Mid-Penn Keystone Boys Weekly Recap By: David Bray Jr: Jan 7th Edition
Written by: Dell Jackson on January 7, 2024
Mid-Penn Keystone Boys Weekly Recap
By: David Bray Jr
With not that long of a week with Keystone basketball, 7 of the 8 teams took to the hardwood on a week that included cancellations on Saturday. I will be taking a recap of the Keystone teams and providing the coming week’s schedule as well.
Hershey – 8-1 Overall, 5-1 Division
Hershey takes the co-lead of the division as they win both of their games this week, with a 10 point 56-46 win over Mechanicsburg and a narrow 2 point 62-60 point win against Red Land. Hershey capitalized with key wins over two teams in the top three of the division. Against Mechanicsburg, Hershey was led by Derek Guzman, who posted 11 points, followed behind by Cameron Sweeney and Isaiah Danner who both contributed 10 points a piece. Hershey was able to overcome the very tough away environment to come away with the win. Against Red Land, Isaiah Danner led the scoring, with 18 points, battling against the dual big-man threat of Anderson French and Elijah Espinosa. Logan Richards had 11 points in their win at home. A lot of what happened in the Red Land vs Hershey game can be found in my recap in another article on LLHoops. Hershey with their many variations of basketball, with their different presses and styles of defense, are able to capitalize on steals leading to fast break buckets. Hershey faces their farthest away game distance wise, as they take on Mifflin County on the road on Tuesday. Hershey returns home to face Palmyra at home in a game that Palmyra would like to have revenge, since they lost at home.
Mechanicsburg – 9-3 Overall, 5-1 Division
Like I had previously had said, Mechanicsburg is tied for first in the division, however they did lose to Hershey at home by 10, 56-46 which makes that the tiebreaker. Obviously this is as of right now and can change. Mechanicsburg did take a victory against Mifflin County on the road by 23, in a 64-41 victory. Mechanicsburg had some great basketball from Josh Smith against Hershey, as he led the team in scoring with 16 points, while Justin Bardo (11 points) and Chance Yanoski (9 points) also contributed. However, foul trouble became an issue early as Bardo picked up three fouls in the first quarter and they didn’t stop as all players struggled with foul issues. Despite this, Mechanicsburg battled back from a large double digit deficit to cut the lead down to 8 at one point, however there wasn’t enough time to complete the comeback. Against Mifflin County, Mechanicsburg’s guards of Smith and Yanoski both had 20 plus points each with Yanoski having 23 points and Smith having 20 points. It was a tight game early on, yet Smith was able to get a couple of steals for slams on the other end of the floor which blew the doors off and cascaded into larger and larger leads. Mechanicsburg brings Palmyra to their house as they face off on Tuesday. The rematch of the close Milton Hershey game comes to Mechanicsburg as those two play each other on Friday.
Red Land – 8-4 Overall, 4-2 Division
Red Land unfortunately drops to third this week after the tough road loss against Hershey by 2 in a 62-60 score. Red Land only played one game this week and it was a tough one. Colton Rose shined in this game scoring 16 points, with a couple three’s creating a comeback that almost pushed Red Land towards a victory. Anderson French and Elijah Espinosa played a prominent role in the paint with French scoring 15 and Espinosa scoring 11. I was lucky enough to experience one of the meanest blocks I’ve ever seen from Espinosa, and he really is worth the hype with his defensive potential. Bryce Zeiders contributed 9 points and helped spark the comeback that ultimately fell short. I have more details on the article I wrote about the game on LLHoops. Red Land will go on the road this week versus Cedar Cliff on Tuesday and all the way out to Mifflin County to take them on on Friday.
Cedar Cliff – 5-5 Overall, 3-2 Division
Yes, that’s correct. After a hot week for the Colts, Cedar Cliff moved to fourth in the division, posting a 3-2 divisional record after beating Palmyra at home by 6 in an overtime thriller with a score of 47-41. Although Sam Grube was being face guarded the entire game, and at times even double teamed without the ball, he managed to be the leading scorer with 13 points on the night. AJ Grob complemented the scoring effort with 11 points of his own and Alex Kohr had 7 points. Cedar Cliff was mostly trailing for the majority of this game, however their guys stepped up when they needed it, making an 8 point comeback in the final minutes of the fourth to force overtime. And when shots weren’t hitting for Palmyra in overtime, the Colts capitalized, shutting out Palmyra in overtime and taking the win at home. Cedar Cliff invites Red Land to their domain as they take them on on Tuesday. Cedar Cliff then goes on the road to take on Lower Dauphin. Cedar Cliff hopes to retain this hot streak after winning 4 of their last 5 games.
