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Octorara holds off Middletown, earns state tournament berth
 

Octorara holds off Middletown, earns state tournament berth

Written by: TJ Eck on February 27, 2024

 
Chase Fetrow is soft-spoken but his game talked very loudly Tuesday night.
 
“In warmups (I was) just hitting shots, so I was feeling good,” said Fetrow.
 
The sophomore guard came off the bench and provided a huge spark for Octorara in Tuesday’s PIAA District 3 Class AAAA tournament consolation game against Middletown. Fetrow drilled four three-pointers, scored 15 points, and collected three steals to propel the Braves to a 73-59 win. The victory ended a six-game losing streak for Octorara and secured the team a spot in the PIAA Class 4A state tournament.
 

 
“Chase is a spark plug,” said Octorara head coach Gene Lambert. “He’s always been that way from the time he was younger and tonight he got his hands on a lot of balls. Last couple of practices, he looked like he was ready to make some shots.”
 
Fetrow’s biggest shot of the game came in the fourth quarter. The Braves had led by as many as 15 in the second half but Middletown cut the deficit to 53-49.  That’s when the sophomore drilled a triple right in front of the home student section to give Octorara some breathing room.
 
“It felt good,” said Fetrow. “I caught it, already set, and shot it.”
 
Octorara senior guard Zach Kirk added: “In practice, he proves that he can shoot the ball. Has had games before where he has hit three or four three’s. We got confidence in him every game.”
 
While Fetrow was the star, Kirk played maybe the most complete game of any player on the floor Tuesday night. Kirk scored 15 points and hauled in seven rebounds.  But perhaps the most impressive part of his performance were the six assists he dished out to his teammates.
 
“It’s part of being a leader,” said Lambert. “He has to do that, it’s a requirement because if he doesn’t, we are not going to be very successful.”
 

Five players scored in double-figures for the Braves and most of the production came from underclassmen. Sophomore point guard Lazo Christou and sophomore forward Vincent Thaler netted 13 points apiece while sophomore guard/forward Vito Vespe tallied 12 points.  
 
As a team, Octorara converted 24-of-30 free throws to close out the victory.
 
“At the end of the day, they win games,” said Lambert. “We shoot them every day, we shoot a lot of them every day…at the end of the day you can win a close game, you can lose a close game because you make foul shots.”
 

 
Middletown was led by Mason Blazer, who scored a game-high 18 points. Aleel Batts added 13 points off the bench while Timmy Moore and Max Dupes scored 10 points apiece. The Blue Raiders’ season ends one game shy of the state tournament.
 
Octorara advances to play Littlestown in the fifth place game of the district tournament. The Braves’ seed for the state tournament will be decided by the outcome of the contest against Littlestown.
 
“The goal from the beginning of the season was to see if we could make it to the state tournament,” said Lambert. “At the end of the day, that’s what we did.”

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