Mid-Penn Keystone Boys Weekly Recap: Jan 22, 2024

Written by: Dell Jackson on January 22, 2024

Mid-Penn Keystone Boys Weekly Recap
By: David Bray Jr

After another week with some postponements due to winter weather events, we look back at the week within the Keystone Basketball Division within the Mid-Penn. With some shake ups within the win-loss column for teams, let’s look at the week for each team within the division.

Hershey – 12-1 Overall, 8-1 Division

Hershey continues rolling with their win streak extending to 9 with a 33 point victory versus Lebanon, in a 67-34 victory and a 17 point victory versus Milton Hershey in a 63-46 victory. Hershey put a statement win at home on Monday when a Lancaster-Lebanon conference team came to face the Trojans. Hershey had a very balanced attack from every player with Alex Murray leading scoring with 13 points off the bench. Derek Guzman followed up with 12 points of his own and Logan Richards had 8 points. Their scheduled Cedar Cliff matchup was postponed and the date for the makeup will be on February 1st. Hershey had their rematch versus Milton Hershey at the Spartan Center in their rivalry matchup and Hershey did their job of winning both of their league games against Milton Hershey. Led by Logan Richards with 18 points, the Trojans pushed forward to a large at the half, being up 35-17. The lead was too big for a comeback as Hershey took the victory on the road. Isaiah Danner had 14 points after playing a prominent paint role throughout the game. Derek Guzman posted 13 points. Hershey will play their rival, Lower Dauphin on the road on Monday this week. Hershey will host Conrad Weiser on Wednesday in a non-conference game. On Friday, the battle for the top of the division will be in play as Hershey takes on Mechanicsburg at home. 

Mechanicsburg – 12-3 Overall, 8-1 Division

Mechanicsburg stays right on Hershey’s heels with them winning their only game this week versus Cedar Cliff in a tight 9 point, 44-35 victory on the road. Mechanicsburg was led by Josh Smith who had 19 points and led the charge. Justin Bardo followed closely behind Smith with 13 points of his own. Although there wasn’t much scoring, there was some great defensive work being played by Mechanicsburg as they did only allow 35 points and stopped Cedar Cliff’s top scorer Sam Grube, only allowing him to have 12 points. Chance Yanoski had 5 points for the Wildcats with many other contributions to the team in their win. Looking ahead, Mechanicsburg will face the two other top-3 teams in the division, going against Red Land on the road on Tuesday and going to Hershey to take on them on the road on Friday. Mechanicsburg, although having a short week due to the Lower Dauphin game being postponed until January 31st, have to prepare for this week that may make or break their regular season championship hopes.

Red Land – 11-4 Overall, 7-2 Division

Red Land, like Mechanicsburg, only got the chance to play one game this week against Lower Dauphin, where they earned a 22 point, 57-35 win at home. Red Land brought their paint scoring in this game where Elijah Espinosa posted 24 points, his season best within the Keystone league games this season. With many highlight reel dunks, he was a momentum crusher when he threw the hammer down on both ends of the floor. Anderson French added 10 points in the game where both himself and Espinosa played a dominant game in the paint. Colton Rose had 6 points of his own and had some assists to both French and Espinosa. Red Land will have a chance for revenge versus Mechanicsburg at home this week on Tuesday in a showdown that is sure to shake up the division standings. Red Land then goes on the road versus Milton Hershey to have their second matchup of the year on Friday.

Lower Dauphin – 8-6 Overall, 5-4 Division

Lower Dauphin got the chance to have 2 games this week including a game in the LL vs Mid Penn Showdown in Manheim. The Falcons split even this week with a 22 point, 57-35 loss versus Red Land and a narrow 7 point, 76-69 victory versus Penn Manor. Lower Dauphin against Red Land were led by Brady Hofsass who had 13 points on the night followed by Nick Fry with 9 points. Lower Dauphin had a close game going, however, the big man presence Red Land had was too tough to contain. Versus Penn Manor gave the fans in Manheim an instant classic, with a very high scoring effort by both teams, coming down until the final buzzer. Hofsass again was the leading scorer with 23 points of his own, with the whole starting lineup posting 10+ points each. Nick Fry had 19 points, Nico DeFrank had 11 points, Landon Miller had 11 points, and Wesley Heagy had 10 points. The offensive onslaught that Lower Dauphin has the capability to use can disrupt teams and give strong teams, like Penn Manor, a struggle for the win. Lower Dauphin faces their crosstown rival, Hershey at home on Monday. The Falcons then head on the long road trip to Mifflin County where they look to go 2 for 2 against their divisional opponent on the year. 

