The District 3 5A boys’ basketball postseason is set to begin next week, and two Sun Country squads are ready to go dancing.
Hershey is projected to enter the playoffs as a No. 2 seed, while Lower Dauphin is expected to get in as a No. 10 seed. Palmyra, ranked No. 17, just missed the cut for the 16-team field in 5A.
Expectations will be high for the Trojans (18-3, 11-3 Keystone Division), who closed out their regular season on Friday, Feb. 7, with an 82-33 win over fellow 5A qualifier East Pennsboro. It was a statement victory for Hershey, which had its best offensive and defensive scoring night of the season. The win was fueled by balanced team scoring from Cameron Sweeney (16), Drew Grana (13), Ben Felix (9), James Campbell IV (9), Grant Later (8), Jack Zakovitch (8), Jaiden Waynes (6), Roman Panko (6), Mehmet Amasyali (3), Alexx Guzman (2) and LJ Douglas (2).
The Trojans, who finished second in the Keystone this winter, will now shift their sights toward districts. They are scheduled to kick off the tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 18, with a home game against the No. 15 seed, which is projected to be New Oxford (12-10).
Landon Miller of Lower Dauphin drives towards the hoop and converts for two against Mifflin County. Photo: Geno Simonetti.
Lower Dauphin finishes as the fourth-place team in the Keystone after going 2-1 last week in three games against district-qualifying teams. Coach Rick Attivo’s Falcons (11- 10, 8-6 Keystone) lost 61-60 on a buzzer beater to Lampeter Strasburg on Thursday, Feb. 6, before bouncing back with a 61-53 victory over Mifflin County on Saturday and a 69-43 triumph over Northern on Monday.
Nico DeFrank was a force for LD, as he totaled 60 points over those three games. Brady Hofsass erupted for a combined 45 points in the contests against Lampeter-Strasburg (28) and Mifflin County (17).
If the current power rankings hold up, the Falcons will open the playoffs on the road to take on Keystone playmate and No. 7-seed Milton Hershey (15-7). The squads have already met twice this season, with the Spartans winning both games.
It’s the end of the road for Palmyra, which missed the postseason by less than six-thousandths of a point after going 1-1 last week. The Cougars (9-13, 5-9 Keystone) defeated Elco, 65-54, on Friday before falling 65-46 to Red Land on Monday. Alex Dorta (12 points) and Aidan Willard (10) led Palmyra in scoring in the loss to the Patriots.
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