever far behind.

But for Northern Lebanon, while Monday night would indeed mark their Senior Night festivities as the Vikings’ brass said their farewells to Riley Messinger, Brian Bicksler, Donovan Brandt, and Zane Smoker respectively and their contributions to the program over the last few years, there was another element at play in their finale against Gettysburg which truly signified as to why this would be a final chapter for one era written in more ways than one.

If you were to take a straw poll across the Lancaster-Lebanon League and took the temperature of various coaches of who have had to encounter Northern Lebanon over the years, there’s a more than solid chance that one of their least favorite places to play was inside the Vikings’ tiny confines. Aside from the fact that it’s off the beaten path from what schools inside the conference are used to in terms of relative proximity to pretty much any other campus, the shoebox-like atmosphere where noise just rains down upon you have made it arguably one of the most arduous of places to try and emerge victorious. To be sure, there’s been more than a few capable teams that have gone on to bigger and better things as the year goes on, but not when they visited Fredericksburg for one night in particular during the season at least.

Sure enough, Monday night would also be the last time in which the Northern Lebanon venerable “Snake Pit” would host a varsity boys’ basketball game as new construction on the school’s campus will yield a new gymnasium along with it starting next season. And sure, while NL’s new digs will surely be nicer and slightly larger in terms of capacity and relative geometry, it certainly has plenty of work to do when it comes to recreating the charm and aura that made it one of the most miserable of places for opposing teams to try and compete. Yes, “ugly” or “beautiful” mustard-colored walls and all.

So, with just 32 minutes left in her history when it came to hosting a varsity game and with the Vikings also looking to punctuate an improved 2024-25 campaign in style, there was really one way fitting way in which to end this story, right? Well, behind a momentum-stealing final quarter and all, the ghosts of Vikings’ past showed up to help push this group over the finish line to end things on an undeniable high note against Gettysburg across the board by the end of Monday evening.

That said, things couldn’t have started off much worse for the home side once the ball tipped off.

In fact, after scoring on their first five offensive trips to begin the night, the maroon-clad Warriors saw themselves enjoying the spoils of an 11-0 lead as a second-effort bucket that ended in a hoop plus the harm home by way of Gettysburg senior forward, Kayson Johnson, prompted Northern Lebanon into calling an early timeout with 5:01 left in the opening quarter and the Vikings having yet to crack the scoring seal and trailing by double digits.

Yet for as potent that Gettysburg had proven themselves to be by racing out to an early jaunt, so too would Northern Lebanon in due time.

Speaking of second-effort buckets, one such tallied by Vikings’ 6’4 junior forward, Nolan Lesher, allowed the hosts to finally quench their existing thirst for a hoop roughly 40 seconds following the abrupt timeout stoppage before the other 6’4 junior cog along the Vikings’ imposing front line, Brady Krall, finished off two deuces inside not long afterwards, all of which then helped the Vikes race back with four at the end of the first stanza, 11-7, as Northern Lebanon’s 7-0 salvo helped to brunt Gettysburg’s earlier 11-0 charge.

Up until that point, Northern Lebanon had only known what it was like to be fighting uphill against these Warriors hailing from the Mid-Penn Conference.

However, thanks to an Andrew Via steal and layup in transition, the hosts finally found themselves working on level-footing as the junior guard’s pilfer and finish at the tin knotted things up at an 11-all count no more than a minute into the second period.

Later, proving himself to be one of the budding stars set to return to the L-L League come the start of next season as evidenced by his game-high 22-point night’s worth of work, two more bunnies chipped in by way of Krall, the last of which came via an magnificent scoop shot in traffic while contorting his body, saw the Vikings surge to their first lead of the evening, 17-16, as this makeshift 17-5 charge authored by the hosts put them in front with roughly three minutes left before the halftime break.

But the runs giveth and the runs taketh away from NL’s perspective.

There, despite surrendering the scoreboard for the first time all night, Gettysburg responded in kind.

For that, a Charlie Shull bucket which then preceded a Johnson hoop in transition – plus an emphatic Kayson Johnson rejection down on the defensive end — had just as quickly ushered the Warriors back into the catbird’s seat with a 22-17 lead with the Vikings leading for nary a possession.

All told, while this had undeniably appeared to be nothing if not a fair fight throughout the first 16 minutes, Gettysburg nonetheless enjoyed the benefit of hitting the clubhouse for the halftime break while possessing the 26-21 lead over Northern Lebanon.

