Ephrata knocks off undefeated Manheim Central
Written by: TJ Eck on January 5, 2024
Brayden Brown admits he struggled during the first two quarters of Friday night’s matchup between Manheim Central and Ephrata.
“At halftime, I wasn’t playing my best,” said Brown. “I knew coming out of (halftime) I needed to step it up and give everything.”
The Ephrata junior forward played his best basketball when it mattered most, scoring two crucial buckets in the fourth quarter as the Mountaineers knocked off the previously unbeaten Barons, 41-37, at Ephrata Middle School Friday evening.
With his team trailing by two, Brown rebounded a missed shot and scored on a putback to make it a 27-27 ballgame early in the fourth quarter. A few minutes later, with Manheim Central back in front by one, Brown stole the ball and finished off the outstanding play with a lay-in to push Ephrata in front by one. The Mounts would not relinquish the lead the rest of the night.
“This group is a special group,” said Ephrata head coach Scott Gaffey. “They believed tonight that we could do that. We had guys that made big plays and stayed the course.”
For Gaffey’s squad, it was a grind-it-out kind of win Friday night.
The Mounts scored just 14 first-half points against Manheim Central’s relentless defense. It appeared the Barons were going to run away with this one during a third-quarter surge. Chase Book and Jackson Tracy knocked down three-pointers to give the visitors a 27-19 lead and force an Ephrata timeout with four minutes remaining in the frame. But back-to-back triples for the home team brought the Mounts back within two by the end of the quarter.
That’s when Brown and his teammates came up with the winning moments in the final stanza.
“We did not stop whatsoever,” said Brown. “We just kept fighting. They made their runs, we made ours, and in the end we just made the bigger plays to come out with the win.”
Sandwiched in between Brown’s two crucial fourth-quarter baskets was a steal and old-fashioned three-point play by junior guard Landry Kopp. Another junior guard, Marqus Hardin, helped to seal the game with back-to-back buckets that built Ephrata’s lead to five, 36-31, with 3:31 remaining. The Mounts were able to run clock and hold on for the crucial victory.
Hardin led all scorers with 17 points to go along with six rebounds. Brown tallied seven points and seven boards while Kopp added six points for the home team.
The Mounts picked up their fourth straight win Friday night and improved to 7-3 overall with a 3-0 mark in Section 2 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
“Our guys have grinded all year and put in a ton of effort,” said Gaffey. “We deserved the moment. We told our guys before the game, we deserved the chance to play in this kind of game. We gotta go out and make the most of it and I thought everybody that played made big play after big play.”
Brown added: “We’re not scared of anyone. We never let anyone just blow over us. We just keep fighting and that’s something you can’t teach.”
Ephrata is back in action with a road game at Conestoga Valley next Tuesday (Jan. 9).
The Barons, meanwhile, find themselves in unfamiliar territory this season: looking to rebound from a loss.
Manheim Central drops to 9-1 overall and 3-1 in league play. Aaron Enterline led the way for the Barons Friday night by posting eight points and 11 rebounds. Tracy added nine points on a trio of three-pointers while Ryan Kenneff finished with eight points and four boards.
Central returns to the court next Tuesday (Jan. 9) when the Barons visit Solanco.
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