Warwick’s Flair For Playoff Dramatics Continues In Overcoming 18-Point Second Half Deficit To Storm Into District 3-5A Quarterfinal Round, Vanquishing Red Land, As Warriors’ Seniors Successfully Fight To Keep Season Alive
Written by: Andy Herr on February 20, 2024
As far as the actual verbiage was concerned, Monday night would be considered a District 3-5A opening round matchup between Warwick and Red Land. In reality however, it probably would’ve been far more accurate to label it something akin to that of a wild card game.
Not in the sense of the matchup itself. No, it was already known back on February 14th that the Warriors would have to travel to Lewisberry and take on Red Land come Monday night to kick off district play. Instead, you could probably rightly label it a wild card game in the sense that one might not have known which Warwick team would arrive to Cumberland County for this District 3 lid-lifter. And quite frankly, for a very logical reason, no doubt.
You see, even before the year began, while not necessarily a surefire bet that you’d feel comfortable putting the house on –perhaps the car instead– seeing Warwick make it to the Lancaster-Lebanon League championship game wouldn’t exactly be a surprise let’s just say. Sure enough, L-L Section Two title belt and all, the Warriors indeed made it to Manheim Township High School to compete for the league crown for what would be the third time in the last six seasons.
Unfortunately, like their two times previous in the grand finale, this past Friday night would also see the Warriors end the night toting silver medals as their now archnemesis inside this same exact spot, the Cedar Crest Falcons, ended up winning the Lancaster-Lebanon League championship in go-away fashion in an actualized league title affair that was the odds-on favorite to take place back in the preseason based on initial prognostications.
However, while winning the league championship was a very real and attainable goal for which the Warriors could achieve during their preseason rundown of aspirations despite falling short, there was little time to sulk as Warwick would have to pick up the pieces quickly seeing as how a loss to Manheim Central in the regular season finale sent a cascading effect all throughout the 5A standings as not only would Warwick fail to achieve a first-round bye once the 5A tourney began, but they would now also have to go on the road the very first night of play for this aforementioned trip to Red Land. And oh yeah, if that wasn’t already enough, how about the stakes of winning and going to the state tournament, or losing and turning in uniforms in just a few days being the bottom-line scenario here? Rest assured, no matter how you tried and slice it, skills and talent be damned. In the end, this would undoubtedly be a game that would test Warwick’s character and overall moxie exactly 72 hours after falling shy of one of their primary objectives heading into the year.
For if that be the case, rest assured that no one can from here on out can rightfully call into question what the 2023-24 Warwick Warriors boys’ basketball team has in between the ears collectively by the time the final buzzer sounded at Red Land on Monday evening. Well, that, and some good old-fashioned “lower intestinal fortitude” if you will helped to seal the deal too.
To the surprise of no one –at least those had come westward from Lititz in particular— Warwick turned to an old friend to draw first blood against Red Land.
Fittingly, as they have done so often during the first three months of the season, a Warwick 3-ball on the Warriors’ opening offensive trip of the contest fired in by the hero of the L-L semifinal round game against Penn Manor, 5’11 senior guard, Tyree Hughes, got the visitors started off with some mojo to begin the evening.
But from there on out, the Warwick highlights, at least in the first half, would prove to be in relatively short supply.
In that respect, seeing the Patriots proceed to pound the ball inside and lean on the efforts of their physically impressive frontline found in 6’4 Anderson French and 6’9 Elijah Espinosa respectively, the Red Land senior duo proved to be an antidote both offensively and defensively for what the Warriors tried to muster.
Case in point, while French would come up with a hard-earned take to the cup which knotted things up a 7-apeice with 5:10 left in the opening frame, a forthcoming alley-oop dunk to Espinosa made it a 12-7 Pats’ lead exactly three minutes later.
From there, the points in the paint category continued to be almost exclusively owned by Red Land as a transition bucket tallied by way of 5’10 sophomore guard, Colton Rose, allowed the hosts to double up their opposition while also prompting them into burning an early timeout while staring up at a 14-7 hole with 1:21 left to play in the first frame.
But, to their credit by and large, Warwick, despite being dominated physically by all accounts throughout the first eight minutes, continued to reside well within reach throughout the final 80 seconds and change. For that, the Warriors’ eventual team-high scorer, Carter Horst, pumped in a much-needed trifecta following the timeout to stem the tide back in Warwick’s favor while en route to what would culminate in a 17-point outing for the senior wing once all was said and done.
