Mega Holiday Recap – 12/23 – 1/4

Written by: David Bray on January 9, 2025

Editor’s Note: My family and I have been sick with the stomach virus for the past few days, so I apologize for this coming out so late. I’m all good and will be back at games this week. 

With the snow falling and the holiday spirit in the air, it’s time for winter basketball in the Keystone Division, with 5 of 8 teams playing in holiday tournaments and 7 of 8 teams playing overall. That being said, let’s look at each team and recap their past 2 weeks.

1. Hershey (9-0 Overall, 4-0 Division)

In their 3 games this past two weeks, Hershey continues their unbeaten run into 2025 with wins against Carlisle by 14, Boiling Springs by 1, and Conestoga Valley by 33. In the Boiling Springs Holiday Tournament, Hershey had a tough opening-round matchup against 6A powerhouse in Carlisle. Parker Smith from Carlisle had a great performance, however, Cameron Sweeney and Hershey were too much to handle with their fast-break offense. Sweeney led the team with 18 points and 5 rebounds, followed by Jack Zakovitch who, off the bench, had 15 points. James Campbell put together a solid 11 points and Drew Grana had 10 for the Trojans. Aidan Miller contributed 9 points and 7 assists to help the team expand their lead. In the championship against the hosts Boiling Springs, it was a tight-knit match with neither team leading by a lot, however, a Sweeney free-throw iced the game and gave Hershey the edge in the end. Sweeney led the team with 25 points and 6 rebounds. Campbell followed behind with 13 points and 5 rebounds. Hershey took home the tournament victory for the second year in a row. In the Rhoades Classic against Conestoga Valley, Hershey took an early lead and held onto it until the end. Zakovitch led Hershey with 15 points and 5 rebounds, with Campbell behind with 14 points and 8 rebounds. Sweeney finished the game with 12 points. Hershey has a lot of momentum going forward, and key Keystone games ahead, they’ve got a great chance at making a run in the playoffs in the future. Sweeney and Campbell have shown they are playmakers for the Trojans and Zakovitch is becoming the spark they need off the bench, which is the depth we’ve seen before from Hershey that took them to the Mid-Penn and District 3 5A finals. This time, it’s all about finishing what they’ve started. Hershey faces their rival Palmyra at home on Thursday for their only game of the week.

2. Milton Hershey (6-0 Overall, 4-0 Division)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all those at Milton Hershey! For the players, I hope you all enjoyed the break and the chance to head back home. Two games for the upcoming week with an away game against Cedar Cliff on Thursday and a home game against Mechanicsburg on Saturday.

3. Mechanicsburg (9-2 Overall, 4-1 Division)

Mechanicsburg had the trip of their winter up to Upstate New York to face teams from 3 different states in Elmira and then came back to Pennsylvania to win another Keystone game. Mechanicsburg finished 3-1 over the past 2 weeks, with a 13-point win against Binghamton (NY),  a 21-point victory against Calvert Hall (MD), a 7-point loss against St. Peter’s (NY), and a 7-point victory against Lower Dauphin. The Wildcats took their first game in New York with a strong victory, with Chance Yanoski leading the way with 33 points for Mechanicsburg, followed by Josh Smith with 31 points. Against Calvert Hall, Smith led the Wildcats to another victory and cement themselves into a finals spot with 26 points. Yanoski and Liam Owens followed behind Smith with 13 points each. Justin Bardo followed these three with 10 points of his own. In the final against St. Peter’s, Yanoski and Smith were the scoring duo in this game with 18 and 17 points respectively, however, it wasn’t enough. Coming back to Keystone divisional play, Mechanicsburg took a tight one against Lower Dauphin with Smith leading the Wildcats with 21 points and 3 rebounds. Yanoski was right behind Smith with 17 points and Bardo finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Mechanicsburg was able to play against top competition this week and came out with 3 big wins, putting themselves in a firm third place in the division. When all of the cylinders are firing for the Wildcats, they can’t be stopped. Mechanicsburg will play Mifflin County at home on Thursday and will face Milton Hershey on the road on Saturday.