Even here however, new half of basketball and all, neither of these two clubs seemed to have the ability to quit one another.

Sure, while the Warriors would begin the third frame with senior wing, Brody Seidel, bombing in a trifecta to conclude the visitors’ opening offensive trip in style, a 3-ball on the other side, this one dialed by a Northern Lebanon senior, Riley Messinger, would just as quickly propel the Vikings back to within three at a 29-26 count no more than two minutes later. Then, taking his game outside the arc, Brady Krall would cash in on a triple of his own, this one bringing NL to within a pair, 31-29, to really have the tide start to turn in his troops’ favor. Lastly, the eventual outcome was still very much in peril prior to the start of the final eight minutes considering how a pair of Andrew Via freebies at the charity stripe had things knotted up at a 33-33 stalemate once the final 89 seconds eventually bled off the third quarter clock.

Now, if you know Northern Lebanon’s history, particularly at home, you know how this story usually plays itself out. More often than not, while riding the emotions of the home crowd and all, the Vikings eventually seem to always pull one out of the fire down the final stretch inside this cinderblock-built cauldron that comes part in parcel with ear-splitting noise that the opposing team simply can’t match. And for her final act, she surely didn’t disappoint.

To begin the final quarter, one of the NL men of the hour, Brady Krall, got things started with a bucket inside to award the lead back to Northern Lebanon for just the second time all evening at 35-33.

It would be a lead which they would never relinquish.

Then, one of the other Vikings’ men of the hour, Riley Messinger, playing in this his final high school basketball game, put forth a moment which helped to raise the noise inside to arguably it’s loudest decibel compiled all night long as his old-fashioned three-point play followed suit to Krall’s exploits before another Messinger bucket with inside of five minutes left to play then upped the Vikings’ cushion to a six-point difference, 44-38, with time starting to run slim on Gettysburg’s chances of reeling things back in.

However, try as they might, the Warriors still made a final go of it down the stretch.

In that regard, a critical bucket scored by Charlie Shull, Gettysburg’s leading scorer on the night by virtue of tossing in a 14-point showing, clipped the Vikings’ lead down to five at 48-43 with roughly two minutes left to go at that point in time.

But the Warriors would get no closer.

In terms of punctuation marks, essentially exclamation points as it were, a three-point play tallied yet again by Northern Lebanon, this one via Krall, seemed to be the proverbial dagger in the Gettysburg chances as Krall’s field goal plus the free throw added on top made it a 51-43 ballgame with all of 1:10 left to play. From there, fittingly this coming on Senior Night and all, Brian Bicksler would have the honors in terms of scoring not just the final points of Northern Lebanon’s season overall, but in their home gym in totality as a well, as a pair of Bicksler freebies sunk by the senior guard inside of the final 30 seconds helped to seal the deal on what would become a 56-45 triumph in his team’s favor over Gettysburg on Monday night which in turn ended Northern Lebanon’s 6-15-1 season on an undeniable high note.

To be sure, on a night wrought with all sorts of emotions flowing in a variety of different directions – for an assortment of different reasons – it could be hard to process and accept the fact that your season, if not your career, had somehow just culminated despite it taking place in the most joyous of fashions. For that, Riley Messinger certainly deserved much grace.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Thinking about how I’d feel after this game. I still don’t know to be honest, but it’s a lot,” Messinger candidly shared while still breathing heavy following a game which had ended no more than two minutes of real-time earlier. “I still don’t really know. It’ll probably take a while to kick in.”

“I started since I was a sophomore,” the Vikings’ senior said rehashing his career now having concluded. “I just loved being with these guys. I loved playing with these guys,” he then remarked of his teammates. “It was just a great time. I wish we could’ve won a few more over the years, but I’m happy we could go out on a win.”

“I couldn’t ask for a better ending. Even now, I get chills thinking about it,” Messinger added on his team’s final push against Gettysburg which included a litany of his plays within that last concoction. “I love the way we went out. I’m proud of everyone for the effort they gave. It, it just felt good to be out there one last time.”

And for a senior, one who has given a lot to this program over the years, he is most excited to see what this talented bunch following in he and his fellow senior’s footsteps brings to the table in the very near future.

“We’ve battled all year long. So many close games that were right there for us. But I think they have a really good squad coming back. They’re going to be good next year,” Messinger said on what he expects from his teammates and friends after being there on the inside with them. “They’re going to finish those games that we couldn’t this year.”

