BROOKVILLE, Pa. – Brookville came from behind to take a hard-fought 68-58 win over Chestnut Ridge in the D5/D9 Sub-Regional Playoff.
(Archived Photo from 2019-20 by: Jared Bakaysa)
The Raiders trailed for the majority of the first half, ending the period tied at 28. The Raiders fell behind by nine midway through the third but dominated the remainder of the contest, using their press defense and elevated offensive pace to come back to snatch the victory.
Jace Miner led the way with 27 points for Brookville, taking over the game in the second half. The Matt Whysong was Chestnut Ridge’s top man, scoring 24 points.
The game was balanced early, with both sides exchanging buckets. Miner hit a highlight-reel and-one layup early in the period to pace Brookville, while the Raiders’ strong defense prevented Chestnut ridge from gaining momentum. A Chestnut Ridge three-pointer tied the score at 11 with just under a minute left, and two more free-throws gave the Lions a two-point lead to end the quarter up 13-11.
The game continued to go back and forth in the second quarter, with Chestnut Ridge maintaining their narrow lead. Brookville struggled with their offensive play in the quarter, committing some sloppy turnovers to slow their offensive pace. Fortunately for the Raiders, Lauer and Keth converted from deep, keeping the Raiders in the game. Brookville turned things around late in the period, cleaning up their play and stringing together a series of baskets to finish the first half tied at 28.
Chestnut Ridge had the better opening to the third quarter, using strong offensive rebounding to quickly build their lead to 37-30. The Lions continued to boost their lead, turning a turnover into two points to up their advantage to nine. After a technical foul was assessed on each team, Brookville seized the momentum, going on a huge late scoring push to slash the Lions’ lead to one, with Chestnut Ridge leading 41-40 after the third quarter.
Two Brookville free-throws gave the Raiders a 42-41 lead early in the fourth quarter. Brookville continued to quicken the game’s pace, expanding their lead to 48-44 with 6:30 to go in the quarter. A long three by Keth extended the Raiders’ lead to eight, but Nate Whysong countered with a long three of his own. An exchange of scores had the Raiders up 58-52 with just under 4:00 remaining. Brookville turned on the jets to open up their lead, with Miner finishing inside to boost Brookville’s lead to 12 with 3:00 remaining.
A Chestnut Ridge technical foul on the next possession allowed Brookville to expand their lead, keeping the margin at double-digits. Chestnut Ridge converted from the line and scored again to cut the lead to eight with 1:00 to go. The Lions stole the following inbounds pass but could not convert from the field, giving Brookville the ability to seal the deal from the line. Two Raiders free-throws set the final score at 68-58, with Brookville advancing to face District 7 champion Ellwood City in the PIAA quarterfinals.
