Shay’s was led by former Lebanon High standouts Anthony Troutman and Blayde Reich. They downed Cross Country 77-65 in the finale, after defeating the runners up 92-69, Tuesday at Lebanon Christian Academy.
Tuesday’s game was originally scheduled for Southeast Playground, but was moved due to rain.
Shay’s Vending took down the title behind Reich, who led all scorers with 32 points in the final. He proved unstoppable in the paint where the majority of his points were scored. To open the game, Reich had 16 of Shay’s points, while opening a 30-21 lead.
He was awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy.
Cross Country made a game of it and trailed by just six points, with four minutes left on a hoop by former Lebanon standout Jahlil Ortiz. CC was led by the Ortiz brothers, Jahlil and Sabu, and Kyle Thomas.
It seemed like every time CC scored, the Vendors answered.
“We had some defensive lapses,” said Troutman, who will turn 30 next month and played professionally last year in Spain. “It was hot. I’ll tell you, the older you get, the hotter it is.”
Shay’s got big hoops late from former Lebanon standouts Justin Baker, who will be a senior at Lebanon Valley College, and Evan Zimmerman, who played at Wesley.
Reich, who played at York College and now plays for the Washington Generals against the Harlem Globetrotters, was just too much for CC to handle.
Shay’s, which went 13-0 on its way to the title, opened the final best-of-three series Tuesday with a more dominating performance. The Vendors were in control most of the game and led throughout. They were up 92-69 late when the game was ended because of the 20-point lead rule in the final two minutes.
In addition to Troutman and Reich, Shay’s got big games from former Elco standout Mason Bossert. Shay’s moved to the top of the league with a roster that also included former Elco standout Colton Lawrence, who is currently sidelined with a foot injury, and Lebanon Catholic assistant coach Jarred Murray.
Shay’s also got a boost from 6-5 Devon Dorsey of Delaware, who played professionally in Spain with Troutman. Troutman also starred at LVC during his career. He’s now a teacher at Lebanon High.
“The first game was a little closer than we would have liked early,” Reich said, “We were a little off, but we kept going for it and it finally turned our way. The other team had some talented individuals.”
Leading CC that night, in addition to Thomas and the Ortiz brothers, was former Northern Lebanon and LVC standout Sam Light, who missed the final due to a prior commitment.
Shay’s jumped out to an 8-0 lead behind Reich that game. The 6-6 pivot-man was able to make the summer league games and final series only because of a break in the Globetrotters’ schedule. He was originally supposed to be on his way to China..
“Our China tour was delayed, which gave me a little break,” he said.
Reich said he has played well over 100 games against the Globetrotters.
“I played the full schedule for almost four months,” he said. “It was fun, but a ton of travel and a lot of basketball. We play almost every night and sometimes twice a day on the weekends.”
Reich said he hasn’t beaten the Trotters yet.
“Our job is come come out and play good basketball,” he said. “They’re close games. But their job is to win to prove they’re the best team in the world. They always seem to find a way to squeak it out at the end.”
Troutman gave Shay’s a 25-16 lead midway through the first half, but Light’s bucket at 3:43 tied the game at 33.
Reich then scored four straight points to open a 41-34 lead at half.
In the second half, Bossert hit a 3-pointer with 10:53 left to open a 72-53 lead.
From there, Shay’s used its depth and experience to put the game away.
Also in attendance Thursday was John Lentz, who was All-State for Lebanon in the mid-1960s, before enjoying a stellar career at Elizabethtown College. Lentz still holds the single game scoring record of 43 points at E-town, which came before the 3-point shot.
Lentz and Mike Katos were both All-State on Lebanon teams that played in the tough Central Penn League. The Cedars were 20-3 one year and failed to win the league championship or make the district playoffs.
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