Keystone Wrap Up – Week 3 (12/16 – 12/21)
Written by: David Bray on December 23, 2024
Right before the holiday break, the Keystone Division teams had their final run of divisional matchups before the holiday tournaments this week. Let’s take a look back at the games this week and see where each team is at moving into the holiday season.
1. Hershey (6-0, 4-0)
Hershey continues their run as the joint leader of the top spot with Milton Hershey with 2 key Keystone victories this week, including a 28-point win against Mifflin County and a 20-point victory against Red Land. On the road against the Huskies, Hershey got out to a sizable lead early and held onto it strong, with the bench playing the majority of the fourth quarter and continuing to add onto the already sizable lead. Cameron Sweeney led the Trojans with 23 points, followed by Aidan Miller with 16 points, his most on the season. Against Red Land, it was a very slow start for both teams, with both teams barely reaching 20 points at the half, however, Hershey got some traction and was able to take the victory at home before the hiatus in divisional play began. James Campbell led the team with 16 points on the night. Hershey continues to pursue the playoff goals that were set last season with appearances in both the Mid-Penn and District 3 finals and sitting atop the Keystone Division and the District 3 power rankings, the goal is to make it back and finish strong. Hershey will play in the Boiling Springs holiday tournament on Friday and Saturday, beginning with Carlisle on Friday, and will play either Dover or Boiling Springs for the second round.
2. Milton Hershey (6-0, 4-0)
With doubling last season’s win total and quadrupling the Keystone win total, the Spartans have no limit on their success for this season. Milton Hershey took a win on the road against Red Land by 13 and beat Lower Dauphin by 8 in a high-scoring affair. Against Red Land, Milton Hershey took care of business, with Khalif Turner leading the scoring with 23 points on the night. Abdou Diene had himself a night with 15 points, 17 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 blocks to capitalize on another big performance by the sophomore. Dylan Crawford finished the night by adding 14 points to the total including a huge dunk which excited the crowd. Against Lower Dauphin, it was a very tight game throughout with both teams battling for the lead, however, Milton Hershey pulled ahead in the third quarter and didn’t look back. Turner finished the night with 24 points and 6 assists on 3/3 shooting from three, followed by Josh Sessoms off the bench with 21 points. Diene had another 10-rebound game with Sessoms adding 8 more rebounds in the game. With the 3 week long break for Milton Hershey, we won’t be seeing them play for a little while, however, they will be back and better than ever once the Spartans play Cedar Cliff in January.
3. Mechanicsburg (6-1, 3-1)
Mechanicsburg finished the week off with two tight games against Cedar Cliff and Palmyra being only 2-point and 12-point wins respectively. Against Cedar Cliff, it was neck-and-neck basketball for the majority of the game with no huge leads for either side until the fourth quarter. Josh Smith and Chance Yanoski both led the team with 19 points each for the Wildcats. Justin Bardo added another 10 points for Mechanicsburg and Liam Owens added 5 points after being back in the lineup. Against Palmyra, a few milestones were reached for the Mechanicsburg basketball program, with Chance Yanoski hitting the 1000-point marker with his 25-point evening and Josh Smith reaching the all-time scoring record for Mechanicsburg, enshrining themselves in school and league history. Smith finished the evening with 18 points followed by Jacob Eager off the bench with 6 points. Other than the one loss to Hershey, Mechanicsburg is a tough squad to beat when fully healthy, with Owens being out 2 of the last 3 games. With the move to 6A and cemented in at the 6th place position for the district, there will be a good fight for the playoffs when it rolls around. Mechanicsburg will head to Elmira, New York for their holiday tournament round-robin where they will play many teams including my hometown, Binghamton.
4. Lower Dauphin (3-3, 2-2)
3-3 overall and 2-2 in the division don’t describe the Lower Dauphin team I watched the last few days. The Falcons have been on a tear with offensive explosions, however, Milton Hershey barely edged out Lower Dauphin by 8. Lower Dauphin was able to beat Palmyra by 15 at home to go even on the week. Against Palmyra, Brady Hofsass turned on the scoring ability that was showcased through the entirety of last season with a 20-point performance. Nico DeFrank continued his solid season with 19 points of his own, including 9/10 shooting from the charity stripe. Colin Shaffer off the bench played well with a 10-point 7-rebound performance, giving Lower Dauphin another Keystone victory. On the road against Milton Hershey, Lower Dauphin had another great performance on offense, with Hofsass scoring 25 points along with 5 assists and 6 rebounds. DeFrank had another good performance with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks. Evan Deibler got to shine in this game with 16 points on 75% shooting from the floor. This team has the chance to be very good, barring any injury or changes. With a few possessions, the Falcons could be 5-1, but there still is a long season to go with them sitting on the bubble of the playoffs in 14th in 5A. Lower Dauphin will play at Daniel Boone on Friday for next week’s matchups.
