Schedule Release: Top Games for 2024-2025 Season
Written by: TJ Eck on October 3, 2024
The 2024-2025 Lancaster-Lebanon League boys basketball schedules (for the most part) are now posted on each team’s page. We now take a look at the top games to watch during the upcoming campaign.
Top Ten Games to Watch – Nonleague Matchups
10. West Chester Henderson at Octorara – December 14
If you like winning programs, this is a matchup for you. WCH and Octorara have combined for 108 wins over the last three seasons. This is a great pre-Christmas test for the Braves, who have a talented and experienced class of juniors leading the way this season.
9. Eastern York at Donegal – December 4
Donegal has its sights set on playing in the postseason in 2025. To do that, the Indians will need to beat good teams. They’ll have that opportunity when Eastern York visits Mount Joy early in the season. The Golden Knights won the PIAA District 3 Class 4A title last season and advanced to the state quarterfinals. Donegal’s Sawyer Floyd (Bloomsburg) and Eastern’s Carter Wamsley (Gannon) both recently committed to play college basketball in the PSAC.
8. Cocalico at Lampeter-Strasburg – December 3
This is as juicy as it gets for a season opener. Two former L-L League Section 3 opponents meet to get things underway in 2024-2025. It’ll be a nonleague game since Cocalico has moved to Section 2 but don’t expect that to take away from the intensity of this matchup. Both teams have plans to play in the postseason and they’ll meet in a playoff-like game right off the bat.
7. Unionville at Lancaster Mennonite – December 14
Lancaster Mennonite is not afraid to play a tough schedule and that’s evident by this mid-December matchup. Unionville, a program that’s won 47 games over the previous two seasons, will make its way to Lancaster to play at the home of the Blazers. LMHS will be looking to avenge last season’s 63-39 loss to the Longhorns.
6. Warwick at Manheim Central – February 3
Just last season these two teams were battling it out for the L-L League Section 2 crown. Now they will meet as nonleague opponents. Warwick (Section 2) and Manheim Central (Section 3) should again be in contention for a berth in the league and district playoffs with respective spots in the state tournament also within reason. Their early February matchup should be a good measuring stick game as the regular season winds down.
5. Linville Hill at Lancaster Country Day – January 23
It’s not often that you get a regular-season matchup of county rivals that both advanced to the state quarterfinals last season. But that’s precisely what we have here. LCDS made program history by advancing to the PIAA Class 1A quarters for the first time in 2023-2024 while Linville Hill won the PIAA District 3 Class 1A title and made it to the state semifinals last winter. This might be a small school showdown but it should be worth the price of admission.
4. Cedar Crest at Wilson – January 11
These two teams won their respective league titles last season and were rewarded with a matchup against one another in the first round of the PIAA District 3 Class 6A tournament. Cedar Crest held off the Bulldogs for a 55-50 win in Lebanon last winter. They’ll meet again in 2025 in a midseason, nonleague tussle that should be a postseason warmup for both squads.
3. Central York at Cedar Crest – January 28
Central York won the PIAA Class 6A state championship last season and on the way knocked off the Falcons, 58-54. Cedar Crest, meanwhile, is coming off a L-League title in 2023-2024. Both teams will look dramatically different but this should be a pivotal nonleague showdown late in the 2024-2025 campaign.
2. Halifax at Lancaster Mennonite – December 5
The Blazers aren’t easing into the season. After visiting West Chester Henderson in the season opener, LMHS welcomes Halifax to Lancaster in a rematch of last season’s PIAA District 3 Class 2A championship game. Lancaster Mennonite won that matchup, 53-44, to claim their fourth consecutive district title. Halifax is coming off a 23-win season and will be looking for a signature, early-season win.
1. Lampeter-Strasburg at Cedar Crest – January 21
The nonleague slate is headlined by this matchup of L-L League foes. Cedar Crest is the reigning league champion and preseason favorite to again win Section 1 while L-S has been to the L-L League playoffs each non-COVID year since 2016. These two teams met in Lampeter last season with the Pioneers engineering a dominant, 25-point victory. So you know the Falcons have revenge on their mind. Oh and if that wasn’t enough, the league’s top guard (Chase Smucker – L-S) and preeminent big man (RJ Young – Cedar Crest) will be competing in this doozy of a matchup.
Top Ten Games to Watch – L-L League Matchups
10. Warwick at Ephrata – January 28
Ephrata has a new head coach in Matt Herbener. His Mountaineer roster returns a number of experienced players headlined by star guard Marqus Hardin. Warwick has one of the league’s best coaches in Chris Christensen and has two standout players in Caleb Johnsen and Ya’Majesty Washington. This matchup has it all.
9. Hempfield at Manheim Township – December 17
Black Knights vs. Blue Streaks. It’s arguably the best high school sports rivalry in the entire L-L League and it will be renewed on the basketball court in mid-December. While bragging rights will certainly be on the line, the winner will also earn a big victory in the pursuit of a league playoff berth.
8. Cocalico at Warwick – January 23
The 2024-2025 season brings with it a new challenge for the Eagles, who move to Section 2 of the L-League. Warwick is coming off a Section 2 title last season. This is a great, but certainly tough opportunity for the section newcomer to earn a victory over one of the most consistent programs in the league.
7. Manheim Township at Cedar Crest – January 30
The Falcons will be just two days removed from a nonleague matchup against reigning state champion Central York so if there’s a time for the Blue Streaks to knock off Cedar Crest, this would be it. On the other hand, if everything goes according to plan, it could be a section title-clinching night for the home team.
6. Hempfield at McCaskey – February 4
Cedar Crest is the favorite to win Section 1 this winter. Who’s projected to finish #2 and earn a league playoff berth? It’s basically a wide open race with the Black Knights and Red Tornado right in the mix. This game could decide a spot in the league playoffs. Oh, and don’t think Hempfield has forgotten its late-season loss to McCaskey last season that kept the Black Knights out of the postseason.
5. Lampeter-Strasburg at Donegal – December 20
Next year, Donegal’s Sawyer Floyd and Lampeter-Strasburg’s Chase Smucker will be college basketball teammates at Bloomsburg University. But for now, they remain the top players on Section 3 rivals. When Donegal welcomes the Pioneers to Mount Joy, less than a week before Christmas, the Indians will be looking to earn a signature win against a team that has been a perennial postseason contender.
4. Manheim Central at Lampeter-Strasburg – January 30
One team has back-to-back 20-win seasons. The other has been to the L-L League playoffs each non-COVID season since 2016. Putting this matchup at #4 might be disrespectful. It’s an intriguing game for a Manheim Central team that moves to Section 3 while a Lampeter-Strasburg win would likely go a long way in securing another section crown for the powerhouse Pioneers.
3. Lancaster Country Day at Lancaster Mennonite – December 10
This is the first of two matchups between these L-L League Section 4 foes. Lancaster Mennonite has won four straight district titles and is the heavy favorite to win the section while LCDS is coming off its best season in program history. This is an early-season matchup worth putting on the calendar.
1a. Ephrata at Cocalico – February 5
1b. Garden Spot at Warwick – February 5
The race for the L-L League Section 2 crown might just be the most fun one to watch this winter. And it will likely come down to the wire with these two matchups in early February. Both games will likely determine the the section champion and league playoff representatives. Nothing better than playoff-like games before the postseason starts.
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