As for his head coach, while he too is understandably looking towards the future for good reason, he was nonetheless proud of what this 2024-25 edition did here against Gettysburg in this last hurrah together.

“Total team win. Total team win. Everybody chipped in,” Northern Lebanon head man, Chris George, said unequivocally of his crew regarding their final performance. “Every single guy on the team had a stretch or two tonight where you’re like, ‘Woah.’ I wish I could’ve gotten (Nolan) Lesher in the game there at the end because he’s such a defensive force and he was finishing around the rim too,” said George. “But then (Brady) Krall goes and gets his little moment, (Brian) Bicksler had a stretch, then (Andrew) Via does what Via does where he takes over,” he said in recalling everyone’s positive imprints.

Then, trying to do the impossible, trying to sum up the season at large when it had just ended minutes prior, the Vikings’ 10^th-year head coach was able to gather some thoughts in that respect too.

“So many close games we were in this year,” George remarked. “We lost nine games this year where we were up, or leading going into the fourth quarter. That’s insane. I’ve been coaching for 20 plus years, I’ve never seen anything like that. And I’m not at all blaming the kids for that. As coaches, we have to learn our kids and we have to put them in better positions to know how to finish,” he explained. “But yeah, nine games like that. And a tie,” George quipped regarding the stalemate against Williams Valley that concluded early due to the 76ers escorting them off the Wells Fargo Center playing surface due to time constraints in a game back in January. “You give us three or four of those, especially one or two in a stretch that’s important, who knows….I just didn’t expect us to fall short in all those tight ones.”

“At the end of the day, there’s no such thing as moral victories,” George said. “I will say this though, two years ago, our average margin of victory was -22. Last year, it was -16. This year it was -3. I looked across all the teams that have that sort of (point) differential on a per-game basis and they all are like .500 or on the cusp of making districts. We just didn’t finish those games in the fourth quarter. Hopefully, and we have a lot of guys back, I hope this game gives them a little bit of hope to show them that we can play good basketball. We just gotta win.”

“The biggest thing is, we gotta show up. We gotta have an offseason,” the Vikings’ coach then surmised as to what will help make this upcoming group ascend on that upward trajectory. “We have good kids. We have some good baseball kids. The baseball kids have told me that they’re really going to commit this year,” he added of the dynamic that comes at a small school like that of Northern Lebanon where the numbers just aren’t plentiful for everyone to be siloed in one specific sport year-round. “They’re set with where they’re going with all the travel ball stuff, so I feel like we’re going to get a really good turnout. And the freshmen really showed up last year too….Our freshmen are coming,” said George. “They’re going to push for minutes. If the older guys don’t show up, these younger guys are very skilled and very physical…If our older guys show up for us, that’s going to be huge. It’s not just showing up to play games though. (The offseason) is where you develop leadership. You go through the highs and lows. You learn how to win and lose. You go through adversity. For us, this team never really got to that point until the beginning of the season. We just keep telling them, ‘Learn from this year. Remember this year and how it feels. Now, let that motivate you for the next seven, eight, nine months.’”

Lastly, for someone who paced the sideline inside these four walls for the better part of a decade in leading the Northern Lebanon boys’ basketball program, he too was cognizant of what the program is now losing in terms of a home venue.

“Yeah, last varsity boys’ game in here….I’m going to miss it,” George acknowledged of his team now breaking in a new gym come the start of next season. “I was talking to Gettysburg’s coach tonight and he’s like, ‘Man, I love this place. This is awesome,’ said George of his pregame chat shared between he and Warriors’ head man, Marc McLean. “I see all these big gyms and if it’s not full, it’s kind of like, eh. Here, even if it’s half full, it certainly feels like it’s full. But yeah, I’m definitely going to miss it.”

Now however, ready to hit the ground running in pursuit of climbing up the ranks of the Lancaster-Lebanon League boys’ basketball scene in the very near future, it is apparent that there are two truths concerning Northern Lebanon.

First and foremost, the Vikings return a plethora of young talent eager to get their shot at asserting themselves. Secondly, that talented crew will usher in a new era in terms of playing inside a new setting starting in the 2025-26 campaign.

And while this gym has nobly served its purpose in being a headache for opposing teams, the hope now is that Northern Lebanon, no matter what the venue they participate in, can be a thorn in the side of their opponents all the same. Should that transpire, new gym and all, a trip to Fredericksburg will remain just as daunting as it ever was. Yes, even if the walls are mustard-colored or not.