LEBANON – Championship fever was in the air at Lebanon High School on Saturday night, during the final of the Lebanon Athletic Booster Club’s Tip-Off Tournament final game, as the Cedar Crest Falcons, 41-point victors over Red Land in the tournament’s opening game, took on the Elco Raiders, who reached this contest following Braden Bohannon’s buzzer-beating trey against Lebanon.
The Falcons weathered the storm and came through, 59-55, taking the championship for the fourth consecutive season. Cedar Crest also got its revenge on ELCO for its 58-32 loss in the Sweep the Streets Tournament that took place between the two schools back in June.
This title bout resembled the Elco-Lebanon matchup that took place the night before. The Falcons and Raiders traded baskets, threes and lead changes. Those elements were obvious when both sides forged a 13-13 tie after one quarter of play.
Despite the evenly matched opening period, Cedar Crest distanced itself near the end of the half. The Falcons extended their lead to five when senior guard, Grant Allwein, laid it in at the buzzer, making the score, 24-19.
It was a nice cushion for Crest, but there was still another 16 minutes and Elco didn’t back down. Bohannon certainly made sure the Raiders remained in contention with a 22-point effort that included a trio of threes.
The junior also made seven of his nine free throws while ecstatic senior guard, Evan Huey, contributed four field goals and an overall total of 11 points. Huey, like Bohannon, made certain that Elco stayed in Cedar Crest’s way until the end.
However, the Falcons held a late lead and Allwein added to it by hitting a pair of free throws with 12.2 seconds remaining. Still, the Raiders drew within a point after Bohannon nailed a three with seven seconds showing on the clock.
That was the closest the Raiders got to snatching victory. Cole Miller, Cedar Crest’s senior forward, sank a pair of foul shots with 5.7 seconds left, before fellow senior, Ileri Ayo-Faleye, sealed the deal with two of his own.
Ayo-Faleye, who scored 14 points while averaging 12.5 for the tournament, was voted to the All-Tournament team as was Jason Eberhart, the Crest forward who also earned the distinction of Most Valuable Player.
Eberhart registered 13 points against the Raiders, averaged 14 for the tourney and was extremely effective from the charity stripe, hitting a combined eight of 12 attempts through the two games. His performance also earned him the praise of head coach, Tom Smith.
“He’s a three-year starter, he knows our game plan, he can write it out and he’s super smart when it comes to basketball,” said Smith. “He’s like a coach on the court and I’m glad he’s on my side.”
The Falcons also received championship contributions from Allwein, who tallied 12 points, and Amani Jones, who drained a pair of threes. Ayo-Faleye even delievered a statement dunk right over Raiders’ center, Asher Kemble.
Despite the loss, ELCO head coach, Brad Conners, still has a lot to look forward to this season. “I love our group, their work ethic and their attitude,” stated Conners, “I also expect them to come ready to work for Monday’s game against Annville.”
Like Cedar Crest, the Raiders also had two players make the All-Tournament list. Huey was the first and Bohannon, who had consecutive 20-point outings with eight threes, was the last player to be announced in the postgame ceremony.
| Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
| 12/06 6:00 pm | Red Land Cedar Crest at Lebanon | 29 70 | Nonleague |
| 12/07 7:30 pm | Elco Cedar Crest at Lebanon | Nonleague | |
| 12/09 7:30 pm | Wyomissing at Cedar Crest | Nonleague | |
| 12/13 7:30 pm | Cedar Crest at Elizabethtown | League | |
| 12/16 7:30 pm | Lebanon at Cedar Crest | League | |
| 12/18 7:30 pm | Cedar Crest at Ephrata | League | |
| 12/20 7:30 pm | Warwick at Cedar Crest | League | |
| 12/21 7:00 pm | Cedar Crest at Palmyra | Nonleague | |
| 12/27 7:30 pm | Oxford at Cedar Crest | Nonleague | |
| 1/02 7:30 pm | Cedar Crest at Conestoga Valley | League | |
| 1/04 4:30 pm | Cedar Crest Lower Dauphin at Lebanon Valley College | Nonleague | |
| 1/07 7:30 pm | Hempfield at Cedar Crest | League | |
| 1/10 7:30 pm | Cedar Crest at Penn Manor | League | |
| 1/11 3:00 pm | Cedar Crest Bishop McDevitt at Manheim Central | Nonleague | |
| 1/14 7:30 pm | Cedar Crest at McCaskey | League | |
| 1/17 7:30 pm | Manheim Township at Cedar Crest | League | |
| 1/22 7:30 pm | Carlisle at Cedar Crest | Nonleague | |
| 1/24 7:30 pm | Cedar Crest at Hempfield | League | |
| 1/28 7:30 pm | Penn Manor at Cedar Crest | League | |
| 1/31 7:30 pm | McCaskey at Cedar Crest | League | |
| 2/04 7:30 pm | Cedar Crest at Manheim Township | League |
| Date | Opponents | Outcomes | |
| 12/06 7:30 pm | Elco Lebanon at Lebanon | 57 53 | Nonleague |
| 12/07 7:30 pm | Elco Cedar Crest at Lebanon | Nonleague | |
| 12/10 7:30 pm | Annville-Cleona at Elco | Nonleague | |
| 12/13 7:30 pm | Cocalico at Elco | League | |
| 12/16 7:30 pm | Elco at Manheim Central | League | |
| 12/18 7:30 pm | Solanco at Elco | League | |
| 12/20 7:30 pm | Elco at Lampeter-Strasburg | League | |
| 12/28 TBD | Elco TBA at Eastern York | Nonleague | |
| 12/30 TBD | Elco TBA at Elco | Nonleague | |
| 1/03 12:00 pm | Octorara at Elco | League | |
| 1/04 1:30 pm | Oley Valley at Elco | Nonleague | |
| 1/07 7:30 pm | Elco at Donegal | League | |
| 1/08 7:30 pm | Camp Hill at Elco | Nonleague | |
| 1/10 7:30 pm | Northern Lebanon at Elco | League | |
| 1/15 7:30 pm | Wyomissing at Elco | Nonleague | |
| 1/17 7:30 pm | Lancaster Catholic at Elco | League | |
| 1/21 7:30 pm | Elco at Octorara | League | |
| 1/24 7:30 pm | Donegal at Elco | League | |
| 1/28 7:30 pm | Elco at Northern Lebanon | League | |
| 1/29 7:30 pm | Conrad Weiser at Elco | Nonleague | |
| 1/31 7:30 pm | Garden Spot at Elco | League | |
| 2/04 7:30 pm | Elco at Lancaster Catholic | League |
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