The play wasn’t called for Justin Glick but the ball ended up in his hands during the most important moment of the game.
“It was a designed play for Dean (Herr) and (Zach) Kirk was on me,” said Glick. “When I screened, the other guy switched and I was a lot bigger than him. I was crashing that rebound and Dean missed right to me and I had an easy putback.”
Glick’s offensive rebound and ensuing layup with around 20 seconds remaining in the contest proved to be the game-winning basket in Lampeter-Strasburg’s thrilling 59-56 road win at Octorara Friday night.
“That’s just two great teams, both teams wanting it badly and we just happened to come out on top,” said Lampeter-Strasburg head coach Ed Berryman.
L-S led by as many as 12 in the first half before Octorara stormed back to make it a 41-41 ballgame through three quarters.
Glick’s heroics came during a back-and-forth fourth quarter.
Octorara led by four in the final frame when L-S responded. Herr drilled a three-pointer, Glick scored off an inbounds play, and Yasin Abdi knocked down a pair of free throws to put the Pioneers in front by three with just over one minute remaining.
That’s when it appeared like Octorara was going to complete the comeback. Jason Johnson nailed a three-pointer and was fouled in the process. He sank the free throw to make it a 56-55 lead for the Braves with 45.9 seconds to play.
L-S drew up a play for Herr to get an open three-pointer. The play worked and the senior guard had a great look but he missed. Fortunately for the Pioneers, Glick was in the right place at the right time. His putback put the visitors back in front by one.
But the game still wasn’t over.
Octorara star guard Zach Kirk was fouled with five seconds on the clock and stepped to the line with a chance to give the home team the lead. But he missed both free throws and Glick collected a crucial rebound.
Glick was fouled and made both free throws with just over two seconds remaining. Kirk’s final halfcourt heave at the buzzer was off the mark and the visiting Pioneers earned a critical win to pull into a first-place tie with Octorara in Section 3 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Both teams are now 8-2 in league play and split the season series with Octorara winning the first matchup in January.
“It was just a roller coaster of emotions,” said Glick. “As a team we were able to stay cool, calm, and collected. They had a lot of runs and we were able to respond.”
Glick, a six-foot-three senior forward, led the way for L-S with 20 points and seven rebounds. 13 of his points came in the second half.
“Justin played a great game,” said Berryman. “Justin does a great job for us. Really proud of him, what he did tonight.”
Junior guard Chase Smucker logged 19 points for the Pioneers while Herr scored 10 points and picked up four steals.
L-S improves to 13-6 overall and returns to action Saturday afternoon with a non-league home game against Wyomissing. The Pioneers’ last two league games on the schedule are against Northern Lebanon (Feb. 6) and Cocalico (Feb. 8). Both contests are in Lampeter.
Kirk paced Octorara’s attack with 20 points and six rebounds. Johnson finished with 15 points Friday night while Vincent Thaler scored 12 points and pulled in six boards. Shane Althouse added six points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Octorara drops to 16-4 overall. The Braves have two league games remaining and they are both on the road: at ELCO (Feb. 6) and at Lancaster Catholic (Feb. 8).
