Pequea Valley Does ‘The Hard Stuff’ As Braves Inch Closer To First League Playoff Berth In Over Two Decades, Snag Massive Victory Over Columbia Following Fourth Quarter Rally
Written by: Andy Herr on January 21, 2026
Within every season, there are always certain games within the three-month slog to the finish line that invariably stick out above all others. Like, the first time these two got together back in mid-December for instance.
On the night of December 16th, Pequea Valley traveled to Columbia while the Braves were serving in the role as one of the early-season darlings considering their 4-1 overall record at the time. Conversely, Columbia on the other hand came into that same game still winless at 0-3, having not come within essentially 20 points of any of those first three opponents found in York Suburban, Steel-High, and Lancaster Mennonite respectively.
And while the pair of Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Four foes came into that matchup while riding two very different experiences out of the chute to begin their respective 2025-26 campaigns, those prevailing themes quickly did an about-face once Columbia knocked off Pequea Valley by a 48-44 count that evening one week before Christmas.
Since then, much to their credit it should be noted, Pequea Valley didn’t let that one loss define them, even if it may have taken a slight bit of wind out of their collective sails while falling back to a 1-1 league record following the road loss at Columbia.
In fact, one could argue that had it not been for that one singular game in particular, Pequea Valley’s quest to return to the league playoffs for what would be the first time in 22 years would be fitting in a far more prosperous position than they currently were heading into their second and final meeting of the year against Columbia. Specifically, had that one singular result against Columbia been reversed, the Braves would be right there fighting for a possible split of the section crown considering that PV would have begun this week at 5-1 in the league race as opposed to their current 4-2 mark. Nevertheless, thanks to an equal combination of the Braves handling their own business along with the general overall chaos that has ensued all around them within Section Four this year, Pequea Valley, yes, that same Pequea Valley outfit that has been to the L-L League playoffs all of one, lone time in the 50+ history of the league when citing that aforementioned trip in 2004, controls their own destiny when it comes to obtaining a ticket to the dance for a game to be played on Saturday, February 7th in an opening round tilt at the home of a section champion.
And what better way to demonstrate that this team, this game, this season, would in fact be different from most any other Pequea Valley experience in recent memory than by flipping the result of that first meeting on its head when Columbia came calling down to Kinzers to conclude this season series?
For Pequea Valley, that opportunity came front and center on Tuesday night inside the Braves’ palatial new confines. And while it was far from a masterpiece in terms of its overall aesthetics, that didn’t matter. As far as Pequea Valley was concerned, this was a “by any means necessary” assignment. Sure enough, that’s exactly what was required – and delivered – by everyone donning a Braves’ uniform over the course of every single second on Tuesday night.
In terms of a flow and rhythm, that would be hard to come by once the game tipped off between these two. Probably not all that hard to fathom perhaps when you consider that this was more of a street fight than a basketball game given the implied stakes at hand.
With that prevailing theme in mind, the visiting Tide would have to wait until the 4:25 mark of the opening frame before finding their first field, a triple splashed down by 6’1 sophomore shooter, Rome Elliott, making it a 3-3 stalemate, before Pequea Valley would later retake their prior lead following a pair of freebies sunk at the line by way of senior forward, Owen Fisher, with the Braves’ cushion standing at the tiniest of margins, 6-5, with time winding down inside a choppy first quarter.
And once time did conclude, following what was just the second field goal of the entire opening eight minutes from either club courtesy of a Kamrai Nichols hoop inside, Columbia would have the benefit of owning the slim 7-6 lead following an opening frame largely defined by defensive deflections and turnovers as it was glitz and glamour.
Finally, once the second quarter got underway, things started to open up for both.
For that evidence, look no further than a personal 5-0 salvo authored exclusively by way of Pequea Valley junior guard, Elijah Slabaugh, as the Slabaugh-led rally brought the Braves within a penny at 13-12 before another pair of Fisher free throws not long afterwards, the eventual PV game-high scorer on the night who tossed in a 13-point outing, awarded the hosts the lead once more at 14-13 with the halfway point of the second stanza already having well since passed.