Lower Dauphin – 5-5 Overall, 3-3 Division
After a 2-0 week for the Falcons, Lower Dauphin improves to fifth in the division with a 3-3 record. Lower Dauphin shocked Mifflin County at home with a 51-47 4 point victory and beat Palmyra away by 20 in a 47-27 win. Lower Dauphin had a week that was led by their junior point guard coming off of suspension, Brady Hofsass. He led both games in scoring, but he had an impressive 23 points versus Mifflin County. Hofsass complimented their big-man Nico DeFrank with 13 of his own versus Mifflin County. DeFrank gave the Falcons momentum in that game, posing a stifling defensive presence in the paint with many blocks while Hofsass gave the Huskies trouble offensively with various steals turning into layups on the other end. Against Palmyra, Hofsass led with 14 points for Lower Dauphin. DeFrank had 11 points which included a slam late in the game that capitalized the statement win over Palmyra. Evan Deibler had 8 points off the bench for Lower Dauphin and Nick Fry provided 8 points of his own. Lower Dauphin this week gave an announcement to the league that they are coming with two wins to move themselves up in the division. Lower Dauphin faces Milton Hershey at home on Wednesday on their first game back from their winter break. Cedar Cliff comes to town to play their revenge game after LD beat Cedar Cliff by double digits at home and will face off at Lower Dauphin on Friday.
Mifflin County – 6-6 Overall, 2-4 Division
A very tough week for the Huskies as they fell in both games this week, with a 4 point 51-47 loss to Lower Dauphin away, and a 23 point 64-41 loss to Mechanicsburg at home. Against Lower Dauphin, Mifflin County was led by their big-man, Jayden Bilger who provided 19 points on their big-man Nico DeFrank, who can be tough to handle with his skill defensively. Tagg Silfies who was repping the number 12 instead of his traditional number 1 jersey supplied 8 points and Jack Curry had 7 points. This effort wasn’t enough as they came back from being down by as much as 9 in the fourth quarter, but unfortunately there wasn’t enough time for the Huskies. At home versus Mechanicsburg, it remained a reachable game going into the half, but the defense of Mechanicsburg took over and pulled away late. Aidan Attivo off the bench led scoring with 11 points along with Jack Curry who also had 11 points. Jayden Bilger had 9 points in this game, however once Mechanicsburg started rolling, there was no stopping their run. Mifflin County, despite these two losses, showed how competitive they are with their starting 5 producing solid games. Mifflin County also showed their depth as Zach Keller and Jaylen Bowersox played an impact in the Lower Dauphin and Mechanicsburg games. Mifflin County faces Hershey at home, hoping to regain some ground they lost this week on Tuesday. Mifflin County then has Red Land come to visit for a game they would like to win after the 8-point loss on the road a month prior.
Milton Hershey – 1-5 Overall, 0-4 Division
Back from their winter hiatus, Milton Hershey looks to take some wins in the Keystone division. Milton Hershey faces Lower Dauphin away for their first game on Wednesday. Milton Hershey gets the chance to take a game back from Mechanicsburg as they go on the road versus them on Friday. Lastly, on Saturday, Milton Hershey takes on Harrisburg at home, hoping to boost their record.
Palmyra – 2-8 Overall, 0-5 Division
With their games this week, Palmyra lost at Cedar Cliff by 6, 47-41 in an overtime thriller and to Lower Dauphin by 20, 47-27 at home. Palmyra played a very confident game as their shooting went on a very hot start, leading Cedar Cliff into the half. Led by Tyler Burgess with 17 points, Palmyra had a very good game offensively and defensively by limiting Sam Grube to only 13 points across all 4 quarters and overtime. Braden Bown showed up off the bench in this game by scoring 13 points with 3 three pointers to give Palmyra the boost they needed. However, without scoring in the overtime period, they weren’t able to close the game out and get the win on the road. Against Lower Dauphin at home, Palmyra was able to keep up with Lower Dauphin, with Hunter Mayer leading the charge with 10 points on the night and Tyler Burgess having 9 points. With Palmyra being undersized compared to LD, they were unable to contain Nico DeFrank on the inside and the rest is history. Palmyra looks to regain some footing in the division as they take on Mechanicsburg on the road on Tuesday. Palmyra continues their road trip against crosstown rival Hershey for some revenge after they lost at home against them before.
Games of the Week:
Red Land @ Cedar Cliff (1-9)
Milton Hershey @ Lower Dauphin (1-10)
Red Land @ Mifflin County (1-12)
Milton Hershey @ Harrisburg (1-13)
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