4. Palmyra (5-6 Overall, 2-3 Division)

Palmyra proved all of the doubters wrong through 11 games this season, with upset after upset. Palmyra took the win over Warwick by 8, lost to Cedar Crest by 12, lost to Exeter Township by 5, beat Mifflin County by 14, and beat Penn Manor by 15. Palmyra upset one of the biggest teams in the LL League, enough said. If you want the full recap of the Warwick game, check out my instant classics recap on the website. In the Cedar Crest tournament, Palmyra, unfortunately, came short in both games with it being only one possession before desperation shots and free throws separated the leads. Against Cedar Crest, Palmyra went up big early, however, Cedar Crest began crawling back, with it being within 5 at the half. Alex Dorta finished the game with 13 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 assists, followed by Braydon Bown and Aidan Willard, both with 9 points. Exeter Township did the opposite to the Cougars, with Palmyra being down significantly early, however, Bennett Weaber put together 8 straight points, pulling Palmyra within reach almost single-handedly. Bown finished the game with 14 points, with Weaber off the bench putting together 10 points and 5 rebounds on 4 for 6 shooting. Dorta, Micah Warner, and Luke Grumbein all had 7 points, but it wasn’t enough. In divisional play, Palmyra did well to separate from Mifflin County early, with Dorta posting 16 points and Willard having 13 points and 8 rebounds. Warner finished with 8 points and 7 rebounds, being perfect from the floor with a 4 for 4 shooting performance. In the Rhoades Classic against Penn Manor, Palmyra was not the favorite, with the Comets being 8-2 entering the game, however, they shut down recent 1000-point scorer Michael Lower to only 5 points and poured on the three-pointers, being 70% from deep. Bown led Palmyra with 12 points, although with how some fans reacted, they thought he had more with audible ‘oh no’ whispers said every time he caught the ball from deep. Dorta finished the night with 11 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Palmyra has established itself as the LL killer of the Mid-Penn and has been very good against a strong schedule, placing itself 14th in power rankings for the 5A. Palmyra will face Hershey on the road on Thursday for their only game of the week.

5. Red Land (5-6 Overall, 2-3 Division)

Just when you thought that they were down, here comes the Red Land Patriots placing themselves in the final spot of the playoff picture for the 5A in 16th and moving to 5th in the Keystone after a strong start to 2025. Red Land has gone 3-0 in the last 2 weeks with a tournament victory at Gettysburg, beating South Western by 14, Delone Catholic by 12, and winning against their rival Cedar Cliff by 27. Against South Western, Noah May finally got his chance to shine, putting together a career-high 32 points on the night. Colton Rose followed suit with a 14-point performance to put the Patriots in the final. Against Delone Catholic, May had himself another night, dropping another 30 points along with Rose’s 26 points, giving Red Land a holiday tournament victory. Against Cedar Cliff, tensions were very high with both teams getting technicals early in the game. Colton Rose was not phased by the rowdy away crowd as he dropped 33 points on 5 threes on 50% shooting from the floor. Solomon Brown finished behind Rose with 11 points of his own and Bodie Zeiders had 8 points and 9 rebounds to capitalize on a huge victory. If Red Land plays at this caliber of basketball as they have to end their 2024 and start 2025 on high notes, Red Land is looking at another playoff berth, especially with this expanded playoff format. If Rose and May can form this dynamic duo we saw in the Gettysburg Holiday Tournament, watch out Keystone. Red Land will face Lower Dauphin at home on Thursday for their only game of the week.