5. Palmyra (2-4, 1-3)
Not the ideal week for the Cougars with a 15-point loss to Lower Dauphin and a 12-point loss against Mechanicsburg. Against Lower Dauphin, Palmyra got into a lot of foul trouble, totaling more than 10 fouls in the 3rd quarter alone and sending Lower Dauphin to the free-throw line 28 times. Alex Dorta came off the bench after missing last week’s contest, scoring 15 points and 5 rebounds for Palmyra, followed by Micah Warner with 11 points. Braydon Bown, Aidan Willard, Micah Warner, Bennett Weaber, and Brady Kyper all reached 4 fouls in this game with Cameron Scott reaching 3 fouls as well and Willard fouling out of the game. Against Mechanicsburg, the Cougars held strong against a very good Wildcats basketball team, however, they just fell short. Dorta led the team again with 13 points on the night with Bown and Willard following with 9 and 7 points respectively. Palmyra has a very tough schedule coming up and with a few wins, the Cougars are in the right direction to be playoff-bound for the 5A. Palmyra will play Warwick on the road on Monday and will play in the Cedar Crest holiday tournament on Friday and Saturday beginning with a game against the hosts on Friday night. Palmyra will then play either Exeter Township or Steelton-Highspire depending on the results of the game.
6. Mifflin County (4-4, 1-3)
Mifflin County finished the week even, with a 28-point loss against Hershey and picking up their first Keystone victory against Cedar Cliff by 3. Unfortunately dealing with injuries, Mifflin County wasn’t able to keep up with the depth of the Trojans as Aidan Attivo led the Huskies with 17 points, followed by a career-best 13 points for Josh Hartzler. Against Cedar Cliff, it was a tight game up until the last possession with both teams fighting for their first Keystone win of the season. Ultimately, Mifflin County finished on top with Attivo having another 17-point performance. Hartzler followed up with 6 points and 6 rebounds along with Nathan Parks tacking on 6 points and 6 rebounds as well. With Jack Curry considered day-to-day with his injury and Zach Keller with an indeterminable amount of time being injured as he still is being evaluated, as reported by Adam Sheetz, the Huskies are missing two key pieces of their offense, however, Attivo, Hartzler, and Strohecker are continuing to contribute for this team. I do not believe there are any Mifflin County games for the holiday tournament schedule, but if there are any changes, I will post on my X.
7. Red Land (2-6, 1-3)
Red Land dropped both of their games this week with a 13-point loss to Milton Hershey and a 20-point loss to Hershey. It was a tough week for the Patriots with the two undefeated teams facing Red Land, however, they held their own through both games. Against Milton Hershey, Red Land kept pace with the undefeated Spartans, but Milton Hershey barely pulled away enough that Red Land couldn’t catch up. Colton Rose finished the game with 26 points, adding to his already impressive resume of points this season, followed by Bodie Zeiders and Austin Michelsen with 7 points each. Against Hershey, in a very low-scoring effort for the first half, Red Land wasn’t able to capitalize on the slow start for both teams. Colton Rose finished the game leading with 10 points, on an all-around scoring performance for the Patriots. With Colton Rose lighting up teams with his three-point shooting, Red Land needs to find the spark around him when he is being double and triple-teamed, with Noah May and Quinlin Shearer playing well through the season so far. Red Land will head to Gettysburg for their holiday tournament where they will face South Western to start on Friday, followed by playing either Delone Catholic or Gettysburg on Saturday.
8. Cedar Cliff (1-7, 0-4)
Close game after close game, Cedar Cliff gets their first win of the season with a huge 19-point victory against Dover. Cedar Cliff lost 2 one-possession games this week with a 2-point loss to Mechanicsburg and a 3-point loss to Mifflin County. Against Mechanicsburg, Cedar Cliff was firing on all cylinders with Levi Lehman scoring 15 points on the night with 5 for 8 shooting from three. Jayvion Walker finished the game with 14 points off the bench and Troy Joray had 11 points off the bench as well. The game was extremely close with Mechanicsburg winning by one possession, which could’ve gone either way. Against Mifflin County, Cedar Cliff was down to the last shot of the game to win, however, the ball didn’t fall in the way the Colts would’ve wanted. Joray finished the game with 14 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Walker with 11 points. The Colts did a good job of closing the gap that both the Wildcats and the Huskies had created, however, there wasn’t enough time. Against Dover, Cedar Cliff came out hot, jumping to a 19-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 43-11 lead at the half. Seth Lehman finished the game with 11 points, followed by Walker with 10 points, and Joray with 8 points. Cedar Cliff is a good team and with a few possessions, they could be 4-4 or 5-3 on the season. Cedar Cliff will host their holiday tournament and will play Northern York on Thursday and either Conestoga Valley or Red Lion on Friday.
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