Cocalico Opens District 3-5A Playoffs With Third Takedown Of Solanco This Season (Kehler On Hoops)
Written by: Andy Herr on February 17, 2026
Article by David Kehler
Cocalico led for the entire game and defeated visiting Solanco 67-51 in the first round of the PIAA District 3 Class 5A playoffs. By virtue of the win, Cocalico has qualified for the PIAA Class 5A state championship tournament, to be played next month.
Some early first quarter Solanco turnovers gave Cocalico scoring opportunities, and the home side jumped to a 4 to 0 lead on a putback by 6’ senior Luke Wass and a hoop inside by Waas. Following a free throw by 6’ 3” Solanco senior Kiran Ludgate, Cocalico took a 6 to 1 lead on a jumper by 5’ 11” senior Timmy Hambright. Solanco responded with a 3-pointer from the left corner by 5’ 9” senior Owen Kut, but Cocalico countered with another jump shot by Hambright, giving the home team an 8 to 4 lead. Hambright is a very good passer, and, late in the first quarter, he had three nice assists setting up scores by 6’ 1” junior Jackson Matos.
Cocalico extended their lead to 11 points, at 20 to 9, early in the second quarter on a twisting drive by Hambright. Scrappy Solanco answered with an 8 to 0 run consisting of a 3-pointer by 6’ 1” senior Nolan Wagner, a 3-pointer by 6’ 3” sophomore Garrett Wagner, and two free throws by Nolan Wagner. That cut Cocalico’s lead to 20 to 17, but Solanco would never get closer.
In the decisive sequence of the game, Cocalico countered Solanco’s scoring run with a 16 to 0 burst spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the third quarter, consisting of a 3-pointer by Hambright, a follow of his own miss by Hambright, a hoop inside by 6’ 5” junior Josh Becker, a putback by Becker, a 3-pointer by 6’ senior Ty Wealand, a drive by Wealand, and a floater by Hambright. That scoring explosion gave Cocalico a 36 to 17 lead a few minutes into the third quarter.
However, there was no quit in Solanco. In the fourth quarter they concentrated on feeding the ball inside to Ludgate, and he responded with 13 points in the final period. Ludgate scored on three drives, two nifty pivot moves, and three free throws in the final eight minutes of play. Ludgate’s fifth field goal of the fourth quarter, a twisting pivot move, cut Cocalico’s lead to 57 to 49 with a couple of minutes left in the game. However, during much of the fourth quarter, Solanco was repeatedly committing deliberate fouls, and Cocalico was making free throws. Cocalico went to the line 16 times in the fourth quarter, and they made 14 of those free throws, including all of their last 11 attempts. Repeated late game fouling by the trailing team never leads to victory in high school basketball. The consequence of Solanco’s late game foulingonly increased Cocalico’s margin of victory.
For the game, both teams had 23 rebounds. Cocalico had just six turnovers, while Solanco had 10 miscues. Cocalico was 18 of 22 from the free throw line, and Solanco was 10 of 14 from the stripe. Each team made three 3-pointers.
Cocalico scoring: Timmy Hambright 22, Josh Becker 10, Ty Wealand 9, Ethan Stradling 7, Jackson Matos 7, Karter Deering 6, and Luke Wass 6.
Solanco scoring: Kiran Ludgate 21, Isaiah Wright 11, Nolan Wagner 9, Daniel Bailey 4, Garrett Wagner 3, and Owen Kut 3.
Solanco 9 8 15 19-51
Cocalico 18 11 18 20-67
Cocalico will play at Octorara on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the District 3 Class 5A playoffs. Solanco still has a longshot chance of qualifying for the state championship tournament by running the table in the consolation bracket of the District 3 playoffs. Cocalico’s record is now 18-5, and Solanco falls to 15-8
On X (formerly Twitter): @david_kehler
LLhoops.com contributor David Kehler chairs the Pennsylvania Sportswriters’ selection of the Pennsylvania boys All-State basketball teams.
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