6. Lower Dauphin (4-5 Overall, 2-3 Division)

Lower Dauphin doesn’t deserve 6th place, especially with how they handled themselves over the past couple of weeks. The Falcons finish the fortnight 1-2 with a 26-point loss to Daniel Boone, a 7-point loss to Mechanicsburg, and a 3-point win against Lebanon. Against Daniel Boone, it was a tight game early with only one possession separating the two sides, but shots seemed to stop falling for Lower Dauphin, to which Daniel Boone capitalized. Brady Hofsass finished as the top scorer with 14 points, followed by Nico DeFrank with 13 points and 7 rebounds. All other scorers were held to 5 points or lower as shooting was not on the Falcons’ side for the night. Against Mechanicsburg, Lower Dauphin did a great job handling the fast offense of the Wildcats, with DeFrank leading the charge with 16 points and 9 rebounds, in a near-double-double. Evan Deibler finished behind with 8 points and Hofsass was held to 7 points and 6 rebounds through heavy double-team defense. Against Lebanon, the Falcons finally got their stride and got their first victory of 2025 in a close game, in which a last-second 3-pointer narrowed the lead for Lebanon. DeFrank led scoring with another near double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds. Hofsass finished the night with 8 points and 5 rebounds and Landon Miller had a solid performance with 6 points and 8 rebounds. Lower Dauphin is a solid team and a few games have been decided by 2 possessions or less so far, giving LD an unfavorable record to their liking. With Defrank averaging 14 points and 7 rebounds, along with Hofsass averaging 13 points and 4 assists, this team has the chance to make a second-half resurgence and put themselves in the playoff race again, as they are sitting on the doorstep in 18th. Lower Dauphin will face Red Land on the road on Thursday for their only game of the week.

7. Mifflin County (4-5 Overall, 1-4 Division)

For the Huskies, the injury bug has hit, with Jack Curry finally returning from injury in their only matchup over the break after missing 5 games and Zach Keller still injured with a foot injury which has kept him sidelined for 5 games so far. Mifflin County lost their only matchup over the past 2 weeks, with a 14-point loss to Palmyra. Mifflin County was very well-rounded in scoring against the Cougars, with Aidan Attivo leading the charge with 10 points and 4 rebounds. Luke Bender off the bench had 9 points and 3 assists and Curry had 8 points in his return for the Huskies. The three-pointers were not falling for Mifflin County, with all 8 shots missing the mark for one of the most efficient shooting teams in the division. Mifflin County with a healthy Curry, Attivo averaging his team-leading 15 points per game, and Evan Strohecker dishing out assists as he’s been doing throughout the season so far, Mifflin County has a shot at the playoffs for District 6, as long as State College and Altoona are handled. Mifflin County will face off against Mechanicsburg on the road on Thursday for their only game of the week.

8. Cedar Cliff (2-10 Overall, 0-5 Division)

Cedar Cliff has had a rocky start to their season, however, there are a lot of games to go. Cedar Cliff did finish the past 2 weeks 1-3, with a loss to Northern by 10, a victory against Conestoga Valley by 9, a loss to Red Land by 27, and a loss to York Catholic by 8. The Northern game was extremely close with Mo Ahmed leading the Colts with 19 points, tying his season high. The Colts couldn’t find the time to climb back as they took the fall to open their holiday tournament. Against Conestoga Valley, Cedar Cliff did a good job getting the lead and sticking with it as a strong 16-point, 9-rebound performance from Troy Joray led the Colts to their second win. Jayvion Walker finished behind Joray with 14 points and 4 threes and Ahmed finished with 10 points. Against Red Land, it’s hard to win on the road against a fierce rival, and Cedar Cliff couldn’t pull back the lead once Red Land took over. Walker led the scoring for the Colts with 11 points, Garret Weaver off the bench finished with 8 points, and Ahmed had 7 points. Against York Catholic, both teams had a lot of trouble scoring throughout the game, however, Cedar Cliff lost a close one at home. Walker led the team with 13 points, followed by Joray with 8 points and 7 rebounds. In this game, the team went 32% from the floor, 20% from three, and 12.5% from the charity stripe to round out the game. Cedar Cliff has to take the new year as a fresh start, and being 28th in the 6A, there’s a lot of ground that can be made up to put themselves in playoff position, and that starts with their next game against Milton Hershey on Thursday.

For all of your updates, follow @KeystoneBBall on X and check out all of the live streams for LLHoops to check out my other media content! If you’re interested in Elizabethtown College sports updates, be sure to check out my sports articles written in the Etownian newspaper.

Follow LLhoops on Twitter @LLhoops