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BY EHTAN SWIECH

Photos from Jeff Falk

LITITZ – A miraculous finish for Elizabethtown, a bitter pill to swallow for Elco. Regardless of the circumstances, it was everything you wanted in a high school playoff game. Unfortunately, somebody had to win and somebody had to lose.

The Raiders overcame a pair of 12-point deficits, before mounting a furious second half rally, but the Bears pulled through when it mattered most. E-town took the next step by snatching a heart-pounding 50-49 victory on Friday night at Warwick High School, during the play-in round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League boys’ basketball tournament.

“I’m really proud of their effort in the second half,” said Elco head coach, Brad Conners. “It was tough sledding in the first half, the shots weren’t falling, things just really weren’t going our way, but they found a way to get back in the game.”

Elizabethtown’s offense was sparked by senior, Elijah Eberly, who made an astounding 11 field goals for 23 points. Eberly twice made consecutive layups to provide the Bears with their 12-point leads. He also logged Etown’s first six points of the second half.

“He was really impressive, just watching him in the film, he’s a really nice player,” said Conners of Eberly. “I really like him a lot, I like what they do with him, how they play, I like where they put him on the floor. He really did a nice job of carrying them and he was kind of steady throughout the entire game, so hats off to them.”

E-town also received additional support from junior Luke Pierson, who nailed four three-pointers on his way to logging 13 points. The Bears presented a challenge, but Braden Bohannon and the Raiders never backed down.

Bohannon accounted for 13 of Elco’s 21 first half points, including a trio of threes, before tallying a total of eight field goals and 23 points. His three-point play, a lay-up and and one in the third quarter, capped the Raiders’ 6-0 scoring run before cutting the deficit to one.

The junior guard continuously kept Elco in contention, but it was Asher Kemble who put the Raiders on top. Kemble’s fourth-quarter lay-up gave Elco its first lead since the opening period, when the senior center laid it in for the game’s first bucket.

Elizabethtown kept its composure, regaining the lead on an Eberly layup and Pierson trey, but so did the Raiders. Kemble’s two free throws and Bohannon’s jumper gave Elco a two-point advantage, but Eberly came right back and tied it on another basket.

Eberly was also fouled on the play and his free throw gave the Bears the lead. The Raiders had one last chance to steal the win, but Kemble’s attempt at a buzzer-beater came up painfully short and E-town prevailed.

“It’s tough right now, we all feel like we got kicked in the stomach,” said Conners. “We have a locker room full of tears in there, these kids care and they’re warriors, they really are.”

Kemble recorded four makes from the field before posting 10 points to the Elco scorebook. Senior guard, Ben Horst, had four conversions of his own for eight points, including back-to-back buckets in the second quarter.

“You’re just really proud of the effort down the stretch, got us all the way back in it with a chance to win the game,” Conners said. “A credit to E-town, a credit to Coach Parise, they did a great job.”

The Raiders will see their next action on Thursday, February 21st when they host Eastern York in the quarterfinal round of the District Three Class AAAA playoffs. Elco, 18-4, will be the number-three seed and is guaranteed at least two games in that event.

For the Bears, their journey continues this Monday night, when they travel to Lampeter-Strasburg for a quarterfinal match-up against the hometown Pioneers. The opening tip for that contest takes place at 7:00.

To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com.