And speaking of said and done, again, Warwick had to be feeling somewhat fortunate to only be down by a half dozen, 16-10, following a strong opening statement put forth by Red Land right out of the chute against them come the end of the first stanza.
Yet whether they were truly feeling blessed or not to be in said position, Warwick was almost certainly glum once the second quarter took shape.
To say that Anderson French dominated the first half of play inside wouldn’t be doing it any sort of justice. Instead, the Patriots’ 6’4 big man essentially looked the part of a school yard bully who was taking everyone’s lunch money considering how French consistently seemed to outwork a host of Warriors’ defenders when it came to cleaning the glass while en route to what easily were double-digit offensive rebounds tallied next to his name on Monday evening. And that’s even aside from this 17-point first half output, a pair of which came here in the initial stages of the second frame to make it a 20-12 Red Land cushion with six minutes yet to expire until the halftime recess.
From there, the hits (points in the paint) continued to burn like salt in the Warriors’ open wound as an easy bunny from point-blank range courtesy of Espinosa, a 14-point scorer for the Patriots’ collective cause by the end of the night, made it a commanding 28-12 Red Land lead with 4:10 left to play by that point.
And while besmirched by cold shooting from beyond the arc was also having to navigate against the incredible human wingspan posed by Espinosa inside which resulted in a baker’s dozen in terms of actualized shot blocks against Warwick which doesn’t even include what felt like a trillion more that were altered in some form or fashion, a timely Tyree Hughes’ floater in the lane on the ensuing Warwick trip down the floor on the heels of Espinosa’s latest bucket cut the gap in half, 28-14, before a quiet Warwick charge right before the halftime horn sent both teams to their respective corners for the halftime break with Red Land in front by a fairly mundane 29-18 difference considering how it felt as if the Patriots had largely bullied their way into nothing but comfortable surroundings throughout the first 16 minutes.
Without much in the way of debate, it was rather obvious that while one Warwick team may have entered the locker room for the intermission, another one altogether different needed to emerge come the start of the third stanza. Unfortunately for them, at least in the initial stages that is, that wish did not come to fruition.
In fact, while on the heels of a Colton Rose trifecta which helped to raise the curtain on the third quarter of play, Red Land was then in possession of what was again their largest lead of the evening found in a sweet 16, 34-18, with the possibility of a mercy-rule not totally being a farfetched idea if it meant the Patriots running away and hiding.
But from the rest of the evening onward until the final horn, it would Red Land who required some sort of mercy as it turned out following a dramatic about-face.
While it may have started off rather tame in the form of what seemed to be two relatively innocent triples dialed up by way of Trevor Evans and Tyree Hughes respectively on back-to-back Warwick trips near the midway point of the third quarter, the pair of long balls poured in by two of the Warriors’ key senior cogs nonetheless meant that the black-clad guests were back within reach at 36-26 and momentum starting to tilt in their favor.
Rest assured, part of the reason as to why Red Land had gotten out to such a large lead early on was that they were far too comfortable operating offensively, particularly when it came to the half court. But, when Warwick rolled out a 1-2-2 press that got the Patriots’ a little bit queasy and visibly timid by comparison, there was no real reason for the Warriors to ever got out of it. So, with the defense now serving as the proverbial match, Warwick started a full-on fire inside the Red Land gym as their offensive weaponry could finally play the role of a spark. And once it did, such as the case when Evans knocked down another jumper not long afterwards that got the road team back within single figures at 36-28, the other part of the Warwick law firm known as Evans and Hughes followed suit as another trifecta splashed home by Hughes, his second of the third quarter, somehow got Warwick to within five, 36-31, with two minutes still left to play in the third by that point.
Speaking of triples, it’s not as if Red Land would be one to turn one down if they had they had the opportunity to cash in while suddenly finding themselves amid a Warwick onslaught.
For that, a critically important 3-ball peppered in by way Rose — also his second long ball in this stanza as well — gave the Patriots a much-needed six-point bulge at 39-33 with roughly one minute left in a third period that Warwick totally stole away from their hosts.
However, not even what could have been a back-breaking trifecta could do much when it came to slowing down this Warwick snowball down the hill as the Warriors would close the third quarter by tallying a final deuce inside the waning stages, making it a 39-35 count with all of eight minutes standing between one of these two teams having their season end in about 15 minutes of real time, or continue onward and into the month of March for states. All told, it would prove to be a 17-5 run which the Warriors would close the quarter out on which is in no way a hyperbole to suggest ended up saving their season.
