Dell’s Column, January 28, 2024

Written by: Dell Jackson on January 28, 2024

Dells Column
January 28, 2024

Devin Figueroa on Friday, January 26, 2024. Mark Palczewski Photo.

Devin Figueroa info

The play…With 5:51 to go in a very tight game between Hempfield and Penn Manor, Devin Figueroa, Penn Manor’s 6’ senior guard, drove to the basket on a semi breakaway. His drive found him above the rim. Upon going up, Figueroa was inadvertently hit in mid-air, causing a collision and subsequent fall. Figueroa came down his side and the impact caused his head to hit the floor. His teammates immediately called for help and looked away with emotional responses that were visible.

The care….Immediately, Kelly McNeal, Penn Manor’s trainer, ran to the scene. The PM administration went into action as they first called 911 before having the gym cleared. There was a silence in the gym that was discernible. Before the gym was cleared, Figueroa was moving his legs a bit which resulted in some of the angst of the crowd to be removed. There were several people found helping Figueroa while on the floor, including Dr. Kisha-Murray Dread, wife of Aaron Dread, PM’s all-time leading scorer. The local fire company was the first on the scene. Then, about ten minutes later, an EMS team arrived They carefully placed Figueroa on the backboard and stretcher before heading to the hospital. The Penn Manor administration would then call the game “suspended.”

Later…
At about 11:30pm Friday night, word got out to Penn Manor’s players that they could visit Devin in the hospital. Several made the trip, including Hempfield’s head coach, Danny Walck. Devin was talking to everyone which eased both teams once the promising information from the coaches was passed along to their respective teams. On Saturday, Figueroa was released from the hospital.

The Coaches…
LLhoops was in contact with both Larry Bellew, Penn Manor, and Danny Walck, Hempfield, in the aftermath of the evening.

Bellew… “I’d say our guys are in better spirits knowing that Devin avoided major injuries. Seeing him at our team meal today (Saturday) brought everyone a sense of relief.. It’s a sharp reminder of how quickly things in life can change…..Danny (Walck) was very gracious and understanding throughout the whole process which made the situation easier to navigate.”

On Saturday evening, Bellew shared with us that his dog was sound asleep and that he was soon going to join him. 🙂

Walck….”There were two different phases for our team. The initial phase was Friday evening. There were emotions and rightfully so. There are true friendships on both sides of the ball, in a positive way, which intensifies the feelings at that moment…Penn Manor made the right the decision to call the game at that point.”

Walck also went to the hospital that evening so he could better reassure his team and give them accurate information. He stated that some of his troops had even better information than he did as the connections via social media helped players from both sides of the game share the bits of good news. Walck would add, ”The friendships this game develops we sometimes take for granted.”

LLhoops decisions…
As per our discussions, TJ posted an update about the game. We re-posted the first half of the game via our YouTube channel. We shared, with permission, a brief update about Devin on Saturday afternoon.

Scheduling decisions…This game will be resumed from the 5:51 mark of the third period with Penn Manor holding a 27-26 lead where the Comets will be at the line for two foul shots. That rescheduled date has not been shared or decided yet as of this posting.

The LL Races
Section 1… The Cedar Crest Falcons lost decisively to Central Dauphin (80-57) last Saturday, but then followed that game with a big ‘W’ at Hempfield (62-46). The road trip continued as the Falcons visited Penn Manor the next night (Jan 23rd). The Comets ‘W’ (65-49) knocked Crest off the unbeaten in Section 1 play ladder, As a result, the Hempfield at Penn Manor game had some major implications about possible LL and District 3 seeding. The Hempfield/PM game was stopped at the 5:51 mark of the third due to an injury. Stay tuned for scheduling updates. Hempfield/PM galley via Mark22.

Ethan Benne, Penn Manor, hits the 1k mark!

Speaking 1000 points…We updated our 1000 point club. Please check to see if there are any omissions.

And…Andy Herr did some research for 1000 point scorer, Jordan Gibbs. We found old information on MaxPreps- the scores of that year and the dates. We then looked for an article where Jordan scored his 1000 point (Dell was at that game and his image appears in the 5oth years of LL boys basketball).

Jordan Gibbs and Coach Jeff Churchill- 1000 pt: Photo Credit-LLhoops

NOTE: Info via our friends at LancasterOnline.com and Llhoops.com

After that game, he was at 1010 points. We searched the LNP archives and found each box for the rest of that year. The Comets lost to Harrisburg in the District finals, but won their first PIAA game vs. Liberty. Jordan finished with 1429 and is the 2nd all-time leading scorer in PM history.

After some research by @llhoops and @AndyBrackets (mainly Andy) Jordan Gibbs scored a total of 1429 points in his HS hoop career at Penn Manor. He is second on the all-time list behind @Atomic10dog @pmcometssports @PennManorHoops @pennmanor @benne_ethan @TJEck_TV @gordonwjones https://t.co/dAenViwuTI

— LLhoops (@LLhoops) January 24, 2024

Section 2…the saying goes, ‘the cream rises to the top’. Well consider the Warriors as the cream. Warwick is on an 8 game winning streak. They have a 2 game lead for the Section 2 title. The Warriors end the season with games against Manheim Central and Ephrata at the end of the season.

Section 3…Octorara continues to roll. The Braves (16-2) defeated Donegal on a late bucket by Jason Johnson 58-57. LS is 2 games off the pace. Donegal defeated LS 63-61 earlier in the week. LS plays at Octorara on Feb. 2nd. The Pioneers would need a ‘W’ there and some help to have a shot at another Section 3 title.

Jason Johnson with the winning shot! Makes the foul shot to put the Braves up for good!@LLhoops @AndyBrackets @ChescoHoops @717_sports @PeteDLN @TJEck_TV @JasonGuarente pic.twitter.com/9CiIxa78H9

— Octorara Boys Basketball (16-2) (@OctBball) January 27, 2024

Section 4…Columbia won a hard fought game at Lancaster Mennonite 61-54 on Jan. 24th.
The rematch will occur at Columbia Feb 7th on the last game of the LL play. IF, teams tie, then both teams will be declared as co-champs.

POG Artie Poindexter

Cody Fisher, LMHS, steal and dunk video

LLhoops live stream
We are scheduled to produce 2 games this week. The first will be Ephrata @ Manheim Central. Ephrata won the first game at Ephrata. Our second game will be a Girl/Boy double header with Lancaster Mennonite traveling to Lancaster Country Day. We will put up links to the games on the site. Here is a LINK to our past games. The banners below are also linked to the boradcasts.

Mark Palczewski Photo.

Site stuff…
We have a very loyal following- about 600 followers click on Llhoops everyday. We are getting content from Northeast, Kehler on Hoops, and, of course, Andy and TJ wraps. This past Saturday was our highest numbers as far as visitors and clicks – updates from the Hempfield/Penn Manor game was at the top of the data.

LL playoffs
We will be updating as we get closer to the finals. LLhoops will be live streaming both the girls and boys finals at TWP on Feb. 15 and 16th. Check out the tab at the top of the page “LL Playoffs” for any new and current information. As of this posting, we have the tie-brackets updated. One can find the LL official brackets link as well.