Cedar Cliff – 5-9 Overall, 3-5 Division

A tough stretch for Cedar Cliff is the only way to describe it right now as most of their recent losses have been within 10 points as they lost both of their games this week. Cedar Cliff fell to Mechanicsburg by 9 in a 44-35 loss and to Hempfield by 11 in a 64-53 loss. Against Mechanicsburg, Sam Grube led scoring with 12 points followed by Mo Ahmed with 7 points and Darian Autry with 6 points. Despite holding a strong offensive team like Mechanicsburg to only 44 points, they unfortunately had trouble scoring and couldn’t find a win at home. Cedar Cliff was one of the two teams in the Keystone Division able to compete in the LL vs Mid Penn Showdown where they faced Hempfield. With only 6 fouls called for Cedar Cliff in the entirety of the game, the Colts couldn’t get to the line as much as they would like to have and fell short. Sam Grube led the team with 22 points with Alex Kohr contributing 9 points and AJ Grob having 6 points off the bench. Cedar Cliff will face Mifflin County this week at home on Tuesday to attempt to take both of their divisional games after their buzzer beater victory weeks ago in Lewistown. On Friday, Cedar Cliff will take on Palmyra on the road.

Mifflin County – 6-9 Overall, 2-7 Division

Mifflin County is stuck on a 6 game losing streak, moving from 6-3 to 6-9 over the past few weeks after taking a loss in their matchup this week versus Palmyra by 10 in a 51-41 loss on the road. Mifflin County was led by Jayden Bilger with a 13 point performance. Jack Curry had 3 three pointers with 9 points on the night and Aidan Attivo had 6 points off the bench. Evan Strohecker left the game in the second quarter after he was elbowed in the head on a layup attempt where he hit the court and stayed down. After Bilger appeared to frantically call for medical attention, he was taken off the court and to the locker room. Personally, I don’t know what the situation is for Strohecker as of this week, but I will post on my Twitter what the evaluation is. Tagg Silfies was taken by the trainer to the locker room after a collision in the second quarter, however, he did return to the game where he finished with 5 points. Mifflin County will go on the road to take on Cedar Cliff on Tuesday where they hope to break even in the series. The Huskies then invite Lower Dauphin to their home where they take on them on Friday. On Saturday, Mifflin County hosts Altoona for a non-league matchup between the two sides.

Palmyra – 3-11 Overall, 1-7 Division

After losing 7 straight divisional games, Palmyra takes their first divisional game, beating Mifflin County by 10 at home in a 51-41 win. However, Palmyra split even this week, with a 45-30, 15 point loss to Northern. Against Northern, their defense was strong, forcing many turnovers and finding ways to hinder Northern’s attack, but their offensive struggles continued throughout the game. Hank Roesch had 18 points for Palmyra as the leading scorer and led most of the offense. Coach Bean needed to find some adjustments to produce offense and he did as they came on top at home against Mifflin County. Tyler Burgess led scoring with 22 points on the night with Hank Roesch producing 17 points of his own. Roesch did get a technical foul in the third quarter for slamming the ball down, which is something to be cautious of. Palmyra was a different team from their game versus Northern, with a scoring approach that was very effective and produced chances for Burgess and Roesch to utilize their strengths well, with Burgess finding many looks driving in the paint. Palmyra has 3 games this week starting with heading to Milton Hershey for their first matchup of the season on Tuesday, heading home to take on Cedar Cliff on Friday, and hosting Pottsville in a non-league matchup.

Milton Hershey – 1-10 Overall, 0-7 Division

Milton Hershey this week lost both of their games with a 17 points, 63-46 loss to Hershey at home and a 18 point, 53-35 loss to Susquehanna Township. Despite losing to Hershey, Milton Hershey had strong performances from freshman Dylan Crawford, who had 14 points on the night against a stifling Hershey defense. Alongside Crawford, fellow freshman Abdou Diene had 8 points and Mohamed Koroma had 8 points. Jason Burney splashed 2 three pointers and had 6 points on the evening, however this wasn’t enough. Against Susquehanna Township, Dylan Crawford was the leading scorer with another 14 point game. Sam Coleman had 8 points followed by Jason Burney with 5 points. As a very young team with many freshmen, Milton Hershey has a lot of growth to work with this year and of course it comes with growing pains, but the team looks as if the stars align for them, they will be headed in the right direction. Milton Hershey has a busy schedule this week starting with playing Palmyra at home on Tuesday. Milton Hershey then goes to Cedar Crest to take on the Lancaster-Lebanon team in a non-conference matchup on Wednesday. Milton Hershey will host Red Land at home on Friday to attempt to regain some ground after their road loss in the beginning of the year. On Saturday, Milton Hershey travels to face William Penn in a non-conference game with the hope this week to gain some victories.

Games of the Week:

Hershey @ Lower Dauphin 1/22
Mechanicsburg @ Red Land 1/23
Milton Hershey @ Cedar Crest 1/24
Mechanicsburg @ Hershey 1/26
Pottsville @ Palmyra 1/27

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