2019-20 Elco Boys’ Basketball Results

DateOpponentsOutcomes
12/06
7:30 pm
Elco
Lebanon
at Lebanon
57
53

Nonleague
12/07
7:30 pm
Elco
Cedar Crest
at Lebanon
55
59

Nonleague
12/10
7:30 pm
Annville-Cleona
at Elco
49
70

Nonleague
12/13
7:30 pm
Cocalico
at Elco
41
60

League
12/16
7:30 pm
Elco
at Manheim Central
73
71

League
12/18
7:30 pm
Solanco
at Elco
47
62

League
12/20
7:30 pm
Elco
at Lampeter-Strasburg
50
54

League
12/28
7:30 pm
Elco
Spring Grove
at Eastern York
76
52

Nonleague
12/30
7:30 pm
Elco
Eastern York
at Eastern York
75
51

Nonleague
1/03
7:30 pm
Octorara
at Elco
42
49

League
1/04
1:30 pm
Oley Valley
at Elco
48
62

Nonleague
1/08
7:30 pm
Camp Hill
at Elco
60
72

Nonleague
1/09
7:30 pm
Elco
at Donegal
87
55

League
1/10
7:30 pm
Northern Lebanon
at Elco
34
81

League
1/15
7:30 pm
Wyomissing
at Elco
44
49

Nonleague
1/17
7:30 pm
Lancaster Catholic
at Elco
69
55

League
1/21
7:30 pm
Elco
at Octorara
59
48

League
1/24
7:30 pm
Donegal
at Elco
34
58

League
1/28
7:30 pm
Elco
at Northern Lebanon
73
39

League
1/29
7:30 pm
Conrad Weiser
at Elco
58
81

Nonleague
1/31
7:30 pm
Garden Spot
at Elco
44
72

League
2/04
7:30 pm
Elco
at Lancaster Catholic
50
65

League
2/07
5:30 pm
Elco
Elizabethtown
at Warwick
49
50

Playoff

PIAA District Three

Class AAAA Power Rankings

AAAASchool W L T Rating TWP OWP TWPW OWPW TWPL OWPL
1Lancaster Catholic19-2-0 0.762191 0.923596 0.564920 20.6 259.8 1.7 200.1
2Bishop McDevitt16-2-0 0.748530 0.913265 0.547186 17.9 219.8 1.7 181.9
3Eastern Lebanon County18-4-0 0.711677 0.848485 0.544467 19.6 260.5 3.5 218.0
4Susquehanna Township14-7-0 0.661908 0.714607 0.597498 15.9 265.1 6.4 178.6
5Littlestown18-4-0 0.643487 0.823256 0.423771 17.7 197.4 3.8 268.4
6Eastern York14-8-0 0.628721 0.686364 0.558268 15.1 263.0 6.9 208.1
7Wyomissing16-6-0 0.622491 0.765766 0.447377 17.0 208.5 5.2 257.6
8Susquehannock12-10-0 0.601396 0.595349 0.608787 12.8 288.2 8.7 185.2
9Octorara Area14-8-0 0.601272 0.681223 0.503555 15.6 233.8 7.3 230.5
10Berks Catholic School12-8-0 0.585578 0.612745 0.552374 12.5 234.4 7.9 190.0
11James Buchanan11-11-0 0.532008 0.549065 0.511159 11.8 225.6 9.7 215.8
12East Pennsboro Area9-13-0 0.497461 0.432127 0.577315 9.6 263.4 12.6 192.9
13Schuylkill Valley10-11-0 0.493421 0.479616 0.510294 10.0 225.6 10.9 216.5
14Boiling Springs8-13-0 0.486717 0.428212 0.558224 8.5 246.4 11.4 195.0
15Middletown Area7-14-0 0.481054 0.354217 0.636078 7.4 283.5 13.4 162.2
16Northern Lebanon7-15-0 0.440858 0.350917 0.550786 7.7 259.2 14.2 211.4
17Kennard Dale6-16-0 0.429419 0.301887 0.585291 6.4 275.4 14.8 195.1
18Fleetwood7-14-0 0.392105 0.368675 0.420742 7.7 185.4 13.1 255.3
19Bermudian Springs7-14-0 0.387194 0.333333 0.453023 6.9 201.6 13.7 243.4
20Hamburg Area6-16-0 0.381179 0.283784 0.500217 6.3 230.3 15.9 230.1
21West Perry5-16-0 0.364291 0.245823 0.509085 5.2 231.2 15.8 222.9

Lancaster-Lebanon League

Final Section Four Standings

LeagueOverall
WLPCTWLPCTPFPA
Lancaster Catholic1210.9231920.9051253985
Elco1030.7691850.78314761167
Octorara760.5381480.63613321167
Northern Lebanon3100.2317150.31810061230
Donegal1120.0773190.1369511338

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