As far as Red Land was concerned, they certainly were of the hope that Warwick had burned through a ton of gas in their tank during the third quarter in trying to come all the way back, especially while riding that pressure defense that forced to the Warriors’ defensive troops to run and jump across all corners of the floor to throw the Pats off-script. The problem was, maybe that tiny respite in between quarters served as a trip to the pump.
There, inside the first minute of the final quarter, Warwick wasted next to no time whatsoever when it came to drawing back even as yet another gargantuan Trevor Evans’ bucket –this of the three-point variety—made it 41-all with those in attendance no matter what their rooting affiliation find themsevles in a bit of understandable shock. And while he may have “only” finished the ballgame in posting a 10-point clip, rest assured that Trevor Evans most certainly had a keen flair for the dramatics when it came to his timely buckets on Monday evening.
That said, one of the primary reasons as to why Warwick had roared right back into the fight was the fact that Red Land could no longer gorge themselves while trying to eat inside amongst the much smaller Warriors. Well, that was until Anderson French, who hauled in a Herculean 27-point night’s worth of work, answered the Evans’ triple with a hoop inside on the Patriots’ ensuing offensive trip down the floor before it would be Elijah Espinosa’s turn to eat as the 6’9 senior scored a pair of buckets in quick succession to make it a 47-43 Red Land cushion with time somewhat becoming an issue.
But, if you can continue to throw in flame-throwers, the concept of time is just a figment of your imagination, right?
Might be easy then for Mason Burr to feel that way as the Warwick 6’0 senior guard proceeded to rise and fire with his team down by three and the season hanging in the balance as Burr’s gut-check trifecta knotted things back up at 48-48 with all of 2:27 left standing.
Yet this one was far too good to simply end in regulation, yes?
That said, Warwick, while trying to burn up every bit of the 55.2 seconds left in front of them with the score locked at a 50-50 stalemate, wouldn’t be opposed to heading home victorious right on time if it meant they could score here on their final offensive possession. Unfortunately for them, fortunately for those who had no place better to be whether they truly wanted to head out the exit doors or not, not even 32 minutes would be enough to determine the eventual victor of this see-saw affair as Warwick and Red Land somehow managed to head into an overtime session despite the visitors from Lititz being down by as many as 16 in second half alone that at times certainly made it feel as if baseball practice was suddenly right around the corner.
But the batting practice will have to wait just a few more weeks as it turns out.
Fittingly, there was no more appropriate way for Warwick to begin the overtime period was there? As if to be right on cue, a Carter Horst triple on the Warriors’ first offensive trip of the four-minute frame vaulted Warwick into their first instance of playing with the lead since the early portion of the first quarter as Horst’s 3-ball made it a 53-50 Warriors’ cushion.
And if he wasn’t scoring from the field, Horst had no qualms either when it came to toeing the charity stripe as fate would have it.
There, with 1:58 left remaining in a relatively rapidly-moving extra session, a pair of freebies sunk by the more than battle-tested Warwick senior made it a 55-52 count in their favor before Anderson French would follow suit for Red Land in the exact same fashion with 56.1 seconds remaining as the pair from French made it a 56-56 stalemate with Warwick once again in the exact same scenario as they had been just a few moments prior at the tail-end of regulation.
This time though, it would be Red Land who would dictate the terms on how this next Warwick trip would end.
Instead of opting to play the long-game and possibly surrender a Warwick bucket with next to no time in which to operate offensively should such an event ultimately take place, the Patriots’ bench shouted instructions for their team to foul instead and force Warwick to knock down free throws under the caldron of intensity conversely.
As far as the assignment itself was concerned, it would be Mason Burr bestowed with the honors. Simply put, Red Land’s roll of the dice came up snake eyes for them as the Warwick senior wasn’t about to have his career come to an end if he had anything to say about it as Burr smoothly knocked down both in the offering, making it a 58-56 Warwick lead with 26 ticks left to evaporate off the game clock which successfully thwarted Red Land’s late-game gamble.
Remember that Warwick 1-2-2 which essentially turned the game on its head? Yeah, Red Land probably won’t soon forget it either.