Speaking of leading scorers, how about the one who led the way straight up for the entire night?
When it came to those honors, Columbia’s Kareem Nichols would revel in the spoils as the Crimson Tide junior guard most certainly did his best to keep his squad in the fight all night long by virtue of his 14-point performance, but especially inside the waning stages before the first half’s expiration in particular as a 4-0 Nichols’ led swing on back-to-back possessions then made it a 17-14 Crimson Tide cushion with all of 80 seconds left outstanding before the recess.
Yet while Pequea Valley would clip that lead down just a smidge over the final minute and change, Columbia nonetheless prevailed as the victor following the conclusion of the opening 16 minutes with the Crimson Tide holding serve, 17-16.
Suffice to say, for a first half that was largely dominated by both teams trading jabs with one another in going answer for answer without either team being able to extend an arm and push the other away, if someone could garner any bit of separation, say a two, three-possession lead for instance, that just might end up being the secret sauce in determining an eventual conqueror.
Fortunately, for those who traveled from the entire opposite end of Lancaster County to go and support their team on this bone-chilling evening, it would be their maroon-colored favorites who would achieve such a task.
Specifically, the Columbia lead would then swell and expand out to its largest of the night at 31-23 while in the afterglow of a traditional three-point play finished off by the aforementioned Kareem Nichols, before a dead-eye triple knocked down by 5’7 sophomore point guard, Marty Baker, allowed the Tide to flirt with the idea of holding a double-digit lead with all of two minutes left in the penultimate quarter and Pequea Valley left perplexed.
And had it not been for a key, key 3-ball dialed up on the final Pequea Valley possession of the third by way of Elijah Slabaugh, an 11-point scorer on the evening in his own right, Columbia could’ve likely glided into the fourth quarter while on the verge of a season sweep over their Pequea Valley counterparts. As it was however, Slabaugh’s trey was massive in both momentum and actual score all the same considering how the PV junior had done his part at slicing the Columbia lead down to a 33-28 difference prior to entering the last and final chapter on Tuesday night.
So, here you are. Season not exactly on the line per se since you’re sitting at good place for the District 3 playoffs, but here sat a golden opportunity staring right back at you should you want to achieve something that you literally hadn’t ever seen or could even fathom considering it last happened before you were born if you wear a Pequea Valley Braves’ uniform these days if we’re talking about participating in the L-L League playoffs. Oh yeah, you also happen to be down a few bodies when it comes to that pesky injury bug as well too. How would you respond when put in such a predicament? Turns out, with maybe the gutsiest quarter of basketball seen in these parts for quite some time.
It wasn’t easy, however. Don’t make that incorrect assumption.
Sure, while another triple by, you guessed it, Elijah Slabaugh, would cut the Columbia lead back down to a penny at 33-32 inside of the final quarter’s first minute, that Crimson Tide gap would gradually creep back upwards to five, 37-32, following a tough and determined take to the rack by another in the litany of Columbia sophomores, Chase Houck, with 5:45 left to go.
From there, the Braves later found themselves back on level ground following a fantastic step-thru move at the cup amid traffic that was finished off by a sophomore of their own, Heath Furlong, as the Furlong bucket knotted things up at 37-37 with 3:39 to go as the Braves’ assembled crowd erupted in a tizzy.
Later, that much-sought Pequea Valley momentum would steamroll into a pair of free throws knocked down by their tough-as-nails senior point guard, Nolan Stoltzfus, as the eventual 11-point scorer against Columbia on this night would award his team the 41-39 lead with now 1:41 left before the clock hit all zeroes.
It would be a lead that the Braves would never surrender.
But again, it wasn’t without drama, however.
Especially not once that two-point buffer got trimmed in half following a 1-2 trip to the stripe by way of Kareem Nichols on the ensuing Crimson Tide offensive trip following Stoltzfus’ prior trip, making it a precarious 41-40 PV lead with anyone’s best guess as to how the final 1:26 would ultimately transpire.
