Penn State York men pull off playoff upset

STAFF REPORT
  • Penn State York upset Williamson on Thursday in a USCAA D-II playoff game, 66-65.
  • Red Lion grad Trent Thomas scored 27 points, while Lucas Jewell added 13 points and nine assists.
  • The sixth-seeded local Lions advanced to winners' bracket semifinal contest on Friday.

Earlier this week, Trent Thomas and Lucas Jewell were named United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division II All-Americans.

Thursday afternoon, they proved why they were deserving of the honor.

Penn State York's Trent Thomas scored 27 points in Thursday's win over Williamson. Thomas is a Red Lion High School graduate.

Thomas, a Red Lion High School graduate, poured in 27 points to lead No. 6 seed Penn State York to an upset of No. 3 seed Williamson, 66-65,  in a USCAA D-II second-round playoff contest at Penn State Fayette. Both PSY (20-7) and Williamson (23-6) had first-round byes in the 10-team field.

Thomas, a 6-foot, 2-inch sophomore, finished 10 for 17 from the field and 6 for 8 from the foul line. He also had four rebounds.

Thomas  went over the 1,000-point mark for his career during the game.

Jewell, meanwhile, added 13 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals.

At 3 p.m. Friday in a winners' bracket semifinal, the local Lions will face No. 2 Central Penn College (25-8), which downed No. 7 NHTI (22-13) in another second-round contest on Thursday, 76-64. Central Penn owns two wins over PSY this year, but one of those losses was 125-122 in triple overtime.

Thomas, who led the Penn State University Athletic Conference in scoring at 22.2 points per game, was earlier named a USCAA D-II First-Team All-American, while Jewell garnered USCAA D-II second-team accolades. Thomas also averaged 6.2 rebounds per game in PSUAC action. Jewell, a 5-11 senior, led the PSUAC with 7.9 assists per game while also averaging 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.