Following the Burr free throws, Warwick right back to the date they had brought with them to the dance by rolling the helter-skelter press out there one more time. And as it had nearly all game long, the axis of the outcome effectively changed as a result, including here most especially as a Carter Horst theft and goaltend on the other end made it a 60-56 Warwick advantage inside of 10 seconds left to go in overtime.
But by that point, there was little Red Land could tangibly do when it came to trying to make up two possessions with basically no time at their disposal. And once it was all said and done, perhaps ending in the most apropos way possible considering Horst’s final hoop came as a result of Warwick’s game-shifting defensive strategy, the Warriors would not only find themselves as the victor of an almost unfathomable 60-56 comeback victory on the road at Red Land in overtime to preserve their season as a whole, but it was also a win that came complete with all the trimmings such as a locked-in bid to the state tourney while also ushering them into a quarterfinal round meeting against the #1 seed in the District 3-5A bracket, Hershey, with a date opposite the Trojans forthcoming on Thursday night in Derry Township.
“That was awesome,” a victorious Warriors’ head coach, Chris Christensen, said simply of what had just transpired over the past hour and a half when addressing the postgame media swarm. “That was seniors just not wanting their season to end and honestly that’s what it came down to,” he added in lauding the scores (both literally and figuratively) from the members of Warwick’s senior class against Red Land. “(Red Land) is just so physical and so tough,” Christensen continued. “I think it took us a couple of minutes to adjust and start matching it. It was a dog fight… Our last game got us used to seeing size with playing against Cedar Crest. A different type of size, but we just had to get our matchups right I think. Then Cody Ryan came off the bench and really, really set the tone for us.”
Speaking of that sparkplug, it was understandable as to why his head coach couldn’t help but have his eyes light up when talking about the yeoman’s work of his relatively diminutive 6’0 headache that opposing teams have to deal with on a nightly basis.
“He’s tough. He’s tough. That’s how he thrives,” Christensen said of Ryan who routinely sticks his nose in there and does the unsung dirty work for the Warriors, particularly on this night against a grown man in Anderson French who largely was having his way against the entire student body of Warwick it seemed at times on Monday night. “That’s what he gives to our basketball team. When you need him most, he shows up and it was just awesome to see for him.”
Yet while Cody Ryan may have been the catalyst, this was entire team effort required from all eight members of the Warwick team that saw minutes against the Patriots.
“I thought we had three guys in the first half that were energetic and ready, but we challenged (his team) at halftime that we needed everybody that way,” Christensen admitted. “It was good to get a spark there right before half with Cody coming off the bench especially. But yeah, guys fouling out, guys stepping in. Again, it was just seniors not wanting this to end.”
But even though he may not be one to admit it himself, Christensen as well deserves plenty of kudos for helping spark the comeback bid in his own right. Chief among them being his decision with the 1-2-2 press employed throughout most the second half against Red Land which obviously got the Pats off-kilter.
“We’ve had that for eight years in the program,” he shared of this particular defensive strategy put forth throughout long stretches on Monday night. “We don’t need to do it all the time. And the other thing about it is that it’s exhausting. You saw, it’s exhausting chasing the ball around,” Christensen continued. “But yeah, that’s the longest consecutively we’ve done it in a long, long time. The other thing is, you foul. When you get a step behind, you foul, right? That can lead to people getting in foul trouble, but we had no choice. It kind of messed Red Land up, so we couldn’t get out of it. Guys were just flying in and out (off the bench) just trying to keep up the energy.”
But above all else, as mentioned off top, regardless of X’ing and O’ing, this would prove to be a win in which Warwick would have to demonstrate turning the page and starting anew following that tough league title loss just a few nights prior with their season literally on the brink of extinction. And truth be told, even their head coach wasn’t totally sure what he would exactly see come Monday evening either.
“You don’t know,” Christensen said of bouncing back in such a short amount of time. “You don’t know until you get here. It was pretty clear that there were some guys who didn’t want it to end. It took a couple of other guys and a couple of underclassmen a couple of minutes to then get going.”
“I’ve lost in the league championship game a few times now,” he quipped. “I have some experience when it comes to the next district game. I’ve been on both sides of it. We’ve gotten killed but also come and shown up. We were in between for a little there tonight, but then we showed up.”
And because they did, Warwick will now show up to Hershey High School on Thursday night for a District 3-5A quarterfinal game against the host Trojans. As a result, as Warwick demonstrated all throughout Monday night at Red Land, they much prefer the option of authoring up future gameplans as opposed to having to write an early obituary on their season.
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