Fittingly, in a game largely defined by defense, that’s precisely the end of the floor that Pequea Valley would call upon over the final minute and change.
Yet while a 0-2 trip to the foul line without adding any additional room for error certainly didn’t make the assignment any easier for Pequea Valley, the Braves would nonetheless withstand a pair of Columbia offensive trips inside the final minute in coming away unscathed.
And never was that more key, crucial, gusty, insert any adjective you wish in terms of an apt description, than by Pequea Valley sticking to their keys and principles amid Columbia inbounding the ball while in the halfcourt with 4.9 seconds remaining. Fittingly, considering how it came with a stern contest defensively, the final Crimson Tide shot at the gun cruelly bounced off the rim for their side, graciously for the Pequea Valley side, as the Braves had somehow, someway figured out a way to notch a legacy-defining triumph that may prove to be far greater in size and stature once time moves onward once the final horn blared and Pequea Valley could look up and see the scoreboard lights reading in their favor, 41-40.
Afterwards, nobody cared if this would’ve been judged as a beauty contest. Those would all be frivolous, empty details. No, this one instead came down to scoring just one more point than the opposition by the end of the night if that’s what it required. Ironically, that’s exactly what Pequea Valley achieved against Columbia on Tuesday night.
“Tonight was the definition of, ‘A win is a win,’” Pequea Valley head coach, Ehren Graybill, said in the aftermath with his necktie now understandably loosened and lax given how stressful the game was for all parties involved with a dog in the fight. “I told (his players) in a timeout there at the end of the third quarter, ‘You guys have been here before. You guys have found ways to win games like this before. It’s now time to go do it again,’” Graybill shared. “We switched to man-to-man there defensively and our guys kind of embraced the idea of not letting their man score while trying to get some turnovers, get some fast breaks, and get things going for us on the other end,” he added of in-game strategy that ultimately helped flipped the verdict in his team’s favor.
But forget the basketball X’s & O’s here for a sec. This was a game defined by far more than whatever a whiteboard can offer.
“Every game, we give out a Player of the Game award. Tonight, we really didn’t have to think too hard about it at all,” the third-year Braves’ head man said bluntly of the internal team honor following this triumph. “It was the Coleston Temple, Adam Smucker, and Mason Beiler. Three guys that don’t really get a whole lot of playing time, but came in, had significant playing time down the stretch, and helped us win,” Graybill said proudly of his triumvirate. “They all got Player of the Game tonight. They all shared it. Combined, they might have like 40 total minutes this whole year. They played basically the entire fourth quarter and they got it done. They got the job done. They showed me a lot tonight.”
On the micro, it’s obvious as just how massive this victory might ring in their camp over the final couple of weeks when talking about Pequea Valley. On the macro though, this is just another step in the process that Graybill is trying to bring back to the same program he once played for.
“The basketball wasn’t great, but the fight was great,” he dryly quipped of the game that had just ceased. “That’s one thing I’m trying to bring to this program. That idea of let’s fight no matter what,” Graybill continued. “We had every reason in the basketball book to give up tonight. Missed layups, turnovers, you name it. But, we got the job done. We figured it out and we dug down deep.”
“For 32 minutes, maybe they didn’t play great basketball, but they gave great heart,” he remarked in closing of his club with a hint of unmistakable pride. “Without (heart), we don’t win that game. We absolutely don’t win that game. We don’t win a one-point game without doing that hard stuff. Kudos to my boys for that.”
Now, as a result of ” the hard stuff” Pequea Valley is on the verge of doing something for just the second time in history – making the league playoffs. When you’re fighting against nearly a half century of evidence that says you can’t do it, yeah, it probably does require doing the difficult things. But as the Braves demonstrated in spades on Tuesday night when their backs were against the wall, much like the new gym they now call their home, Pequea Valley, especially this 2025-26 squad, might just be built different.
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